It’s Not So Simple

Monday’s post this week was about whether Eve did us a favor when she supposedly got humankind kicked out of Paradise. Of course there was another creature involved—the snake. The story I was thinking of was from the Bible. From interpretations I had heard, I thought the snake was somewhere between evil incarnate and the Devil. I thought it told us that we had lost the wonder of Paradise because we fell for what the snake was offering. Well, turns out it is all more complicated than that. In my post I indicated I thought it was not really so bad to be kicked out of Paradise. But then I got an interesting query from my friend Nathaniel.

“And where do you suppose the snake came from?” was his question. Crafty man Nathaniel. So I went online to get clarification. I was surprised.

Alternatives Offered

Here’s one thing I found:

“Fertility and rebirth. Historically, serpents and snakes represent fertility or a creative life force. As snakes shed their skin through sloughing, they are symbols of rebirth, transformation, immortality, and healing. The ouroboros is a symbol of eternity and continual renewal of life.”

Richness of Interpretation

Nathaniel had offered a interesting interpretation about mermaids which evidently symbolize a melding of earth and the sea and in the melding they also represent orgasm. Such wonderful complexity and it demonstrates what is offered to us in mythology and even in the world of fiction.

What I found particularly interesting is that when we rove into the world of symbolism and mythology there are often not simple answers. Certainly in my writing on the Gaia’s Majesty Trilogy I have found multiple meanings that I had to weave into the story.

And There’s More

Then Nathaniel, with his rich knowledge of the Bible and symbolism, clarified further. “Yes, there are many symbolic meanings for the snake. We tend to forget that in the Biblical story God created the snake.  There is always a tension between bliss (the garden) and reality (post garden).  God also lives in that dialectic and, as creatures made in God’s image, so do we humans.”

Things to contemplate.

Gaia’s Majesty-Mission Called: Women in Power by Roger B. Burt

Roger B. Burt’s Amazon home page

Creating Characters and Plots by Roger B. Burt

Stepfamilies: Professionals and Stepcouples in Partnership

Whatever Happened to Community Mental Health by Roger B. Burt