"From ancient times, the snake has been honored as the bearer of divine wisdom: "The most cunning of all creatures upon Earth" (Gen 3:1). Long before Msoes "lifted up the serpent in the wilderness," the snake was known in India in connection with the Kundalini Fire and with the heroic ruler of the serpent cult, the god Shiva. Amongst the Persians, Tiamit, the primeval serpent cult, was connected with the creation of the cosmos. The royal cobra found a place of honor on the Pharoah;s crown of Upper and Lower Egypt, indicating that its wearer was the interpreter of divine wisdom for his people. Aesculapius, reverenved by the Greeks as the god of healing, was a manifestation of the "divine wisdom of the serpent.: Hermes-Mercury, the messenger of the gods, traditionally carried the caduceus , the rod entwined by two serpents, as a sign of his healing mission. In the Norse mythology of the Edda, the Midgard Snake surrounds the Earth, destined to play an important role in Ragnarok, the apocalyptic destruction of the world.
Among the Ophites, Gnostic Christians of the second century, the snake was regarded as having been a gift to Adam and Eve from the Sophia, the divine wisdom. Instead of being a blessing, however, the Fall and Expulsion were brought about by the snake; but ultimately the Christ, whom the Ophites worhsipped in the figure of the serpent, appeared on Earth in order to bless humanity and redeem all creation.
In Central America, the Mayan Indians have long revered the memory of the primeval initiate leader Quetzalcoatl, "the feathered serpent," adorned with the brilliant green feathers of the quetzal bird. Woven into ceremonial robes, such feathers were a part if the adornment of the Mayan rulers. ....
In North America the Iroquois long preserved a tradition concerning the sacrificial deed performed by the ancestor of the humble green grass snake. According to this, the latter once saved the lives of two Seneca Indian children from destruction by their Algonquin pursuers, hiding them in a cavern behind the mighty cataract of the Niagra Falls. When the danger was past, the snake guided the children to the safety of their people, but died soon afterward as a result of exhaustion from its terrible struggle on their behalf against the power of the torrential waters."
The Time is at Hand!
regarding Goethe's Fairy Tale of the Green Snake and the Beautiful Lily
Among the Ophites, Gnostic Christians of the second century, the snake was regarded as having been a gift to Adam and Eve from the Sophia, the divine wisdom. Instead of being a blessing, however, the Fall and Expulsion were brought about by the snake; but ultimately the Christ, whom the Ophites worhsipped in the figure of the serpent, appeared on Earth in order to bless humanity and redeem all creation.
In Central America, the Mayan Indians have long revered the memory of the primeval initiate leader Quetzalcoatl, "the feathered serpent," adorned with the brilliant green feathers of the quetzal bird. Woven into ceremonial robes, such feathers were a part if the adornment of the Mayan rulers. ....
In North America the Iroquois long preserved a tradition concerning the sacrificial deed performed by the ancestor of the humble green grass snake. According to this, the latter once saved the lives of two Seneca Indian children from destruction by their Algonquin pursuers, hiding them in a cavern behind the mighty cataract of the Niagra Falls. When the danger was past, the snake guided the children to the safety of their people, but died soon afterward as a result of exhaustion from its terrible struggle on their behalf against the power of the torrential waters."
The Time is at Hand!
regarding Goethe's Fairy Tale of the Green Snake and the Beautiful Lily
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