Snake : Evil or wise? It’s all a matter of perspective
The first thought that came to mind for me when looking at this painting was the snake, and perhaps even a cobra in self defence position. There’s also this image of a snake jumping through a hoop or coming out of a hole.
I used to be somewhat afraid of snakes when I was a kid. I think it’s because of the prejudices a lot of people have against them, especially from organized religions like Christianity where the snake is depicted as evil. The snake was the one who told Eve to eat the forbidden fruit of knowledge which led to her and Adam being cast out of Paradise. I also remember learning as a kid that my Chinese Zodiac sign is the snake and it made me feel a little weird about it. Something didn’t add up : If the snake is viewed as evil, and I know I’m nice, then why would my Chinese zodiac sign would be that of the snake? Is the snake really that evil?
As years went by I continued to ask myself these random questions. The number of discrepancies in the stories and beliefs of organized religions kept increasing and eventually led me to distance myself from it. I started to think more for myself. Instead of leaving some questions unanswered and relying on “faith”, I started to look for my own answers. That led me down the road of learning about many other cultures, belief systems, and history from storytellers of a broader perspective.
I revisited my idea of the snake and completely changed my views about it. For example, in the story of Adam and Eve, the snake is the one who actually told them the truth! What’s evil about that? And he didn’t forced them to do anything, he just informed them. They made the decision to eat the forbidden fruit all by themselves. So blaming the snake for it was quite the coward move, wouldn’t you say? They didn’t take responsibility for their own actions, they just blamed the snake for telling them the truth. I wonder how different the story would have been if they had taken responsibility for their own actions. Maybe they would have been forgiven and stayed in paradise. In that case, would most still see the snake as evil or would they see it as wise?
In other belief systems, the snake is considered to be a symbol of wisdom. In Ancient Egypt for example, they were used as a symbol for royalty, placed right on the forehead of many pharaohs and god statues, coincidentally the same location of the third eye in the chakra system, which is also the seat of wisdom.
Also the snake is represented in symbols like the caduceus used in medicine, there are parallel with the snake and DNA and also the idea of kundalini awakening. The more I looked into it, the more fascinated I got and the more I started to draw and paint them as a way to get to know them better. In fact, this summer, I came in contact with a real one, a baby snake, for the first time in my life, while I was out in the forest in Northern California. It was surprisingly soft and warm, and totally harmless. I’m not saying I’m going to start hanging out with snakes on a regular basis any time soon, but I have a renewed amount of fascination and respect for these misrepresented and misunderstood animals. They are truly fascinating and beautiful.
I met another artist recently at her shop, Barbara Wybou, who was trained in Japanese printmaking. Her shop attracted me because I saw a lot of symbolisms in her work. It turns out she was creating art based on Chinese zodiac signs and she also happens to have the same Chinese zodiac sign as me. She told me that some believe that having a snake in the house is good luck. It could be a real snake, snake artwork or someone born under the sign of the snake. Talk about a great way to change my perspective regarding this animal! My string of thoughts around the snake eventually guided it out of the hole I had put it in, labelled evil and bad. Now the snake holds a place of wonder and respect in my mind. Following the strings of thoughts around a preconceived idea can lead you to open your eyes to a broader and more accurate perspective if you take the time to look into it.
Now it’s your turn. What do you see in this painting? What does it reminds you of? What does it make you feel? Do you also see a snake coming out of a hole? What would that represent to you? Is there another preconceived idea you have that could use some investigating and potentially change your view on it? Take the time to write down your thoughts about it. You may surprise yourself with your findings.
