Y O U R I N N E R S E R P E N T
“The world of men is dreaming, it has gone mad in its sleep, and a snake is strangling it, but it can't wake up.”
D.H. LAWRENCE
D.H. LAWRENCE
They play a promoinent role in Norse and Celtic legend; appear in religions as diverse as Hinduism and Judaism and in cultures as remote as the Egyptians and Mayans; it seems that mankind has always had a thing about snakes. Maybe it is their phalic nature or their deadly unpredictabillity; or it could be their ultimately evolved form, having dispenced with all those appendages that we think of as essential, and awesome in their purposefull efficiency. The psychology and anatomy he totemic image of the serpent permeates world cultures throughout history. There is a mismatch between what we know and what proportion of that knowledge we allow our consciousness access to for the practical purposes of living.
There's are interesting and unlikely correlations between the human and reptilian anatomy and psychology.
Uncomfortable as the thought may be there's a coiled serpent nestling within us forming one of nature's most successful symbiotic partnerships.
At its most basic the human body is simply a tube (in an elaborate fleshy bag) which processes nutriment, extract energy and passes excreta.
This tubular quality is most evident in the anatomy of the serpent.
To understand how humans achieved their distinctive form consider the early version of the trumpet. Simply a tube; a very cumbersome tube.
(Oh yes, I'm not the only one to draw the 'serpent' analogy.)
Some bright spark had the idea to fold this musical tube into a more compact and portable format and enhance the musical range with valves.
At the other end of the body is the brain, which has evolved in three distinct stages; the most primitive which is identified as reptilian.
But recently scientists have discovered that humans have another (and independent) brain, in the gut; consider popular colloquial - gut feeling etc.
There's a continuous dialogue between gut brain and head brain; reach for that extra slice of pizza and the serpent's won the argument.
Between and behind the eyes lies a tiny gland which regulates melatonin and seratonin controlling mood and is linked with spiritual experience.
Termed the pineal gland it is a vestigial remnant of the reptilian third eye. It is still is sensitive to light and when activated becomes bioluminescent.
Depictions of hybrid serpent/humans emerge from the collective unconscious; and are relegated to the realms of mythology.
In an effort to avoid responsibility for actions stemming from our primitive (reptile) nature we project guilt onto the humble serpent.
Eastern mystics have always acknowledged the 'serpent within' terming its powerful energy 'Kundalini'.
There are many good reasons why humans have such an enduring fascination with the serpent. And now you know one more.
So there we have it; we, each of us, are playing host to a symbiont. Okay, I know I'm pushing my luck with the term 'symbiont'; that is I know that humans are not a composite of two separately existing creatures two creatures that combined for mutual benefit. But. Humans do have a dualistic (mammal/reptile) nature and we evolved this way for a reason. We have a core element of the cranial brain which is reptilian. We have a separate intelligence (let's call it a brain, the gastric brain) which communicates with the cranial brain and, I suggest, must share the sensory facilities of the cranial brain. So when Michalangelo depicts Lilith as a serpent with a human face is he being more literal than we might expect. My contention is that Michalangelao wasn't a proto anatomist (he'd got way past the proto stage) hewas a proro psychologist. So integrated are the systems between them that neither can exist without the other. Regardless of the obvious clues humans are in denial of the duality that exists in their cognitive and physical nature. This dysfunctional relationship is responsible for the majority of human afflictions. Every physical organ has a corresponding spiritual counterpart - Kundalini etc.