The Free Radical

First snake of the season! And this was Sitka’s first encounter with Snake… ever! She found him on the hillside heading up the mountain at the beginning of our walk. I had been wondering how Sitka might react to critters like Snake even as I observed her leap suddenly away from the patch of ground beside the trail she’d been examining. Lo and behold, there was Snake!

Last year I encountered Snake a remarkable twelve times! All of those incidents had Snake appearing very docile at my approach; I even had to poke a couple of them with a stick just to confirm that they were indeed alive and good to go.

This one was clearly in a defensive posture, ready to engage an attack if necessary, by the time I got there with my camera. Sitka’s uncareful but innocent ways had roused his ire. Neither Sitka nor the snake suffered any hurt in the encounter. Good dog.

Snake poses some real challenges with proper interpretation. Traditionally he symbolizes resurrection, rebirth, initiation, healing and creativity. He can represent both the Christed energy (kundalini or the Feathered Serpent) or the very Devil himself (think Garden of Eden). He is the primary figure of the caduceus as well as the “lying snake” of political intrigue. Snake is a fascinating paradox!

And just to complicate things further, Snake is definitely a favourite prey animal of Eagle– with whom we’ve been interacting for the past two weeks pretty much daily. So what was this guy trying to tell me?

Certainly, he felt threatened. And very quickly he decided to escape into a hole in the Earth.

Astrologically, we are now in a time when Mother Earth begins to deepen her engagement with humanity and all the other critters. Her role is becoming more proactive and communicative.

To me, it seems as though Snake is here representing all of his various roles, from the most exalted to the very lowliest of creatures. His appearances and actions are interpretable at whatever level the interpreter deems appropriate. The one thing that is absolutely certain is that Snake heralds the onset of full spring. This is the first day the Forest smells completely alive. The sap is running in the trees again and they are finally beginning to unfurl their leaves. With the recent solar eclipse, things have noticeably shifted… again.

And perhaps we should just leave it at that. Until next time Mr. Snake…