Snakes

Everything Changes

by

Matthew T. Lipson

4.3 : Snakes

Everyone has their spirit animal.  For some people the animal is obvious from the moment of conception, while others may never find theirs.  Many ancient cultures placed the most sacred animals in the heavens, as seen in the patterns of the night sky.  We see this represented in various Zodiac pantheons.  These are only the most popular, and, at times, the most primal.  We still see these beliefs in small carvings and pictures placed around people's homes.  This can be seen as primitive idolatry, which, I think, is a blindness to the fact that we have a connection to animals on a level only few can recognize.  My youngest has always been drawn to snakes.  Whether they be rendered in rubber, fabric, or drawn on a piece of paper.  Every trip to the now defunct Rain Forest Cafe, she added another plush snake to the collection.  So when visiting a zoo, a natural history museum with carved fetishes of snakes -- both new and from antiquity, I cannot help but think of her and smile.