Your Cart is Empty
Free Shipping & Exchanges over $299
SHOP NOW- NEW & FEATURED
- WOMENS
- MENS
- HOME GOODS
- ACCESSORIES
- SALE
- BLOG
- ABOUT
- Rewards
- REFERRALS
- Login
- Wishlist (0)
Jump To: Snakes As A Guide | In Folklore | In Our Dreams
Spirit animals, also known as spirit guides, power animals, totem animals, and shadow totem animals is a belief found in various spiritual, cultural, and indigenous cultures worldwide. These guides are believed to embody specific qualities that reflect aspects of an individual’s personality, strengths, challenges and life path. They are messengers that come in the form of animals and serve as protectors. And by connecting with them, individuals may gain insight to their own self and receive help during difficult decision making and guidance during times of transition. During the course of your life, you may have many different spirit animals. They usually come during a time in your life when you need them the most. They can appear in the physical form or show up in your dreams, meditations, or in the form of pets.
The concept of animal guides is one that needs to be approached with respect for the culture and traditions from which it originates. The interpretations vary greatly amongst cultures and individuals. These guides can serve as powerful and influential symbols of spiritual connection and personal growth. And many cultures believe that you do not choose your spirit animal. It’s not about which animal you like or prefer. It is often believed that your spirit animal chooses you.
Since ancient times, snakes have been a symbol of death, transformation, renewal, rebirth, sexuality, fertility, wisdom, protection, temptation, healing and medicine. For those that connect with the snake as an animal guide, they are natural healers, helping not only themselves, but others to improve their lives. Snake lovers are unique individuals that pave their own path in life. Snake people are also naturally grounded individuals and are some of the most charming, mesmerizing, sensual and hypnotic people you'll meet.
Snakes have poor eyesight and hearing, so they rely on their sense of smell, which is heightened and helps them discern when there is danger. They can feel vibrations in the earth to help them determine situations. Just like the snake, snake people are known to have good instincts and discernment about who and what to stay away from. This enables snake people to make better judgements about their lives. If you’re finding yourself in a situation with a person that you are having difficulty reading, call upon the snake to help you smell them out. Trust your intuition and let the snake guide you into making healthy decisions for your life and instill the boundaries within you that you need to not allow their destructive energies into your life.
If a snake makes itself known to you, pay attention. They may be bringing you messages from the universe and offering help and guidance on your journey. Having a snake show up in real life, through art, meditation, or dreams may be a way that the snake is asking you to take a closer look at your life. What are they trying to tell you? When snakes shed their skin they are making room to grow and their old skin is replaced with a new vibrant color. It’s the same with us. Old behaviors that no longer serve us, must be shed so that we transform into our new, brighter selves. Just like the snake, we must go inwards and emerge with higher consciousness, letting go of old stories or judgements about ourselves and others.
Snakes are made up of one long backbone, consisting mostly of the skull, vertebrae, and ribs. So snake people tend to be extremely strong and have solid backbones. And just like the snake, snake people undergo massive amounts of change throughout their life. They tend to really think things through logically before deciding to change and oftentimes resist the change all together. But once change logically makes sense to snake people, they swallow it whole, digest it fully and become completely emerged in the change and transformation process. They shed an old way of being that was no longer serving them and emerge stronger on the other side.
Snakes can live in both land and water. They are considered part of the underworld and represent both sides of nature, good and evil. They can live easily in both worlds. So as a snake person, make sure your heart is pure. Pay close attention to those that you allow to surround you. Rely on their vibrations. Listen with your heart. People will always show you who they are, all you have to do is pay attention. Ask yourself why you attracted the energy you did into your life and what you need to do to heal. Take responsibility to make the changes you need. When you tap into your snake energy, you will be able to identify poisons and your life will turn around and blossom. Love is the highest vibration you can emit and will always win. So remember to be like the snake and feel your heart. Never ignore your intuitive nudges.
Unlike many amphibians and insects, snakes do not undergo dramatic bodily transformations from one stage of life to the next. Instead their process is a slow and gradual maturation. They outgrow their skin periodically through a process called ecdysis. Ecdysis allows them to accommodate their new size and remove the old, unwanted skin. Snakes continue this process throughout their lives and the rates by which they do this depends upon the species, environmental factors, and availability of prey.
Snakes remind us to go slowly and feel out our environments and then to make the necessary changes we need to in order to improve and expand. We can take our cues from them and go inward, reflecting deeply on the changes we want to make, and then allowing ourselves the quiet space to molt and grow. And when we are ready, and only then, will we emerge new and improved.
If you are drawn to the snake, your intuition is most likely trying to guide you into solitude so that you can see clearly what is presenting itself to you. The snake is showing you how you can spend much needed time with yourself and to allow yourself to go through the uncomfortable process of change and growth and resurface as a more evolved human.
Call in the snake when you need guidance on discerning people and situations. The snake will always lead you on the right path.
Our totem animal gives us the medicine we need to heal our lives and is considered our protector or guide. Usually, our favorite animal is our totem animal. They have the traits that we wish we had. They are like our life best friends. They offer kinship and put us on the path for expansion.
The symbolism of the snake as your totem animal guide may vary based on your own individual beliefs, culture and experiences. If you feel a strong connection to them or they are often showing up in your waking life, meditations, or dreams, it may serve as a sign that the snake is serving as your guide on your spiritual journey. It is important to let your intuition guide you into understanding how snakes may fit in your life and serve you.
The snake is associated with transformation and renewal due to their ability to shed their skin when they outgrow it. They may be showing up as a symbol for potential for personal growth, change, and transformation. Instead of resisting change, the snake can gently remind you that change is inevitable and a natural part of life. Snakes may be asking you to release anything that no longer serves you, enabling you to embrace new beginnings and opportunities in your life, both physically and spiritually. A snake may show you your own ability to heal from emotional wounds, and release toxic patterns or beliefs, thus allowing you to experience inner renewal and regeneration.
In many cultures, the snake is revered as a symbol of wisdom, ancient knowledge, and intuition. The snake may be telling you to trust your instincts, and tap into your own internal wisdom.
Snakes are often depicted as graceful animals as they move effortlessly between spiritual and earthly realms. A snake may be serving as a reminder for you to seek balance in all areas in your life and to allow and trust the natural flow of energy. They are a powerful example of the interconnectedness of all things.
In some cultures, snakes are thought to serve as protectors of sacred knowledge or places. As your totem animal guide, the snake may be offering you protection, guidance, and support of your journey and help you navigate challenges and obstacles with grace and resilience.
To the Hopi people of North America, the snake symbolizes the umbilical cord, joining all people to Mother Earth.
In Ancient Greece, snakes were the symbol of healing. Asclepius, the God of medicine, and the son of Apollo, the God of healing, carried a rod with a snake coiled around it. This rod became known as the rod of Asclepius. Hermes, (also known as Mercury to the Romans) was the messenger of the Gods and the mediator between the realm of the dead and the kingdom of the living. He was also the deity of luck, fertility, and trade. Hermes was known to carry the Caduceus, a staff with two snakes coiled around it and topped off with a set of wings. Both the Rod of Asclepius and the Caduceus are images that symbolize medicine and healing.
In India, snakes symbolize the awakening of kundalini energy, the primal energy. It’s a healing form of divine spiritual energy that is sourced at the base of the spine and is believed to be dormant until awakened through spiritual practices such as tantra, kundalini and hatha yoga. Many yoga practitioners believe that awakening the kundalini energy can put you on the path to enlightenment.
In the Book of Genesis in The Old Testament, the serpent (the devil) was used to temp Eve in the Garden of Eden by getting her to eat an apple. Up until this point, Adam and Eve lived in paradise until she was enticed to eat the forbidden fruit from the tree of Knowledge. As punishment for Eve’s disobedience, they were banished from paradise and became mortal. Any animal could have been used, but God chose the slithery snake to get the job done.
In Buddhism, snakes symbolize protection. When the Buddha was in deep meditation and didn’t see a storm coming, a giant cobra named Mucalinda, rose from the Bodhi Tree and shielded him.
The Ancient Egyptians also highly revered snakes, the symbol of eternal life. The cobra adorns the crowns of the great Pharaohs. And they believed that a coiled serpent protected the creator, Sun Ra.
In Ancient cultures throughout Africa, snakes were believed to be the incarnation of deceased relatives and therefore it was taboo to kill them.
The Aborigines associate snakes with fertility, the abundance of plants and animals, and the availability of food.
In Japanese culture, snakes represent eternal youth because of their ability to shed and regrow their skin. They are also seen as guardians, protectors, and powerful beings because they can fit into spaces that humans cannot.
In Chinese culture snakes are seen as symbols of wisdom and are associated with the almighty dragon. People born in the Year of the Snake are considered to be highly intuitive individuals who follow their own instincts when accomplishing their goals.
The Celts believed that snakes originated from under the Earth and therefore knew the world’s secrets and possessed universal wisdom. They also viewed them as symbols of healing and rebirth because they could shed and regrow their skin. 
It’s important to remember that when interpreting dreams, what they mean is unique to each one of us. Pay close attention to how the dream made you feel. Did you feel anxiety, fear, or excitement? The emotions that you feel can help guide you into understanding what it is that your subconscious might be trying to tell you. Once you are able to identify your feelings and emotions in the dream, you can apply the different meanings that snakes have so that your conscious mind can make sense of it. Some psychologists believe that dreaming of snakes is sexual in nature, while others believe that it means you are having an awakening, or that your subconscious is trying to warn you of people that are being sneaky and deceitful in your life.
Remember some people have a fear of snakes, while others love them, so the interpretation is going to be vastly different and highly subjective.
Latin Name: Serpentes
Size: Varies. The smallest is 4 inches. The largest is 32 feet.
Weight: Varies. The smallest weighs as little as 0.02 oz. The largest weighs up to 550 lbs.
Ave Life Span: 20-30 years
Location: Everywhere except in Antarctica, Iceland, Ireland, Greenland, and New Zealand.
Special Ability: Some species are capable of reproducing asexually.
Estimated Population: There are over 3,700 species of snakes. It’s hard to get a count, because they are reclusive by nature.
Endangered Status: There are 97 species of snakes that are listed as endangered.
(SCALE: Least Concern→ Near Threatened→ Vulnerable→ Endangered→ Critically Endangered→ Extinct in the Wild→ Extinct)
If you would like to read more of our blogs on other Animal Guides, check out the Deer, Owl, Eagle, Butterly, and Rabbit.
TAKE OUR SPIRIT ANIMAL QUIZ TODAY!
Shop our newest animal designs: 10% of Net Profits are donated to help endangered animals.
