Chemical Serpents: Serpents

We find Serpents throughout the worlds religious and mystical systems, including the Hermetic alchemy of Europe and Arabia. They can also be found in the related alchemical traditions of India, China and Tibet.

Sexually speaking, serpents represent the hermaphrodite. Francis Huxley explains the phallic and vaginal symbolism of serpents in Way of the Sacred.

"Freud, we know, came to the conclusion that trees and snakes were phallic in character, because they were stiff, rod shaped and erectile. But here he missed not only the etymology of matter that we have noted, but the fact that in mythology the main characteristic of primal serpents is their habit of swallowing everything..."

In addition to the sexual we can quite easily find other important meanings of serpent symbolism.

Huxley also mentions how both gods and heroes were worshipped in serpent form in ancient Greece, and in 'Seidways – Shaking, Swaying and Serpent Mysteries', Jan Fries discusses the soul as a serpent, and also it being a symbol of sorcerers. One may speculate on this association by thinking of the practise of astral projection or visualisation. I remember reading various new age ideas on astral projection as a teenager about the 'astral body' travelling around connected to the 'physical body' by a silver thread. Well, from my own experience, my astral 'body' does not have arms or legs unless I visualise them, so mostly I am an astral head emanating from my physical body via this thread. This sounds so much like a serpent that I was not surprised to simply find it easier to project by imagining a serpent form emanating from myself once it occurred to me to try it.

So, we can see in the serpent both sexual symbolism, male and female united, and also a symbol of the power to astrally project. Both physical and sensual, yet also our connection to some form of spirit realm, of both above and below.

This above and below symbolism we see reinforced in the serpents skeletal structure, which seems to consist almost entirely of a spine and head. Our own spines reach from the vicinity of our reproductive organs to our mind, and again we find in traditions such as those of Kundalini, an association between spine and serpent. The term Hermaphrodite comes to us from the child of Hermes and Aphrodite in Greek myth, and in addition to representing a being of mixed gender, represents the union of Hermes, very much a god of the mind, trickery, wits and quick thinking, with Aphrodite, a goddess of the body, of physical love, romance and poetry.

Serpents came to symbolise everything from our most earthy lust and carnal desire, right through to knowledge of the most sacred wisdoms and illuminations. Passing through sacred sex, trickery and numerous other meanings beside.

The alchemist sees no contradiction in all this and seeks both pleasure in the fruits of the Earth and the illumination of wisdom, often at the same time. The union of mind and body, of Hermes and Aphrodite, form a central and important mystery, to those who appreciate the role of the serpent.

The world alchemy comes from the Arabic al-kimia, and kimia possibly derives from the old Greek word chumeia, which means "mixture" and refers to the preparation and production of medicines. Serpents also symbolise poisons, medicines and entheogens due to the venomous nature of some species of snakes, and this may go some way to explaining their prevalence and importance within Hermetic symbolism.

The word entheogen refers to psychedelic substances when taken as part of a spiritual or magical practise. The word means something that causes one to become possessed by or filled with the divine. Some people use the word to distinguish spiritual use of psychedelics from recreational use. Personally however, I find that when you practise a path of spiritual development, all use of such substances, including recreational, can lead to illumination, and thus fail to notice such a distinction. Others may experience this differently to myself. I may experience a drug as entheogenic, whereas someone else may experience the same drug as hallucinatory or psychedelic.

Furthermore, at certain times, taking a drug for an entheogenic experience may only result in illusion whilst at other times taking it for recreation may lead to a genuine and unexpected illumination. Whilst I appreciate the term entheogen, I do not agree with those who seek to use it to demonise recreational use of hallucinogens.

Chemical Serpents: Symbols of Illumination

published by WhIP (When Illuminated Press)

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