How much snake appeal do you have?
I guess that snakes find me irresistible, otherwise I can't explain how I end up seeing them up close anywhere I travel. So far, with a few exceptions, I encountered a snake in most of my destinations, which is quite odd!
Don't imagine that I am looking for them or that I am eager to see one! I am not Steve Irwin's descendant or a snake lover! On the contrary, I have a snake phobia!
When I was living in the tropics and found a cobra on my doorsteps, everyone told me I had to expect crossing paths with a snake at one point. You can read about this snake incident here.
Later on when I saw a boa slithering away on the street only a few steps away from my car or found one on my balcony, I was told that I had panicked for no reason, that it was harmless. Needless to add that my heart went crazy each time I saw a snake close by and that none of those comments were helpful.
Most of the people would think that while living in a tropical location it is normal to see snakes around. Well, some persons have lived there for decades and never saw one, while others met one only once in a way. I must have been "luckier" than all of them!
In the past twenty years I had snakes hanging down from trees and hissing at me from one foot up above my head, just like in the Jungle Book cartoon. I had snakes jumping out of the trees over me and landing in the river in front of me. I had a snake climbing up on my son's stroller.
I had snakes going over my feet while I was fishing. I had a snake falling in love with my paddle and coiling on it while I was kayaking. I had snakes sleeping under my car, sneaking into my balcony or trying to climb into my boat.
I even had a snake escaping its terrarium and hissing at me at the zoo!
The worse experience of them all was when I ended up in a snakes mating area while hiking through the forest. I did not get bitten but it was a traumatic episode which haunted me for couple of years.
After all of these incidents, I can't help but asking myself why is it that all my snake related fears come true? Why am I more prone than others to have this happening to me? How come I get to see more snakes than others? Was I a snake in a past life?
Yesterday I had another snake incident, in a place that usually people do not see snakes. Since it was hot outside I took my son to the beach. The temperature of the Black Sea water was really warm, thus we spent a lot of time swimming in the water.
While we were pretending to be whales and sharks, all of the sudden I heard him saying: "snake". I did not realize he was for real, until he pointed in my direction and said: "real snake". When I turned I saw its head above the water only one foot away from me.
Obviously that I freaked out and within a second I stood up, grabbed my son's arm, picked him up and ran out of the water as fast as I could. I don't think it was a venomous snake, but I did not wish to stay around and find out.
Meanwhile two or three children who were playing around us noticed the snake and followed him closely to the shore where they grabbed it by the tail and started to play with it.
I asked them to free the snake and let him be, not to stress it because it could get more aggressive but they did not care. They walked away with it on the shore, dropping it and picking it up couple of more times, until they were out of my sight.
As I was talking with the locals I have been told that they never saw snakes coming on to the shore before. I even spoke with a fisherman who was shocked when I told him that I just saw a snake in there.
Now I have to add Romania on my list of countries where I have to be aware of snakes! If this would have happened in the Danube's Delta, then it would have made more sense. Therefore I must be super "lucky" to have had the chance to see a snake on Constanta's beach.
Throughout the years I tried to conquer my fear by learning more about them. I tried holding a snake toy, feeling the texture of a snakeskin, watching documentaries about them but I was never able to do the ultimate step of touching/holding a real one.
I imagined that my Ophidiophobia would go away if I would become more savvy about them. Though each time I encountered a snake I felt I went back to square one.
How do you feel about snakes? Are you afraid of them or no? Did you ever see or touch a snake?
Unless stated otherwise, all photos used in this posts are taken and owned by myself. If you wish to use any of my images, please contact me!
Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it! Please leave your feedback in the comments, I would love to hear your thoughts!
Honestly speaking, I don't have a lot of snake appeal and watching them swim is freaky. I am not afraid of snakes, but I appreciate your bravery as I am definitely not comfortable with them.
Thanks! It was a freaky experience indeed. Though I have to admit that this time I felt a bit less scared than the previous incidents. Maybe because I sort of assumed it was not venomous and it was smaller than the last snake I stumbled upon. I guess I am on the good path ;0)
I'm not a huge fan of snakes either. Fortunately, I'm not as much a snake magnet as you are, but there are the nightmares .....
Never thought I'd ever call myself a magnet of any sort, definitely not a snake one! The nightmares are worse than the reality as the mind tends to create the most horrid scenarios!
I was really lucky and I've seen only 2 harmless snakes in my life. I think I would collapse if I would ever seen a cobra or a boa. Actually if I would have any snake just a foot from me I would collapse as well :D I feel so sorry for you and I hope that you will see less and less of them.
I remember when I saw a snake for the first time. I was about 10 years old. It was just on the path in the forest that I was passing. I think it was about 2 m away from me. I started to scream, jump up and down and eventually run down the hill as fast as I've never done before or after :D
Thank you for stopping by! When I saw the first snake I did collapse. It was shedding its skin and it freaked me out to the point that I fainted.
Oh dear, I'm sorry to hear that and I really hope that you won't see many of them anymore! You deserve a break! :)
Thanks! That was my thought exactly but I do have a hunch that it won't stop here lol
You must really be a warm person, indeed!
No really - literally running hot compared to other people.
Scientifically speaking:
Snakes are cold blooded, seeking heat to compensate. That's why you can often see them "sunning themselves".
They also possess infrared (heat seeking) vision for hunting rodents at night.
Metaphysically speaking:
The universe doesn't hear negatives. It only focuses on a person's major thought object (the person's focus).
That's why "You attract what you fear".
Namaste, JaiChai
That's one way to think about it! Must be my "latin" blood then! ;0)
@lymepoet,
I hate snakes too.
When I was in the military, I was temporarily stationed in French Guiana in South America. One day we were out wading, chest-deep, through an endless swamp. Someone spotted a swish in the water. The jungle is crawling with surprises, of one kind or another, and none of them are good. Some, though are worse than others.
And this was one of the worst of all: "ANACONDA!"
A lot of people believe that as humans evolved over millions of years, we lost many of the abilities of our primate ancestors ... such as the ability to ascend trees. They would be wrong. Properly motivated, humans can ascend trees with a speed and agility that would receive a standing ovation from even the most Olympian of monkeys.
The problem with Anacondas, amongst a whole host of others, is that they can hold their breath under water ... for hours. And, to add strokes to heart-attacks, the trees were alive with a half-dozen other species of snakes, many of which could kill you with a glance.
About a year after my return to civilian life, I started dating a gal who I really liked. She was smart, really good-looking and had a great sense of humor. And ... she had a pet snake. I didn't learn about the snake until I entered her apartment for the first time ... and the last. Being a snake-lover was, and is, a deal-breaker.
Quill
Thrilled to have you back here, although your story made me feel some chills down my spine. Anaconda?! Jeeez! It was worse than a horror movie! I won't complain about snakes from now on, after reading your story! No surprise it was a deal-breaker!
Wow. That's a crazy coincidence! I never see snakes except for the rare visits I've made to zoos in my life. Really, NEVER I've seen one 'in the wild' or 'at the beach' or anywhere else.
I'd love to keep it that way!
If you know more about snakes you might be a little less stressed if children start playing with them, but it could also make you focus more on finding them (if that makes sense) plus I don't think the 'stay away from the snake' approach is that ineffective anyway :') Lol!
I wish you snake charming powers so you can just simply hiss back at them and they slither away!
Learning more about snakes made me be more aware of my surroundings. Though it happened just like yesterday to meet snakes in areas where they should not have been present. Let's put it this way, from all the people that were present on that beach (maybe close to 100), it only came close to me. Lucky me ?
Wow, I am not sure I have snake appeal but I have seen plenty in the wild and have held many just for fun, no poisonous ones obviously but pythons etc. I am not sure I would ever want one hissing above my head though, that is not cool.
That's why I did not rush to visit Australia so far. You guys have so many snakes and venomous creatures that I can't keep up with!
@lymepoet haha, if you stay away from them, most stay away from you and in the urban areas, there are never as many. You should definitely make your way out here, it's a great country.
That was scary, snakes is one of my fearest animal in the world. I can't imagine myself petting or holding them, No. I was born in a tropic country and lived most of my life there and have seen 3x in my life, one was at our door, second was crossing the road and last was hanging from a tree. I think mostly go out when its hot from where they are living.
That made me scared @lymepoet. Take care!
Glad to hear you did not see too many snakes. Hopefully it stays this way!
I have touched and held snakes myself. I'm not afraid of the small ones. I'm a bit more careful of the big ones. Any snake bigger than six feet I would try to avoid since I'm 6' tall.
I can appreciate your fear of snakes. I even get a bit creeped out myself from snakes. It just seems so counter-intuitive for something to move as a snake does, without arms or legs. And their eyes are scary, too. I think that is by design.
I hope you get over your fear, though. They serve a great purpose by capturing and eating pests like rodents. Everything has a purpose.
I agree with you that everything has a purpose and that they play a big role in the ecosystem. That's why I don't want to kill them. I did give it a thought a few times when I got scared and got defensive but I realized it was pointless. I wouldn't have achieved anything.
mmmm snakes- you do seem to have an affinity for them, or maybe more like a magnet!
there are periods in my life when i see snakes a lot. and i have dreams about them, too. i like to look at the energetic reasons i may be seeing snakes... looking at them also as a symbol of the feminine force... the energy of transformation, change, ancient wisdom... snakes contain so much lore!! i do tend to see them more when i'm going through periods of intense change and i'm learning some deeper lessons.
i can't believe you stumbled upon a mating session- i am curious to know more, but i don't want to retraumatize you!!
I never made the connection between seeing a snake and a period of change that I was going through. Now that you mentioned that, it sort of makes sense. Maybe it does not apply to all of the snakes incidents I had, but it certainly did for some of them.