Renewal and transformation for the Year of the Snake

The snake has been controversial ever since, representing a dual expression of good and evil. Man’s relationship to it has been dependent on the deadliness of the particular species and on geographical location, eliciting a gamut of emotions, from hatred and fear to wonderment, adoration and even idolization. While it has been adopted in some cultures for its supernatural qualities, others channel its chilling, seductive, and silent presence.

In Philippine folklore, snakes are considered sacred—messengers of ancestors or the ancestors themselves. There is a belief in the kambal-ahas that is born with a child, embodying an ancestral spirit that will provide protection and bring good fortune. The twin snake was called umalagad in the Visayas where they were brought for protection and luck during sea voyages and raids. In Bukidnon, those with a kambal-ahas were believed to make good healers. In Cagayan De Oro, snakes found inside the house were good luck and could eat up all the evils that may come.

With colonization, however, Christianity elicited fear. In the Book of Genesis, it’s the deceiving and evil serpent in the Garden of Eden, earning its place as the symbol of mankind’s original sin. Images of the Virgin Mary and Christ Child depicting a trampled snake under her feet allude to her undoing the evil lie that seduced Eve, thus reversing her disobedience.

From the Hellenistic Period and on through the Italian Renaissance and Baroque, art utilized it to strike fear in the viewer who is awed by its power and the suffering it can cause, just like in the Vatican sculpture “Laocoön and His Sons” where the family attempts to flee the attack of giant snakes sent by the angered Poseidon.

At the same time, the snake was associated with the ancient Greek god of medicine Asclepius, who carries snakes entwined around the staff of knowledge and wisdom. It’s a familiar symbol to this day as employed by medical institutions. It is also ubiquitous in coats of arms from England, Ireland and Italy, holding connotations of wisdom. During their Grand Tour of Europe, the motif was incorporated in the family crest due to its ancient significance of knowledge, renewal and immortality.

The Aztecs, like the Filipinos, considered it more supernatural, depicting important deities as serpents, just like the feathered Quetzalcoatl which was often in the form of an ouroboros, a snake devouring its own tail. This insignia represented the cycle of destruction and rebirth, eternity and cosmic harmony. The ouroboros is actually found in many cultures because of its historical and spiritual significance, first appearing in ancient Egypt with its circular configuration representing the circle or wheel of life, as seen in Tutankhamen’s tomb. It’s the oldest allegorical symbol in alchemy, adopted by Greek alchemists of Hellenistic Alexandria, and forms part of the foundation upon which the Earth rests in Hinduism.

For Buddhists, serpents are represented as guardians of temples and sacred spaces, probably because of the way rattlesnakes and cobras defend their ground in a threatening and dramatic display. Naga, the snake-like being, protected Gautama Buddha from the elements after his enlightenment. It was syncretized in the Philippines with the indigenous Bakunawa or moon-eating dragon that causes eclipses, earthquakes and rains.

In contrast to its spiritual nature is the snake’s association with phallic and lustful imagery, androgyny, pleasure, sensuality and temptation. In Greek mythology, the King of Athens Erichthonius was born out of the earth with a snake’s tail, created out of a violent union of Athena and Hephaestus. The snake has since held phallic symbolism associated with the earth goddess in fertility rites. Going back to Genesis, the serpent represents the temptation of lust due to its masculinization as Eve’s first consort.

Snakes, however, have also figured in the depiction of women. Nure-onna, the yokai of Japan, with the head of a woman and the body of a snake, was a monstrous being, like Greek mythology’s Medusa, who had a head full of venomous snakes. Although this female-snake association was a symbol of danger and the perils of lust were a crude and misogynistic warning to men, pre-classical Aegean civilizations actually considered the woman and serpent together as holy since both embody the power of life.

In China, the snake also has many contradictions. As a cold-blooded creature without a vocal cord, it is considered sinister and indifferent. Since it can creep without feet, approach without creating a shadow and leave without a trace, it was considered too mysterious. At the same time, it symbolizes luck and authority, originating when ancient envoys carried scepters carved with two snakes when they went on diplomatic missions for the king.

It also signifies the pursuit of love and happiness, thanks to a tale during the Song Dynasty when a white snake transformed into a beautiful woman named Bai Suzhen who fell in love with Xu Xian in a romantic love story passed on for generations. To complete its auspicious nature are its qualities of longevity and fortune. It is considered as longevous as the turtle and based on Taoist theory, there is a force in the human body that coils like a snake and can be released to increase vitality and longevity. For fortune, the snake has an underground kingdom with precious treasures, based on ancient legends.

With the snake’s multifaceted nature and rich history, it’s no surprise that it continues to spark the imagination of artists and designers, particularly for this lunar year. Snake motifs and snakeskin prints in garments, bags and accessories abound in specially-made capsule collections while luxury houses have released jewelry pieces and even perfume dedicated to the reptile.