Snake Totems as Teacher

Snakes … love them or fear them … cultures throughout the world have honored, even worshipped snakes, and these creatures have come to symbolize so many things throughout the centuries. For some, snakes are totems, spirit teachers, that help in mastering important life lessons and support spiritual growth. When it comes to the serpent, the lessons it teaches through its symbolism is dependent on cultural and individual perspectives; in fact, the lessons the snake can teach are near endless. Thus, for the purposes of practicality the lessons are briefly touched on here – this is short introduction into how you can view the snake and its characteristics. It is a starter point where you can learn how to derive meaning from the attributes of the serpent. A brief exploration also gives you a chance to continue on with your learning of snake symbolism on your own with the full freedom of viewing the creature with an extraordinarily personal lens or perspective.

Maybe you’ve found you have an affinity for snakes or maybe you abhor them. Maybe you’ve been, by some strange, unexplainable synchronicity, have been seeing snakes everywhere, whether in dreams or on TV, and you are just interested in learning a bit more. Or, maybe you’ve been fond of the creature every single day since you knew snakes existed. Whatever the case, it seems the snake is calling for you to pay attention – it has some lesson it wants to convey. Below are some examples of how you can interpret the snake’s calling …

Acutotyphlops – Even if you know very little about the type of snake you’ve encountered, you can determine what your totem teacher is trying to convey. Such is the case with the Acutotyphlops, which is a very rare, newly discovered species of snake. The singular outstanding feature that makes this snake stand out from others is that the species, consisting of four different kinds of snakes, is blind. Here the totem begs the questions, “What are you not seeing?” “What are you refusing to acknowledge?”  “Are you forging ahead blindly and throwing caution to the wind?”  Or, encountering a blind snake might suggest that you will encounter a situation best managed with a heavy reliance on your other senses of hearing, taste, smell, and touch, which are all enhanced features in individual who are blind. Ultimately, the keywords of the blind snake are “invisibility, denial, or a re-balancing through compensation.

Pythons: There are over 26 different python species; these snakes kill through constriction and swallow their food whole. They are clearly ambush predators that just lay around waiting for some unsuspecting prey to come along. The sheer size of these reptiles might give you a hint as to the lesson they teach:  Are you handling a big problem or are you taking on way more than you can handle? The colors of the snake can give you a good clue about its meaning. Also, consider the patterns and designs of the snake as they may prove meaningful to you. In terms of the boa, ask yourself “What is constricting you?”  “Do you feel you are clinging to hard to something you should let go of?”  Are you being presented with a situation you are finding hard to swallow?”  The keywords for these snakes include “constriction,” and the finding of that which is “unacceptable.” 

Anacondas: Remember, the snake’s body is all muscle. The anaconda is one of the most feared snakes in the world, partly because of the size they can grow to and partly because they have been known to be aggressive. This is a snake which has a pattern that can prove meaningful, especially if you think about the green anaconda with a single line of circles running down its back. Here it pays for you to look in circle symbolism (For example) coming full circle, “past, present, future,” protection, the journey of the hero/fool (Tarot), “birth, life, death, and rebirth,” the seasons, etc). With this species, the females are bigger than the males, and perhaps this is a hint to put a greater focus on the feminine energies in your life, or, given the context of how you encounter the snake totem messenger, it could also mean you need to focus more on masculine energies to balance out the masculine and feminine energies in your life.

Titanoboa: Thankfully, the Titanoboa is not a snake you will encounter in person any time soon or ever really, unless you can time travel because this snake is a 2,500 pound snake with a 48 foot length body!  It’ name is literally the combination between the words “Titan” and “boa,” and scientists believe the snake lives some 60 million years ago during the Palocene epoch. So if you encounter this totem teacher in science books, dream, documentaries, or through online resources, it could suggest you have a “huge problem that might prove to constricting for you, or that you’ve taken on way more than you can possibly handle.”  Whatever the case maybe, you’ll need a little help in managing the issues that lie ahead. Keywords: “giant” issue, problem, difficulty, or problem. A “constricting feeling” or an internal upset triggered by some “enormous issues” within one’s environment.

Cobras: As dangerous as a cobra is, it is a species that avoids confrontation with people whenever possible, and this may, indeed, be the lesson it teaches. What are you not avoiding that you should be? What are you avoiding that you should face head on, rear up, and demonstrate your strength?  Another interesting feature of the cobra is the “eye” one sees on the hood (which is absent on those that present with a chevron stripe), and this eye may symbolize “the eye of god,” “the eye of Horus,” or “the eye of Ra.”  It can also signify the “all seeing eye of God.”  This might beg the question as to your perspective in a situation; perhaps you need to elevate or expand your perspective to “see” things in a new light. The king cobra can eat a meal and then go for a long time without eating again – this is due to slower metabolic processes; your teacher may be tell you to assess your nourishment to metabolic burn rate to ensure you are not consuming too much or too little for optimal health. Keywords: “Defense, Avoidance of conflict,” “Slowed metabolic processes,” or “vision and perspective.”

Mambas: There are four species of the mamba, three of which are green and that move through the trees, and one which is black and moves along the ground. The black mamba stands out from the other three types of mamba in that it lives in lairs and secret hideouts. It is introverted and wants nothing to do with people. If encountering a human it is likely to take off running for a hiding spot, but that doesn’t make the snake defenseless by any means – it is the most toxic snake in the world. The snake is also not black in color, but is gray, with a black mouth. The snake is diurnal so it spends nights in a hidden lair. It is one of the fastest moving snakes in the world. This snake totem teacher might be telling you it’s time to slow down and to lay low until the time is right. Alternatively, the totem may be bringing you message related to speed, rapid movement, and keeping your perspective grounded rather than elevated. It’s capacity for speed suggests getting things done in a speedy or expeditious fashion. Keywords: Expeditiousness, introversion, laying low, remaining grounded.”

Cottonmouth snakes: A cottonmouth snake or Agkistrodon piscivorus has a name that can be broken down to the root words ‘hooked tooth fish eater,” so if you see this snake as a teacher, it might be time to assess your dietary intake to make sure your adding a healthy amount of fish to your diet. This snake is the only semiaquatic viper, so it functions well on land and water: This may signify the need to obtain balance between the realm of the physical and emotion. When a cottonmouth threatens, it will open its mouth wide and reveal a cottony looking white mouth …these snakes may be teaching you a lesson about the mouth and the words that come from it. Are your words nice or biting?  Is what you are saying poisonous, toxic, or perhaps spready a negative attitude of aggression?  Are your words poisoning your life? Keywords: “negative communication, attitude, and mindfulness.”

Now, that you’ve had an opportunity to see how easy it is to translate a snake’s attributes to derive insight, it’s time to take your exploration of the snake totem to the next level. Explore and research other snakes to see what they mean for you. Perhaps the serpent will serve as a source of inspiration!   Like interpreting poetic works, no two interpretations will ever be entirely the same. Feel free to share your personal discoveries .... does the energies of the serpent resonate with you, and if so, in what way?  Does the serpent have something to teach you?