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Etherfish
USA
3615 Posts |
 Posted - Jun 01 2012 : 07:56:33 AM
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Does anyone know the origin of the story of the snake that tempted Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden?
In Christianity the snake is supposed to be satan and evil but I am not so sure. It symbolizes the loss of innocence by gaining of knowledge. Is this evil? To me it sounds like growing up, or maturing. People who never mature are not spiritually better off. You may argue that they are happier, but lack understanding of interaction and unity.
The snake can also represent kundalini, and the tree of knowledge represents the chakras and meridians.
I have read about ancient meso-american cultures worshipping the snake, and often their snake god is the creator of everything. In other stories he was a physical bearded white man who brought them knowledge, language, etc, and who promised to return later.
This was hundreds of years before Jesus.
Ancient meso-american glyphs carved in stone are difficult to translate because there were hundreds of glyphs and each one could have as many as 15 different meanings, so who knows what other meanings may have been lost. I think it is possible that they were more advanced than us, both spiritually and technologically.
They seemed to know that everything is connected, and wrote down precise astronomical calculations, and built monuments that are aligned and correspond to the heavens, and distances that correspond to time periods.
The human and animal sacrifices were most likely added on later as we descended into darker ages and people misunderstood the cyclical nature of time and the ages. So these were desperate attempts to please the Gods and return things to the way they were.
The Mayan snake god, Kukulcan is said to have originally forbidden sacrifices. He is depicted as a feathered serpent, and feathers symbolized the ability to travel between worlds.
Native american cultures and indigenous cultures all over the world believe snakes are at least good medicine, and often represent God.
So my question is where did the Christian idea of the snake being evil come from? Has anybody run across any information on this? |
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tonightsthenight
846 Posts |
Posted - Jun 01 2012 : 5:10:00 PM
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Hey Ether :)
I can't remember any particular books on this stuff but I remember reading a few that delved into this matter.
One in particular had a title referencing the death of the goddess in pre-contemporary European culture and religion. Can't remember the title or the author but it was a really interesting book. I think the author was a scientist.
But the gist, as I understand it, is that the snake or serpent is a stand-in for the unfamiliar, the mysterious, the feminine, all of that. And it used to be that all that was classified as evil, as in, if we can't understand it, it must be the devil's work.
Furthermore, the "death" of the feminine, or its reclassification as evil, is reflected in our languages, culture and society.
Sorry that I don't have much information (or time at the moment to look this up further).
Anyways, you're on the right track! |
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Etherfish
USA
3615 Posts |
Posted - Jun 02 2012 : 11:03:05 AM
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Thanks TTN.
I turns out that the serpent is one of the most used symbols in magic and religions, and has so many different meanings that it is hard to find connections.
What they do have in common is the belief that serpents are mystical, powerful, and to be revered.
I think the idea that the snake is evil comes from it representing sexual energy which is often considered bad in Christian thought. (TTN: sexual energy = women having power over men!)
Then kundalini being a snake AND sexual energy would be seen as evil in Christian thought.
The tree of knowledge represented knowledge of good and evil which was forbidden by God because of the loss of innocence. I think this could have come from the concept of having to leave unity to enter into duality. God warned against this knowledge because death would be the result. Actually birth/death cycle, as birth and death go together.
But ironically, then the rest of Christian teachings are from the dual viewpoint. But since they don't believe in reincarnation, birth is not paired with death.
I should have known that wikipedia is the best source, once you find the proper word to look up, here are small clips from a comprehensive and very interesting article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serpent_(symbolism)
forum software removes the symbolism from the above link so maybe copy and paste into your browser)
In the Hebrew Bible the serpent in the Garden of Eden lured Eve with the promise of forbidden knowledge,
convincing her that despite God's warning, death would not be the result. The serpent is identified with wisdom:
"Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made" (Genesis 3:1).
There is no indication in Genesis that the Serpent was a deity in its own right, although it is one of only two cases of animals that talk in the Pentateuch, Balaam's ass being the other.  lol
Although the identity of the Serpent as Satan is implied in the Christian Book of Revelation,
in Genesis the Serpent is merely portrayed as a deceptive creature or trickster, promoting as
good what God had directly forbidden, and particularly cunning in its deception. (Gen. 3:4–5 and 3:22)
Snakes have been associated with some of the oldest rituals known to humankind and represent dual expression of good and evil.[duality]
In the Abrahamic religions, the serpent represents sexual desire. According to the Rabbinical tradition, in the Garden of Eden, the serpent represents sexual passion.. .
Sometimes the Tree of Life is represented (in a combination with similar concepts such as the World Tree and Axis mundi or "World Axis") by a staff such as those used by shamans. Examples of such staffs featuring coiled snakes in mythology are the caduceus of Hermes, the Rod of Asclepius, the staff of Moses, and the papyrus reeds and deity poles entwined by a single serpent Wadjet, dating to earlier than 3000 BCE. The oldest known
representation of two snakes entwined around a rod is that of the Sumerian fertility god Ningizzida.
Ningizzida has been popularised in the 20th C. by Raku Kei Reiki (a.k.a. "The Way of the Fire Dragon") where "Nin Giz Zida" is believed to be a fire serpent of Tibetan rather than Sumerian origin. Nin Giz Zida is another name for the ancient Hindu concept of Kundalini, a Sanskrit word meaning either "coiled up" or "coiling like a snake". . . . It has been suggested by Joseph Campbell that the symbol of snakes coiled around a staff is an ancient representation of Kundalini physiology. The staff represents the spinal column with the snake(s) being energy channels. In the case of two coiled snakes they usually cross each other seven times, a possible reference to the seven energy centers called chakras.
[Note: the two side channels ida and pingala coil 3 1/2 times, which I think would make them cross each other seven times]
In the Gospel of John 3:14–15, Jesus makes direct comparison between the raising up of the Son of Man and the act of Moses in raising up the serpent as a sign, using it as a symbol associated with salvation: "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life". |
Edited by - Etherfish on Jun 02 2012 11:07:09 AM |
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Etherfish
USA
3615 Posts |
Posted - Jun 02 2012 : 4:45:10 PM
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| So could the rising of kundalini and "salvation" be the same thing? |
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DoctorWho
USA
47 Posts |
Posted - Jun 04 2012 : 8:47:22 PM
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Hi Etherfish.
Yes, among other things... I read that the serpent symbolizes the latent, coiled energy at the base of the spine. Kundalini. Many Indian masters have shed light on such allegory.
And wasn't there allegedly sections of the Bible that did reference reincarnation/rebirth ...but later edited out by the church due to some misguided idea that the notion of 'rebirth' or multiple lifetimes... would make the masses lazy in their spiritual efforts? And that to emphasize one singular lifetime in which to achieve salvation would create a "spiritual urgency"?
Anyway, I don't mean to steer it off topic. The universality of the serpent in all cultures and traditions is fascinating. The rising of kundalini is the salvation/liberation spoken of in all scriptures IMHO.
Thanks. |
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tonightsthenight
846 Posts |
Posted - Jun 05 2012 : 01:31:55 AM
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Hey Ether.
Actually for a while, the first couple years after k came, I really wanted to get the caduceus symbol tattooed on my spine.... like full back thing. I never did it tho, and nowadays I don't know if it'd be worth the pain, but it would be cool!
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Etherfish
USA
3615 Posts |
Posted - Jun 05 2012 : 10:01:27 PM
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| Yeah it would be cool to align the crossing of the snakes with your chakras! But I guess it messes with the artistry cause the snake heads would not be on your back. |
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tonightsthenight
846 Posts |
Posted - Jun 05 2012 : 11:40:19 PM
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| I was thinking of the version without the heads... just like wings of the snakes on the shoulder blades, and the snakes intertwining with the rod going up the spine. |
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Origin of snake in Eden?
