Snake Spirit Animal: What Does a Snake Symbolize?
To some people, snakes are terrifying animals that haunt their worst nightmares while to others, they are fascinating creatures that deserve our admiration and respect.
However, more than this, they are also animals that are imbued with strong spiritual powers – so to help you know if this is the right spirit guide for you, in this post, we have all the details you need about the snake spirit animal.
Snake Symbolism
Let’s start by looking at some of the characteristics of snakes and the symbolism these characteristics give them.
1. Stealth
When they don’t want to be seen, snakes can be incredibly hard to spot, whether that means blending into the background in the jungle or remaining camouflaged in the desert.
As a result of this, snakes can be seen as symbols of stealth and not being seen unless you choose to make yourself visible.
2. Groundedness
As snakes slither along on the floor with no legs to hold them up, they are as close as possible to the ground – and this makes them a powerful symbol of groundedness, staying in contact with where you are from and not forgetting your roots.
3. Danger
For many people around the world who live in places where poisonous snakes are found, snakes represent danger, especially the kind of hidden danger that you don’t know about until it’s too late.
For people in certain parts of the world, poisonous snakes are an ever-present threat, and they never know when they might come face to face with this potentially deadly enemy.
4. Healing
Although they are symbols of danger, snakes are also used as an emblem of healing.
Nowadays, we are used to seeing two snakes curled around a rod used as a symbol of medicine.
However, this symbol, known as the caduceus and featuring on the staff of Hermes in Greek mythology is actually misused in this context since its true meaning is as an emblem of commerce.
Rather, the symbol that should be associated with healthcare, especially in the US, is a single snake coiled around a rod known as the Rod of Asclepius.
This symbol takes its meaning from Asclepius, the Greek god of healing and medicine, which is the real reason snakes are associated with healing.
5. Change and growth
Snakes famously shed their skin as they grow, and this makes them a symbol of change and growth – since we all need to metaphorically shed our old skin if we want to grow and develop into something new.
6. Longevity
In some cultures, for example in China, the snake is seen as symbolic of longevity, perhaps due to its elongated shape.
7. Virility
In parts of East Asia, the snake is also thought of as being connected with virility. For this reason, and also for its supposed invigorating properties, people in places like China, Vietnam and Cambodia drink snake wine, alcohol containing the preserved bodies of venemous snakes.
Snake Spiritual Meaning
Now let’s move on to looking at what snakes mean in spiritual terms.
1. Spiritual connection and awareness
Snakes are animals with highly developed senses. They can feel vibrations with their bodies as they press against the ground, and they also “hear” by decoding vibrations using special organs that serve as their ears.
As they slither along, they also constantly “taste” the air by flicking out their tongue, and with this array of keen senses, they are finely attuned to their surroundings, knowing exactly where their prey is hiding and where danger might be lurking.
In spiritual terms, this represents a close connection to the spirit world and being able to pick up any messages angels or other spirits may be sending us.
This means if you think an angel or other spirit is trying to communicate with you, by channeling your inner snake, you will become more alert to the messages they send, making them easier to receive and understand.
2. Death, rebirth and renewal
Due to their poison and the danger they represent, snakes are also associated with death. However, in spiritual terms, this is usually taken metaphorically, so death simply means the end of something, which is followed by rebirth or a new beginning.
This is also something that is encapsulated in the ouroboros, the symbol of a snake devouring its own tail.
This represents the nature of the universe and the never-ending cycle of life, death and rebirth.
3. Spiritual growth and awakening
As the snake grows, it sheds its skin and is effectively reborn as a bigger, stronger, better version of itself.
This is a metaphor for the path of spiritual development, awakening and enlightenment that we all walk as we leave our old unenlightened selves in the past and grow into new, more spiritually aware beings.
4. Sin and evil
In Christianity, the snake or serpent is inextricably linked with the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden when they were convinced by the Devil in the form of a serpent to eat the fruit that God had expressly forbidden them to consume.
On doing this, they committed the first sin and were expelled from the Garden – and because of this story, to Christians, the snake or serpent has come to represent sin, evil and the work of the Devil.
How Do You Know if the Snake Is Your Spirit Animal?
Having looked at the symbolism of snakes and what they represent spiritually, now we can think about how you might know if the snake is the right spirit animal for you.
1. You know how to avoid drawing attention to yourself
Although there are moments in life when we need to stand up and be counted or make our voices heard, there are other times when it’s best to blend into the background to bide our time until the right moment to strike.
People with the snake as their spirit animal tend to be good at doing this, keeping a low profile when necessary and playing the role of the unseen observer – until the perfect time for action arrives.
2. You feel a strong connection to the spirit world
Snake people are often highly spiritual people and are usually keenly aware of the existence of things beyond our usual senses of perception.
If you have always felt a deep sense of spirituality, it could mean that the snake spirit animal is already by your side.
Alternatively, if you want to grow and develop spiritually, taking your spiritual awareness to the next level, the snake spirit animal can help you achieve this.
By taking the snake as your spirit animal, you will raise your level of spiritual connectedness, bringing you deeper spiritual insights and allowing you to reach higher states of consciousness.
3. You can tackle problems with cold reasoning
Snakes, like other reptiles, appear cold and inscrutable, and the snake spirit animal can help you apply cold logic and dispassionate reasoning to your problems.
If you are the kind of person who prefers to think things through carefully and rationally, the snake spirit animal can help enhance your powers of reasoning.
On the other hand, if you are the kind of person who acts in the heat of the moment, the snake spirit animal may help to temper your natural tendency to let your emotions rule your head.
4. You prefer to avoid conflict
Like snakes, snake people often prefer to avoid conflict, only fighting when they are cornered and have no other choice.
This means taking the snake as your spirit animal can also help you find ways to avoid conflict or difficult interactions, instead, finding more peaceful and harmonious solutions to your problems.
Snake Totem
The snake is an animal that has much to teach us, and people with the snake totem can apply many of the snake’s lessons to things that happen in their daily lives. Here are some of the things the snake totem can help you with.
1. Know when to lie low and when to strike
Knowing when to lie low and when to strike is a valuable skill, and it’s something the snake totem can help you master.
If you want to succeed in life, you need to pick your battles – and the snake totem helps you learn when it’s not in your interest to stand your ground, allowing you to slither away quietly and retain your strength for when it’s most needed.
2. Stay grounded
The snake totem can help you stay grounded, so however successful you become, however much money you earn or however far you travel from home, you’ll never become arrogant or conceited and you’ll remain humble, never forgetting your roots or where you came from.
3. Keep in touch with your spiritual side
With the snake totem behind you, you’ll never forget to find time for spirituality, however busy you become.
Finding the right balance between the needs of your daily life and your spiritual practices is important if you want to lead a happy and fulfilling life, and the snake totem animal can help you achieve this.
4. Be strong when going through growth and change
Sometimes change can be frightening or difficult, and it can also be painful emotionally or mentally.
However, the snake totem can help you find the strength and courage to shed your metaphorical skin, leaving the old you behind and facing change with bravery and optimism so you can learn and grow from whatever new experiences await.
Snake Omens
Finally let’s have a look at what it could mean if snakes start appearing to you, either in your waking life or in your dreams.
1. Do you need to shed your skin to allow you to grow?
Sometimes seeing snakes can be an omen that you need to somehow shed your skin in order to grow – and this could mean leaving a part of you in the past to allow you to step into the future unburdened.
For example, it could be that you have recently split up with your partner, started a new job or moved to a new area.
Now, instead of dwelling on the past, you need to forget about your partner and move on, you need to stop thinking about your old job and focus on the new one or you need to start thinking about making new friends instead of thinking about all the old ones you miss.
2. Hidden danger
Not all snake omens are positive, and sometimes they can warn you of hidden, unseen dangers.
For example, if a venomous snake suddenly appears in your dreams, it could tell you that you are in some kind of danger in your life without even realizing it, so this dream should put you on your guard and make you pay more attention to the things that are going on around you.
3. You need to heal spiritually
As a symbol of healing, sometimes the message a snake may bring is that you need to heal spiritually.
Are you carrying around negative energy or negative emotions, perhaps because somebody has wronged you? Are you angry, resentful or jealous and can’t let go of these negative feelings?
If the answer is yes, you may need to spend time in meditation or perform a ritual of spiritual cleansing to help rid yourself of these negative vibes.
4. Get back in touch with nature
Snakes are creatures of the Earth and are always close to nature, so dreaming of one may be a sign that you also need to reconnect with nature.
We come from nature and belong to nature, but in our modern, city lives, this can be easy to forget.
However, snakes can sometimes appear to us as messengers urging us to find time to renew our bonds with Mother Earth and the natural world.
An occasionally dangerous animal but a powerful spiritual ally
As we’ve seen, although snakes can sometimes be dangerous, the snake spirit animal can be a powerful spiritual ally to have by your side.
He can help you stay out of trouble when you want to remain unseen, he can help you grow and develop as a spiritual being and he can also help enhance your powers of spiritual awareness and your sense of connectedness to the spirit world and the wider universe.
