Recently I was on a short walk in the woods with a friend and her little son. It was a lovely summer morning and we were in the foothills of Bridger range just outside of Bozeman Montana. At the end of the walk, as the trail neared the parking lot I looked down and saw a small snake in the weeds along the path, and at the same moment she looked up and saw that we were in a patch of seviceberry bushes.
It’s unusual to see snakes in the northern Rockies. It was a just a small garter snake, but a rare sighting none the less.
She began picking the ripe berries and offering them to me, insisting that I try them.
I immediately recognized the mythic imagery of a woman offering me fruit from a tree in the company of a serpent. I pointed this out to her, and she took it upon herself to really play up the role of Eve. I ate without any hesitation.
Less than a week later I was working in the Gallatin range (also near Bozeman) and I was leading a team on a week long hiking trip. At one point, we walked out of the trees to an open meadow and I saw another snake. My first thought was, “Huh, I guess it’s normal to see snakes around here.”
At that instant, my hiking partners walked out of the bushes to meet me, and one fellow exclaimed: “Jacqueline just made me eat Serviceberries, they are SO good!”
Sure enough, our lone female teammate offered one of men fruit from a tree in the presence of a snake.
Then we all looked at the snake together, and to our surprise, it had it’s mouth wrapped around a big mouse with the hind feet and tail poking out. The little snake looked sort of ridiculous with it’s porky meal stretching its girth in a way that seemed impossible. It was like some creepy scene on The Nature Channel.
Any mythologists wanna chime in and tell me what this means? (especially the mouse)
6 comments:
Well, let's give it a shot:
In the Old Testament, eating from the tree of knowledge of good & evil was forgiven, and carried the penalty of death. This is what makes us different from angels (that we know the difference between good & evil) and the price of that knowledge is our own mortality.
To me the image of the snake trying to swallow a mouse that's bigger than its own head, is like a warning not to try to take an endeavor that's beyond our capabilities —to not try to eat something so big that we cannot swallow it— Obviously the snake can do this, because it's prepared for it.
The question is: are you?
I think snakes often represent transformation as they completely shed their old skins and change into something new and fresh. Representative of spiritual transformation maybe?
Right after I read this entry I randomly came across this blog about synchronicity:
http://teapotshappen.wordpress.com/2009/06/24/apple-eaters-anonymous/
Scroll down to "Part 2" for the image of Adam, Eve, and the snake.
As for the mouse--I don't know. Snakes often tackle meals that seem to large. But it never stops them trying, you know? ;)
Let's ponder STAN ROMANEK, the subject of the recent ABC News “Primetime Outsiders Special”
He took the questionable footage of the alien peeking in his window.
Stan is 46 years old, the subject of a documentary, and a self-proclaimed abductee.
I realize his case is awash in creepy promoters exploiting his alleged experiences. I have NOT seen the "news" special, so I am gunna stay neutral until I've formed an opinion.
But, he fits a few key points in this pattern.
I saw the program. It was rather hideous —lots of clips of Sci Fi movies like District 9, for starters...
Any regular person who doesn't have a deep interest or knowledge on the subject would have ended up thinking experiencers are not liars or crazy, but that they are suffering from a delusion concocted by sleep paralysis disorder and their personal (erroneous) interpretations.
BTW, did you saw that trailer about the upcoming movie "The 4th Kind" with Milla Jovovich? I sent you an email a while ago with a link. Now THAT movie looks interesting.
I showed this page to the woman who offered me the fruit in Bozeman. Her name is Margot.
She seemed to like the post, she thought it was funny. This woman is quite insightful in her own right, and she's done several Tarot readings for me.
I'll add that Margot said that I should put another self-portrait photo on this blog, she says I need a cuter image. I said thank you, but I this is already a weird ego trip for me, I don't need to make it worse.
She also said I should remove the word "dorky" from the link to my cartoon blog. I thought for a moment, and said: "But they really ARE dorky cartoons."
(she was trying to help, I know)
~ Larissa here:
Originally, long ago, women in many areas had a great deal of authority as Priestesses, and images of transformation, healing, and immortality (the original symbolism of the snake) were often associated with them. The apple, with its seeds in a pentagram, was a symbol of knowledge.
When desert religions (Judaism, Xtianity, etc...) they needed to villify and dishonor the original sacred symbols of the people who venerated godesses, and-- by extension-- women. Hense, Eve as being easily fooled by evil and the message that men should never believe/honor/obey a woman who offers them gifts, advice, etc.
I think the synchronicity was an invitation for you to explore the story behind the myth a bit more closely...
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