A Sign? The Serpent
Upon thinking…did I say to much, did I open myself up too wide…a symbol came to me in the form of a blue piece of thread, sitting there in the tub, swirled up like a snake and as the water falls upon it, it writhes and it looks alive. I feel a sense of caution, a sense that I’m vulnerable, that I must close down temporarily. I go to my shelf, find my book on symbols to satisfy what I already sense…
And in addition to the common symbolism, I am put at some ease with these words from J.C. Cooper’s, Symbolism: The Universal Language: “…In the Far East [the serpent] is seldom differentiated from the Dragon, which is beneficent as the Dragon of the Clouds bringing the life-giving rain. It is also wisdom, strength and the supreme spiritual power” (pg. 49).
About Rebbecca
I love to write, to express, to explore. Mostly I journal; and if something moves me, I try to capture it in a poem. I live in the East Bay; enjoy reading, writing, cooking; being in nature; walking; and riding my bike.
Connections
Rebbecca’s Favorite Books
Demian, Siddhartha, The death of Ivan Ilyich, Barrabbas, Being Peace, Writing Down the Bones
Rebbecca is a fan of
Dive in, Rebb:the serpent
Dive in, Rebb:the serpent offers knowledge. :-)
Thank you, Lu! Your
Thank you, Lu! Your assurance makes me feel better. :)
Coiled serpent as a
Coiled serpent as a symbol in Indian spirituality is considered for 'kundalini' means abdominal point of wisdom and tolerance, which can be empowered by yoga and meditation.
Dr. Jitu, that is a
Dr. Jitu, that is a beautiful serpent and the coils are pefect. Thank you for sharing this wonderful image and your comments. Maybe part of my sign is that I have not been spending enough time in silence. There was a time that I would do a short Yoga session in the mornings and I have meditated, but not often enough.
I also remember reading your words about Chopra and on another occasion about how those that do not have knowledge about something should not speak of it and I nodded in agreement (as I remember Keiko did too :). That's why I respect and admire how deeply intwined you and others are with their cultures because it's evident that it is deeply written into your soul. I enjoy learning about many cultures, traditions, religions, etc., but I know that I could never "know" them as someone that was born into them. That's another nice aspect of RedRoom--to be able to learn about culture from people's first hand experiences.
And even though I enjoy "new age" material, I've always been torn and mostly keep my explorations to myself. On the one hand, it's great that the "new age" tries to make the ancient traditions attainable, but on the other hand I feel that the original meanings and culture/traditon gets lost and it becomes "fast food." I'm happy, though, to go along on my path and "feeling" my way through and being appreciative of the many widsoms of the world.
Thank you, Dr. Jitu!
Thank you Rebb, for your
Thank you Rebb, for your long, meaning full comment and encouraging reply.It is not your knowledge, but your desire to know some thing, that makes your wisdom honed and perfect. You are right, I am 51 now but never got a chance to talk on the different subjects with the decent people like you. It is only possible due to Red Room's liberal, honest, literature-culture loving, non profit organisation. They even ignore my lots of mistakes in grammar and writing. I am more then thankful to them.
Smiles to you, Dr.
Smiles to you, Dr. Jitu...
"It is not your knowledge, but your desire to know some thing, that makes your wisdom honed and perfect." I will write this quote down and tack it to my cork board. A wonderful piece of wisdom. Thank you. :)
Rebb, my most liked thing is
Rebb, my most liked thing is thinking. Most quotes I quote in my writing is a result of my deep thinking.This one only came to my mind yesterday. But my most favorite is,
'At last what counts is, that you are still living and can think freely'
Rebb and Jitu, I don't
Rebb and Jitu,
I don't remember what I agreed, but I agree with Rebb on learning other cultures. I appreciate it whatever we can learn from others. But I thought, like serpents, they do not know why they coil their bodies as they do. I think we all have difficulty to explain why the way we are. Wait. Because of serpents, Indian dances are circular and smooth. I bet ancient Indian people learned dances from serpents. And Japanese learned from a school of fish: this is my new theory?!
I love this,
I love this, Keiko: "Wait. Because of serpents, Indian dances are circular and smooth. I bet ancient Indian people learned dances from serpents. And Japanese learned from a school of fish: this is my new theory?!" I can visualize this and the snake part makes so much sense. And then you jog my memory of some readings on Native American Indians and their dances--dances to commune with nature. Smiling and dancing: Universal languages!
Funny: "but I think I heard that snakes bring money home. Now, that's a good sign, isn't it?"--lol :)
Not only Indians, but all
Not only Indians, but all kind of dances of world was inspired by animals and birds. It is true fact and has been researched. Its midnight here and I have just came from Navratri dance, there, singer was singing,
" man mor bani thangaat kare, maru man mor bani thangaat kare"
[my mind dance like a peacock, MOR= peacock]
Thank you for pointing that
Thank you for pointing that out, Dr. Jitu. Even more wonderful that our beautiful creatures inspire the worlds over. You bring a memory to me. I remember being a little girl on a hot day. I decided that I would do a dance to the rain Gods, well, this is how I recall it now--but I started dancing around and making sounds because I wanted it to start raining for no reason other than I thought it would be nice. And I kid you not, it began to rain moments later. It was probably just one of those odd moments, but I felt so happy, and the moment still makes me smile when I picture myself doing that. I love nature so much...
I like the way the words sound when I sing them in your language. I can really feel the vibration in the throat--soothing...Thank you for sharing. Peacocks are such gorgeous creatures.
And thank you for another great quote for my cork board: 'At last what counts is that, you are still living and can think freely'
We are indeed lucky to have free minds...
And
For Adam and Eve?
Hombre, préférable de
Hombre, préférable de manger que de ne pas manger, non?
(Better to eat than not eat, no? )
I used google translate because I wanted to see how it would look and sound to say it in French. I like it!
Oui
Il est préférable de manger quand on a faim.Sinon on devient boulimique !Hehee.
PS
Faim=hungry
Sinon= otherwise.So you have to translate the rest.
beware temptation!
Rebb, I didn't think of the
Rebb,
I didn't think of the following but true: "In the Far East [the serpent] is seldom differentiated from the Dragon." Snake is a lucky sign. My father and my son were born in a snake year according to the Chinese zodiac.
Jitu,
I like the photo. It's a picture perfect serpent.
Keiko, The funny thing is I
Keiko,
The funny thing is I don't recall feeling negative energy toward the snake in the past, especially since they are beautiful creatures and they shed their skin often to produce their new shiny skin. But for some reason yesterday, there was a feeling not associated with positive energy. But today, I feel a positive shift. Maybe my senses were on high alert. I like thinking of the snake as a lucky sign--thank you. I looked online and it looks like I'm born in the year of the ox. My western astrologial sign is the crab :)
Rebb, I'm not in tune with
Rebb,
I'm not in tune with Zodiac and such, but I think I heard that snakes bring money home. Now, that's a good sign, isn't it? Smile.
I like the blue thread...and
I like the blue thread...and the bath tub. The bath tub is one of the nicest places for inspiration and the back porch and the bog. St. Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland and I'm glad of that. I remember snakes in New Mexico, rattlers in the desert - a hiss and a slither in the sand while jumping cacti clung to my feet.
Hi Mares, Yes, I find that
Hi Mares, Yes, I find that thoughts and images wizz into my mind at a fast rate while I'm in the shower. I wish that they made waterproof pens to take and hang with a waterproof pad of paper. Sometimes, I'll get out and run for something to write with. I've never been good at taking baths, even though I know they are relaxing, I can never get comfortable. Bogs sure sound nice. I've never been in a bog and I love the word. I like your images of St. Patrick and you in the desert...
Hi Rebbecca
I'm sorry to come to your blog so late. Details of your vision might have faded by now, I have a few questions but do not know if it is appropriate. I find this vision fascinating. Have you decided what it means yet?
If you are interested in an amateurish attempt at translation, I would be happy to look at this. Ifyou are interested in a different view, it would help if you had any other details.
Was the water hot or cold, was it clear, where was it pouring from, is the 'tub' a bucket or a bath, was the thread long or short, did the thread turn into a snake or did it just act like a snake, were you afraid of it attacking you?
Hope you don't mind me asking. No need to respond if you prefer not to of course, obviously! Some people feel that visions are very private things, but others feel it is fine to discuss openly. Whichever suits you. :)
I love the discussions about the symbolism of the snake. Fascinating stuff!!
Hi Ryoma, Yes, the moment
Hi Ryoma,
Yes, the moment of this day has settled and I feel cleansed. It would be interesting to hear your take, but with intuition as your guide-hehe :)...
Hi Rebbecca
I am very happy to hear that the you feel settled and cleansed.
My own, amateur interpretation is here. I hope you find it interesting. :)
Based on what you've written so far, and without further details, I think that the blue thread symbolizes a spiritual path or journey that is being awakened or revitalised by your current emotional or subconscious mind (the water). When I say spiritual, I mean it in terms of the calm, most positive and open of terms. The dynamic movement of the thread implies that you are able to embrace and express this awakening very easily.
The tub, if it was empty and then being filled, implies a move away from a negative or conflicted state in spirituality, faith or emotional state.
As you say that the thread 'swirled up like a snake', I am instinctively making a judgement call and not taking the snake symbology into account here, as the water, thread and tub symbology seem to deliver a consistent positive message that all compliment each other's symbolism. :)
Thank you, Ryoma! I enjoyed
Thank you, Ryoma! I enjoyed reading your interpretation very much. I appreciate your positive message. Thanks! :)