Symbols - What does heaven look like
Snake

The snake shares some of the symbolism of the serpent in that it is associated with energy.
A snake is much more of a human symbol, however, whereas the serpent can be used for the processes of creation and destruction when applied to all things from a mouse to the universe.
One extremely important attribute of a snake is that it sheds it skin – it appears to renew itself. As such a snake can be used to represent a person on the spiritual path - a person undergoing regeneration – a person ‘renewing’ themselves on their way to immortality. Depending on the context, therefore this can be via rebirth or annihilation.
It may also be used as a symbol of reincarnation.
Paul Brunton
The new skin of the snake or serpent stands for thr new form into which the energy will ultimately be shaped. And just as the snake continues to live despite the death of its outer skin, so the Spirit is undying and remains immortal despite the death of its various forms.
It is both beautiful [creation] and destructive [destruction].
The patterning on its skin is reminiscent of the templates and thus of form and its overall geometry.

The snake has no hands or feet with which to propel itself and is as a consequence self moving - it does not need a body or the limbs of a body to be active, thus there is implied the idea that the snake represnts the immortal in us. Soul and immortal soul trapped in a template body.
The snake also has an exceptionally important role in designating a person who has undergone annihilation - who has died and been resurrected as a god - a divine person.
From the idea of failed attempts at annihilation we also get the symbol of the Hung snake. The snake is bound to the cross, thus it is nailed figuratively speaking to the physical and the body.
One way in which Annihilation can be achieved is via the controlled flow of kundalini energy and this is shown diagramatically using two intertwining snakes. The caduceus shows the spiralling of energy and the resulting meeting with [ecstasy] merging with [nirvana] or final take over by [annihilation] the Higher spirit.
Another form of creation and destruction.
Hair
A snake - more correctly a sacred serpent - is often depicted as the link from us to the rest of the spiritual world and replaces hair.
For example Cassandra had sacred serpents linking the child’s ears and mouth and gave her the gift of prophecy and we also have the example of Medusa ………….
The serpent in this case is not necessary evil; it is representative of a stream of input or output, but the sheer number is an indication of power an thus anyone shown with this amount of input/output is clearly someone to be feared and someone who, if they misuse the power, is indeed evil.
Jean Delville - Medusa
Observations
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- A Psycho-Spiritual Experience Ibogaine by KBF
- Acteon and Artemis
- Alice in Wonderland - Ch 05 - 2 Serpent
- Ancestors, the - Art - David Lewis-Williams from The Mind in the Cave
- Attar, Fariduddin - The Peacock's excuse
- Ball, Dr Martin - A kundalini experience
- Cernunnos
- Cirlot on snakes and serpents
- Crowley - 06 The Lovers
- Crowley - 10 Wheel of Fortune
- Crowley - 13 Death
- Crowley - 21 The Universe
- Demonic creatures rapidly running over me in an overwhelming stampede
- Ektasis and enthousiasmos
- Gaudi - Professional work - 11 The Artigas Gardens
- Ginsberg - Taking ayahuasca
- Hans Peter Duerr - Dreamtime - Visiting the Earth Mother's womb
- Holderlin, Johann - Mnemosyne
- Hypnerotomachia Poliphili - Anchor and rope
- Hypnerotomachia Poliphili - Scales
- Jane Dunlap - Attacked by a Cobra
- Krishna, Gopi - the kundalini experience No 3
- Larsson, Carl - The snake
- Levy-Dhurmer - Eve
- Levy-Dhurmer - La Sorcière, 1897
- Lyall Watson - Snakes
- Mircea Eliade - Patterns in Comparative religion - The snake as fertiliser of women
- Mircea Eliade – Mishna and the Tree of Knowledge
- Morrells, Luce and the large house surrounded by water
- Myōe – The Dream of Shanmiao
- Norse - Jelling
- Paul Devereux - Sacred Places - Symbols
- Pauli, Wolfgang - Dreams of Rings, Circles, Eggs and Stars
- Persian caves
- Picts – Type of experience - Snake and z-rod [general]
- Qu'ran - Rebirth - An Nisa 4:59
- Reichel-Dolmatoff - South American shaman initiation
- Rosary of the Philosophers - 01 The Fountain
- Rosary of the Philosophers - 10 The Union
- Rubens - Hygeia, Goddess of Health 1615
- Salvorin A - Gwyllm becomes Medusa
- Samavedas – Book 07 Chapter 03, XII Soma Pavamana
- Shinto kundalini figurine
- Snakes slithering throughout the bed and a figure walk down the hallway
- The Book of Taliesin - The Battle Of the Trees - 02
- The Serpent power – Arthur Avalon
- The Twelve Keys of Basil Valentine - Key 02
- The Twelve Keys of Basil Valentine - Key 12
- There was a presence in my room pointing at me
- Through the Looking Glass - Ch 07 - 1 The Lion and the Unicorn
- TIHKAL - Alexander Shulgin - Peganum harmala seeds
- Totem group – Picts – Elements - Snake [Earth]
- Von Stuck, Franz - 1891 Sensuality
- Von Stuck, Franz - 1892 Medusa
- Watson, Lyall - Fountains and snakes