So much of life is arranged to avoid the very paths of darkness that lead us to the light we long to know. -Michael Meade
One of the Christian bible stories I learned when young- and which I think all children in churches learn- has to do with the tree in the Garden of Eden, the first two people there named Adam and Eve, an apple and a snake. I acknowledge that some people take the story literally and as a belief that they are sinful when they are born, and that by living an upright life and following bible teachings they will have a chance to be redeemed from their inherent wickedness and go to heaven after their death. In studying many different religious and spiritual traditions throughout my adult life, I have learned to take for myself bible stories, religious teachings, myths and folk tales as teaching and learning opportunities, rather than literal events that happened. Michael Meade calls things like myths ‘a series of false things that tell the truth.’ Like Joseph Campbell, Meade has found parallels among the many spiritual traditions all over the Earth. For example, there are dozens of creation stories, flood stories, exoduses, virgin births, sacrifice challenges, etc. throughout history and throughout all cultures.
In looking at the Garden of Eden story, it’s informative to recognize that the tree is not a Tree of Life, but a Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. This split matches the spiritual state of Adam and Eve changing from sin-free innocence to the fallen state of wickedness through the temptation of the apple the snake presented to Eve, and which she presented to Adam. By presenting Eve as going first, succumbing to the serpent’s persuasions, and then in turn tempting Adam, the story places the onus of the fall on her, and on all of the women who followed her, in a patriarchal tradition that still heavily influences today. It also portrays nature- the tree, the apple and the snake- as untrustworthy, and if allowed to, it subtly separates us from our own nature which is curious and wisdom-seeking.
There are many ways to look at this story, and hundreds of different things to learn and take away from it depending on how you are inclined to see your life and the world. If you’re interested in other spiritual and wisdom traditions of the world, you may find some very different ways of holding the Tree, the Snake, and the energies they carry in other cultures of the world.
In Buddhism, when you find the Tree, it’s the Tree of Life. It’s the tree under which the buddha was sitting- the bodhi tree- when enlightenment happened to him. It’s a life-giving and unifying tree, not a separating tree. In most versions of the story, as the buddha was sinking into the depths of meditation, a serpent- called the naga- came out of a nearby pond. This was not just any serpent, it was the king of the serpents, Mucalinda. It spread itself, like a cobra with an enormous hood, over the buddha to protect him from the raging storms and anything in the universe that might interrupt his deepening into enlightenment. This protective energy provided by the naga can be taken as the peaceful coexistence of humans with nature, and a celebration of the abundance and sustenance nature provides.
As in the other world historical story that happened in Eden, there is a tree and a snake here, but in the Buddhist story you see the role of the serpent is the opposite- as a protector. Mythology shows how these things could work differently than what we’ve been given. Buddhism began entering the collective consciousness in the U.S. in the middle of the 19th century, with Chinese immigrant workers who built the railroads, mined for gold, fished, farmed and worked as loggers. Buddhism and Hinduism arise from shared roots in ancient India, and there is an important role for a snake in Hinduism as well. The deity Vishnu is sleeping on a serpent with seven heads when he dreams up the whole world.
In many traditions around the world, the snake is connected to Earth knowledge, to time and eternity, and to transformation. Many people I know are afraid of snakes, and there may be a way that evil has been associated with the snake through the christian bible story. There are many images that portray the serpent in Eden wrapped around a branch or the trunk of the tree, with its head hanging lower to tempt Eve. People have formed corporations all over the Earth to cut down millions of trees and cause massive deforestation, while others actively oppose those actions.
As you study more of the myths of the world you realize the serpents are actually assistants and protectors, and are helpful, once you know how to relate to the Earth, and nature, and trees. According to some scholars, the images and ideas of initiation practices originally came from people watching snakes. A snake can shed its entire skin, and looks like it has died. If you come upon a shed skin lying on the ground it looks like a lifeless corpse. But you may see the living snake nearby, moving on. This may be one of the first images that people had of life, death and rebirth, and the leaving behind of what is old and no longer useful.
In some healing traditions, the medicine person who cares for the physical and spiritual health of their community will allow themself to be bitten by a venomous snake, in order to experience what serious illness is like for the person they are caring for. It’s a conscious taking in of a small amount of poison, to become stronger and to know it can be overcome. The practice also strengthens empathy in the healer for the sick person, and their difficult process of transformation.
In many of these non-Christian traditions we see the snake of initiation, change and transformation, offering protection, wisdom, change and healing. We also see the two snakes of the caduceus wrapped around the staff of Hermes in the universal symbol for medicine and healing. In the Christian bible story we find the apple as the fruit of knowledge, but it’s given by the snake with deceit, through evil intention, and the life that comes after turns into separation, loss and sorrow. This may have come from the limitation of a literal interpretation. There the snake is seen as a representation of division and opposition, rather than as something that can carry the fruit of life and renewal that can come through facing our greatest fears and moving through them.