As I go through my own aging and transformative process, the snake in all of its forms, speaks more and more to me. I have always thought snakes were beautiful, forced to be grounded their entire lives, either water bound, or slithering in the trees. Most of them in my mind roaming the desert floor, their bellies and scales constantly in touch with the heat from the sun above and below. An animal that loves the warmth, just as I do. As a child, I can remember coming across snakes in the wild. They were symbols of caution, and death. I would stay clear of them should our paths cross, even if I found them curious and captivating. I can clearly recall moments with adults where a snake would need to be killed because it was in the human world, and posed a threat. I would see the shovel, and watch and listen quietly for the sound of it to hit the ground against the snakes body. In the dust, I would know the job was done. Although I accepted the taking of life from this animal, for the protection of the family and animals in the home at that time, it always intense and vivid for me. 

 

The pinnacle of the snake world for me is the rattlesnake. They are a warning to friend or foe that their presence is near and not to be taken lightly. How enchanting and cautionary, the creature that communicates with you directly its intentions. Based on its noise, you can choose your path for the future. And there, that is where some great analogy lies. That if you are mindful and aware of your surroundings, how you move in the world, your affect on the space around you, you have the chance to listen and make a choice that will have impact and bear weight on what unfolds next. If we are engaged, the signs of our lives are there. Outside of my own interpretation and relationship to the snake, it defines transformation. A shedding of an old skin, to renew another. Each ending a new beginning, and each beginning coming to a new ending.