The Serpent as a Symbol

The frequency with which the serpent is found in the hallucinations and delusions of psychotics, in the thoughts and dreams of neurotics and indeed in the dreams of normal individuals, has been recognized by all who have studied psychology and psychiatry. This is especially so from the viewpoints of and along the lines set forth by the Freudian school, which proves that the choice of such a symbol is by no means accidental, and is one that has been common throughout the ages since man rose above the animal world to which he belonged.

There is little doubt that in the beginning the symbolic use of animals was a direct utilization of the animal forms in an animistic sense, either actually or in thought, and later this use became symbolic. Gradually, the unconscious seized upon the animals as an expression of painful ideas in substituted acceptable form (1). This is shown very well in myths and fairy tales.

Studies of mythology, folk lore, fairy tales, dreams and psychopathology have proven that the symbolism of the race and of the individual are similar. In mythology, folk lore and fairy tales the symbolism is that of the unconscious of the race, and is universal in meaning. In dreams, neuroses and psychoses we deal usually with symbolism of the unconscious, and therefore its meaning is more or less universal. The more nearly it is so, the less we have to appeal to the individual for its interpretation, while the nearer we approach consciousness, the more individualistic the meaning becomes and the more necessary it is to appeal to the individual for its significance (2).

Religion offers one of the most fertile fields for the play of symbolism and here we are constantly met with the use of animals as symbols. The origins of animal symbolism are to be sought in antiquity and above all in the Ancient East, as well as in Mexico and Peru. Eastern as well as Greco-Roman literature, dependent upon it, ascribed to certain animals, whether fabulous or real, a certain connection