women & snakes
“The snake is life force, a seminal symbol, epitome of the worship of life on this earth. It is not the body of the snake that was sacred, but the energy exuded by this spiralling or coiling creature which transcends its boundaries and influences the surrounding world. [. . .] Its seasonal renewal in sloughing off its old skin and hibernating made it a symbol of the continuity of life and of the link with the underworld. ”
Medusa
Cobra/Serpent Goddesses
Python was a Greek serpent goddess, daughter of Gaea, who guarded the oracle of Delphi on Mount Parnassus until she was slain by Apollo who claimed the oracle as his own.
“The shrine that perhaps offers the deepest insight into the connections of the female deity of Greece to the Serpent Goddess of Crete is Delphi. [...] In the earliest times, the Goddess at Delphi was held sacred as the one who supplied the divine revelations spoken by the priestesses who served Her. The woman who brought forth the oracles of divine wisdom was called the Pythia. Coiled about the tripod stool upon which she sat was a snake known as Python ... described in the earliest accounts as female [. . . ]
It was the priestesses who most often supplied the respected counsel.”
— Merlin Stone, When God Was a Woman
The Cobra Goddess Ua Zit was revered on the Nile Delta in pre-dynastic Egypt as the Uraeus serpent, the Eye, featured on the foreheads of Egyptian deities and royalty.
This Egyptian serpent goddess is also known as Buto, Uto, Wadjet, Wedjat, or Bast — worshipped in Lower Egypt, usually portrayed as a woman or a cobra wearing the crown of lower Egypt. She was also associated with images of Au Set (Isis) and may have been connected to the Sumerian belief in Ama Usum Gal Ana, Great Mother Serpent of Heaven.
She may also have survived in the Arabian Goddess Al Uzza who was regarded as either Venus or Sirius.
The most sacred centre of the worship of Ua Zit was the Delta town of Per Buto (the Greek Buto), said to lie beneath modern day Dessuk. Buto was regarded as one of the most important oracle sites of Egypt at the time of Classical Greece.
The placement of the Ua Zit Cobra on the forehead is comparable to the Indian concept of the Shakti Kundalini serpent rising to the Ajna Chakra, considered the Third Eye of Wisdom
Closely associated with Horus the Elder, and the counterpart to the Upper Egyptian Goddess Nekhbet, she was called “Lady of Heaven” and “Queen of all Gods”.
She was depicted as either carrying a papyrus stem around which a cobra was coiled, or as simply as a cobra coiled in a basket wearing the crown of Lower Egypt. She is also called “the Lady of the Flames, and considered a protector goddess because she spits out her venom against the enemies of the king.
She was depicted either as a cobra or snake with a woman’s torso; or as a woman with a snake’s head, a two-headed snake, or a woman wearing the uraeus. Wadjet was associated with the Milky Way–the primal serpent. In later dynasties she was elided with the goddess Bast, combining the attributes of a lion and a cobra.
Judy Chicago’s installation artwork The Dinner Party includes a place setting for the Snake Goddess.
Snake Goddess Place Setting
Judy Chicago (American, born 1939). Snake Goddess Place Setting, 1974-1979. Runner:Cotton/linen base fabric, woven interface support material (horsehair, wool, and linen), cotton twill tape, silk, synthetic gold cord, Japanese cord, Maltese silk thread, DMC cotton embroidery floss, thread Plate:Porcelain with overglaze enamel (China paint), rainbow overglaze, gold metallic glaze, Runner: 51 1/2 x 31 in. (130.8 x 78.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of The Elizabeth A. Sackler Foundation, 2002.10-PS-5. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2002.10-PS-5_plate_PS9.jpg)
Judy Chicago (American, b. 1939). The Dinner Party (Snake Goddess place setting), 1974–79. Mixed media: ceramic, porcelain, textile. Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Foundation, 2002.10. © Judy Chicago. Photograph by Jook Leung Photography
Hygieia
Hygieia is the Greek Goddess of Health, Cleanliness and Sanitation. She was also the daughter or wife of Asclepius, the God of Healing and Medicine.
She has often been depicted as a young woman feeding a large snake which is wrapped around her body or drinking from a jar she carries.
Bowl of Hygieia - image from ancient-symbols.com
The Bowl of Hygieia is one of the symbols of pharmacy, as is the Rod of Asclepius depicted as a rod with a snake entwined around it.
The World Health Organization uses the Rod of Asclepius in their logo.
The Caduceus, symbol of God Ningishzida, on the libation vase of Sumerian ruler Gudea, circa 2100 BCE.
The caduceus is a staff carried by the god Hermes.
The image of two serpents entwined around an axial rod may also be the origins of the caduceus, which first appeared as a symbol of God/Goddess Ningishzida, a Mesopotamian underworld deity considered to be the god or goddess of medicine, nature and fertility.
The caduceus, depicted with intertwined snakes and wings, has been used as a symbol of healthcare and medical practice although in Greek mythology it was intended as a symbol of commerce and negotiation, balance, exchange and reciprocity. see the US Army Medical Corps
Lilith
Lilith is a character in the Apocrypha, hidden writings removed from the Bible. Lilith is Adam’s first wife, created as his equal. Lilith, however refused to sleep or serve under Adam. When Adam tried to force her into the “inferior” position it is said that she flew away, copulated with demons and refused to return to Adam.
Eve
Eve is a character in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible and also in the Quran. She is said to be Adam’s second wife.
In Genesis 2, Eve is created by God (Yaweh); taken from the rib of Adam to be his companion. The two are given the task of guarding and keeping the Garden of Eden. Adam is instructed that they are forbidden to eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Although Eve is apparently not present when God commands Adam not to eat the fruit, it is understood that she is aware of the command.
One day, however, a wily serpent (with legs) speaks to her and entices her to taste the forbidden fruit. Eve succumbs and shares the fruit with Adam. Having eaten the fruit, the pair become aware of their nakedness and hurriedly construct some garments to cover themselves.
All of this incurs the wrath of God. The three are then judged and subsequently expelled from the Garden of Eden. Eve (and all resultant womankind) is cursed with a life of sorrow, the pain of childbirth and a subservient relationship to her husband; and the serpent is cursed to crawl on its belly the rest of its days.
In some versions of the story the serpent is equated with Satan, and Eve’s sin is equated with sexual temptation.
Prudence
Known as one of the Cardinal Virtues (Justice, Temperance, Courage and Prudence) Prudence is often depicted holding the mirror of truth in her left hand, symbolizing the reflection of every thought which must wisely contemplated and assessed; and holding a compass in her right hand, symbolizing the extent of any action; accompanied by a snake, or two. Often she is depicted with two faces: at the front, a young woman looking to the future while at the back of her head is seen an old man implying the wisdom of the past.
Cleopatra
References
- New Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology, Paul Hamlyn, Hong Kong, 1968
- When God Was A Woman, Merlin Stone, Harvest HBJ Edition, USA, 1976
- Ancient Mirrors of Womanhood, Merlin Stone, Beacon Press, Boston, 1984
- The Language of the Goddess, Marija Gimbutas, Harper & Row, San Francisco, 1921
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hygieia
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minoan_snake_goddess_figurines
- https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/166069
- https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/eascfa/dinner_party/place_settings/snake_goddess
- https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/eascfa/dinner_party/heritage_floor/python
- https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/eascfa/dinner_party/heritage_floor/bu to
- https://artmirrorsart.wordpress.com/2015/07/19/prudence-at-her-toilette/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_of_Asclepius
- http://www.egyptianmyths.net/buto.htm
- http://www.ancient-egypt.org/religion/pantheon/uto.html
- https://ferrebeekeeper.wordpress.com/tag/buto/
- http://www.landofpyramids.org/two-ladies.htm
- https://mylittleoccultshop.blogspot.com/2017/07/the-wadjet.html
Amanta Scott, encaustic on canvas on panel, 108.5 x 108.5 x 5.75 cm (framed), 2019-2021