Jung's Symbolic Meaning of the Snake vs Pageau's (Part 1)

The symbolic meaning of the snake as an ancient, primordial archetype applies directly to your life - every day you fight your version of the Leviathon, the Jormugandr in the Abyss of the ocean of chaos, the dragon in the cave, the Serpent-dragon coiled around the tree of Hera, guarding the gold of eternity. Today I have a few myths and stories and scriptures, a lot from both Jung and Pageau.
The meaning of the snake depends in large part on the context of the story, but it’s almost always associated with some kind of chaos or change or death and rebirth, these are very common meanings associated with the snake, but the patterns vary, and the images:
Rod of Asclepius - A rod with a single snake coiled around it, named after the Greek god of healing and medicine
Hermes Caduceus
Moses' staff turning into a snake, then back into a staff
Ouroboros - the eternal cycle of life and death, renewal, etc; Jormugandr at the bottom of the ocean that encircles the world; same symbol at the cosmic level.
"Looking to the serpent that was “raised up” will cure one from those serpents that bite “down below”, just as an antidote is made from the poison or a vaccine is made from the disease." -Jonathan Pageau
Video Chapters
00:00 - The Symbolic Meaning of the Snake & Serpent Symbols
07:05 - Layers of Jungian Symbolism Helps Immensely
08:10 - The Snake is Death & New Life - Danger & Healing (Jung & Pageau)
10:15 - The Serpent's Role in the Symbolic World & Archetypal Patterns Cosmic & Microcosmic
12:12 - Pageau's Traditional Version of Shadow Work
15:07 - Jung Confirms the Ancient Christian Model of the Metaphysical
16:57 - The Snake as Change, Transformation & Fear (Carl Jung)

[@kristine8338]

A snake is a reality to me.

[@JoshRueff]

Hi Kristine, I agree - the snake carries a very deep personal and archetypal meaning, and represents a reality we can't see but we know is there. One synchronicity I've experienced a lot is having snake dreams and seeing snakes near my home or when I'm fishing (many more than usual, or exceptionally large or strangely colored snakes etc) before a period of transformation or a big change in my life. It's a scary reality to encounter and can be dangerous, but it can also be a good thing.