More serpent info

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Serpent Code

 

 

Serpent worship was once common in Ireland until Christianity's

dominance systematic wiped it out. Yet according to Philip Gardiner

the signs of this ancient wisdom lore can still be found today

throughout the world.

 

 

 

Ireland, St Patrick and the Pests

 

 

Ireland was once infested with snakes. So say the Christian stories

of St. Patrick, who supposedly expelled them with his Baculum Jesu

or Staff of Jesus [1]. Of course Ireland has no indigenous snakes at

all and so he must have been speaking of a symbolically. But to what

was he referring?

 

 

For years, scholars, Christians and even alternative historians have

been arguing over what exactly St Patrick was eradicating. There is

precious little evidence of St Patrick even coming to Ireland, just

as there is no evidence that St Paul went to Malta and kicked out

the snakes there too! So what's the truth? And is there any

spiritual relevance for us today?

 

 

Across Ireland there are hundreds of crosses, many of which can be

proven to have pre-Christian origins, and many are entwined with

images of serpents. The same is true of other locations, such as

Malta as I've just mentioned, , Rhodes, India, Greece and many more.

In all these places snakes are found on ancient megalithic monuments

and Christian buildings. These are remnants of a pre-existent

serpent-worshipping cult. The serpent cult, is so often misread as

consisting of solar worshippers. They worshipped the esoteric or

inner sun. For us today this inner light is the realisation of our

own connection to the greater universe, of our own inner balance and

our own growth towards a more `in-tune' attitude to the world around

us. It is also the part of ourselves and our outer world, which

gives life, sustains and gives growth.

 

 

The sun, found in the sky and as an inner light found within via

methods pertaining to the inner serpent energies, [2] as they were

perceived. These inner serpentine and solar linked visions were

physically represented in megalithic monuments, oral folktales and

art.

 

 

The existence of this universal cult can also be discovered in other

elements of the Irish and Celtic tradition. There is scarcely a

design or ornament in Ireland from ancient times that do not show

the serpent or dragon image. There is scarcely a myth, a folk tale

or a legend, which does not include the serpent. These are not just

pagan ornaments or myths - they also bled into the Christian world,

or more accurately, the Christians could not keep them out it was so

deep in the Irish culture.

 

 

The Church had spent many years trying desperately to demonise the

serpent, making it the evil snake in the Garden of Eden or even

picturing Lucifer, the angel of light, as the serpent. The reason is

simple. Knowledge is powerful, but knowledge of yourself is much

more powerful - the Church, as the intermediaries between us and

knowledge of the Divine could not allow this. But the snake

maintained its position steadfastly within the Church, clinging on

like limpet. It was in fact the only animal in the Bible to speak

using it's own voice; it was used by Moses in the wilderness to heal

the Israelites and it was used by the first Christians as the symbol

for the Christ himself.

 

 

Serpents can be found on Irish Christian crosses such as those of

Killamery in Kilkenny County and the font of Cashel, amongst others.

Indeed, even the Crozier (priests staff) of Cashel has a serpent

emerging from a vagina – which itself is covered in serpents –

therefore symbolising `new life' via the born-again serpent.

 

 

The crozier itself basically resembles the staff of Moses or Aaron,

or even that of an Etruscan or Babylonian priest – all cultures

linked to serpent worship. Unfortunately fundamentalists and strict

Protestants removed many of these serpents found adorning such

crosses, in an attempt to hide the true history.

 

 

Also seen on Irish crosses are strange figures, which have extra

large heads in relation to their body. Some have said that this is

due to the predominance of a " Celtic Head Cult " , but the evidence we

uncovered in The Serpent Grail [3] pointed to the fact that both the

serpent cult and the head cult are one and the same. We found that

this was due to the internal psychological and spiritual process

brought on by the serpent energies.

 

 

In Irish tales these great serpents or " piests " (pests), were said

to be " as big as a horse, and have a great mane upon it, so it has. "

(Legend of the Lakes, Croker, relating to Lough Kittane of

Killarney). This has baffled many and has given rise to the link

between the snake-serpent and the fabled dragon in many cultures.

The tales of the great serpents of huge size and even compared to

mountains reveals much. Many of these serpent tales refer to actual

locations whereby ancient man created great centres of healing,

initiation and ritual – all linked to the universal worship of the

serpent.

 

 

The Fenian heroes of ancient Ireland are recorded orally in song and

one of them, Fionn, was their `dragon slayer.' One of the legends

tells us that:

 

 

" It resembles a great mound, its jaws were yawning wide;

 

 

There might lie concealed, though great its fury,

 

 

A hundred champions in its eye-pits.

 

 

Taller in height than eight men,

 

 

Was its tail, which was erect above its back;

 

 

Thicker was the most slender part of its tail,

 

 

Than the forest oak which was sunk by the flood. "

{mospagebreak}

 

Fionn asked where this great monster had come from and was

told, " From Greece, to demand battle from the Fenians. " Perhaps

serpent worshippers had come to Ireland from Greece, and had fought

the ancient inhabitants, leaving behind such terror that they became

symbolised by this great `dragon mound.' Fionn, it is said, opened

the side of the dragon and released the men, going on to kill it. It

may be that there is a mixture of wartime fact entwined with the

symbolism of this legend. Emerging from the side of the dragon,

according to all the myths, gives new life, leaving us no doubt that

these serpentine monuments were places of initiation and rebirth.

 

 

Evidence of ancient serpent worship in the Americas can be verified

from the many serpent mounds that appear across the continent. In

Ohio, there is a large serpentine mound with a large head of the

snake swallowing (or throwing up) a large egg. Similar snake mounds

can be found across the world. Some are man-made, others natural and

adapted - such as Hackpens Hill near Avebury in England, where Hack

means snake and pen means head - thereby giving us " snakes head

hill " . These large serpents, still seen in the land today were

ancient burial mounds, earthworks and places of ritual for the

serpent worshipping cults of our ancestors. The great mane upon the

mound, being grass or trees.

 

 

In 1871 at the meeting of the British Association in Edinburgh, a

certain Mr. Phene gave an account of his discovery in Argyllshire,

Scotland, of a mound, " several hundred feet long, fifteen feet high

and thirty feet broad. " The tail tapers away from a circular cairn,

which he presumed to be a solar disk above the head of the " Egyptian

uraeus " . [4] This fiery Uraeus serpent, or more properly Wadjet,

anoints the head with flames, as referred to in the Bible in

Apostles, Acts 2, where the Apostles are filled with the holy

spirit, and flames lick above their heads. Here we have a clue to

the serpents connection to spirituality.

 

 

In the Pyramid Texts the Wadjet is linked strongly with nature. The

papyrus plant is said to emerge from her and she is connected to the

forces of growth, fertility and creative power. The Uraeus is an

indication of the divine wisdom and solar-force, emerging from the

brow of the head, symbolically represented in the serpent mounds

appearing on the brow of a hill. The brow is known as the `temple'.

Within the Temple is the Holy of Holies, the most sacred place in a

human's body. In Native American traditions many underground caverns

within landscaped mounds are where known to be places where

initiation rites occurred. From our research, it appears these

places were ritualistic re-birthing portals as if from the womb of

the creative serpentine mother. In Egyptian history Osiris entered

the serpent and emerged reborn and invigorated, and our European and

American ancestors mimicked this belief. In all cases it was the

wisdom of the serpent, which gave the strength to empower the

individual to move on in life, as if born again.

 

 

Serpent mounds – a worldwide phenomenon

 

 

Further references to serpent mounds can be found across the world.

In the Persian holy book Zend Avesta one of the story's heroes takes

a rest on what he thinks is a bank – only to find out that it was a

green snake. In Mauritania, Iphicrates says that " there were dragons

of such extent that grass grew up on their backs. " In Strabo (Lib

xv. P.1022) two dragons are said to have resided in the mountains of

India, one eighty cubits long and the other one hundred and forty.

From Syria Posidonius tells of a dragon which was so large that

horse riders on either side could not see each other. Each `scale'

was as big as a shield, so that a man " might ride into his mouth. "

It is thought that these must be ruins of Ophite (serpent

worshiping) temples. In some parts of Syria serpent worshippers were

known as Hivites (linked with the root word hivvah which from which

came the biblical name of Eve which could then be equated

with " female serpent " ). In India serpent deities are known as the

Naga.

 

 

From South America text said to have been written by Votan

(Quetzalcoatl), in the language of the Quiches says he left Valum

Chivim [5] and came to the New World to apportion land among seven

families who came with him and were said to be of serpent origin or

culebra. Passing the " land of thirteen snakes " he arrived in Valum

Votan, founding the city of Nachan (City of Snakes), thought to be

Palenque, possibly around 15 BC or even earlier. In reference to

Serpent Mounds there is the description of a subterranean passage,

that terminated at the `root of heaven' – referred to as a `snake's

hole' while snake heaven was Patala. Votan was only allowed entry

because he was `the son of a snake' from which we can infer he was

an initiate in the serpent cult.

 

{mospagebreak}

 

Serpent Wisdom

 

 

There are two distinct elements of practical wisdom originating in

the serpent tales, fables and folklore. Firstly that the physical

snake itself not only sloughs off its skin and appears to be re-born

from within a cave or under a rock, but that the very elements of

the physical snake could actually prevent disease and cures ill

health. The knowledge of amazing regenerative properties of the

various parts of the snake have been discovered in hundreds of

ancient medica materia, alchemical texts and hidden within folklore.

The venom of the snake was used as an Elixir to help prevent disease

through boosting the immune system with high levels of protein. And

secondly mixing the neurotoxic venom with the blood of the snake or

mammalian host such as a horse brings on altered states of

consciousness much akin to certain drugs used by shaman across the

world from ancient times. Visions of `otherworlds' seen in such

trances are often depicted as tombs, wombs or caves, within which

sometimes benevolent, sometimes terrible, serpents are encountered.

 

 

In any discussion of serpent wisdom we cannot fail to also mention

the ancient Hindu Kundalini practice. Kundalini means simply " coiled

serpent " and in the Indian system the ida and pingala energy

(through serpent channels) are raised up and down the spine to raise

the consciousness of the adept. There are six chakra energy vortices

aligning the spine, with a seventh emerging from the top of the

head, which is called the bindu. Each chakra location must be

traversed upwardly, and in balance, before one can achieve the bindu

enlightenment reminiscent of the reference in Apostles, Acts 2 where

enlightenment is reached and described as fire licking at the head

in the bindu position.

 

 

I recently met up with the dowser Hamish Miller who has followed the

Michael and Mary lines of telluric energy across Europe finding many

examples of Kundalini images and the dual serpentine caduceus known

to all health practitioners the world over. We shared our amazement

at the widespread frequency of the serpent in myth and folklore

 

 

Mankind has from time immemorial searched for longer life and divine

wisdom. The result is a sacred and often, secret code, hidden in the

landscape, locked away in ancient texts and deep within our own

inner energy system. It is a secret code of the divine and wise

serpent that has survived the attempts of the Christian Church to

eradicate it. If you hear its call, there is a wellspring of

knowledge out there for you to discover.

 

 

Notes

 

 

1 According to Giraldus Cambrensis or Gerald of Wales.

 

 

2 Today, the inner traditions of the serpent energy are most

prominent in the Kundalini and Chakra based systems practised by

Eastern adepts and many New Age societies in the West.

 

 

3 The Serpent Grail by Philip Gardiner with Gary Osborn, Watkins,

2005.

 

by Philip Gardiner Gary Osborn, Watkins, 2005.

4 The Ureaus, also known as Wadjyt, Wadjit, Uto, Uatchet and Edjo

was a pre-dynastic `cobra goddess' of Lower Egypt (approximately

4,000 BC) who took the title `The Eye of Ra.'

 

 

5 Chivim is a Hebrew word, meaning " sons of the female serpent " (or

Eve) and may imply a greater knowledge of this journey from a Judaic

perspective.

 

 

More Information

 

 

• ,The Serpent Grail: The Truth Behind the Holy Grail by Philip

Gardiner with Gary Osborn, published by Watkins at £16.99 Is

available from Kindred Spirit's mail order Collection.

 

 

• Philip Gardiner is the best selling author of The Shining Ones:

The world's most powerful secret society revealed, and with Gary

Osborn also The Serpent Grail: The Truth Behind the Holy Grail,

Elixir of Life and Philosopher's Stone and Gnosis: The Secret of

Solomon's Temple Revealed. Gardiner is a radio presenter, speaker

and does tours through www.powerplaces.com The authors websites are

www.philipgardiner.net, www.serpentgrail.com, www.theshiningones.com

and www.gardinerosborn.com