The Snake

Unlike in the Christian Mythology, the snake can be in an animistic context also a positive symbol.

This tattoo is based on the visions received in an Ayahuasca ritual.

A story from a North American first nation tribe, freely told from my memory, I heard it a long time ago:


In the beginning of all times the great spirits searched for someone, who could be the sun, so they called out to all beings and searched for  the sun.

The first, who came up, was the Buzzard and he thought:
“Ha, my feathers are the most beautiful, shining golden, I shall be the sun!”
So the great spirits let him fly high up in the sky and he performed the most amazing circles and did his very best to be the most beautiful light in the sky.
But after a while everyone got tired and stiff in the neck from watching the Buzzards show above them, so they ordered him down again and said, that it was not good, when the Buzzard was the sun.

Next was the raven and he thought:
“Ha, people always think, I am a dark character, bringer of bad luck, but I’ll show them, what I’m capable of!”
So he spread his wings and took off in the air, but whatever he did, he just looked like a small dark cloud in the sky.
So they ordered him down again and said, that it was not good, when the raven was the sun.

After him came  Coyote, he likes to play tricks and have everything under control so he thought:
“Ha, from up there I’ll have a perfect overview over everything and can play some nice tricks!”
But Coyote can’t fly, so he had to jump and after a while they were sick of protecting their head because Coyote was jumping around like crazy.
So they ordered him down again and said, that it was not good, when Coyote was the sun.

Then the snake came crawling up and she said, she wanted to be the sun.
And they said: “You, snake? But you’re crawling on the ground all day long, why do you want to be the sun?”
And snake said: “Because I dreamt about it.”

So she rolled herself to a spiral and when she unrolled, she stripped off a yellow part of her skin, which is the sunrise.

 Then she stripped off a white part of her skin, which is the midday.

After that she stripped off a red part of her skin, which is the sunset.

Finally she stripped off a black part off her skin, which is the night.

Everyone was satisfied and went to bed.
So it came, that the snake became the sun.

And Snake also shows us, how we as people should be, not like the Buzzard, always showing off and being vain.
Also not like the raven, desperately trying to be something that we just not are.
Not like Coyote either, being full of games and try to have everything under control.

The Snake teaches us a good way: live for your dreams and give your skin for the others.