It's the Year of the Wood Snake! As we slither into the New Year 2025, we might draw some key inspiration, guidance, and insight from Nature about when and how to coil into our surroundings, or to proclaim boldly our outrageous uniqueness when the context calls for it. It all depends upon how well we can adapt as we navigate transition, and how wisely. In 2025, being able to adopt or shed our natural camouflage will be a critical skill for thinking, adaptation, healing, and growth.
First, about that snake... Ophidiophobia (<Gk. 'ophis' - snake + 'phobia' - fear) - the fear of snakes - is fairly common. The snake as a mythical creature has been much misunderstood in the Western canon, and much maligned, due to its association with a certain foundational myth about a serpent in a garden guarding the entry to the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. (Genesis 3) The serpent is cast as the villain, "tricking" Eve and Adam into eating the forbidden fruit.
Centuries of received patriarchal interpretation casts the mythological creature formerly revered as a harbinger of Wisdom and transformation to be something loathsome and at enmity with humanity. Likely, the presence of the serpent in the Genesis 3 story reflected its deeper connection to Hebraic Sophia (feminine) Wisdom tradition, but subsequent patriarchal interpretation which preferred the male (Logos-Word) Wisdom tradition, rendered its feminine Divine Wisdom Sophia foundation obsolete. With the interpretation that feminine failure, corruptibility, and disobedience is tied to serpent's cunning, the interpretive trajectory was inevitable. Women's weakness is to blame for humanity's downfall, coupled with the deceptive cunning of her skin-shedding consort, the serpent. Overt fear and dread of snakes as tricksters, deceivers, and frauds ensued, and characterizes the derogatory use of the English term "snake" thereafter as "one who betrays trust or allegiance." This is largely because the received patriarchal interpretation over two centuries of Christian exegesis of the origin story of sin was decidedly male and Logos-inspired, and hostile to the feminine Sophia/Wisdom tradition in which the story originally inhered. Sad for both women and snakes who both became known as villainous, treacherous, deceitful, and therefore, hated and feared by the virtuous. Snakes are still almost synonymous with evil: From the Harry Potter mythology, think Slytherin. Think Malfoy, but also Snape - the Traitor who was actually the Hero.
It's really quite a misconception to vilify snakes as contemptible and evil based on Genesis 3's patriarchal interpretation. If one considers that snakes in ancient mythologies symbolized divine Wisdom, potent transformation and miraculous healing, not fraudulent trickery, deceit, and enmity with the Divine, it might even be a diabolical smear campaign.
Let's go back to the serpent's mythological antecedents. In Greek mythology, the serpent Python guarded the entry to the Oracle at Delphi, as a guardian of sacred spaces and a prelude to Wisdom. The snake as a mythological creature is often depicted as entwined around the rod of Asclepius - the mythological son of Apollo who was revered as the god of healing. The serpent symbolized vitality, healing, and regenerative life, as its venom could restore what was poisoned, ailing - or even dead - and bring it to new life.
The rod of Asclepius, reflected in the well-known symbol of the caduceus,
remains a universal symbol of medicine and healing for this reason. The serpent was also seen as a creature of healing and new life in the Hebrew Bible, as reflected in the biblical narrative of Moses lifting the serpent on a staff in the wilderness to heal the people of their affliction of snakebites (Num. 21:8-9). As the snake miraculously sheds its skin, those who are healed of infirmities become new again, transformed. This is also the case with the serpent in ancient Chinese mythology, especially symbolized in Nuwa, the Snake Goddess of Creation, who acts as guardian of Wisdom, fertility, transformation, and the Divine. https://chriswilsonstudio.com/snakes-in-chinese-mythology/
Snakes as ancient mythological creatures are far from nefarious or fraudulent. They have gotten a bad rep from patriarchal interpretation in some Western religious traditions, but much of their symbolic significance relates to their association with GOOD - access to Wisdom, transformation, and miraculous healing. Snakes are good! Repeat after me: "Snakes are good!"
And there's more. Snakes are incredibly adept at adaptation. They know when to blend, and when to pop! What might we learn from their biological capacities as we imitate their adaptive camouflage techniques?
Hello, 2025! What we as a global community have experienced following significant tumultuous political, socio-economic, and environmental upheavals of 2024 signifies that much is coming to an end and much is deteriorating around and within us. Much is dying. We are reconsidering what it means to be human in the Age beyond the Anthropocene, when AI is ascending and human capacity for critical thinking is waning. Our relationship with creation is decaying. Earth-home is dying. We are reassessing our human status in a world in which corporate greed, excess, waste and environmental degradation threatens global welfare. It means much is decaying in predominant world-views, philosophies, religious and political institutions. We as humans -and "WE" as a global web of life - are undergoing profound metamorphosis. It means we need to learn the art of adaptive camouflage from our reptilian kin to propel us into 2025 and beyond.
Snakes exhibit extraordinary capabilities of adaptive camouflage such as:
Color-shifting: chromatophores matching pigment (https://www.snakes.ngo/color-change/#:~:text=Like%20many%20snakes%2C%20Arizona%20Black,Rattlesnakes%20can%20do%20this%20too!),
Shimmering-glowing radiance reflection: iridophores matching iridescence to their surroundings (https://asknature.org/strategy/adaptive-camouflage-helps-blend-into-the-environment/),
Shimmy-shifting: or the adaptive movement called "reverse crypsis" or "motion dazzle." This tactic is employed by snakes as they morph their movements to reflect environments in motion. https://bioone.org/journals/copeia/volume-105/issue-2/CH-16-500/A-Novel-Form-of-Behavioral-Camouflage-in-Colubrid-Snakes/10.1643/CH-16-500.short
What is also astounding is a protective feature called "Aposematic coloration" - warning colors like red that signal potential predators that attacking or consuming this snake will result in extreme distaste, poisoning or death.
An evolutionary adaptive trait utilizing warning colors is called "Batesian mimicry," observed in species not actually harmful to predators, but advertising that they are harmful in order to deter would-be attackers.
Another protective trait is "musking." Many snakes can release or squirt acrid-smelling fluids consisting of feces, uric acid and anal gland musk from the cloaca to deter a predator. Yeah. That's right. Dirty, squirty, smelly liquid makes them unappealing to would-be attackers. What a way to stand out from the crowd! https://californiaherps.com/behavior/snakelifehistorydefense.html
Once we become aware of these amazing adaptive techniques, what can we learn to help us in our own journey in 2025?
If we are in the business of selling or advertising, we certainly know a bit about standing out - or "popping" to distinguish us or our product from the "background," or the "run-of-the-mill," or the "others." "Us" vs. "Them" is a technique many learn in Business Marketing 101. It usually features denigrating the "other." But marketing in a way that calls us to pay attention to what can draw us together is another thing entirely.
Take "aposematic (warning) coloration" or "musking," for example. These are techniques that warn off would-be predators, but they mean much more in the collective eco-system. They communicate, warn, and encourage alternative interaction. What can we learn?
We have plenty of warning signals that tell us when to stay away: scowls, fists, rudeness, crude language. What tells us when to come together? A smile that reaches the eyes, open hands, open arms? A friendly hello? A jaunty wave? How do we know when we ourselves are most receptive to coming together? Do we need a drink in our hand, or a certain "upper" to help us? Or can we learn from Nature how to measure our own "interactive aptitude?"
There are smart phone apps to measure biorhythmic cycles, but perhaps the best measurement apparatus for knowing when to come together is the discipline of self-awareness. Our bodily and emotional energy patterns can be measured in periods of days, hours, even minutes. What if we could expand our biorhythm measurement capacities beyond cyclic/daily "physical, emotional, intellectual, and intuitive" statuses to "Soul Energy" (SE)- to "light up" when we feel inspired or grateful or in awe, or loved? Or, what if they all converge as Joy, and our SE soars?
To engage 2025 with intention and creative prowess, we must learn to measure our Soul (<Gk. psuche = psyche, energy, animated life force) Energy that fluctuates with vibrancy. When our SE is dynamic, when we are feeling an energetic flow, or feeling euphoric and free, grateful and joyful, we are ready for healthy communication and interaction. Perhaps such a "Collaboration Potency Indicator" (CPI) could signal that now would be a great time for getting together, brainstorming, creative planning, conflict resolution or problem-solving, invention, intervention, composting, composition, or even courting. Wouldn't that help our teammates/partners? What if we could predict that our SE comes alive most readily between certain predictable times most days, due to refueling, exercise, or Nature immersion? What if it is activated in certain peer groups and stunted in others? What if certain habits/activities/diets could stimulate SE? What if we could learn to cultivate and grow SE?
We could measure SE with personalized light, color choices, or even scent indicators. Pheromones are chemicals capable of communicating information about the individual to the receiver, such as alarm pheromones, food trail pheromones, sex pheromones, and others that can affect behavior and physiology. We could activate different scents, inspired by our own SE, as forms of self-expression or communicative signals. We could advertise our aromatic/color/light indicator SE with our business cards, around a dinner table, especially when the possibility for potent interaction is strong.
Alternatively, what if our SE begins flagging as an indicator to our team or partner that we need to refuel, slow down, or exercise? When our SE is waning, we take a break, whether it's scheduled or not. When SE is dynamic, we engage fully in relationship, whether professional or personal.
Blending in is something we learn from the time we are introduced to social circles. We become experts by middle school if we are popular kids. The ones who fail to assimilate to the peer group often struggle with isolation, ostracization, or exclusion. To the extent we learn to "pop" beyond our peer group, we become confident as adults, capable of informing our own conscience, and forming our own rational judgment. We must also learn and practice this skill in an environment that requires us to pivot from peer pressure to conform to beliefs or practices that are harmful to the whole. We must know when to "pop" in a way that is healthy for the wider "We."
If our SE is dynamic and flowing, and we are feeling especially integrated, we know when to blend and when to pop. If our SE is static or slacking, we know it is time to do some form of "warning coloration" or "musking" so that we can discourage or prevent potentially harmful over-reaction, incendiary behavior, or violence. When we are feeling loss, sadness or loneliness, or some form of PTSD is rearing, or our depression or autism is activating in a given environment, our SE is likely to be flickering.
It's the Year of the Wood Snake! Now is the time for Wisdom, Healing, and Transformation. Time to calibrate our Soul Energy to the wider "We" of creation. Time to blend; time to pop! Time to peel away what is flaking off and dying, and time to uncoil into what is potent, exhilarating, and energizing. C'mon 2025!
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