When I first began to work with serpent energies, my guides started me off working with serpent energies, then they began teaching me how to work with the dragon energies. But, becasue there seemed to many crossovers between the energies of the serpents and those of the dragons, I asked for clarity. This is what they said: (The italicised words indicated communication from my guides).

“Dragons are the guardians of the underworld, both that of the Earth realm and that of the realm of human consciousness. When you awaken the sleeping dragon, you are initiating a course of action within the mind of humanity, which will change the thinking of everyone on the Earth plane. For this reason, only certain people are ‘qualified’ to work with the dragons, as they have built up, over many incarnations, the ability to work with the human mind. Their thinking is focused and direct and they are capable of deep contemplation, plumbing their own depths and that of humanity. The dragon represents all that is mighty and powerful within the forces of creation. In awakening this dragon you also awaken man’s ability to create heaven on earth. Only in using power with wisdom can true magic be effected.

The serpents, on the other hand, are those energies which allow for certain frequencies to be brought into play. The Earth serpents ‘maintain’ an energetic balance between sun and Earth. They hold the grid in place. Without their energy, there would be no world. They are designed to activate certain areas within the grid that resonate with Divine Power. At these sites, abundance is attained and with it, the lessons of Power. The ability to generate abundance that is free to all depends on the ability to balance power with desire. If one desires much and is given what they desire, yet their power issues are out of balance, that abundance is then used for personal gain and does not benefit the whole.

However, when abundance is achieved by one who balances power with desire, that abundance is then used to generate ‘more abundance’ for the common good and the betterment of humanity. Working with the serpents needs courage and dedication. Working with the dragons requires a sound connection to both Sun/heaven and the Earth. When you assist in their awakening, and maintenance, continual creation is assured.

In the time of the ancestors, this ability to work with the serpent energy was well known. Many goddesses, and gods, were portrayed with serpents because they worked with the flows of fertility energy in the land, and within their bodies. They understood the deep connection between their own sacred sexual spirituality and the fertility of the land, and often temple fertility rites involved sexual rituals to both feed the land with this sacred energy, and the people.

The serpent priests/priestesses, trained for many years to become capable of holding and guiding this serpent energy of fertility to bring it to the land, the land that grew the crops which then fed the people. Highly trained men and women ensured the people were fed and the elements were kept in balance. At least in their part of the world.

Serpents, as an expression of fertility, keep the energies of the soil, alive and vibrant. This energy, the soil which is alive with it, maintains the growth of every living thing. It allows the water to keep flowing, the sun to connect to the earth and energetic particles of charged air to feed everything that flies or that reaches to the skies.

There are serpents of water, serpents of land, of the sun, and the serpent of the force of fertility from the Mother herself. Many sacred sites, such as Cathedrals, are built upon great rivers of blue serpent energy, the waters of which are both energetic and physical. Ceremony held at these places feeds the serpent river and this charged water then travels through the land, feeding everything it touches. Water was life and the fertility of the water was of the utmost importance.

Serpents, and their energies have been venerated for millenia. Here are some examples:

Serpents played a significant role in Egyptian mythology. The cobra, known as the “uraeus,” was a symbol of sovereignty, worn on the crowns of pharaohs. But only those pharoahs who had mastered their own emotions and thoughts and undergone initiation could use the serpent energy the uraeus represented. This was the rising of the golden earth serpent energies up the spine and over the head. Once this level of activation had been achieved, the pharoah could then see with the eye of the serpent, meaning he saw with the Will of the Divine mother. His vision was now hers.

Snakes, particularly cobras, are venerated in India. The Nagas (serpent deities) are powerful and protective figures. In Hinduism, the serpent Shesha is seen as the king of all Nagas. Snakes in Hinduism are often associated with the god Shiva, who wears a snake around his neck, symbolizing control over time and death. They are also connected to fertility and the life force.

The serpent was associated with healing in Greek mythology. The god Asclepius, the deity of medicine and healing, was often depicted with a staff entwined by a serpent, a symbol still used in medicine today (the Rod of Asclepius). Serpents were also connected to oracles, such as the Oracle of Delphi, where the Python, a serpent, was said to guard the sacred site before being slain by Apollo. These cobra guardians were the protectors of the feminine oracles so in slaying it, he was laying it bare to his masculine will, his power over the feminine.

In Mesoamerican cultures, particularly the Aztecs, the Feathered Serpent, Kukulkan was a deity associated with the morning star, wind, learning, and the arts. This deity was revered for bringing civilization and was a major figure in religious practices. During the equinoxes, on a site called ‘The Castle’, as the sun moves it creates an optical illusion of a serpent moving down the pyramid. The solar cretive energies being brought to earth to fertilise it.

In Hatshepsut’s mortuary temple, in Luxor, Egypt, descending down either side of the main staircase, are carved undulating serpents that move downwards, taking the light of the sun from the upper world. They end at the body of Horus, the Hawk, Divine intermediary between the deities and man and messenger of the Gods. The energies have to be ‘stepped down’ so they can be utilised by the land and its people.

In Norse mythology, Jörmungandr, the Midgard Serpent, is a colossal serpent that encircles the world and is destined to battle Thor during Ragnarök, the end of the world. This serpent symbolizes both the cyclic nature of the world and inevitable destruction. InCeltic Symbolism and culture, serpents often symbolized renewal, healing, and the earth’s fertility. The serpent was a potent symbol in Druidic traditions.

In Southeast Asia, particularly in Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand, the Nagas are serpent beings believed to inhabit the underworld and protect the earth and its waters. Naga offerings are made to ensure protection from natural disasters and to seek blessings for water and fertility.

Among some Native American tribes, the serpent is a powerful figure in creation myths and is associated with the earth and water. The Horned Serpent, for instance, is a significant figure in the mythology of tribes like the Cherokee and the Lakota.

In the Christian tradition, the serpent is most famously associated with the Garden of Eden story, where it tempts Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. This act links the serpent with sin, temptation, and the devil in Christian theology. And yet, prior to this demonisation of women, and their connection to serpent power, the Goddess was the trees and the fruit and the serpent. They were her gifts, her power and she shared them freely.

In Fijian belief, the god Degei is depicted as a serpent. He is considered the creator of the islands and the judge of souls in the afterlife. Degei’s serpentine form symbolizes power, creation, and the duality of life and death.

So you can see how powerful this serpent energy is as an archetype. As an energy, it is equally powerful.

There are two celestial serpents which travel through space and through the Earth, keeping it anchored. The blue serpent energy is female and circles the earth many times before finding an ‘entrance point’. This serpent is usually associated with rain. The original people of Australia speak of the Rainbow Serpent, which enters, and leaves, via waterholes, sacred to them. For hundreds, if not thousands, of years, they have been the custodians of this sacred work.

Both the Blue and Gold Celestial serpents are the energies that come from outside the planet as Sun and Rain, the two physical energies needed for life on Earth. And although they are Celestial energies, they also need to travel through the Planet in order for their energy to permeate the body of the Earth. The Gold and Blue energy lines flow throughout the land, surfacing in certain places and at certain times of the year, then going underground again.

My first introduction to future work with the serpent goddesses was about thirty years ago. A friend and I were doing a meditation to find our Soul names. I listened for mine but was not getting anything, then I heard ‘Astarte’. Astarte, I thought? Isn’t she a goddess? That can’t be my soul name. So, I asked again, frustrated, and again it came back: ‘Astarte’. I obviously was not doing this right, so I gave up and thought I would it some other time. But, unbeknownst to me, I had just received my Goddess-aspect name which would explain why I seemed to do fertility work with sacred sites in the landscape.

Astarte was a Canaanite goddess of fertility but also worhsipped in Egypt where a temple was dedicated to her in Memphis.

In this image, she is holding lotuses in one hand and serpents in the other, and she is standing on a lion, which represents power on earth. The god of fertility, Min, stands at her right hand side, and the pharoah stands to her left.

If you are interested in reading about the journals of working with these energies you will find them here:

http://gaiamethodtravel.wordpress.com/travels-through-aran-time-ireland/