The World Serpent

The serpent, known as a Wyrm in Anglo Saxon English, is one of the oldest and most common mythological symbols and is found within most religious traditions. However, its symbology is complex and contradictory as it can be seen as both good and evil and of bringing about creation as well as seeking to destroy it. Its venom is sometimes associated with plants and fungi that have the power to heal, to poison or to expand consciousness. In some traditions, the snake is associated with the afterlife, rebirth and with immortality; expressed mythologically by the shedding of its skin. Because of this, the snake was in many early traditions seen as very wise and close to the divine.

The world serpent is thought to have its roots in ancient Egyptian religion. In Bronze Age myths, the serpent was thought to be the consort of the Goddess, uniting with her to bring fertility to the earth. Even today, some Native American peoples of the north west coast perform a winter sun ritual based on their belief that the sun has been imprisoned by the powers of darkness and water, which is expressed mythologically as the serpent Sisul. In Indian mythology, the serpent Vasuki is pulled around by the gods and demons in a tug of war that stirs up the ocean of milk to bring about creation. In Celtic mythology, the world originated from an egg which came from the mouth of a serpent. In Babylonian myth, the god Marduk overcame the dragon-like monster Tiamet so that he could form heaven and earth from the creature’s body.

The serpent is said to know all things. For instance in Greek mythology, the children of Hecuba, Queen of Troy, were licked by a serpent and received the gift of prophecy. Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom is associated with snakes, which were seen as guardians of her temple. Prudentia, the personification of practical wisdom of the middle ages, is also associated with snakes. This association may be linked to the eastern concept of ‘raising Kundalini’ or serpent fire. This is a practice which aims to arouse the power of the sleeping serpent, a practice which seeks to awaken the dormant psychic and spiritual energy which lies within all of us and which draws us closer to the divine.

Similarly, the serpent plays a role as the guardian of wisdom and eternal life in Mesopotamian myths, such as the epic of Gilgamesh.

In Persian Zoroastrian mythology, a plant called haoma is said to have bestowed immortality, but Ahriman (the adversary of Ahura Mazda) created a serpent that would harm this plant. In Zoroastrian tradition then, the serpent is an off-spring of the evil god (Ahriman) and fights against the good god (Ahura Mazda). In the conflict between these two principles of good and evil, the realm of good is often portrayed as an eagle, whilst the realm of evil as a serpent. This principle was taken on board in Christian artwork, in which an eagle is used to symbolise Christ and the serpent or dragon to symbolise evil or the devil.

An early creation myth of the Pelasgian Greeks tells of how Eurynome, the goddess of all things, rose naked from the Chaos, and finding nothing solid to place her feet upon, divided the sea from the sky and danced from north to south creating a wind from which sprang the great serpent, Ophion. As Eurynome danced, the serpent Ophion wrapped himself around her and moved to couple with her. Eurynome became pregnant. She then took the form of a dove and laid the universal egg. Ophion coiled seven times around this egg, until it hatched. Out tumbled all things of creation; the sun, moon, stars, the earth with all its mountains, plants and living creatures. Following on from this, Eurynome and Ophion made their home on Mount Olympus, where the serpent claimed to be the creator of the universe. These false claims greatly angered Eurynome, and she kicked out his teeth and banished him to the caves below the earth. She then created the seven planetary powers, setting a Titan (Giant) or Titaness over each. The first man was Pelasgus, ancestor of the Pelasgians. He sprang up from the soil of Arcadia and as other humans also rose from this soil, he showed them how to hunt, farm and build.

In Christianity, the serpent is associated with the devil who entices the primal woman, Eve, to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge. Eve also offers the fruit to the primal man, Adam, who also eats it. As a result, they are banished from the paradise of the garden of Eden into our material world of imperfection, death and disease. This story, which seeks to explain our current situation in this world reflects the association of the serpent with wisdom, but this time in a negative rather than positive manner. However, the serpent is not always treated as evil in the Judeao-Christian tradition. In delivering the children of Israel out of the darkness of slavery in Egypt, Moses demonstrates his power by transforming his staff into a serpent.

The term ‘Ouroboros’ is derived from Greek, and simply means a creature ‘that consumes its own tail’ or more simply ‘tail-devourer’. It is depicted in mythology as a serpent that wraps itself in a ring around the world and is depicted with its mouth in its tail. This symbolism probably derives through Greek art, based on an earlier Egyptian iconography. The biting and devouring of its own tail symbolises the cyclic nature of the universe; creation out of destruction, life out of death or the birth, death, re-birth cycle. Ouroboros eats its own tail to sustain its life, in an eternal cycle of renewal.

Plato described a self-eating, circular being as the first living thing in the universe. He saw this as both immortal and perfect, although he does not specifically refer to it as a serpent. Indeed, Plato’s description could be seen as a representation of the universe itself as a living, self-sufficient being:

"The living being had no need of eyes when there was nothing remaining outside him to be seen; nor of ears when there was nothing to be heard; and there was no surrounding atmosphere to be breathed; nor would there have been any use of organs by the help of which he might receive his food or get rid of what he had already digested, since there was nothing which went from him or came into him: for there was nothing beside him. Of design he was created thus, his own waste providing his own food, and all that he did or suffered taking place in and by himself. For the Creator conceived that a being which was self-sufficient would be far more excellent than one which lacked anything; and, as he had no need to take anything or defend himself against any one, the Creator did not think it necessary to bestow upon him hands: nor had he any need of feet, nor of the whole apparatus of walking; but the movement suited to his spherical form was assigned to him, being of all the seven that which is most appropriate to mind and intelligence; and he was made to move in the same manner and on the same spot, within his own limits revolving in a circle. All the other six motions were taken away from him, and he was made not to partake of their deviations. And as this circular movement required no feet, the universe was created without legs and without feet."

The imagery of a serpent forming an eternal circle by consuming its own tail was adopted by many Gnostics in the early Christian era and remains important to modern Gnostic groups. They see the Ouroboros as the bringer of wisdom to humankind, probably deriving this association from Greek mythology. To many Gnostics, the Old Testament god is known as the demiurge – itself a notion derived from Greek mythology and pagan philosophy. To them, the demiurge is not the true God, but only thinks he is. The Ouroboros represents divine intervention on behalf of the true God in order to free humankind from the strictures of the jealous demiurge. It is, however, interesting to note that Greek mythology also supports a notion that the serpent itself represents the demiurge – see the story above regarding the mythology of the Pelasgian Greeks.

But the Ouroboros represents more than just wisdom, because the imagery of it consuming itself in an endless cycle of birth and death reminds us of the life Christ offers us through his death on the cross. This life is coupled with a mythology that teaches us the importance of wisdom; knowledge and understanding. Ouroboros, therefore, is a reminder that to grow spiritually, we need to grow in true wisdom and that through death comes life. It is not an easy symbolism to understand, but lies at the heart of many of the world’s spiritual traditions.

In some representations, notably the Byzantine Ouroboros, the serpent is depicted as half light and half dark, half feathered and half smooth. This iconography represents the notion of equal and opposites; male and female, light and dark, fire and ice. These are opposites that work together in a process of creation rather than conflict. This idea was taken forward by the alchemists who used the Ouroboros as a symbol of the circular nature of their main philosophy which is based around uniting opposites. This has clear resonance with our ancient mythology which sees creation as the result of a mingling of opposite energies represented by fire and ice and also in the on-going battle between Thor and the Thurs (Giants).

Indeed, the Ouroboros is well known in North European mythology, best preserved in the Norse mythology surrounding Jormungandr. The middle child of Loki and the giantess Angrboda, he is a huge sea serpent who wraps his body around the earth and is depicted as eating his tale. Related to both Hel and Fenris Wolf, he fights against the gods at Ragnarok, killing and being killed by Thor. One story tells of Thor rowing out to sea with the giant Hymir. When they reached Hymir’s usual fishing ground, Thor wanted to go out much further to sea. Hymir was afraid of this because he thought it was unsafe due to the chance of meeting Jormungandr in such deep waters. Thor ignored his pleas to stay closer to the coast and rowed out well into the ocean. Then Thor prepared a strong fishing line with a huge hook and before long the serpent bit. Thor hauled Jormungandr upwards out of the sea and the two squared up to each other – poison oozing from Jormungandr’s jaws. However, battle was averted as the terrified Hymir cut the line and the serpent sank back into the sea.

Jormungandr clearly represents a North European version of the Ouroboros myth. We can therefore read more deeply into the symbology he conveys than can be gleaned simply from the few remaining scraps of myth we have remaining to us. He represents the continuum of the birth, death, rebirth cycle. He represents ancient or primal wisdom, but his relationship to Loki suggests a complexity that requires more consideration. Loki is often portrayed as a trickster, in some ways the Norse version of the devil. He, and his kin, are the main adversaries of the gods at Ragnarok, yet at other times he is their close companion and friend. This apparent contradiction of opposites coming together to bring about change and creation lies at the heart of our folk faith. From the destruction of Ragnarok comes a new order. From death comes new life. Thus, Jormungandr represents the very essence of the primal serpent and the Ouroboros, the act of continuing evolutionary creation and the links between these processes and the ancient primal wisdom rooted in the cosmos. It is this primal wisdom that we seek through the Runes and which will help guide us on the path of light to Christ. But the wisdom represented by the serpent is raw and potentially dangerous.

There is another serpent in Norse mythology; the dragon Nidhogg or ‘dread biter’. Nidhogg is a huge serpent who lives under the waters of the Hevergelmere in the realm of Nifelham and in this, his myth seems likely to be related to that of Jormungandr. He spends his time feeding on the bodies of the dead and gnawing at one of the three roots of the World Tree, Yggdrasil, that runs through the underworld. His aim is to undermine the foundations of the tree, which is a mythological expression for undermining the foundations of all creation. Nidhogg trades insults with the eagle who lives at the top of the tree in heaven via the squirrel Ratatosk, again a mythological expression of the interaction of opposites that bring about change and a new order. This representation is interesting as the serpent and eagle have been used by many traditions to represent good and evil, including Zoroastrianism and Christianity.

At the Ragnarok, Nidhogg rises and brings the corpses of the dead with him to fight against the gods. He survives the battle to live in the order that follows; a mythological representation of the continuing interaction of opposite forces that bring about evolutionary creation that forms the basis of our mythology.

More recent Christian legend tells of St George fighting a dragon, apparently a tale of good against evil. Contrary to popular belief, the myth of St George has its origins in our native Germanic mythology, including that of Beowulf and Sigurd as well as the tales of Thor and Jormungandr. The middle eastern legends brought back from the crusades are only a gloss on this older myth (see article on St George). In Anglo Saxon Christianity, wyrms or dragons were thought to guard the gates of hell and icons were produced in England to depict this. There are clear links between this and the serpents’ mythological association with Hel and as guardians of the temple of Athena. In mythology, dragons also guarded a treasure - something that can be seen to tie us to this earthly life and hinder our spiritual development.

As with the ancient myth, the dragon should not simply be seen as an evil adversary of St George to be slain. It is a complementary, albeit opposing force to the warrior hero and represents raw power and wealth as well as primal wisdom. Dragons were used by the Anglo Saxons to depict these qualities, possibly in a way to unsettle their opponents in battle. But the dragon, whilst frightening, was a force to be harnessed to a positive cause or purpose rather than something that is purely negative. A white dragon is a national symbol of England and used by many as the true flag of the Anglo Saxon English. In this sense the dragon is a guardian of our land, people and heritage.

The association of the serpent’s venom with healing power and the ability to expand consciousness relates to the shamanic practices of our ancestors that were used both for healing and for exploring other realms of reality. As Hel is to be seen as the primal world, rather than the place of torture and damnation the Church turned it into, it is no surprise then that the serpent came to be represented with that place – which is more akin to paradise than our modern notion of hell. The realm of Hel is the link between our world of form and the higher planes of Heofenrice and Aelfham. It is necessary to pass through Hel to reach these. Thus, our native myth does not see the serpent as intrinsically evil. It represents the pathway of the shaman – of primal wisdom and the journey in search of spiritual fulfilment, union with the godhead or what we can call the Odin consciousness. The realm of Hel is the primal world, the world of creation and restoration. It is also the realm from where the holy Runes come from, representing primal knowledge and wisdom. The old representation of Ouroboros as the guardian of primal knowledge therefore fits in well with its more modern depiction as guarding the gates of hell. We should look into this myth for its deeper meaning rather than the superficial story of a fight between good and evil.

So, we have two mythical wyrms or serpents; Jormungandr and Nidhogg. Jormungandr, at least, is closely associated with the ancient Ouroboros and as such represents the cycle of evolutionary creation as well as the wisdom of ancient knowledge. We know from previous studies that Thor represents order and the ‘positive’ processes of creation whereas the Eotens or Giants (to which Jormungandr and Nidhogg are aligned) represent chaos and the ‘negative’ processes. Whilst necessary for evolutionary creation to take place, are also destructive and potentially degenerative powers. The same is true of the primal knowledge and wisdom they represent. As the god forces represented by Thor are necessary to harness and properly direct the forces of chaos, so they are necessary to properly understand this primal wisdom and knowledge. The Cosmic Christ as Pantokreter embodies all our myth of the god force associated with Thor in maintaining the order of creation and preventing a return to chaos. Similarly, the primal wisdom represented by the Ouroboros can only be properly understood in light of the revelation of Christ and through the holy Runes. This knowledge is the knowledge of creation and of the creator. It is the knowledge that makes us whole and leads us to spiritual union with the Godhead. It is the underlying wisdom and knowledge that is found in the Runes, revealed to us by the Logos and brought to us by Woden from the depths of the cosmos as represented by the world tree Yggdrasil. The Folk Church does not regard this wisdom as wrong or something that we should not seek. On the contrary, our spiritual evolution depends on it. But we need to properly understand this wisdom through the Runes and through the Christ that came into our world and remains with us and within us to this day. Knowledge in itself is neither good nor evil, it is the purpose we seek it and the use we put it to that is important. Furthermore, without true understanding, knowledge will not lead to wisdom. The importance of the Ouroboros myth is that it teaches us this.

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