This is not surprising. The serpent has been given many meanings in the world's mythology. It has been a symbol of wisdom and a symbol of evil, a symbol of God and a symbol of the Devil. In its ability to shed its skin and be 'reborn', it has been a symbol of resurrection and, hence, a symbol of Christ. Corresponding to this association with birth and rebirth, it has been a symbol of sexuality and a symbol of healing. It has referred to the world of the senses and the world of the spirit. It rises to the heavens as a phallic symbol, an emblem of power, potency and enlightenment. It encircles reality and swallows its own tail, indicating wholeness and completeness and oneness. It dives into the earth, eating dust and signifying death. So as a symbol, the serpent spreads its infinite meaning from the 'Above' to the 'Below', from the highest to the lowest.

We all recall the story of the serpent in the Garden, but there are many other times when serpents appear in the Bible. Consider, for instance, this episode which takes place toward the end of the forty-year journey across the wilderness. (We will again approach the story as an allegory, symbolically describing what occurs within an individual's soul):

Once again, the people "grew restive on the journey, and the people spoke against God and against Moses." But this, at last, would be the final episode of the soul's 'murmuring' against God.

It was the usual complaint: no water and no real food -- just the spiritual manna which these lowly elements could of course no longer stomach -- and the wish to remain 'Below' and die in the wilderness.

The Lord heard their murmurings, and granted their request. He sent seraph, which means fiery serpents, against the people. "They bit the people and many of the Israelites died." These serpents, of course, represent the serpent power at its lowest level on the scale of Creation, where the serpent of Eden "bites our heel". This is precisely how most of us die, bitten by the serpent, poisoned and mesmerized by the realm of matter, and dying in a state of meaninglessness.

But others of the people came in desperation to Moses and asked him to intercede with the Lord. And Moses, the level of the soul that talks with God, "interceded for the people".

God told Moses that he must build a great Serpent of Copper and mount it on a high pole: "And if anyone who is bitten looks at it, he shall recover." This supernatural decree is startling. But after all, the serpent also represents the highest aspects of God's divine power. If the soul will open its inner eye and look up at the serpent rather than down, if it will turn its attention to the 'Above' and put its full, absolute faith in God, then it will be healed of the lower serpent's bite, it will live, and it will be able to continue its journey 'home' to God.

In the New Testament, Jesus refers once again to this symbolism when he says, "And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life."

He gives his disciples some very good advice when he says: "See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves."