The Cosmic Serpent  

In a bold and revolutionary analysis French anthropologist Jeremy Narby concluded that the repeated occurrence of serpents in most mythologies and religions was not a coincidence.

Serpentine visions are a common element in psychedelic trances experienced in many ceremonies of traditional peoples around the world.

In many cases, the relationship between entheogenic substances and visions have been made explicit by shamans who had the experience themselves.

Narby obtained first-hand information from several Amazonian communities who confirmed the link between the consumption of ayahuasca and the acquisition of knowledge supplied by a wise serpent who appeared to them in visions.

In other cases, the relationship seems to be very probable: ololiuhqui and teonanacatl consumption and visions of serpents in Mexican peoples, the occurrence of serpents in Hindu cosmology resulting from ingestion of soma and, perhaps, cannabis, and the ergot and cannabis influence in the mystical experiences of Eleusis and Delphi, which in turn led to the development of serpents   in Greek mythology.

In other cases the substance causing the vision is not known. But that does not mean they did not exist.

The exhaustive work carried out by Jeremy Narby is a milestone in anthropology that can not be ignored.

What remain to define are the neurological and physical-chemical reasons that lead to this kind of visionary trances.

According to Narby, the cause must be sought in the particular constitution of human DNA, which combined with the psychoactive properties of certain plants can produce the experienced effects.

In fact, Narby agues that double images of coiled serpents mimic the real form of DNA.

The human body is made up of billions of cells and in each of them there is a very complex DNA molecule. That applies particularly to the nervous system.

No wonder that, under the influence of certain drugs, the nervous cells form elongated depictions double serpents.

Other images that are generated in visions are vines which seem like plant stairs also very similar to the shape of the DNA molecule.

This essential human nature as expressed in the DNA, appears openly when ingesting certain powerful psychoactive substances.

    

 Celestial Serpents

In almost all traditional societies throughout human history the images of serpents symbolizing the origins of wisdom are renewed.

As early as 2,000 to bd a Mesopotamian seal represented a serpentine deity.

She had a human form and in her hands held  the caduceus with two snakes entwined in a double helix.

From the visions induced by ayahuasca, the Shipibo-Conibo communities of the Amazon jungle in the present territory of Peru identify the Cosmic Anaconda which they believe is the protector spirit of life 3   .

For the Mapuche the beginning and subsequent development of the universe was ruled by two serpents (filu), the sea serpent: Kaikafilu, and the land serpent, Trengtrengfilu.The Cosmic Serpent  

In a bold and revolutionary analysis French anthropologist Jeremy Narby concluded that the repeated occurrence of serpents in most mythologies and religions was not a coincidence.

Serpentine visions are a common element in psychedelic trances experienced in many ceremonies of traditional peoples around the world.

In many cases, the relationship between entheogenic substances and visions have been made explicit by shamans who had the experience themselves.

Narby obtained first-hand information from several Amazonian communities who confirmed the link between the consumption of ayahuasca and the acquisition of knowledge supplied by a wise serpent who appeared to them in visions.

In other cases, the relationship seems to be very probable: ololiuhqui and teonanacatl consumption and visions of serpents in Mexican peoples, the occurrence of serpents in Hindu cosmology resulting from ingestion of soma and, perhaps, cannabis, and the ergot and cannabis influence in the mystical experiences of Eleusis and Delphi, which in turn led to the development of serpents   in Greek mythology.

In other cases the substance causing the vision is not known. But that does not mean they did not exist.

The exhaustive work carried out by Jeremy Narby is a milestone in anthropology that can not be ignored.

What remain to define are the neurological and physical-chemical reasons that lead to this kind of visionary trances.

According to Narby, the cause must be sought in the particular constitution of human DNA, which combined with the psychoactive properties of certain plants can produce the experienced effects.

In fact, Narby agues that double images of coiled serpents mimic the real form of DNA.

The human body is made up of billions of cells and in each of them there is a very complex DNA molecule. That applies particularly to the nervous system.

No wonder that, under the influence of certain drugs, the nervous cells form elongated depictions double serpents.

Other images that are generated in visions are vines which seem like plant stairs also very similar to the shape of the DNA molecule.

This essential human nature as expressed in the DNA, appears openly when ingesting certain powerful psychoactive substances.

        

Celestial Serpents

In almost all traditional societies throughout human history the images of serpents symbolizing the origins of wisdom are renewed.

As early as 2,000 to bd a Mesopotamian seal represented a serpentine deity.

She had a human form and in her hands held  the caduceus with two snakes entwined in a double helix.

From the visions induced by ayahuasca, the Shipibo-Conibo communities of the Amazon jungle in the present territory of Peru identify the Cosmic Anaconda which they believe is the protector spirit of life 3   .

For the Mapuche the beginning and subsequent development of the universe was ruled by two serpents (filu), the sea serpent: Kaikafilu, and the land serpent, Trengtrengfilu.

Beyond the Pacific Ocean, in Australia, aboriginal peoples believed they descended from the Great Mother, the Rainbow Serpent.

She was also present in Chinese mythology, represented by two serpentine shapes symbolizing the essential, complementary and opposing principles: Yin and Yang. They are two coiled and androgynous silhouettes which epitomize the forces that make all aspects of life.

Yin represents earth, she is female, dark, passive and absorbent, she is present in even numbers in the valleys and waterways.

Yang is Heaven, male, light, he is active and penetrating, he is present in odd numbers, in the mountains and in the solid lines.

Together they become the dragon, a winged and double serpent, representing the cosmic evolution.  We are living both yin and yang times, the synthesis of opposing principles.

In India, the Serpent Mother is represented by Sesha, the thousand-headed serpent.

Even in the drama of Judeo-Christian biblical Genesis, despite being disowned by the church paradigm, the serpent is also present. She is the one that takes care of the tree of knowledge. The original sin of the first human couple, for the values ​?of the patriarchal society was wanting to find the truth, gain knowledge, to return to their natural origins.?And in this attempt, as did many other peoples, there was the serpent.

In Mesoamerica, from the old days of the Olmecs, it was possible to see allegorical representations of flying snakes, even in the Maya and Teotihuacan pictures, they reappear again and again as the magical symbolism of the Plumed Serpent.?

Quetzalcoatl is the Aztec vision of the fundamental duality of the ancient serpent, the term, of Nahuatl origin, is constructed with two roots: quetzal (feather, bird) and coatl (twins, snake).

As describes Ptolemy Tomkins referring to the Mexican native world:

?It started to take shape ... a being composed of wind, waves and rain, whose essence was movement and whose body was that of the snake.?This snake lived in heaven, and its presence was manifested everywhere ....

This serpent of heaven had its counterpart living on earth and between the two divided the universe.

Sleepy and cold, the second snake was very different from her sister who lived in heaven.?Its gigantic form in the black earth set in motion only to devour things.? Stars  entered its stomach when they fell below the horizon;?it was known that the spirits of maize and other crops descended there when their stems became pale and withered, and humans, as their bodies scrapped resulted in war or by accident, also penetrated there.?The stomach of this serpent was as long as the width of the land, and a number of possibilities were reserved for beings who roamed its length?.

The sky could be described as a two-headed dragon, a giant snake, or a four iguanas place.??4??

The snake is present through all levels of the Mexican mythological drama.?Coatlicue, the mother of mothers, is represented with a skirt of snakes, and her head is made by the composition of two serpent heads face to face.?

Coatlicue?s daughterm Coyolxauhqui, the Lunar Goddess, which was dismembered in his struggle with her brother Huitzilopochtli, also was represented with pairs of snakes coiled in her arms and body.

​of the patriarchal society was wanting to find the truth, gain knowledge, to return to their natural origins. And in this attempt, as did many other peoples, there was the serpent.

In Mesoamerica, from the old days of the Olmecs, it was possible to see allegorical representations of flying snakes, even in the Maya and Teotihuacan pictures, they reappear again and again as the magical symbolism of the Plumed Serpent. 

Quetzalcoatl is the Aztec vision of the fundamental duality of the ancient serpent, the term, of Nahuatl origin, is constructed with two roots: quetzal (feather, bird) and coatl (twins, snake).

As describes Ptolemy Tomkins referring to the Mexican native world:

“It started to take shape ... a being composed of wind, waves and rain, whose essence was movement and whose body was that of the snake. This snake lived in heaven, and its presence was manifested everywhere ....

This serpent of heaven had its counterpart living on earth and between the two divided the universe.

Sleepy and cold, the second snake was very different from her sister who lived in heaven. Its gigantic form in the black earth set in motion only to devour things.  Stars  entered its stomach when they fell below the horizon; it was known that the spirits of maize and other crops descended there when their stems became pale and withered, and humans, as their bodies scrapped resulted in war or by accident, also penetrated there. The stomach of this serpent was as long as the width of the land, and a number of possibilities were reserved for beings who roamed its length .

The sky could be described as a two-headed dragon, a giant snake, or a four iguanas place.” 4  

The snake is present through all levels of the Mexican mythological drama. Coatlicue, the mother of mothers, is represented with a skirt of snakes, and her head is made by the composition of two serpent heads face to face. 

Coatlicue’s daughterm Coyolxauhqui, the Lunar Goddess, which was dismembered in his struggle with her brother Huitzilopochtli, also was represented with pairs of snakes coiled in her arms and body.

Bright Serpent of the Andean peoples

Tupac Amaru, which in Quechua means, Bright Serpent, the Incari, was the last Inca who held for several years the independence of the Andes nations in the selvatic mountainous valley of Vilcabamba. After several battles and some pitfalls, the Spaniards seized him and took him chained to Cuzco where he was beheaded. 

His head was exposed to the sight of people for several months.

Two centuries later, in 1780, a Quechua curaca descendant of Tupac Amaru, named Jose Gabriel Condorcanqui, turned rebelled against the Spaniards using the legendary name of Tupac Amaru. 

After a bloody and protracted war the new Tupac Amaru was defeated.  In May 18, 1781, after suffering horrible tortures for a month, the last Inca was quartered in the same place where his ancestor had died 200 years earlier. 

Bright Serpent head was severed, nailed down in a spike and publicly displayed for everyone to see.

Since then, the mountain villages are well aware that Tupac Amaru, the Incari Quechua, the Sacred Serpent, is immortal. 

It is common belief gathered by José María Arguedas: “ they say it is in Cuzco, and also say that his hair is growing and his body is growing down from his head.  The Judgment Day will com when he is whole again” 5   .

In 1780, following the example of Condorcanqui, the Aymara of the highlands and the neighboring valleys of present Bolivia revolted against the Spaniards. The leader of the uprising was Julian Apasa, who thereafter took the name of Tupac Katari (Quechua: bright and Katari = Serpent).

Tupac Katari assembled an army of 80,000 men and besieged La Paz for 109 days. Finally, the rebellion was suppressed.  Katari’s wife, Bartolina Sisa, was hanged, the Aymara leader was tortured, his tongue cut,  and finally tied to four horses and quartered. As it had happened to Tupac Amaru, his head was exposed publicly. 

Entering the XXI century, a new rebel movement of the Aymara of Bolivia appeared with a strength and dynamism that has surprised many. The leader was called Felipe Quispe, and the organization Tupac Katari.

Evo Morales, an Aymara Uro was elected several times for the presidency of the country. We must not be surprised.

Somehow, in La Paz, in Cuzco and Oruro, the ancient sacrificed heads are starting to grow new bodies.

Beyond the Pacific Ocean, in Australia, aboriginal peoples believed they descended from the Great Mother, the Rainbow Serpent.

She was also present in Chinese mythology, represented by two serpentine shapes symbolizing the essential, complementary and opposing principles: Yin and Yang. They are two coiled and androgynous silhouettes which epitomize the forces that make all aspects of life.

Yin represents earth, she is female, dark, passive and absorbent, she is present in even numbers in the valleys and waterways.

Yang is Heaven, male, light, he is active and penetrating, he is present in odd numbers, in the mountains and in the solid lines.

Together they become the dragon, a winged and double serpent, representing the cosmic evolution.  We are living both yin and yang times, the synthesis of opposing principles.

In India, the Serpent Mother is represented by Sesha, the thousand-headed serpent.

Even in the drama of Judeo-Christian biblical Genesis, despite being disowned by the church paradigm, the serpent is also present. She is the one that takes care of the tree of knowledge. The original sin of the first human couple, for the values ​?of the patriarchal society was wanting to find the truth, gain knowledge, to return to their natural origins.?And in this attempt, as did many other peoples, there was the serpent.

In Mesoamerica, from the old days of the Olmecs, it was possible to see allegorical representations of flying snakes, even in the Maya and Teotihuacan pictures, they reappear again and again as the magical symbolism of the Plumed Serpent.?

Quetzalcoatl is the Aztec vision of the fundamental duality of the ancient serpent, the term, of Nahuatl origin, is constructed with two roots: quetzal (feather, bird) and coatl (twins, snake).

As describes Ptolemy Tomkins referring to the Mexican native world:

?It started to take shape ... a being composed of wind, waves and rain, whose essence was movement and whose body was that of the snake.?This snake lived in heaven, and its presence was manifested everywhere ....

This serpent of heaven had its counterpart living on earth and between the two divided the universe.

Sleepy and cold, the second snake was very different from her sister who lived in heaven.?Its gigantic form in the black earth set in motion only to devour things.? Stars  entered its stomach when they fell below the horizon;?it was known that the spirits of maize and other crops descended there when their stems became pale and withered, and humans, as their bodies scrapped resulted in war or by accident, also penetrated there.?The stomach of this serpent was as long as the width of the land, and a number of possibilities were reserved for beings who roamed its length?.

The sky could be described as a two-headed dragon, a giant snake, or a four iguanas place.??4??

The snake is present through all levels of the Mexican mythological drama.?Coatlicue, the mother of mothers, is represented with a skirt of snakes, and her head is made by the composition of two serpent heads face to face.?

Coatlicue?s daughterm Coyolxauhqui, the Lunar Goddess, which was dismembered in his struggle with her brother Huitzilopochtli, also was represented with pairs of snakes coiled in her arms and body.

​of the patriarchal society was wanting to find the truth, gain knowledge, to return to their natural origins. And in this attempt, as did many other peoples, there was the serpent.

In Mesoamerica, from the old days of the Olmecs, it was possible to see allegorical representations of flying snakes, even in the Maya and Teotihuacan pictures, they reappear again and again as the magical symbolism of the Plumed Serpent. 

Quetzalcoatl is the Aztec vision of the fundamental duality of the ancient serpent, the term, of Nahuatl origin, is constructed with two roots: quetzal (feather, bird) and coatl (twins, snake).

As describes Ptolemy Tomkins referring to the Mexican native world:

“It started to take shape ... a being composed of wind, waves and rain, whose essence was movement and whose body was that of the snake. This snake lived in heaven, and its presence was manifested everywhere ....

This serpent of heaven had its counterpart living on earth and between the two divided the universe.

Sleepy and cold, the second snake was very different from her sister who lived in heaven. Its gigantic form in the black earth set in motion only to devour things.  Stars  entered its stomach when they fell below the horizon; it was known that the spirits of maize and other crops descended there when their stems became pale and withered, and humans, as their bodies scrapped resulted in war or by accident, also penetrated there. The stomach of this serpent was as long as the width of the land, and a number of possibilities were reserved for beings who roamed its length .

The sky could be described as a two-headed dragon, a giant snake, or a four iguanas place.” 4  

The snake is present through all levels of the Mexican mythological drama. Coatlicue, the mother of mothers, is represented with a skirt of snakes, and her head is made by the composition of two serpent heads face to face. 

Coatlicue’s daughterm Coyolxauhqui, the Lunar Goddess, which was dismembered in his struggle with her brother Huitzilopochtli, also was represented with pairs of snakes coiled in her arms and body.

Bright Serpent of the Andean peoples

Tupac Amaru, which in Quechua means, Bright Serpent, the Incari, was the last Inca who held for several years the independence of the Andes nations in the selvatic mountainous valley of Vilcabamba. After several battles and some pitfalls, the Spaniards seized him and took him chained to Cuzco where he was beheaded. 

His head was exposed to the sight of people for several months.

Two centuries later, in 1780, a Quechua curaca descendant of Tupac Amaru, named Jose Gabriel Condorcanqui, turned rebelled against the Spaniards using the legendary name of Tupac Amaru. 

After a bloody and protracted war the new Tupac Amaru was defeated.  In May 18, 1781, after suffering horrible tortures for a month, the last Inca was quartered in the same place where his ancestor had died 200 years earlier. 

Bright Serpent head was severed, nailed down in a spike and publicly displayed for everyone to see.

Since then, the mountain villages are well aware that Tupac Amaru, the Incari Quechua, the Sacred Serpent, is immortal. 

It is common belief gathered by José María Arguedas: “ they say it is in Cuzco, and also say that his hair is growing and his body is growing down from his head.  The Judgment Day will com when he is whole again” 5   .

In 1780, following the example of Condorcanqui, the Aymara of the highlands and the neighboring valleys of present Bolivia revolted against the Spaniards. The leader of the uprising was Julian Apasa, who thereafter took the name of Tupac Katari (Quechua: bright and Katari = Serpent).

Tupac Katari assembled an army of 80,000 men and besieged La Paz for 109 days. Finally, the rebellion was suppressed.  Katari’s wife, Bartolina Sisa, was hanged, the Aymara leader was tortured, his tongue cut,  and finally tied to four horses and quartered. As it had happened to Tupac Amaru, his head was exposed publicly. 

Entering the XXI century, a new rebel movement of the Aymara of Bolivia appeared with a strength and dynamism that has surprised many. The leader was called Felipe Quispe, and the organization Tupac Katari.

Evo Morales, an Aymara Uro was elected several times for the presidency of the country. We must not be surprised.

Somehow, in La Paz, in Cuzco and Oruro, the ancient sacrificed heads are starting to grow new bodies.

From: "Chronicles of the Human Peripecie", Danilo Anton, Piriguazú Ediciones