The Ultimate Guide to Serpent Symbolism in Culture & Mythology

Comparative mythologist Maria Souza shares the meaning & significance of a popular snake symbol

Co-authored by Jesse Lyon MS, CCHt, QS, LMHC and Maryana Lucia Vestic, MFA, M.Phil.

Last Updated: November 20, 2025 Fact Checked

• Snake Spiritual Meanings
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• Common Snake Symbols
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Snake symbols are sometimes associated with evil and temptation, but they're also considered symbols of wisdom, protection, and healing throughout the ages. Read on to learn more about serpent symbolism, including spiritual meanings associated with snakes and what the most common snake symbols mean. We’ve also asked a mythologist and dream interpreters for their take on what snakes represent, symbolically and in waking life.

What do snakes symbolize?

Comparative mythologist Maria Souza says the ouroboros is one of the most popular snake symbols, which represents the dance between death and rebirth. Here are some other common snake symbols and their meanings:

• The Rod of Asclepius (a serpent coiled around a staff) is linked to healing and wisdom.
• The Egyptian uraeus (a rearing cobra with a flared hood) represents royalty and protection.
• The Caduceus (2 snakes around a staff with wings) is a symbol of commerce, representing speed and peace.

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Section 1 of 2:

Spiritual Meanings of Snakes

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   Transformation & Rebirth The way that a snake sheds its skin acts as a metaphor for renewal, rebirth, and “transformation,” according to dream interpreter Jesse Lyon, MS, CCHt, QS, LMHC. The transformation that takes place is typically associated with spiritual awakening, especially in Hindu and Buddhist practices. A snake shedding its own skin is also a life symbol linked to the natural cycles of life, death, and rebirth.

   • Snake handling often appears in initiation rites across cultures (including ancient Greece) to signify shedding old identities and embracing new ones.
   • Dream interpreter Lauri Loewenberg notes that “snakes represent spiritual awakenings because they shed their skin, which signifies shedding old beliefs and taking on a new belief system.”

   Meet the wikiHow Experts

   Maria Souza is a comparative mythologist and founder of Women & Mythology. She helps women rediscover their true selves through the power of myths, fairy tales, and folktales.

   Jesse Lyon, MS, CCHt, QS, LMHC, is a dream interpreter, clincal hypnotherapist, and viral social media influencer, with over 2.5 million TikTok followers @LyonMentalHealth.

   Lauri Loewenberg is a dream interpreter and a certified dream analyst. She has researched over 100,000 dreams from people of all walks of life worldwide.
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   Wisdom Snakes are often viewed as keepers of wisdom, magic, and esoteric knowledge. When they shed their skin, they not only experience rebirth but also gain wisdom through the transformation. They connect the physical and spiritual worlds as guardians of ancient knowledge or wisdom.

   • The psychologist Carl Jung considered serpents to be archetypes that symbolized inner wisdom or shadow aspects of the psyche.
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   Fertility Because snakes are associated with rebirth, they’re also linked to fertility, as well. Because of their phallic shape and connection with the elements of earth and water, they often appeared in folklore and mythology concerning fertility, rebirth, and regeneration.

   • In ancient Greece, snakes were linked to goddesses of fertility and the earth, including Demeter and ancient Minoan snake goddesses in Crete.
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   Protection Snakes are seen as symbols of protection because of their ability to defend themselves and their territory. A coiled snake that’s ready to strike is seen as the ultimate protector. In fact, serpents were viewed as symbols of protection in ancient Egypt and often appeared as guardians for ancient Greek tombs.

   • In ancient Rome, serpent images were kept in households and used as decoration for shrines and as protectors of the home.
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   Healing The snake’s association as a healing symbol stems from the Greek god of healing, Asclepius. The centaur Chiron taught him the healing arts, and he became known for reviving the dead. Asclepius is depicted holding a staff with a serpent entwined around it, which is now the symbol of modern medicine.

   • Loewenberg says, “The snake is still a symbol for physicians. We see it on the side of ambulances, hospitals, and pharmacies. We subconsciously equate snakes with healing.”
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   Primal energy Snakes are symbolically linked to primal creation. The act of shedding their skin is a powerful reminder of their connection to the underlying forces of life and death. Snakes live on the earth, but are considered a link between the spiritual and material worlds.

   • Snakes are sometimes depicted as creator beings, such as the rainbow serpent in Aboriginal Australian folklore.
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   Evil & temptation Snakes are also seen as a danger or sign of evil, due to their venom. A lot of this negative association is rooted in Christian tradition. In the Bible, “snakes are deceptive when they appear alongside Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden,” says Lyon. The serpent tempts Eve to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

   • In the biblical story of Adam and Eve, the serpent symbolizes temptation and later becomes directly associated with evil and Satan.
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Section 2 of 2:

Common Snake Symbols

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   Ouroboros Souza says the ouroboros is an everlasting symbol that depicts a serpent devouring its own tail. She explains that the ouroboros symbolizes a forceful cycle, highlighting “what devours also renews.” As Souza further explains, “destruction carries within it the seed of creation,” which means “death and rebirth are not opposites, but companions in the same eternal dance.”

   • In many tales, Souza says the ouroboros “takes the shape of dragons, serpents, and cauldrons that swallow the heroine whole, yet always with the possibility of her return, transformed.”
   • Souza notes the renowned scholar Marie-Louise von Franz’s take on the ouroboros, saying, “I love that Marie-Louise von Franz gave such attention to this truth…that the ouroboros, though dangerous, also holds a profound healing potential.”
   • The earliest example of the ouroboros symbol can be found in the tomb of Tutankhamun in the 14th century BCE. The ouroboros symbolizes the cyclical nature of time and the universe, and appears in ancient Greece, where the term “ouroboros” means “tail devourer.”
   • A version of the ouroboros appears in the Nordic myth of Jörmungandr, the Midgard Serpent. In the story, Jörmungandr coils around the human world (called Midgard) with its tail in its mouth.
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   Rod of Asclepius The Rod of Asclepius is the internal sign for the medical profession. In Greek mythology, it’s depicted with “Asclepius, the god of healing, whose symbol includes the snake twined around his staff. The snake provides the antidote as medicine and has become a huge healing symbol,” according to Lyon.
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   Caduceus The caduceus appears as 2 snakes intertwined around a staff that is topped with a pair of wings. It is called the staff of Hermes (the Greek messenger god) and was originally a symbol of commerce. The symbol’s wings represent speed, while the 2 entwined snakes symbolize peace.

   • The earliest versions of the caduceus symbol appeared in Mesopotamia between 3000 and 4000 BCE. It was linked to the Sumerian messenger god Ningishzida, who was associated with snakes.
   • The caduceus is also related to the ancient Mesopotamian symbol of 2 intertwined snakes wrapped around a staff, which was associated with the Sumerian god Ningishzida.
   • Today, the caduceus symbol is often mistakenly used to represent medicine and healing, but the rod of Asclepius is the official symbol of medicine.
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   Egyptian uraeus The Egyptian symbol uraeus is depicted as a rearing cobra with an open hood. As a symbol, it appears (usually in gold) on the forehead of the pharaoh’s royal headdress. It symbolizes the king himself, along with royalty, sovereignty, supremacy, and the protection of the pharaoh.

   • Another Egyptian snake symbol is represented by the Egyptian goddess Wadjet, a cobra goddess who once stood for royal power and protection.
   • The Egyptian god of creation, Atum, also looks like a serpent and was said to shed his skin every morning to be reborn with the sunrise.
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   Chinese zodiac The Chinese snake symbol stands for the year of the snake in the Chinese zodiac calendar. It’s depicted as a serpent coiling as it moves, and typically appears next to the Chinese character for snake: 蛇 (shé). As the 6th animal in the 12-year cycle, the snake is associated with wisdom, intelligence, mystery, and transformation.

   • Years that fall under the year of the snake include 2025, 2013, 2001, 1989, 1977, 1965, 1953, 1941, and 1929.
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   Medusa (Greek myth) In Greek mythology, Athena transforms Medusa’s hair into writhing snakes as punishment for desecrating her temple. Medusa is a mythological creature that symbolizes danger, transformation, and having too much power.

   • Medusa’s gaze was known to turn anyone who looked directly at her into stone.
   • Shields and helmets often portrayed the head of Medusa as a sign of protection to ward off evil.
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   Nāga serpent deities (Hinduism) Among Hindu symbols, the Nāga (or Naags) appear as either a full serpent, a human with a snake's hood or body, or a half-human, half-snake being. The Nāga are semi-divine serpent beings associated with water, fertility, and protection.

   • They are also sometimes depicted as a hooded cobra with one or more heads, or as a human with an awning of multiple snake hoods over their head.
   • In Hindu myth, the Nāga were the offspring of Kadru (the daughter of Daksha and the consort of the sage Kashyapa in Hindu texts), who gave birth to 1,000 serpents with multiple heads.
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   Kundalini serpent (Hinduism) The kundalini symbol appears as a sleeping serpent, usually coiled 3.5 times at the base of the spine. It signifies a dormant energy that can be awakened through practices like yoga and meditation.

   • The kundalini snake energy represents divine feminine energy known as Shakti.
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   Nehushtan (Judaism) The Jewish nehushtan appears as a bronze serpent wrapped around the top of a pole. In the Bible, Moses was said to use the Nehushtan to heal the Israelites from snake bites in the desert until it was destroyed by King Hezekiah.
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    Celtic knot snake A Celtic knot snake symbol combines the snake with the Celtic knot, which also represents rebirth, healing, and eternity. The eternity and infinity themes of the Celtic knot resemble the idea of the ouroboros, a snake eating its own tail.
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    Native American snake In Native American cultures, serpents are symbols that often represent fertility and renewal. Though the appearance of the snake varies among tribes and traditions, they are usually depicted as having a long, curving body and a head containing zig-zag or diamond patterns, horns, feathers, or a rattle.

    • When performing the Hopi snake dance for rain or a bountiful harvest, dancers wear red costumes with a black zigzag pattern to represent the snake.
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