“Not so long ago in the English countryside the snake was supposed to have an inherent power to heal the sick. Even so it is surprising that a snakeskin should still occasionally be utilized as an inside band for hats in cases of persistent headache. Quite extinct today, however, is the analogous custom of using an eel-skin garter for cramp. Snakes, like eels, are supposed, quite erroneously, not to be able to die before the sun has set. The snake has acquired its important role in superstition as a direct product of its power to cast its skin, and for this reason it has always been regarded as a symbol of immortality.” Eric Maple writing in Superstitions and The Superstitious, published in 1971 by A. S. Barnes and Company.
A snake makes a surprise visit to my radio show tonight. Since I seem to be the only one to see it on our property, my wife believes it might be some kind of spirit guide. I have a few books on loan from a friend that talk about our animal totems. There are some things that these totems can teach us about ourselves. I have a few thoughts about that in the show tonight between 9 and 11 p.m. This blog is concerned with some superstitions and even a spell.
“A form of bewitchment .. was employed to compel the return of a faithless lover. In this case the contents, which included ’seven hairs from a black cat, 7 scales from a rattlesnake and seven bits of feather from an owl,’ were burned for 7 minutes on a fire together with hairs and nail-pairings and the hoped-for result was the production of seven agonizing pains in the loved-one’s body which were supposed to continue to rack him until he was prepared to return to the arms of his lady love.” Again, Eric Maple from the aforementioned book.
“Sweet is the swamp with its secrets, / Until we meet a sake; / ‘Tis then we sigh for houses, / And our departure take / At that enthralling gallop / That only childhood knows. / A snake is summer’s treason / And guile is where it goes.” Emily Dickinson
***
Don Jackson
