Day 13—The meaning of the snake symbol

Yesterday I wrote about a snake I encountered on a walk, so today I want to analyze the symbolic meaning of the snake in the story of Genesis.

Genesis, the first book of the Hebrew Bible, tells how God created the world in seven days. God created man out of clay, and he breathed a breath to give him life. The man who was created is called Adam, which actually means man in Hebrew. God allowed him to pick and eat the fruit in the Garden of Eden at will, but he could not eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. If he did, he would surely die. God created a woman out of Adam's rib in order to give Adam a partner. (A friend of wisdom once told me that there is actually a problem with the translation here, the Hebrew "rib" sounds very similar to "shadow or image", so another interpretation is that God created woman based on Adam's appearance ).

The third chapter of Genesis describes the serpent as the most shrewd of all beasts created by God. The snake said to the woman, "You will not die if you eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. God knows that if you eat this fruit, your eyes will be opened, and you will know good and evil like God." The woman saw that the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil was delicious, so she ate one and gave another to the man. In an instant, their eyes opened, realizing that they were both naked, and immediately found a few leaves to cover their bodies.

When God discovered that they had eaten the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, he drove them out of the Garden of Eden, and no longer let them enjoy the fruit of the Garden of Eden for nothing. God punished them for having to plough the fields with their own hands and work hard to maintain their livelihoods and reproduce.

In this story, the serpent challenged God's authority, exposed God's lies, and aroused the woman's desire for truth, so the woman wanted to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Having tasted the knowledge of good and evil, they are no longer innocent and pure, they have a clearer awareness of themselves, which makes them ashamed of their nakedness and want to cover themselves up.

The knowledge of sexuality is the origin of consciousness of oneself, because one must observe Eve and Adam with self-reflection to see that they are naked. The temptation of the snake is the enlightenment of consciousness. The price that comes with the desire for truth is shame, and when you know too much, your overwhelmed response is shame. Shame is a hindrance to the continued pursuit of desire.