One
of the most fascinating things we can do for ourselves is discover that something
has been in front of our eyes all our lives and has remained unseen. Ms.
St. John Danko proposes to give workshops designed to consider the serpent:
the big, bad serpent, the cause of the downfall of humankind in the
Judeo-Christian traditions, the subject of vituperation and vilification
by artists since the Renaissance, the subject of condemnation by the ancient
Hebrew patriarchs, and probably the most reviled animal in our contemporary
society. Yet, if that is so, why then does the serpent appear throughout
Western civilization as the symbol for healing? The international emblem
of the medical profession, the caduceus, two entwined snakes on a rod, is
familiar to all of us. Have we ever questioned why the reviled serpent is
our symbol for healing? The serpent also appears as the insignia of the U.S.
Army medical corps. Throughout Europe, the image of a serpent coiled around
a cup denotes the presence of a pharmacy. The very first American flag had
a serpent on it. Why? What vestige of our primordial memory causes us to
accept the serpent in the context of a symbol for healing at the same time
we revile it as the cause of our expulsion from Eden?
These very entertaining questions will be accompanied by slides of
the serpent as perpetrator of evil in works of art by the Old Masters through
the Symbolists and into contemporary art. Also presented will be slides of
ancient works of art depicting the serpent as healer, comforter, and the
most venerated and worshipped of animals, such as Babylonian icons in which
the serpent attends the Goddess and offers the food of immortality to Her
people. Ancient historical data will be incorporated, such as the worship
of the serpent by the Hebrew tribes before Yahweh arose as the One God, and
the story of the ancient Hebrew priestly clan, the Levites, sons of Leviathan,
the great wriggly one. The Hebrew word for the divine serpent was "Seraph,"
which today is colored to mean one of the choirs of Angels. Finally, the
serpent will be investigated as a powerful symbol that existed at the time
of the Babylonian captivity of the Hebrew people, a symbol that epitomized,
for the writers of Genesis, all their rival religions. Could it be that the
writers of Genesis, in choosing their symbol for evil, deliberately attempted
to strike the serpent from its lofty position and make it culpable for all
the woes and tribulations of their people? Could the serpent actually be
the Great Scapegoat, then and now?
We will never know why this most reviled of creatures appears today
in our most venerated emblems. Nonetheless, something exists in our primordial
memory, for we look at the caduceus throughout our lives with acceptance
of this creature as a symbol for the healing profession. Contradiction inherent
in the dual symbology of the serpent is surprising to many. Although familiar
with the caduceus, we look at it without thinking about it. We look at it
but do not see it, do not consider or wonder about its origins. And, if we
are capable of such a lapse with regard to this ubiquitous image, what are
the implications in our daily lives? How much in life do we accept without
thinking? How many contradictions, meriting thought and consideration, are
inherent in our society and in our personal lives? How much of our heritage
have we lost without realizing it? How much of life do we loose because we
do not see and ponder the everyday things that continually touch us but are
somehow lost to us? How much awareness of ourselves have we lost? How many
new doors could we open to ourselves by simple reflection on the things that
are already familiar to us? How much do we look at without ever
seeing?
© 2000
