Spiritual Meaning and Snake as a Healing Symbol

The Caduceus

A wand with two serpents twined around it, surmounted by two small wings. the caduceus or magic wand of the Greek god Hermes Roman Mercury, messenger of gods, protector of alchemy. The wand represents power and the two snakes wisdom. The Greek Hermes found his analogue in Egypt as the ancient Wisdom God Thoth, as Taaut of the Phoenicians, all linked with the magic rod with twin snakes.

The Rod of Asclepius and Medical symbolism

The Rod of Asclepius is a rod with one snake coiled around it and it belongs to the god Asciepius. Asclepius is described in Homer's Iliad, so he was most probably a physician who practised in Greece around 1200BC. Later he became known as the Greek god of Healing. Around 300 BC the cult of Asclepius was very popular and healing temples were many. A particular type of non-poisonous snake was used in healing rituals and the ritual purification. To heal the sick would spend the night in the holiest part of the temple. Asclepius is traditionally depicted as a bearded man holding a staff with one sacred serpent coiled around it. The worship of Asclepius spread to Rome and continued to the sixth century.

Occult Hermetic Symbolism

Alchemists became known as the sons of Hermes or ‘practitioners of the hermetic arts’. By the sixteenth century, the study of alchemy includes medicine, chemistry, and the knowledge of metals.

The caduceus represents the integration of 4 elements: the wand for the earth, the wings for the air, he snakes for the fire and serpents movement for the water.

An occult description refers to Hindhu Yogic knowledge of Ida and Pingala, male and female kundalini force as it moves through the chakras and around the spine to the head represented by wings of Mercury. The central rod is Sushumna passing through the spine to the pineal gland into altered states of consciousness. The symmetrical arrangements of two snakes symbolize the moving opposing forces balancing one another creating a higher static form.

Nagakals in India: healing Snakes

Nagakalas are sacred snakes worshiped as a symbol engraved on stones in India. Intertwining serpents are considered to be a symbol of the god who cures all illnesses. Note the stone on the left and how closly it resembles the Caduceus with 2 snakes rising in between a wand and a bird like wings on the top of the wand.

Symbolism of Caduceus in Bible: Old Testament

And the Lord said unto him [Moses], What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. And the Lord said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand and caught it and it became a rod in his hand. Exodus 4:2-4

And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten [by a serpent], when he looketh upon it, shall live. Numbers 21:8.

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