The Cosmic Serpent

Symbolism in mythology spans the continents and from the four corners of the world, the symbols, although of different names, of different archtypes, tell a world wide tale.

There is no mythology without the serpent or dragon in the sky. It is wrapped about the cosmic egg, or found to be gnawing on the tree of life. Perhaps the symbol is best know to Christians as the Snake who offered an Apple from the Tree of life expelling Adam (Mars?) and Eve (Venus?) from the Garden of Eden.

No matter the story, the celestial serpent permeated the thoughts of ancient man. One of the first vestiges of mythology is the serpent. From Plato:

"The living being had no need of eyes when there was nothing remaining outside him to be seen; nor of ears when there was nothing to be heard; and there was no surrounding atmosphere to be breathed; nor would there have been any use of organs by the help of which he might receive his food or get rid of what he had already digested, since there was nothing which went from him or came into him: for there was nothing beside him. Of design he was created thus, his own waste providing his own food, and all that he did or suffered taking place in and by himself."

Honestly, it is slightly disturbing that Plato would be accurate in stating that the Dragon would have no atmosphere to breathe, since the Dragon was a plasma manifestation that seems to have appeared as close to the date of "creation" as can be.

In examining Chinese mythos, you too discover the similar and striking celestial references. The coiled snake or dragon played an important role in early Chinese society. Legendary figures Nüwa (女媧), Fuxi (伏羲) are depicted as having snake bodies. Scholars report that the first legendary Emperor of China Huang Di (黃帝,Yellow Emperor) used a snake for his coat of arms.

In China, Dragons are so prolific that each town had its own Dragon King and they were worshipped much like God's were worshipped in other ancient lands. When they say China has no mythology, I would disagree. That is not to say I don't recognize the Ancestor Worship situation that occured prior to the breakdown of the bi-cameral mind, in so far that they recognized the human-like aspects as Legendary Figures/Emperors (much like Heracles) yet the weather related devistation came from the Dragons. There was one Dragon for each sea and it was they who control the weather. They are believed to be the rulers of moving bodies of water, such as waterfalls, rivers, or seas. Fitting given plasma's ability to alter weather and landscapes, they were the gods, and they managed to maintain that imagery into the modern era.

We can take with us an understanding of the past, and the symbols in our present, if we see the myths with new eyes.