Serpent
Serpent: (noun)from Latin: serpens, serpentis) "a crawling animal or snake"
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     In mythological or religious contexts  a serpent is a being that looks like a snake but has a heightened sense of intelligence.  Serpents are found in the mythology of many cultures  and

 world religions, and are associated with both negative and positive connotations. On the one hand, serpents are commonly connected with regeneration, renewal, and health (which is still implied by the modern medical symbol). On the other hand, they are frequently seen in Judeo-Christian and Islamic cul-tures  as symbols of evil and wicked-ness. Such ambivalent viewpoints reflects the fascination that humanity has placed in these creatures over the ages.  A large number of myths from the world's cultures contain serpents. Often these serpents live in a gar-

  

den and are coiled around a Tree of Life.    

     For example, the Genesis story involves a Serpent lurking in the Garden of Eden. In Greek mythology, the Serpent/Dragon Ladon is coiled around the tree in the garden of the Hesperides protecting the  golden apples. Similarly, the dragon of Norse mythology eats from the roots of the World Tree. Sometimes serpents and dragons were used interchangeably because the venom of the serpent is thought to have a fiery quality similar to a fire spitting dragon.              

    The Aztec and Toltec serpent god Quezalcoatl also has dragon-like wings ("feathered serpent").  The Great Goddess often had snakes as her familiars—sometimes twining around her sacred staff, as in ancientCrete—and they were worshiped as guardians of her mysteries of birth and regeneration