Always there are various factors that you need to consider when offering a dream interpretation. As I have indicated in past posts, the most important interpreter is the dreamer him/her self. My goal for decoding someone’s dream is to pose alternative perspectives for the dreamer to consider, as dreams are always multi-layered. A dream might mean something very unique when reading it one day, and offer new signals, signs, awareness or direction when reading it another day. To me, dreams, like consciousness, cross the boundaries of time, space and breadth.

Because of the strong presence of snakes in this dream, I will concentrate on their symbology in my intro as they arise across many traditions and thus have many interpretations.

Snake in some religious contexts can be seen as having evil or devious energy (which I wholeheartedly disagree with), as portrayed in the Garden of Eden. But, as in that same myth, snake also signifies the exchange of wisdom. In Gram Twylah’s teachings (my long-time Seneca mentor for those of you who are new to this blog), snake’s contribution is transformation and as such its appearance announces change, shedding of the past, and rebirth, as well as the transmutation from within, that arises through guidance from without.

In Hindi, snake represents the kundalini energy, condensed primal force energy. Kundalini is a dormant energy in all of us that rests coiled three and half times around the first chakra at the base of the spine. Her name is Kundalini Shakti, and represents the unfolding of the divine energy potential in each of us, that when raised, can inform and enliven higher consciousness.

In the Egyptian neteru she is Wadjet, the protector deity of kings/queens and women in childbirth. She can be seen facing out on the diadem of the pharaohs, representing the power of sovereignty. The Snake Goddess in Minoan history protects the household and holds two snakes in her out stretched hands. I believe, like the snake symbol of the caduceus, that they represent the two strands of DNA and healing, as these goddesses were healers.

Snakes are guardians of the Underworld and act as messengers between the upper and lower worlds. Druids and bards in Celtic lore saw snakes as primal energy. They carried Adder eggs as magical charms for traveling to the ‘other worlds’ and to tap alchemical insights. In the Mayan traditions the power of snake symbolized the serpent Ixchel, whose energy can transform body, mind, and spirit similar to the rising of kundalini energy.

And in the Andean Cosmo-vision they guard the Ukhu Pacha, the lower world (our subconscious from a Jungian perspective) represented by the Amaru, the anaconda. However in the teachings of the left side of the Andean work, the goal is to raise the amaru energies or frequencies, as a representation of our personal power. Mimicking I believe, the same awareness that the rising of the kundalini life force offers. In the Chinese system, they are often linked as the little brothers/sisters of dragon energy, which I won’t go into here.

One other thing to consider. This dream came in-between the Capricorn/Cancer eclipses, during Mercury retrograde, while most of the outer planets are also in retrograde. These opposing signs share contrasting themes of ‘self parenting’ and ‘belief questioning.’ Emotional security and nurturing (Cancer) and the values of discipline and self-sufficiency (Capricorn). We need both to create balance. Retrograde planets are times to reassess and restructure. I see this dream as the perfect balance of these energies.

To the dream.

Thank you for looking into this quite puzzling dream. I have been on a small (4 persons) brother retreat in the Norwegian woods the last three days. Even then as I was doing nature meditation there, this dream would not let go of my attention. And had it not been for the unusually dark, nearly black snake, spotted the afternoon after that night’s dream I may not have given it much thought. The snakes in Norway can appear quite dark brown, but this one was by far the darkest color I had ever spotted, and it was probably just a couple of feet away from me when I spotted it. I saw the body quite clearly, but not the head.

I can unfortunately not recall much of the dream leading up to stair case although I feel something significant happened before that part as well.

The DREAM:
My recall starts at about 2-3 meters before the staircase began appearing in front of me and upon seeing it I remembered what had been said about it and the snakes appearing on it as the first step was set down on. I was walking towards the staircase having been warned that the whole stone staircase leading down to the beautiful park below was filled with snakes, but they were unseen until one took the first step down it and then they would manifest in front of your very eyes and you had to tread most carefully not to be bitten.

The staircase was a stony staircase and the snakes came from around the immediate surroundings. As I walked down the staircase there was a fairly high wall on the left (of the same stones as the stairs and equally well fitted), it supported the hill so it would not have rocks and earth fall onto the stairs. On the right side was a much lower wall. The rocks/stones were of cream/beige and grey colors, with fairly smooth surfaces, but not polished.

I think I can recall a great lake or the ocean in the distance. The staircase was linking two pathways, leading towards a beautiful garden I was heading towards. I think (not sure) that I had been told or asked or requested to go there by somebody.

I was not at all feeling scared as I was walking down the staircase. I was just very alert and trying not to upset these snakes as I was walking down. Also I did not know if they were venomous or not, I just did not want to risk finding out so I walked carefully and fairly slowly down.

I was in a way obliged to walk down the stairs, even after being told of these snakes and that they possibly could bite you. I did not have any other choice but to walk on and dare the snakes. Thankfully I am not scared of snakes as such, although being bitten by venomous snakes for sure was not something I would fancy at the best or worst of times. Hence I approached the staircase a bit apprehensively, even more so as I set foot on the very first step.

Immediately as my left foot touched it several dark snakes appeared in front of me making their way around the staircase slithering in and out between the crevices in the stone masonry of the stairs as well as crevices in the left wall supporting it. I walked gingerly down each step and was very careful not to step on any of them or give them cause for alarm.

Then as I was about halfway down they all suddenly slithered away, all but one at the second lowest step, a most handsome long black snake. It eyed me keenly and intelligently as I approached it, and then without warning it suddenly fled into the air heading straight for my neck. As it reached it at an unbelievable speed it twirled around my neck and dug deep into the back of my neck and bored its way into my spine, its head towards my crown and its tail down my spine.

I woke up with a jolt, wondering what it all meant. The next day I went outside to cut some tall grass on a hill below my house and less than a meter away I spotted a beautiful long black snake moving away from me in the grass. And in Norway there are no black snakes.

Decoding:

My recall starts at about 2-3 meters before the staircase began appearing in front of me and upon seeing it I remembered what had been said about it and the snakes appearing on it as the first step was set down on. I was walking towards the staircase having been warned that the whole stone staircase leading down to the beautiful park below was filled with snakes, but they were unseen until one took the first step down it and then they would manifest in front of your very eyes and you had to tread most carefully not to be bitten. 

The dreamer has been told how to approach these stairs. I am sensing the message came from his Higher Self, possible an outer guide, or spirit helper. From his explanation, I feel that the staircase represents a path or a transition for the dreamer. He has been warned. I do not take this as a negative, as much as an omen of change that will occur should he follow the stairs. Taking this descent into himself may activate new emotions or new inner knowing. It may bring up things from his past that he still needs to balance. The stairs descending could also indicate a challenge coming. It’s the unknown that he is being warned will come up as he explores by going deeper into himself. The stairs are going down, into the subconscious, the unexplored, the unknown, the as yet unmanifested. 

The stairs are made of stone suggesting there is solidity or a good foundation that will support his exploration. The beautiful park below suggests that the dreamer sees good things ahead by taking this path; a sense of a reward or beauty at the end of the process. But there is something ‘unseen’, something that could occur or impact his process, so he must tread lightly, cautiously, purposefully.

The staircase was a stony staircase and the snakes came from around the immediate surroundings. As I walked down the staircase there was a fairly high wall on the left (of the same stones as the stairs and equally well fitted), it supported the hill so it would not have rocks and earth fall onto the stairs. On the right side was a much lower wall. The rocks/stones were of cream/beige and grey colors, with fairly smooth surfaces, but not polished.

There could be deceit or there could be transformation under the foundation he relies on, he does not know at this point. But he is willing to suss out those possibilities as he takes that first step onto the staircase. Immediately the snakes appear. Is this a new earned wisdom as he descends or an old wound that needs to be met and healed? Is there an untamed part of himself that he needs to feel free to express or a deep emotion that will arise and transform how he sees himself?

There is a high wall on his left, and the stones are well fitted. It indicates this could be a block that has been there for a long time. Well fitted could mean he has accepted this as fitting some perception of himself, has it been there for ‘a long time.’ I would ask the dreamer what his relationship with his father was like that he might need to work through? Or perhaps, where may he have blocked his own feelings and emotions around his own Divine Feminine. The wall of stones supports the ‘hill’ so the earth won’t come tumbling down. To me this is a metaphor that it is not a ‘mountain’ of an issue, but there is still something in his past relationship with himself that he is protecting or is as yet flushed out.

The rocks are smooth, indicating emotions, like water over river stones, have soothed the trouble, confusion, pain or lack of support he might once have felt, but which still needs to be dealt with. They are gray and cream; gray indicating it is time to honor himself and his own chosen path/cream seeing something or self in its most unbiased form. These two ways of proceeding are needed in any authentic search within ourselves.

I think I can recall a great lake or the ocean in the distance. The staircase was linking two pathways, leading towards a beautiful garden I was heading towards. I think (not sure) that I had been told or asked or requested to go there by somebody. 

There is a lake or ocean in the distance, water is about emotions and how fluid, serene, calm or agitated the waters are, reflects our inner emotions. The passage he is challenging himself to take will link two paths, two ways of learning, possibly two ways of being. Again, the beautiful garden comes up, enticing him to keep moving, possibly promising something beautiful and nourishing at the end. His ‘Self’ is the one requesting he goes there.

I was not at all feeling scared as I was walking down the staircase. I was just very alert and trying not to upset these snakes as I was walking down. Also I did not know if they were venomous or not, I just did not want to risk finding out so I walked carefully and fairly slowly down.

In any shamanic experience, [and I see this as a shamanic dream], we are asked to be alert to the energies and to use caution, to not rush into anything without preparation. The dreamer is not scared, showing he has a strong sense of trust and intentionality to deal with whatever the situation may bring. He’s done his self work. Venomous snakes like cobras, rattlesnakes, asps and adders can kill, and a wise man would and should be cautious around them.

That said venomous snakes can be charmed, and their aggressions slowed with the right knowledge. The venom from certain venomous snakes, dosed in the right way is also being used now in medical circles for healing. The cobra in ancient Egyptian images showed the raised ‘uraeus’ on the Pharaohs crown symbolizing power and resurrection. Buddhist and Hindus see the cobra as power over the destruction of nature and Buddha in his enlightenment had 9 cobras above his head. Hopi Snake dancers use rattle snakes to bring their prayers for rain to the underworld. Celts used the adder to enter the ‘other worlds’ and a small amount of the asp bite sent people into an oracular trance. 

In other words when we are on a deep shamanic exploration into the Self, the outcome can be one of self destruction or self enlightenment. Taming the unbridled self to become the passionate aware Self. However when we do not release our personal poisonous thoughts about ourselves they can destroy us; and yet when we face them, the can transform us. That takes personal courage.

Immediately as my left foot touched it several dark snakes appeared in front of me making their way around the staircase slithering in and out between the crevices in the stone masonry of the stairs as well as crevices in the left wall supporting it. I walked gingerly down each step and was very careful not to step on any of them or give them cause for alarm.

This paragraph shows the work this dreamer has done on himself. The left foot forward touched the stairs. The left foot is on the heart side. Many statues of Egyptian pharaohs show them with the left foot forward, symbolizing leading their people from a heart centered place, but also demanding the respect their service requires. This dreamer proceeds in a heart centered way.

Still the snakes come from everywhere, slithering between the foundation, making themselves known from the depths of the masonry. The dreamer must deal with all these aspects of himself that have, or will, transform who he is becoming. There is no need to be alarmed, as he still has control of his pace. The gift in facing those parts of our self that are ready to give voice, are ready to give back to us the personal power we have worked hard to transform.

Then as I was about halfway down they all suddenly slithered away, all but one at the second lowest step, a most handsome long black snake. It eyed me keenly and intelligently as I approached it, and then without warning it suddenly fled into the air heading straight for my neck. As it reached it at an unbelievable speed it twirled around my neck and dug deep into the back of my neck and bored its way into my spine, its head towards my crown and its tail down my spine.

All the issues (the many snakes) he has learned to deal with, retreat. But one snake/issue remains to be faced. It’s on the 2nd step. Again, like the color gray, 2 on the Wisdom Wheels that Gram Twy taught me, represent assessing where we have to honor and give voice to something within our self. Black on the Wisdom Wheels is about listening to the Self to find our truth, ‘our personal truth’, and isn’t that one of the ways we honor our self.

This intelligent snake knows that wisdom and healing is about uniting love and will; head and heart; bringing the unconscious into consciousness. It wraps around the dreamer’s neck, digs deep into the back of his head and bores itself between spine and crown. is there any better explanation of the raising in the kundalini energy? Lord Shiva has a snake curled three times around His neck representing birth, death, rebirth. When the snake sheds its skin, it transmutes the old into something new. Shamanic deaths are always about rebirthing.

I woke up with a jolt, wondering what it all meant. The next day I went outside to cut some tall grass on a hill below my house and less than a meter away I spotted a beautiful long black snake moving away from me in the grass. And in Norway there are no black snakes.

There is a new awareness stalking this dreamer. The fact that he saw a black snake the following day on his walk, (in a country that doesn’t have black snakes), is confirmation from the spirit world, from Nature herself, that something is being birthed into his consciousness. He couldn’t see the head, maybe this indicates he must stay in his heart when this becomes clearer, because it won’t be supported by a logical explanation, rather it will be an experiential one. And we never know when or how those experiences will fully show themselves.

Thank you dreamer for sharing; I appreciate your wisdom.