This awe-inspiring, metaphysical painting of a cosmical anaconda slithering into primordial waters is incredibly beautiful and utterly frightening. This creature goes deep into the earth, dwelling in darkness, and then returns to the sunlight of the surface. The snake is an ancient and ubiquitous symbol of wisdom: we see it appear in the mythologies of Babylonian, Egyptian, Andean, and Celtic civilizations, just to name a few. The knowledge it possesses pertains to both the universe and the self, and the snake will share what it knows only with those who are ready to listen. This entails going into the mouth of the serpent, moving beyond the limits of your imagination, and facing your darkest fears. Are you ready to step inside?

The universal knowledge of the snake refers to the telluric energy of the earth. In this painting, the stars and the sky, and the scales of the snake all blend into the water underneath. Everything is interconnected. On the left you can see the shape of a temple that mingles with these stars and sky, all of which start at the light – at the wisdom of the snake – and they rise up from the waters below it. Ancient civilizations attempted to touch the sky through their architecture and rituals, to be closer to the spiritual world and reach the cosmical serpent.

On the individual level, the snake is an essential symbol for spiritual ceremonies as it represents what humans need to do: we must go beyond the material and the temporal limits by going deep inside ourselves. If we stay at the surface, we cannot understand the beauty and truth that this natural world has to offer. Venturing into the innermost self is entering an obscure world where we encounter things that are buried subconsciously, some voluntarily and others involuntarily. This, of course, is very scary and most people are too afraid. It also must be done entirely alone. But the snake is a healer; it offers us a powerful medicine that can produce visions and profound realizations. This journey into the self is a passage: from darkness to the light; from ignorance to wisdom; and from an unhealthy spirit to wellbeing. After we take our medicine, meaning go deep within ourselves and confront all that we fear, we will open up and arrive at the understanding that this beautiful temple in the stars is not really in the world; it is within us.

The snake helps us realize this truth – beauty, magic, and bliss are things we can achieve inside of ourselves – and then we come to the understanding of how deeply connected we are to the dynamic energy of the universe. Overcoming your fears and obtaining higher wisdom can help you feel healthier, forgive people who have hurt you, and even find a hidden talent you never knew you had. This is why the anaconda has skin that looks almost like precious metals or stones – it is both mystically beautiful in what it offers and yet profoundly scary in the journey one must undergo.