In the traditions of the Q’ero of the high Andes and the teachings of Alberto Villoldo, there are four archetypical animals associated with the four cardinal directions of the Medicine Wheel.
We start with serpent in the South. Serpent space is a very grounded and literal place, everything is as it seems, it is instinctive. And serpent helps us to shed our pasts the way it sheds its skin, all in one piece. It helps us to walk on this planet in beauty and connection.
In the cosmology of the Q’ero, the Milky Way is the Sky Serpent. In most cultures except the Christian one, the serpent archetype represents sexuality and the life force. Eastern traditions associate the serpent with kundalini, a vital force often depicted as a snake coiled at the base of the spine. And twin coiled serpents are associated with the double spiralled helix of DNA. Indeed even the caduceus, the Greek symbol for the healer, is still used by the medical profession today and shows twin serpents with eagle wings at the top.
Serpent reminds us of our connection to the earth, the source of our sustenance and support. The physical realm of flesh, soil, and rocks awakens our senses as, like the snake, we outgrow our old skins and leave them behind. Serpent impels us to move forward when we need to shed old identities and make a radical change.
Much of the work we do is about taking things out of the shadows. Shit happens, that’s part of the human condition, but we don’t need to live in the shit or carry it around with us, weighing us down and limiting us for the rest of our lives. If we do repress those difficult events of the past, their damage is still there, eating away in our unconscious mind and impacting the cells of our physical body.
The aim of shadow-work is to acknowledge our wounds and mistakes, facing the anger, guilt, shame, fear and other repressed emotions. Why would you keep opening these new doors, not knowing what is behind them, when it might seem safer and easier to leave them locked shut? Daniel Siegel is a leading proponent of interpersonal neurobiology. He writes, ‘Making sense of our past frees us to be present in our lives and to become the creative and active author of our own unfolding life story.’
Only by having the courage to take the traumas out of the shadows, in a safe environment, can we acknowledge them and let them go, whilst healing the wounds they have inflicted on us. What is key however is that this work should only be done in what the client perceives to be a safe environment. And although painful, the purpose of the healing is never to re-traumatise – it’s to acknowledge, see if there were any gifts or lessons, re-integrate any of these gifts or qualities, then release the limiting beliefs that have resulted from the traumas. In fact it’s when we can look at difficult events with compassion and without fear we often get the greatest insights and growth.