Serpent, astral
Symbolized by the caduceus
July 5th 2011
You have seen snakes move. They are said to slither, but the shape of their movement is similar to a sine curve. And this is also the way light moves. This is why initiates use the image of the snake when they wish to explain the magic agent, the universal medium they call astral light, through which waves travel in space. This agent is itself neutral, its function being only to transmit, and it transmits good as well as evil. So the astral serpent has a dual nature, light and dark. It is this dual nature that is represented by the initiatic symbol of the caduceus, a rod with two snakes intertwined around it. The two snakes are the positive and negative currents of astral light. The first is bright and warm, the second dark and cold; one is white, the other black.
The snake is a single entity, but from the initiatic point of view it has two aspects. We must conquer its evil aspect, which then places itself at our service and gives us its energies. Yes, but first of all, we must control it.