This is a great thread but I haven’t had time to partake .
Quoting Aeon 418
“The snake in the Universe card might relate to the second part of the 26th verse of chapter 2 of The Book of the Law.
2:26...If I droop down mine head, and shoot forth venom, then is rapture of the earth, and I and the earth are one.
The Universe card and Earth are closely related after all.”
This is exactly one of my takes on it and allows me to give a totally different source other than BoT, AC or others (here you go Frank, ‘another aspect of interpretation’).
The diamond pattern on the snake identifies it to me (locally) as a diamond python or rainbow serpent, the creator ‘spirit’. Originaly there were two aspects (I see as spirit active and spirit passive) A sky snake Wallenganda (the milky way) and an earth snake Ungud lying on the flat featureless plane of the earth.
The story shouldn’t be hard to find if you want to read all of it so I wont go too fully into it. But Wallenganda lowers her head from the sky and spits water down on Ungud who takes it into the earth and forms the Great Artesian Basin (central Australia) and Uluru (‘Ayer’s Rock’). He sleeps and dreams coiled up in the water (the kundalini coiled at the base chakra?) In the dream Ungud multiplies himself into numerous rainbow serpents who go forth, their writhing and crawling movements determine the created shape of the environment and the world.
The Universe card is (in one aspect) about creating a new universe for yourself and this isnt done by forcing the snake into a position nor the reverse, it’s the equal dance of the snake handler, being able to hold and direct the snake without forcing it (and diamond pythons are the easiest to catch and handle … they will even go to sleep inside your shirt where it’s nice and warm!). That’s what I see the woman doing with the snake, it’s a form of dance.
I really like the idea and relationships with the woman on card and her identity as the daughter of Babalon the Beautiful, but I am getting back to same aspects of interpretation.
Lily’s writings on sex reminded me … the woman on card is also both man and woman and they are dealing with the ‘kundalini’ or creative sexual fire. Ah … its such a nice relaxed waltz (with its wild moments) since I have matured slightly, the madness of youth and the uncontrolled writhing of the snake … can get one into a spot of bother!
I’m not sure sex nowdays is as ‘matter of fact’ as is often made out. Going thru adolescence during the conciousness and sexual revolutions of the 70’s make a lot of the younger ones of today (practicing sex magicians included!) look pretty staid, uptight and repressed
Don’t worry Lily I am sure there are lots of other naughty things you can still get up to