From the Garden of Eden, the Serpent has been cast as the deceiver—the one who led humanity into exile. Yet the Serpent is also a symbol of wisdom, healing, and renewal: Moses lifted up the brazen serpent in the wilderness to heal the people, and Christ compared His own lifting up on the cross to that same sign. Beyond the Bible, the Serpent has been revered in many traditions. Among Hindus, the cobra is sacred not only as a spiritual symbol but as a practical guardian—protecting fields and grain stores from vermin and pestilence brought by rats. So who is the Serpent really? The great deceiver, the bringer of forbidden knowledge, the healer raised in the desert—or the sacred guardian of life itself? Is the Serpent our enemy, our teacher, our savior—or all three at once? Share your thoughts below. — JPG | 363