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The Myth and Folklore of the Snake Zodiac

It will increase the vitality and longevity of humans. The Snake is also the symbol of fortune. According to the ancient legends, the Snake has its own underground kingdom with numerous precious treasures, and those who are eager to make a great fortune should pray piously in the temple of the Snake.

The Myth and Folklore of the Snake Zodiac

Snake ranks sixth in the Chinese zodiac, and it belongs to “Si” with the twelve lands, so the “Si Shi” in the twelve o’clock in the day – from 9:00 to 11:00 in the morning, is also called “Snake Time”.

From 9 to 11 in the morning (that is, “Si Shi”), it is said that the snakes at this time will not hurt people, nor do they wander on the road where people walk, and are mostly hidden in the grass, so Si Shi belongs to snakes.

A long time ago, snakes and frogs were friends, but snakes had four legs at that time, but frogs had no legs and crawled on their stomachs, but snakes were lazy, and frogs were very diligent. So of course humans hate snakes and like frogs.

The snake found that people hated him, and he began to hate people. It would bite people and eat animals when it saw it, which made the world very uneasy. Upon seeing this, the Earth God reported to the Heavenly Palace. The Jade Emperor sent the snake to the Heavenly Palace and persuaded him to change from evil to good, but the snake uttered wild words and had no intention of repenting.

The Jade Emperor was furious and ordered the magic soldier to cut off the four legs of the snake to avoid harming people. Since then, the snake lost its four legs. The Jade Emperor also saw that the frog is useful to people, so he gave the four legs of the snake to the frog.

After the frog has legs, it is more diligent. The snake knew that it had made a mistake, and was determined to remake itself. It also began to eat pests and dragged its long body to do good things for humans. The snake also followed the dragon school to control the water. After the snake died, it also dedicated its body to humans. , as a drug to save many patients. The Jade Emperor saw that the snake knew what to do and could change it, so he worked hard to make progress. When he sealed the zodiac, he placed it behind the dragon and became the human zodiac.

After the snake becomes the zodiac sign, of course, it will not take the initiative to hurt people. Once the evil thoughts germinate, they will be turned into a layer of skin and shed to show that they are reborn. Still, it held a grudge against the frog for having its four legs, so, to this day, the snake still bites the frog when it sees it. The frog knows that he has taken advantage of the snake, so when it sees the snake, it will tremble with fear and hurriedly avoid it. Obviously, the snake became the zodiac sign by its own efforts.

Coincidentally, in addition to China, Babylon, Greece, Egypt, India and other countries in the world’s major ancient civilizations also have the folk customs of the twelve zodiac signs, and there are snakes without exception. The Serpent in the Garden of Eden, recorded in the Bible, dared to violate the prohibition of God, and inspired Adam and Eve, the first ancestors of mankind, to steal the forbidden fruit, so that mankind would know good and evil, and have seven emotions and six desires. This feat of the snake is as great as Prometheus who stole fire from the sky to the world.

The famous Mayan Kukulkan Temple, which means the Temple of the Feathered Serpent. The favored pet of Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, is a snake that symbolizes wisdom and longevity. Hermes, the envoy of Zeus, always held a double serpent rod, a symbol of privilege.

As for India, it is a country full of snake worship. In fact, the legendary ancestor of Yan and Huang, the clan of Fuwa, worshipped the snake totem. This series of phenomena shows that snakes have an extremely long and indissoluble bond with humans, and it is not surprising that the Chinese nation takes the snake as its zodiac sign.

Fujian is abbreviated as “Min”, which is the shape of the snake in the door. “Fujian Miscellaneous Notes” states: “Outside the south gate of Zhangzhou City, Fujian, there is Nantai Temple, commonly known as the Snake King Temple, and its god is a statue of a monk.” Those who are bitten by snakes can complain in the temple, and the disaster will be eliminated. After leaving the temple, seeing a dead snake indicates a snake. God has punished.

In Zhanghu Town, Nanping, there is a legend that the python spit fire to drive away the plague, so a temple was built to enshrine the snake king’s local Lantern Festival snake lantern. Blocks, connected up to several hundred meters. July 7th is the Snake Festival. The villagers put urns with live snakes in the temples to worship and tour the whole village. Some people play with snakes on their arms, and some people wear shackles to pretend to be criminals, thinking that it can eliminate disasters and prevent diseases.

Han folk believe that seeing a snake peeling is a bad omen. A folk proverb says: “If you see a snake peeling, you will never die.” In Qinghai, it is best not to kill a snake when you find it at home, thinking that the snake will retaliate. If you find a snake at home, catch it in a jar or pick it up on a long pole and send it to the valley, and ask it to hide in a cave.