Wow.

Soundtrack for this post:  Morbid Fascination, Midnight Syndicate

So after the weekend from hell this weekend, I came home and went for a nice, long hike by the local river. About 4 kms in there is an old canoe launch, from an outfitting comany that no longer exists.  I sat there on the concrete at the water's edge, and contemplated that fact that just because my mother is my mother does not give her the right to be a negative, stressful influence in my life, and I need to make some choices.

As I sat there, I noticed slight movement out of the corner of my eye.  When I looked over, there was a nice sized queen snake poking her head up from under the end of the concrete.  We stared at each other for a few minutes, then I went over for a closer look, and also to verify my ID.  She let me put my hand under her head and cradle her head and "neck", she didn't try to flee.  (Admittedly, she may have been slightly chilled, and therefore more docile).  As I sat with her, two more came out, just honestly curious, not afraid at all.

After I sat and visited with them, thinking about nothing other than how cool it was, and how pretty they were, I felt so much better.

I have a good friend I will call the Lunatic.  Lunatic stopped by my office today, and I was telling him about my snake experience.  I mentioned that I did not know what snake energy represented in folklore, and after he left, I googled it.  This is what I found:

Messages:
If snake has come into your life perhaps it is time for you to go through your own rebirth experience. Snake has the ability to look deep into your soul, see what you need most, and then help you attain your goals. It is also a good time to learn how to control your temper and passion so that you do not strike out at others unnecessarily. If you have been feeling unbalanced and unfocused lately, snake will help you to balance yourself and get in harmony with the vibrations around you.
Is it time to let go of old patterns that no longer serve you? Are there certain people in your life that are hurting you and serve no purpose on your spiritual path? Are you striking out at others with spite and anger? Do you wish to feel more in tune with your spiritual gifts and the energy patterns around you? Snake will assist you will all of these issues if you embrace and welcome him into your sacred space.

from this web site

Hmmmm ... once again, the universe seems to be dropping some pretty heavy hints.

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Queen Snake, (Regina septemvittata) is a rare snake in Ontario.  There are no current or historical records of this species for near the location where I was, and only historical records for it about 2 kms downstream of where I was. 

Queen Snake, like many snakes, are rare or endangered because of "fear kills", that is humans killing them simply because they are a snake, and people are afraid of snakes.  Most snakes are not harmful, and if you give them a chance to escape, they will escape.  There is rarely a reason to kill a snake.