Decorative relief carved Rattlesnake ceramic tile/plaque

8x8 relief carved and hand painted Santa Catalina Island Rattle Snake.

$5.00 from the sale of each of these tiles sold is donated to The Amphibian and Reptile Conservancy

http://www.facebook.com/#!/AmphibianandReptileConservancy

Available to order from http://earthsongtiles.com

The Snake is one of the most widespread symbols in mythology and has been associated with some of the oldest rituals known to mankind. Historically snakes and serpents have generally represented fertility, transformation and healing along with being potent guardians of sacred places and treasure.

The Hopi people of North America preformed an annual snake dance which included the capture and release of live snakes into the fields as a blessing for good crops. In ancient Crete snakes were worshiped as familiars of the great great goddesses, twining around her staff,  guardians of her mysteries of birth and regeneration. The oldest known representation of snakes entwined around a rod or branch is that of the Sumerian god Ningizzida, who was sometimes depicted as a serpent with a mans head and came to represent healing and magic. Some suggest the symbol of snakes carved around a staff is an ancient representation of Kundalini. (The mothering intelligence behind Yogic awakening leading to altered states of consciousness) With the staff representing the spine and the snakes being energy flow. The Rainbow snake is a major being in the lore of the Aboriginal people of Australia and in Fiji it was a snake god that ruled the underworld and caused fruit trees to bloom. Due to the fact that snake can't be tamed, they are seen as a symbol of freedom in Hindu tradition. In ancient Egypt the serpent appears from the beginning to the end of their mythology, the earliest records state the Egyptian Cobra, 'crown of Egypt' was patron and protector of the country, all other deities and Pharaohs. Buddha was once sheltered from a tempest by a serpent king and lord Vishnu is said to sleep on the serpent Shesha who floats in the cosmic ocean and holds all the planets on his hoods...