2013 YEAR OF THE SNAKE: A time for healing and rebirth!

2013 THE YEAR OF THE SERPENT (art by Hallelujah Truth)

Hallelujah for new beginnings and for symbols that help us express the longings of our hearts! What does a SERPENT from the Chinese zodiac symbolize for our new year just emerging? I know some of you might feel afraid or nervous, but this symbol is a powerfully healing one!

First of all, if we allow ourselves to look at the Chinese calendar, which is based on the phases of the moon, we actually still have time to prepare for the new year of the snake. It doesn't begin until February 9th--almost a month away! 

Then according to a description in my new calendar, "WE'MOON 2013: Gaia Rhythms for Womyn, the serpent is a symbol of HEALING and REBIRTH. Think of how both beautiful and frightening snakes are as they move across the Earth with "grace and fluidity."

The SERPENT's symbolic power is acknowledged in many world cultures. In fact the image that I drew and painted for you here is not Chinese influenced at all but is an artifact from my recent visit to an exhibit on shamanism that I saw at the Carlos Museum on Emory University's campus. 

Staring down at a clay bowl from a country in South America (I didn't write down if it were Ecuador, Peru, etc.), I made a quick outline drawing of the snake, believing at the time that it looked too cartoonish. However, the practice I have observed by releasing judgment (repeating the words, "NOT GOOD, NOT BAD, JUST IS."), allows me to explore my interests to satisfying results. 

What I now see in my drawing of a snake is not only a snake or SERPENT, but also a spiral (representing infinity for me) and a flower (look to see the petals in the snake's pattern--representing a "birth"). 

For me, my artwork become potent medicine for envisioning, re-envisioning LIFE. So, I hope I have shared that with you today. That's Coffee with Hallelujah. SOUL BLOG with me and tell me what you think of the SERPENT as a symbol and how you are acknowledging the new year, 2013!