Should we embrace our inner serpent? For Chinese people welcoming the lunar New Year today, snakes have positive attributes as well as scary and despicable ones.
Billions celebrate Year of the Snake
Should we embrace our inner serpent? For Chinese people welcoming the lunar New Year today, snakes have positive attributes as well as scary and despicable ones.
"Trust in me, just in me," sings the rock python Kaa as he hypnotises Mowgli in Disney's The Jungle Book. Soon the boy is under his spell - and likely to be eaten unless someone rescues him.
This is how humans tend to view snakes - as sly, dangerous creatures. In the Bible, it is the serpent who causes Adam and Eve's expulsionThe action of forcing someone to leave an organisation. from the Garden of Eden.
A recent survey1 found that 42% of people in Britain suffer from fear of snakes, compared with just 9% who are afraid of dogs.
In Chinese mythology, snakes are associated with darkness. But they also represent wisdom, wealth and the pursuit of love and happiness. The fact that snakes shed their skins makes them symbols of rebirth.
According to the Chinese lunar calendarA calendar that uses the phases of the moon to mark the passage of time., this year also represents wood and fire. This combination, says one expert, produces intelligent people who are "resilient, courageous and positive." Snake people are also elusiveDifficult to find. and enigmaticMysterious or difficult to understand..
Scientists say that snakes are much more complex than people realise. Snakes smell with their tongues, which collect particles from the air, earth and water.
By analysing the chemicals found in them, they are able to track their prey. Some, such as the anaconda, are able to do this under water.
Snakes are extremely sensitive to temperature, and will react to tiny changes in it. They can survive in very harsh conditions, and in very cold winters will go into brumation. This is like hibernation, but involves remaining inactive rather than actually going to sleep.
In article for Phys Org, scientist James Chesters argues that snakes play a very useful role in nature by controlling rats and mice. Their venomA poisonous substance secret by such animals as snakes, spiders and scorpians. is also an important ingredient in many drugs.
The black mamba's, for example, contains a powerful painkiller. The Sumatran cobra's may help to kill cancer cells.
Should we embrace our inner serpent?
Yes: As Chinese mythology recognises, snakes have many more good qualities than bad ones. In a world plagued by dishonesty and fake news, being hard for people to pin down is a great advantage.
No: There are good reasons for snakes having such a terrible reputation. Instead of being taken in by the legends which surround them, we should recognise them for the venomous creatures they are.
Or... We would do much better to model ourselves on another creature in Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book: the loyal and courageous mongoose Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, who is the sworn enemy of snakes.
Expulsion - The action of forcing someone to leave an organisation.
Lunar Calendar - A calendar that uses the phases of the moon to mark the passage of time.
Elusive - Difficult to find.
Enigmatic - Mysterious or difficult to understand.
Venom - A poisonous substance secret by such animals as snakes, spiders and scorpians.
Billions celebrate Year of the Snake

Glossary
Expulsion - The action of forcing someone to leave an organisation.
Lunar Calendar - A calendar that uses the phases of the moon to mark the passage of time.
Elusive - Difficult to find.
Enigmatic - Mysterious or difficult to understand.
Venom - A poisonous substance secret by such animals as snakes, spiders and scorpians.