The point of a symbol is to be a shortcut to meaning. People have asked me to explain the meaning of the snake in my logo, and I am happy to! But I feel as though the entirety of human history and mythology is wrapped into the meaning of my symbol of the snake, so I struggled to keep this brief!
When I sat down two years ago to create the initial Spellbound Stitchery logo, I wanted the logo to do a lot of things. I wanted it to be a recognizable symbol. I wanted it to be simple to paint onto the corner of a needlepoint canvas to immediately mark that canvas as mine. I doodled the words "Spellbound Stitchery" again and again and it struck me that the "S" at the beginning of Spellbound could be more than an S, it could be a snake in the shape of an S. I also added a needle to the tip of its tail, showing the end of the snake's body transforming into a thread.
Why in the world would a snake be my first choice, though? Aren't they scary? Creepy crawly? To some people, yes, snakes are a frightening animal. I would be lying if I told you a real life snake hadn't given me a jump scare a time or two. But I think snakes are largely misunderstood creatures - and I've become quite fond of them as wildlife friends.
One of the reasons I think there is a negative cultural connotation to snakes is because of the serpent in the Bible, who tempted Eve towards the "forbidden fruit." That is one of the most well-known snake stories, and it creates a symbolic parallel between a snake and evil. There are other snake myths in our collective unconscious, but that one carries the most weight in modern life. When I launched my business and presented my logo to family and friends, they questioned my use of the snake and pointed to this story for a reason why. Whether from obstinance or from wisdom, I saw more in the snake than just Eve's temptation and forbidden fruit - so I kept it.
Anthropologists have argued that, as primates, the serpent as a symbol of death is built into our human unconscious minds because of our evolutionary history. For millions of years, snakes were the only significant predators of primates, and that may explain why fear of snakes is one of the most common phobias worldwide and why the symbol of the serpent is so prevalent in world mythology; the serpent is an innate image of danger and death.
Not only a symbol of danger and death, with venom deep in its fangs, the snake is also a symbol of rebirth and renewal. The snake sheds its skin and therefore grows and changes. The snake-entwined Rod of Asclepius of Greek Mythology (below) is used today as a symbol of medicine and healthcare. The Greek God Asclepius was a deity associated with healing and medicine. His snake-adorned rod is thought to be a symbol that unites and expresses the dual nature of the work of the Apothecary Physician, who deals with life and death, sickness and health.
The ancient Greek and Egyptian symbol of the ouroboros, or the snake eating its own tail, is a favorite symbol of mine. It has multiple meanings, including:
- Unity - The ouroboros can represent the unity of all things, both material and spiritual.
- Eternal cycle - The ouroboros can express the idea that things are constantly changing form in an endless cycle of destruction and re-creation.
- Cyclicality - The ouroboros can represent the sense of something that is constantly re-creating itself, like the phoenix, which symbolizes cycles that begin again as soon as they end.
- Infinity - there is no beginning, there is no end.
- Rebirth - death and resurrection, the eternal cycle.
The common themes and lessons of the snake symbol of myth and legend resonate with the common themes present in my art and in my life. Cycles have ended for new cycles to begin. The work of healing and transformation is continuous, and my work connects with those who seek healing and transformation for themselves. I want my work to acknowledge, even if indirectly, the messy human fragility of life and life's journey. I feel strongly that in birth and death, we humans briefly glimpse the mystery of the universe, the spark of divinity, and the magic of the unknown. But that's way too deep for casual conversation or for the caption of an instagram post. So I made my logo a snake, as a visual shortcut to the deeper wisdom coiled in the foundation of my life's work.
Occasionally, you will see snake symbols and iconography creep into my needlepoint designs, as is the case with the ouroboros/infinity symbol present in the Rebirth Tarot Card design.