What Nature Teaches Us About Change, Rest, and Renewal

Snakes are among the most misunderstood creatures in the natural world. For many people, the mere thought of a snake evokes fear or discomfort; reactions shaped more by stories and symbolism than by lived experience.

And yet, when we slow down and truly observe Snake, she offers some of the most profound wisdom available to us through nature: wisdom about change, boundaries, rest, adaptation, and the courage required to shed what no longer fits.

This is an invitation to soften your perspective on Snake and to explore what snake medicine may be teaching you right now.

Why Snakes Are So Misunderstood

Snakes are often described as slimy, aggressive, or dangerous. In reality, none of this is true.

If you’ve ever touched a snake, you’ll know their skin is smooth, cool, and dry. They glide through grass, earth, and stone without collecting debris or clinging to what they move across. There is something quietly symbolic in that alone.

There are nearly 4,000 species of snakes worldwide, living everywhere except Antarctica. From tiny, delicate snakes just a few centimetres long to massive pythons and anacondas, snakes have learned to adapt to an extraordinary range of environments.

Most importantly, snakes are not interested in humans. They only strike when threatened or cornered. Given space and respect, they move away quietly. Like most wild animals, they want peace, not conflict.

Snake Medicine and the Power of Empathy

One of the most moving insights into animal intelligence comes from the book The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery. While the book focuses on octopuses, it offers a powerful lesson about how animals respond to empathy, calm, and presence.

Montgomery shares a story of anacondas in a zoo who were once distressed and difficult to handle. Over time, a volunteer began sitting quietly with them; reading, being present, offering no force or control. Gradually, the snakes relaxed. They recognised her. They sought out her company. Handling them became calm and safe.

This story reminds us that animals — even those we assume are unintelligent or unfeeling — respond to how they are treated.

And so do we.

What Snakes Teach Us About Our Environment

Snakes are cold-blooded animals, meaning they cannot regulate their own body temperature internally. Instead, they respond directly to their environment.

If it’s too hot, they move into shade.
If it’s too cold, they seek warmth.
If an environment no longer supports them, they leave.

They don’t overthink this. They don’t explain themselves. They don’t worry about being perceived as rude or selfish.

This is a core teaching of snake medicine.

Where in your life are you staying somewhere that no longer supports you?
Where are you tolerating discomfort because it feels safer than change?

Adaptation is not weakness. It is intelligence.

Rest, Digest, and the Wisdom of Doing Less

Snakes are masters of energy conservation. They do not rush. They expend energy only when necessary.

After eating, a snake will stop moving almost entirely. It rests. It digests. It allows the process to complete before acting again.

In a culture that glorifies productivity and constant motion, snake medicine reminds us that rest is not laziness, it is biological wisdom.

Where in your life could slowing down actually support growth?

The Blue Phase: Shedding, Liminal Space, and Life Transitions

The most well-known aspect of snake symbolism is shedding, but the deeper wisdom lies in how shedding happens.

Before a snake releases its old skin, it enters what’s known as the blue phase. A new skin forms underneath the old one. A cloudy film passes over the eyes. Vision becomes blurred. The snake becomes quieter, more withdrawn, and more vulnerable.

Nothing has gone wrong.
This is the process.

Only once the new skin is fully ready does the old one split and fall away — often in one complete piece, including the eye caps. Clear vision returns. Movement resumes.

If you’ve ever been in a life transition; between identities, relationships, careers, or ways of being, this will feel deeply familiar. That uncomfortable in-between phase where clarity disappears, patience runs thin, and nothing seems to move fast enough.

Snake teaches us that liminal spaces are not failure.
They are preparation.

Living in Rhythm With Change

Nature is always changing. Seasons shift. Trees drop leaves. New life forms beneath the surface long before it becomes visible.

We forget this and then judge ourselves for not staying the same.

Snake medicine reminds us that growth requires release. That clinging to old identities, old stories, or outdated ways of being eventually becomes painful. And that courage is not forcing the next chapter, it is trusting the timing of the shed.

If Snake has been appearing for you — in dreams, symbols, images, conversations, or the natural world — she may be asking you some gentle but powerful questions:

• What am I ready to shed?
• Where am I resisting necessary change?
• Is my environment helping me thrive?
• Where could I be more flexible and responsive?
• What old story am I still wearing like a skin that no longer fits?

Snake does not rush transformation.
She trusts it.

And when the time is right, she lets go — completely.

Ready to Work With Snake Medicine More Deeply?

If something in this exploration of Snake has stirred something in you — if you recognise yourself in the blue phase, or feel the quiet nudge that it might be time to shed an old story — I invite you to go deeper.

I’ve created a guided workshop focused on Snake / Serpent energy in the South of the Andean Medicine Wheel, where we work intentionally with shedding, release, and the courage required to begin again.

In this workshop, I guide you to:

• Identify an old story or identity that no longer fits
• Understand how it formed — and why it’s been so hard to let go
• Gently and safely shed what is no longer serving you
• Begin rewriting a new story that supports the life you’re ready to grow into

This is reflective, embodied work — grounded in nature, nervous-system awareness, and ancient cyclical wisdom. There’s no forcing, fixing, or bypassing. Just an invitation to meet yourself honestly, and move forward with clarity.

If Snake is showing up for you, it may be because the cycle of change has already begun.

👉 Explore the South / Serpent Workshop HERE.

Trust the timing.
The old skin knows when it’s ready to come off 🐍✨