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A friend looked at our wedding bands the other day and looked a little taken aback. “Snakes? You have snakes on your wedding rings??” she said.

I suppose if you have never had any interest in snakes it’s understandable that you wouldn’t know that they have a long and revered history. But they are serpents, not snakes

The serpent is one of the more important magical animals found in Celtic tradition. It represents the cyclic nature of life due to the annual shedding of its skin. It is a symbol of rebirth, shedding its old skin and reemerging in the spring from the winter’s hibernation, seemingly immortal. The serpent symbolizes time and eternity. The coiled serpent with its tail in its mouth is sometimes known as Ouroboros, and is thought to represent the circle of of the continuity of life.

And if you don’t believe any of that and think snakes have always been a symbol of pagan beliefs etc, take a look at the symbol of the medical profession… two serpents coiled about the staff of Hermes.