1 of 10 one-time edition prints.
5x7 on archival matte paper.

Prints will be signed and numbered.

Two of Spades: The Snake 🐍

Considering the Two of Spades is a card that represents choice and conflict, snake medicine seemed appropriate. The Two of Spades shows us duality in the extreme—that which opposes the self in our personal world is how we polarize on way or another.

Snakes are so vital to symbolism. Yet it’s a mystery as to how they came to be creatures so extremely reviled and regarded as evil or contradictorily, regarded as auspicious and wisdom-bringing. Perhaps this is because in most stories, snakes, nagas, and serpents operate in a gray space—one which offers an honest choice—with a gain comes a lossssss.

Snakes intertwined is the symbol of the strands weaving together the universe. DNA, two strands entwined together, link to form life. As in this picture, snakes represent what cycles of life we can’t escape, the inevitable shedding of skin, the cause and effect we can’t avoid, especially if we must learn the hard way. The snake scares us because he reminds us of the serpent, who first woke us to life separate from the Father, where we make our own choices, good or bad, and live with the consequences. We label the one that offers the choice to strike off on our own as the evil-doer, even though the consequences are initiated by our choice alone.

Just the same, we find our own serpent when we meet someone or learn something that challenges our old way of thinking, invoking fear of chaos. We call this the enemy, but often the enemy becomes another thread in the weaving of our own story, when viewed with a bird’s eye lens. Polarity challenges us with opposition or forces us to change, become better, and shed our old skins to fit our new understanding.