snake lore
and a special preorder
When I adopted a snake, everyone close to me chimed “that makes so much sense.” At first I wasn’t sure what they meant but after spending time with the little guy and learning more about snake care, thinking about both historical symbolism and my own personal symbolism, I began to agree with them.
In many ancient traditions, snakes and serpents represent earthly wisdom. Several creation stories cast serpents in crucial roles, either as guardians of knowledge or the source of life itself. As such they also represent fertility and rebirth.
Despite their mythological significance, our evolved fear of snakes endures, histories embedded in our bodies.
Welcoming snakes into our lives is bridging that gap between instinct and emotion, earth and sky.
Snakes require solitude. Too much handling stresses them out, and in fact the practice of holding your snake is more about teaching them to see you as more than a food source than bonding with them.
Cold blooded, they need external heat to keep them warm. If it’s too cold they can’t digest their food.
Being low to the ground, they’re sensitive to vibration and sound, and too much activity can stress them out. Overwhelmed, they retreat into themselves.
They will emerge in their own time, following their own wisdom and body intelligence.
They are pure instinct.
Snake medicine is a medicine of patience, intuition, respect, groundedness, transformation, and divine timing.
For these reasons I thought this snake design was perfect to represent Tenderheart Studio in my next round of apparel, and these shirts and hoodies are now available for preorder through 12/13. I’ve been sitting on this design for a long time and am very excited to put the revised version into the world.
I told myself I wouldn’t let substack become a place for direct marketing of products, and I’m still committed to that. But this preorder came together quick and I wanted to make sure all of you saw it since instagram reach has been low!
I’m working with a printer here in Indiana called In Case of Emergency Press, and all preorders will also receive a snake bouquet sticker.
Thanks for reading! I need a minimum of 12 of each item to place the order, so please share with your friends! I’d like to get these shirts and hoodies into as many hands as possible.