Where does the symbol of a snake wrapped around a staff that is represented in the medical field originate?

Answer 1

Its called the Caduceus. It's Greek and is associated with the Greek god Hermes.

You can read up on it on wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caduceus

Answer 2

The Bible. The book of Numbers 21: 8 and 9

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Answer 3

The Rod of Asclepius is an ancient Greek symbol associated with astrology and healing the sick with medicine. It consists of a serpent entwined around a staff. Asclepius, the son of Apollo, was practitioner of medicine in ancient Greek mythology. He was instructed in medicine by the centaur Chiron also connected to the constellation Ophiuchus.

The Rod of Asclepius symbolizes the healing arts by combining the serpent, which in shedding its skin is a symbol of rebirth and fertility, with the staff, a symbol of authority, befitting the god of Medicine. The snake wrapped around the staff is widely claimed to be a species of Rat snake, Elaphe longissima, also known as the Aesculapian (Asclepian) snake. It is native to southeastern Europe, Asia Minor, and some central European spa regions, apparently brought there by Romans for their healing properties.

Some scholars have suggested that the symbol once represented a worm wrapped around a rod; parasitic worms such as the "guinea worm" (Dracunculus medinensis) were common in ancient times, and were extracted from beneath the skin by winding them slowly around a stick. Physicians may have advertised this common service by posting a sign depicting a worm on a rod.

Asclepius was said to have learned the art of healing from Chiron, and is shown holding a stick with a serpent coiled around it. Serving as a surgeon on the ship, the Argo, Asclepius was so skilled in the medical arts, that he was reputed to have brought patients back from the dead. For this, he was punished, according to Greek mythology, and placed in the heavens as the constellation Ophiuchus. This symbol is now used as the symbol of western medicine.

Asclepius himself, in traditional Greek mythology, was reputed to have the blood of Medusa in his veins. The blood that flowed on Medusa's left side was said to be fatal poison. The blood from her right side was beneficial. Asclepius was also known as Ophiuchus, the son of Apollo, to the ancient Greeks. In early Christianity, the constellation Ophiuchus was associated with Saint Paul holding the Maltese Viper.

In Astrology, some systems include a thirteenth sign of the zodiac, which is the constellation Ophiuchus, and is known as Ophiuchus Serpentarius (the "serpent holder"). This constellation lies between Sagittarius and Libra.

In Hebrew mythology, a similar symbol, Nehushtan, is mentioned in the Bible in Numbers 21:4–9. Attacked by a plague of snakes in the wilderness, Moses holds up a serpent coiled around a staff, both made from bronze, so that the Israelites might recover from the bites. However, the serpent itself was not seen as a powerful healing tool, rather the action of looking upwards, towards God, was what healed those afflicted.

In Yogic Philosophy the symbol (another variation of the Caduceus of Mercury) has its origins in the Kundalini energy. In this original symbol there are two snakes around one straight pole (as was the first symbol for medicine). Both snakes are curling around the pole in perfect harmony. The snakes represent the polarities in the body and in the world (positive and negative), of which we can achieve liberation through the Kundalini Energy, which is represented by the straight pole in the middle, pointing upwards. The two curling spirals (or snakes) are the channels Ida and Pingala, and the central channel is Shushmana, which is the spine of the body. The snakes cross over seven times, one in each chakra. and is awakened by the practice of consciousness and an ego-less discipline, like Kundalini Yoga.

Answer 4

no, the serpent's venom is utilized in an anti-venom to help people after being bitten and the staff is an emblem of authority. it particularly is image of drugs, no longer a pagan image. it particularly is no longer evil in any respect. pass on.