Snake Charming

Snake Dance

If I caught a leprechaun or rubbed the magic lamp just right, one of the wishes I wouldmake would be to have the power to command animals. Imagine, having animals thatwould do your bidding! It is probably a good thing that the chances of this happening arelow to zero (yet there is always hope!) because I guarantee you I would not use mypowers for good. I would use them for selfish, evil purposes. Don't cross me, because Iwill arrange for a horse to trample you. You won't die, you'll just suffer irreparable internaldamages. And don't even think of shoving me aside to board the bus in front of me,because before you know a cuh-ray-zee squirrel is going to get medieval on your ass! Andspeaking of asses, I would command all donkeys and mules to stop their boring work ofschlepping stuff for poor farmers and have them come over to my place to kick anyone inthe shins who was rude to me while bagging my groceries.

I would use the animal's powers for some positive things though. All bunnies wouldimmediately come bounding up to small children for a sweet snuggle, and rats would beable to whip up a five-star meal on the quick (remember The Muppets TakeManhattan?!?) And lest you think I don't have the animals' best interest at heart, noanimals would be harmed in the execution of my tasks. In fact, the animals would all havea force field of protection around them (this is my fantasy, so don't judge!)

And o' the wonderful powers of snakes. Just think of the easy vengeance you couldunleash with just the mere presence of a snake. People fear snakes. Big time. They arepossibly one of the most misrepresented animals in the entire Animal Kingdom. Peoplestill actually think snakes are slimy! Snails are slimy. Snakes are smooth, cool, andincredible! Here are a few other fun facts about snakes that I've stumbled upon:

• The success and diversity of snakes over thousands of years is due in part to their prey ofchoice—rodents, which are numerous and everywhere!

• The largest snakes in the world are the reticulated python, which can get up to 30 ft. longand the anaconda that averages around 25 ft. long.

• The smallest snake is the Barbados Threadsnake (Leptotyphlops carlae): about 4 incheslong!

• Snakes were worshiped in Ancient Egypt as one of the gods. The Nile cobra, or the asp,was used by Cleopatra to commit suicide.

• One of the antidotes for venomous snake bites is made by injecting a horse repeatedlywith increasing doses of snake venom until the horse is immunized, and then with theextracting the blood of the infected horse.

• Snakes do not have lymph nodes.

• There is great debate among the scientific community as to the origins of the evolution ofsnakes. Two main theories exist: That snakes evolved from mosasaurs—extinct aquaticreptiles from the Cretaceous period (about 65 million years ago); or snakes evolved fromburrowing lizards from the same period.

• Pit vipers, pythons, and some boas have infrared-sensitive receptors in the deep groovesbetween the nostril and eye or just below the nostrils, which allow them to "see" radiatedheat of warm-blooded mammals

• In Southeast Asia, gliding snakes can perform a controlled glide for hundreds of feet. Theylaunch themselves from the ends of branches and spread their ribs out laterally,undulating as they leap from tree to tree. (Yep!)

• Unlike horror movies or my own fantasies may reveal, snakes do not ordinarily prey onhumans and will actually go out of their way to avoid contact.

• Medusa had snakes instead of hair and could turn men to stone. She was one of the threeGorgon sisters from Greek mythology—all of whom were children of Gaia (the earth). Forthis reason snakes are thought to be symbolic of the earth.

• Snakes play an important role in Indian mythology. Snakes are believed to be symbols offertility and there is a Hindu festival every year to honor snakes. The Hindu god Vishnu isusually depicted as a snake with seven heads and Shiva is often represented with a snakeon his neck.

• The Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 prohibited snake charming in India as a way ofprotecting snakes from animal cruelty.

A. Alpheus was born in 1868 and was an American occultist and astrologer. His study onthe subjects of hypnotism and mesmerism, written in 1903, were at the forefront of theNew Thought movement. His greater work, Complete Hypnotism, Mesmerism, Mind-Readingand Spiritualism took a very scientific approach to the concept of mentalism—back then the areas between science and spirituality were far more blurred than modernday. This excerpt on animal hypnotism is as serious as it is quirky and surely deserves aplace on the shelves of your Paranormal Parlor.

And remember to be kind to the fauna of the earth. You never know when they might turnon you.

In Furry Freakitude,Varla VenturaSan Francisco, CA 2012

Hypnotism of Animals—Snake Charming

We are all familiar with the snake charmer, and the charming of birds by snakes. Howmuch hypnotism there is in these performances it would be hard to say. It is probable thata bird is fascinated to some extent by the steady gaze of a serpent's eyes, but fear willcertainly paralyze a bird as effectively as hypnotism.

Father Kircher was the first to try a familiar experiment with hens and cocks. If you hold ahen's head with the beak upon a piece of board, and then draw a chalk line from the beakto the edge of the board, the hen when released will continue to hold her head in the sameposition for some time, finally walking slowly away, as if roused from a stupor. Farmers'wives often try a sort of hypnotic experiment on hens they wish to transfer from one nestto another when sitting. They put the hen's head under her wing and gently rock her toand fro till she apparently goes to sleep, when she may be carried to another nest and willremain there afterward.

Horses are frequently managed by a steady gaze into their eyes. Dr. Moll states that amethod of hypnotizing horses named after its inventor as Balassiren has been introducedinto Austria by law for the shoeing of horses in the army.

We have all heard of the snake charmers of India, who make the snakes imitate all theirmovements. Some suppose this is by hypnotization. It may be the result of training,however. Certainly real charmers of wild beasts usually end by being bitten or injured insome other way, which would seem to show that the hypnotization does not always work,or else it does not exist at all.

We have some fairly well known instances of hypnotism produced in animals. Lafontaine,the magnetizer, some thirty years ago held public exhibitions in Paris in which he reducedcats, dogs, squirrels and lions to such complete insensibility that they felt neither pricksnor blows.

The Harvys or Psylles of Egypt impart to the ringed snake the appearance of a stick bypressure on the head, which induces a species of tetanus, says E. W. Lane.

The following description of serpent charming by the Aissouans of the province of Sous,Morocco, will be of interest:

"The principal charmer began by whirling with astonishing rapidity in a kind of frenzieddance around the wicker basket that contained the serpents, which were covered by agoatskin. Suddenly he stopped, plunged his naked arm into the basket, and drew out acobra de capello, or else a haje, a fearful reptile which is able to swell its head byspreading out the scales which cover it, and which is thought to be Cleopatra's asp, theserpent of Egypt. In Morocco it is known as the buska. The charmer folded and unfoldedthe greenish-black viper, as if it were a piece of muslin; he rolled it like a turban round hishead, and continued his dance while the serpent maintained its position, and seemed tofollow every movement and wish of the dancer.

"The buska was then placed on the ground, and raising itself straight on end, in theattitude it assumes on desert roads to attract travelers, began to sway from right to left,following the rhythm of the music. The Aissoua, whirling more and more rapidly inconstantly narrowing circles, plunged his hand once more into the basket, and pulled outtwo of the most venomous reptiles of the desert of Sous; serpents thicker than a man'sarm, two or three feet long, whose shining scales are spotted black or yellow, and whosebite sends, as it were, a burning fire through the veins. This reptile is probably the torridadipsas of antiquity. Europeans now call it the leffah.

"The two leffahs, more vigorous and less docile than the buska, lay half curled up, theirheads on one side, ready to dart forward, and followed with glittering eyes the movementsof the dancer. * * * Hindoo charmers are still more wonderful; they juggle with a dozendifferent species of reptiles at the same time, making them come and go, leap, dance, andlie down at the sound of the charmer's whistle, like the gentlest of tame animals. Theseserpents have never been known to bite their charmers."

It is well known that some animals, like the opossum, feign death when caught. Whetherthis is to be compared to hypnotism is doubtful. Other animals, called hibernating, sleepfor months with no other food than their fat, but this, again, can hardly be calledhypnotism.

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