What advantages does the Serpent have?

Although in traditional divination and divinatory culture, the Serpent is often classified as an inauspicious deity because of its qualities of “changeability, false alarm, suspicion,” if we step outside this single mystical context and examine it from a dialectical perspective, pre-Qin philosophy, astronomy, and the deep logic of psychology, the Serpent actually possesses many extremely brilliant, irreplaceable advantages. Its legendary form of “flying without feet” precisely contains profound wisdom concerning focus, borrowing momentum, sharpness, and self-protection.

First, the Serpent’s most representative advantage is its extraordinary “focus” and “spirit of diligent refinement.” In Xunzi’s “Encouraging Learning,” the ancients gave the Serpent extremely high praise: “The Teng snake has no feet yet flies; the flying squirrel has five skills yet is at a loss.” In this cross-species comparison, the Serpent represents the model of perfecting a single skill to the utmost. From a biological standpoint, the Serpent has neither a bird’s wings nor a beast’s four legs — on land it appears incomplete and weak. However, it doesn’t give up on itself for lacking four legs, nor does it envy others’ versatility, instead casting aside all distraction, focusing all its life energy and willpower on the single goal of “flying.” This miracle of “flying without feet” is precisely the best interpretation of “wounding ten fingers is not as good as severing one,” and “being broad but unrefined is not as good as deeply specializing in one field.” In modern society, what the Serpent represents is precisely that “craftsman’s spirit” able to endure loneliness, deeply cultivating a vertical field, ultimately breaking through innate limitations to achieve a life turnaround.

Second, the Serpent represents the superb wisdom of “following and borrowing momentum” and a sharp grasp of timing. Han Feizi once pointed out that the key reason the Serpent can soar through the nine heavens is its ability to “travel through mist.” Mist is certainly an obstacle blocking sight, but in the Serpent’s eyes, it’s a usable “windfall” and “positional power.” The Serpent deeply understands the principle of leveraging force to overcome force — it doesn’t confront nature’s power head-on, but follows nature, blending into the environment, converting seemingly illusory mist into a ladder carrying its own soaring flight. This advantage, corresponding to human behavioral science, is extremely high emotional intelligence and environmental adaptability. A person with Serpent traits often can sharply catch the subtle shift in the era’s wind direction — while others are still confused, complaining about an unfair environment, they can already skillfully leverage a platform, connections, or the situation’s lever, riding the momentum upward. They don’t display foolhardy courage, instead emphasizing following the natural course, going with the flow — an extremely sage survival and competitive wisdom.

Furthermore, looking at it from the psychological and defense-mechanism level, the “suspicion and sensitivity” the Serpent is criticized for in mysticism is, conversely, precisely its unmatched “guard awareness” and “crisis insight.” In the animal kingdom, snakes rely on a sharp tongue and sensing ground vibration to catch the smallest danger signal. The Serpent, as a divine beast, has an even more extremely sensitive crisis radar. It represents not blind optimism, but sober prudence. In business negotiation, political contest, or complex social life, a person “accompanied by the Serpent” often has extremely strong anti-fraud ability. They’re not easily deceived by surface appearances, able to sniff out a hidden trap amid an overall favorable situation, preparing a complete retreat before a crisis erupts. This high vigilance and meticulous guarding psychology, though it means living somewhat tensely, is the best amulet ensuring one’s own survival and avoiding a fatal trap in a stormy, changing environment.

Furthermore, the Serpent also embodies the virtue of conduct of “flexible innovation” and “measured gentleness.” A snake’s nature is winding, not walking a straight path — this may not seem upright enough to Confucians, but to Daoists and military strategists who esteem dialectics, this is precisely the highest realm of “bending is preserving whole” and “the military has no constant position, water has no constant form.” The Serpent represents an extremely powerful flexibility — facing a formidable obstacle or irresistible pressure, it never confronts head-on, but winds around like flowing water or a rope, overcoming firmness with gentleness. At the same time, snakes have the habit of shedding skin — every shedding is a painful rebirth and self-upgrade. Therefore, the Serpent, at a deeper level, also represents the courage of “self-innovation” and “cutting off, giving up, and detaching.” It understands letting go of the past’s outdated shackles, gaining stronger vitality and a broader vision through continuously negating yesterday’s self.

Finally, in the grand mythological and astronomical cosmic view, the Serpent represents the role of a silently dedicating “guardian.” As the Black Tortoise’s intimate companion beast in the north, it’s not as magnificent as the Azure Dragon, nor as mighty as the White Tiger — it always hides itself in the shadows, weaving a solid defense line with its winding body, guarding the north’s peace. In the night sky, it becomes the vast Serpent star official, governing water insects, protecting agriculture and sericulture. This spirit of dedication — content to play a supporting role, enduring and restrained, silently shining in the shadows — is likewise an indelible bright point of the Serpent.

In summary, the Serpent is absolutely not a simple, flat, inauspicious symbol. Stripping away the fearsome coat mysticism has given it, what the Serpent displays is the image of a strong figure focused on self-improvement, skilled at borrowing and creating momentum, maintaining absolute sharpness toward danger, and possessing unlimited flexibility and innovative ability. It is an anthem for the weak turning the tables, and also the highest wisdom by which the wise establish themselves in a world shrouded in fog.