Serpent in tarot
The serpent is the most double-sided symbol in the deck. In Genesis it tempts Eve; in Greek medicine it coils round the staff of Asclepius; biting its own tail as the ouroboros, it means eternity. Smith uses several of these meanings. A serpent winds up the tree behind the woman in the Lovers, a yellow snake descends the left side of the Wheel of Fortune, Waite said the Magician's girdle is a serpent biting its tail, and a snake rears from one of the Seven of Cups' visions. In readings, ask whether the serpent is temptation, wisdom or renewal here.
Cards that show serpent
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The Lovers
The Lovers: The tree and the serpent
Behind the woman stands a leafy tree with round orange fruit and a green serpent coiled up its trunk. This is the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil: temptation, choice and the knowledge that comes with experience.
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Wheel of Fortune
Wheel of Fortune: The snake
A yellow snake winds down the left side of the wheel. Waite names it Typhon, a destructive figure Greek writers identified with the Egyptian god Set, here in serpent form: the fall that comes with every turn.
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Two of Cups
Two of Cups: The caduceus
A black staff with two intertwined serpents rises between the cups. It is the wand of Hermes, messenger of the gods, and in modern times it is also widely used as a sign of medicine. Here it suggests communication and the reconciling of two different natures.
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Seven of Cups
Seven of Cups: The head and the snake
At top left a young curly-haired head rises from a cup; at top right a yellow spotted snake coils over the rim of another. They are commonly read as the lure of love or beauty and as temptation, desire or hidden danger.