Thank you SO much for this spring idea. The directions to make the above craft can be found at this site here.
Background: According to the site, St. Patrick, in his mythical riddance of snakes from Ireland, introduced Christianity to Ireland and ushered in a movement that tried to eliminate some of the old pagan faiths there.
I do not care to get into a religion-bashing post. My belief system is that everyone is entitled to their own beliefs, so long as they do not harm others.
Harming None should be a basic HUMAN tenent, in my opinion, in order to ensure basic human rights. Whenever you try to stifle the free thinking of others who are not harming anyone, I believe *THAT* is what could be called a 'sin'. I do not believe in pushing one's ideas upon another - and so I will introduce the St. Patrick story as a myth. I will also suggest that giving credit to him for ushering in a movement toward Christianity and putting pressure on pagans to convert could also be a myth.
In creating this spring wreath, one could consider it simply an honoring of snakes. Naturally, if there was an 'overabundance' of snakes bothering the population, then I can see where a culling may be considered. I disagree, however, with the idea that ridding snakes rids humanity of 'evil' because of some story in some book about a snake being the vehicle of some devil/demon - well, that's a bit too far for me. My quest is to live more in harmony with nature, not more separate from it!
Snakes are beautiful creatures and they perform many beneficial acts in nature. They often avoid humans, typically only striking unless you wander too close to their nest or if they feel cornered. Some may consider snakes to be 'dark' because they look scary. In my earth-based belief system, light and dark both are neccessary for the smooth flow of life.
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