Rainbow Serpent (Art by Alexandra GaudiBuendia Khitrova)
The Rainbow Serpent, or Rainbow Snakes, are mythical beasts often worshipped as a creator gods by the numerous Aboriginal tribes of Australia.
Overview[]
Rainbow Serpents a common motif in the art and religion of Aboriginal Australians, with many names and stories associated with them, all of which communicate the significance and power of this being within Aboriginal mythology. The Rainbow Serpent is viewed as a giver of life through its association with water, but can be a destructive force as well.
When the rainbow is seen in the sky, it is said to be the Rainbow Serpent moving from one waterhole to another, explaining why some waterholes never dried up when drought struck. They are associated with water and rain due to their ancient ancestry, and possess the ability to manipulate these elements for the benefit of mankind, though they only do so for humans who have proven themselves worthy of their aid.
Description[]
Some believe the serpents serve as living manifestations of nature, with the vibrant colors of their scales linked with the seasons, blue for winter, red for summer, green for spring, and orange for autumn.
These sometimes unpredictable serpents (in contrast to the unyielding sun) replenish water sources throughout the land, form gullies and deep channels as they slither across the landscape. Without the Serpent, no rain would fall and the Earth would dry up; other times, the Serpent is said to come to stop the rain.
The Rainbow Serpent is sometimes associated with human blood, especially circulation and the menstrual cycle, and considered a healer. Thunder and lightning are said to stem from when the Rainbow Serpent is angry, and the Serpent can even cause powerful rain storms and cyclones. Quartz crystal and seashells are also associated with the Rainbow Serpent and are used in rituals to invoke it. The identification with quartz crystal presumably results from its prism-like appearance. In addition to the identification with the rainbow, the Serpent is also identified with a prismatic halo around the moon that can be regarded as a sign of rain.
History[]
Origins[]
Rainbow Serpents are believed to be descendants of the Genasi, and the offspring of the union between Living Rainbows and river serpents. As children of these elementals, Rainbow Serpents possess great skill when it comes to manipulating the natural world around them. Water blessed by a Rainbow Serpent contains transformative properties capable of gradually turning the stones at the bottom of a river into gemstones, or giving plants that feed upon it vibrant colors and magical properties, or even prolonging the life of those who drink it.
The Rainbow Serpent was also said to have emerged from beneath the ground and created huge ridges, mountains, and gorges as it pushed upward. The Rainbow Serpent is understood to be of immense proportions and inhabits deep permanent waterholes underground, guarding the secret location of the Great Subterranean Ocean of freshwater until humankind has proven worthy of accessing it.
Great Race of Yith[]
Rainbow Serpents have proven to even be benevolent tenants to "outsiders" such as the Yithians, a race of time-displacing extraterrestrial beings. The Great Race were visited by a Rainbow Serpent who told them of the coming of man, one which they made to inherit the Earth and in the case of the would-be Australian deities are the Aboriginals, and must leave their post. The Yithians requested that their history remain intact to which the Rainbow Serpent agreed, but on the condition that it be buried beneath the Earth where in the coming untold thousand years, mankind would one day discover their existence.
When the Yithians asked of the 'coming final conflict' the Serpent gave no straightforward reply only to "prepare themselves" and their warnings to man would not go unheeded. The Yithians complied and after entering a dormant state, the Rainbow Serpent "encircled the landmass" creating massive ridges that hid their society deep beneath the confines of the continent.