serpent

An emblem of Satan and sin. The tempter appeared in that form to our first parents in Eden. In Christian art it is associated with

• Blessed Virgin Mary where it is often placed beneath her feet: "the seed of the woman shall crush his head."
• Saint Benedict of Nursia
• Saint Christina of Bolsena
• Saint Hilary
• Saint Hilda of Whitby
• Saint Honorat
• Saint James of the Marches
• Saint John the Evangelist
• Saint Julius of Novara
• Saint Luis Beltran
• Saint Patrick

On the other hand, a serpent twined around a cross is an emblem of Our Lord, recalling the brazen serpent which Moses erected to cure the Israelites in the desert.

New Catholic Dictionary

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