Today's Oracle 7th May 2021

 Ram-horned Snake (Shape-shifting)

The ram-homed serpent signifies the capacity to change form, consciousness, or action spontaneously and quickly. Close to the earth and in touch with what is needed, the ram-horned serpent freely changes action, mood, form, and consciousness.

Invoking the Quality of Shape-Shifting.

IF YOU ARE DRAWN TO THIS ORACLE, you are urged to bring shape-shifting to some aspect of your life. A present situation may invite a change in attitude, action, or rearrangement of relationships, plans, logistics, or details. Depending on the situation, the changes may be crucial to many people or subtle, perceivable only to you. By sensing the opportune moment, spontaneous shifts in action, consciousness, and outward appearance may occur quickly and effortlessly. Making the same change later may require more time and effort. By shape-shifting now, you will begin to strengthen your capacity to shape-shift when the right circumstances occur in the future.

The ram-horned snake is the Celts' most vigorous image of shape changing. The snake's form, consciousness, and action shift easily and spontaneously. Adorned with the powerful curling horns of the ram, the ram-horned snake brings together the regenerative and healing powers of the snake with the vigour, strength, and fertility of the ram. The ram-horned snake is particularly adept at responding swiftly to changing circumstances.

Shape-shifting, or shape changing, is remarkably common in the Celtic world. From archaeological finds of bas-reliefs depicting the ram-horned serpent of the Iron Age Celts to Irish and Welsh tales and legends of the great oral tradition, shape-shifting occurs frequently. Otherworldly beings, humans, and animals willfully change form when pursued and in danger, or seamlessly change from one form to another as acts of creation. Shape-shifting is the natural inheritance of otherworldly beings. The Welsh bard Taliesin tells of his multidimensional origins:

"I have been in many shapes before I assumed a constant form: I have been a narrow sword, a drop in the air; a shining bright star; a letter among words in the book of origins.

I have been lantern light for a year and a day.

I have been a bridge spanning three score rivers.

I have flown as an eagle, been a coracle on the sea.

I have been a drop in a shower, a sword in battle, a string in a harp.

Nine years in enchantment, on water, in foam.

I have absorbed fire, I have been a tree in a covert.

There is nothing of which I have not been part."

In domestic shrines of the earliest Celts to the medieval tales of wonder and adventure, a swift change in shape, consciousness, or action gives zest and adventure to the Celtic legends and way of life.

The ram-horned snake vividly portrays the prevalent capacity of beings in the Celtic world to shape-shift quickly and spontaneously. The natural capacity of the snake to renew life and the capacity of the ram to act with strength and authority are brought together in this uncanny and vibrant image of a snake adorned with the curling horns of a ram. In a striking portrayal in stone relief at Cirencester in Gloucestershire, England, the ram-horned snake is physically blended with an image of Cernunnos, the antlered Lord of the Animals:

"Cernunnos's body is merged with those of the two ram-horned snakes which replace his own legs and rear up on each side of his head to eat the fruit or grains clustered by his ears."

With practice and increased sensitivity, you can develop the skill of shape-shifting. From a spiritual perspective, as the boundaries between the realms of this middle world and the spirit world grow thinner, the extraordinary qualities of the animals and plants around you may become your expert teachers.