Editing Serpent symbolism (section)

===Venom and medicine===
Serpents are connected with [[snake venom|venom]] and medicine. The snake's venom is associated with the chemicals of plants and fungi<ref>{{cite book| author=Virgil| author-link=Virgil|title=[[Aeneid]] |page=2.471}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | title = [[Nicander]] Alexipharmaca 521 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | title = Pliny Natural History 9.5}}</ref> that have the power to either heal or provide expanded consciousness (and even the [[elixir of life]] and immortality) through divine intoxication. Because of its herbal knowledge and [[entheogen]]ic association, the snake was often considered one of the wisest animals, being (semi-) divine. Its divine aspect combined with its habitat in the earth between the roots of plants made it an animal with [[chthonic]] properties connected to the afterlife and immortality. The deified Greek physician [[Asclepius]], as god of [[medicine]] and healing, carried [[Rod of Asclepius|a staff]] with one serpent wrapped around it, which has become the symbol of modern medicine. [[Moses]] also had a replica of a serpent on a pole, the [[Nehushtan]], mentioned in Numbers 21:8.