List of Illustrations Preface 1. Interpreting the Fascination of Serpents 2. Factors that Arouse Awe Factors that Arouse Awe Beliefs Rooted in Ambivlanet Awe Awe Induced by Ophidian Body Form and Behavior Serpent-Handling Societies 3. The Cult of the Serpent Amidst Other Animal Cults The Invertebrates Aves Chiroptera Felidae Canidae,br> Ursidae Survivals of Ophidian Traditions among Northern People 4. The Serpent as a Sexual Symbol Conceptual Associations Some Pertinent Artistic Expressions 5. The Biological and Protocultural Expressions of Ophidiophobia The Stimulus of Visual Patterns Ophidiophobis in the Nonhuman Primates Ophidiophobia in the Human Primate Ophidian Imagery and the Subconscious Mind Societal Anxieties and Fears 6. The Wider Implications Anthropological Perspectives Psychoanalytical Perspectives The Holistic Perspective Notes and References Works Cited Author Index Subject Index