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"Ophiuchus holds a huge snake, Serpens, in both hands as shown in the Atlas Coelestis of John Flamsteed. Serpens is unique in being divided into two halves." - which means that the Snakecharmer is himself divided in two.
The Greeks identified him as Asclepius, the god of medicine. Asclepius was the son of Apollo and Coronis.
In a rage of jealousy, Apollo shot Coronis with an arrow, because she slept with a mortal man. Rather than see his child die with her, Apollo snatched the unborn baby from its mother’s womb, as the flames of the funeral pyre engulfed her.
He took the infant to Chiron, the wise centaur (represented in the sky by the constellation Centaurus -in the Southern Hemisphere).
Chiron raised Asclepius as his own son, teaching him the arts of healing and hunting. Asclepius became so skilled in medicine that not only could he save lives, he could also raise the dead.
In those days, in Crete, Glaucus, the young son of King Minos, fell into jar of honey and drowned. As Asclepius contemplated the body of Glaucus, a snake slithered towards it. He killed the snake with his staff; then another snake came along with a herb in its mouth and placed it on the body of the dead snake, which magically returned to life. Asclepius took the same herb and laid it on the body of Glaucus, who became alive.
Because of this incident Ophiuchus is shown in the sky holding a snake, which became the symbol of healing. Snakes shed their skin every year and are seemingly reborn.
Others, say that Asclepius received from the goddess Athene the blood of Medusa, the Gorgon. The blood that flowed from the veins on her left side was a poison, but the blood from the right side could raise the dead.
Some other legends tell that the Snakecharmer was Hippolytus, son of Theseus, who died when he was thrown from his chariot. Reaching for his healing herbs, Asclepius touched the youth’s chest three times, uttering healing words, and Hippolytus raised his head.
Hades, god of the Underworld, began to realize, that the flow of dead souls into his kingdom would soon stop, if this technique became widely known.
He complained to his brother, god Zeus, who struck down Asclepius with a thunderbolt. Apollo was outraged at this harsh treatment of his son.
To mollify Apollo, Zeus made Asclepius immortal (in the circumstances he could hardly bring him back to life again) and set him among the stars, as the Ophiuchus.
The head of Ophiuchus is marked by its brightest star, called Rasalhague, from the Arabic meaning ‘the head of the serpent collector’ (Alpha Ophiuchi).
Persian astrologists visualized a shepherd (the star Alpha Ophiuchi) along with his dog and some sheep in this area. How can we interpret these old dusty stories?
First important thing is, that the serpent and its charmer are divided! Even in the greek legend of Asclepios receiving Medusa´s blood is the splitting the quintessence. Top-heavy or bottom-heavy, this is here the question...
The civilized and the brute part of human mind are these two halves, fighting about the right to live and to dominate. Usually one of them is neglected, angry and frustrated - getting more and more demonized. Actually, after decades of there regressive, repulsive forces, the main personality reaches the edge of defense. No further enhancement!
This is the time, when the body comes down with illness, pain and even psychical disorders.
And we keep going on with this splitted behaviour, whishing everything to function properly. WTF? All systems working on the edge, no more resources, defense is getting weak - and you still want to carry on the same way?
