Did you know the Fer de Lance Viper (or the Tercio Pelo, en Español) is one of the most venomous snakes in the Americas?
It’s true, and I found that out the hard way.
It was January, the very beginning of the year (1/11!), and you would be right to assume I might have been traipsing through the jungle when it happened, as that’s how I spent a lot of my time while living remotely in the Diamante Valley of Costa Rica. But instead, the event took place right outside my home, on the wide-open dirt ground beneath my carport.
I was sitting on my motorcycle with the motor on, I had just turned the bike around and stopped to adjust the blanket strapped down behind me. As I put my right foot down for balance, I felt a sharp !STAB! on my heel and immediately thought “Wow, I had no idea a scorpion sting would hurt that badly!” I looked down and was not at all prepared to see a snake literally looking up at me.
I screamed at the top of my lungs, lost my balance, and the bike fell on top of me, pinning me against the wall and stoping me from being able to move away from the snake. Thankfully, it moved away from me as I freed myself and began to hyperventilate.
I was in a state of shock, as soon as I ‘came to’ and fully realized what had happened, I looked up and saw the snake had not left but instead was sitting right before me with it’s head up, looking right at me. I kid you not, we stared at one another for a good 20 seconds as if stuck in a trance, and then I remember snapping out of it and thinking ’TAKE A PICTURE!’ My phone was in the side pocket of the bag I was wearing, I grabbed it and struggled to snap a proper pic because my entire body was shaking. I got the shot as it started to slither away, and immediately remembered the name of the much feared snake I had heard the locals talking about – ‘Tercio Pelo’.
Upon Googling, I confirmed it was indeed the deadly snake I hoped it wouldn’t be, and went on to read: “Its venom is classified as extremely toxic. A single bite can inject up to 1,530 mg of venom, which is sufficient to potentially kill 32 people. The venom is hemotoxic, causing severe local tissue damage, necrosis, hemorrhaging, and systemic effects such as blood clotting disorders, cardiovascular shock, and acute kidney damage.” It also said that the venom can saturate your blood and kill you if you don’t get the antidote within 4 hours. This is NOT what one wants to read when they have been bit by said snake and find themselves alone in the middle of nowhere, at least an hour away from a hospital.
A number of strange and seemingly synchronistic things took place before this happened, I won’t go into detail here but I do I intend to tell the full story one day – you’ll have to buy my memoir 😉
Obviously, I lived to tell the tale and was very lucky not to have any permanent damage (although I did have an allergic reaction to the antidote, which triggered my autoimmune issues and caused all sorts of wacky symptoms, forcing me to do a strict 30-day gut reset diet).
The craziest part at the time was how I responded once the shock wore off. All of a sudden, a sense of calm washed over me. I knew I was going to be fine. I knew this wasn’t the way I would go. I knew I was meant to sit through the discomfort, and that this was some sort of sign from the universe. I knew because I had been thinking and journaling about snakes all week – the weekend before, I had taken part in an ayahuasca ceremony where I envisioned the shaman as a wise and powerful snake woman. I remember thinking how badass she seemed, and how I wanted to be a snake woman too. As they say – be careful what you wish for!
My intuition was right, this experience was without a doubt meant for me. I didn’t know it at the time, but I would spend the rest of the year moving through experiences eerily aligned with snake symbolism. I was meant to learn from all this, and break the cycle of pattern behaviours that were keeping me stuck, so that I could cross the threshold and level-up into the next chapter.
Guess what? I eventually broke the cycle! I woke up, stepped into my power, used my voice, quit my job when my boundaries weren’t respected and, despite not having any savings or other options to fall back on, I decided to take a leap of faith knowing something else was meant for me.
And then… GET THIS… on the last day of my contract, December 4th, I signed off at 6pm, and at 6:10pm I jumped on my motorcycle in a rush to get to my volunteer shift at a local film festival. As I was sitting on my bike adjusting my ear phones, I felt something ever so slightly brush past my right foot in the parking lot. My heart stopped, I froze and the bike slowly slid backwards down the slant. I had a hunch and thought, “THERE’S NO WAY…”
I pulled out my phone, turned on the flashlight, and lo and behold, there it was… the snake had returned to visit me and was slithering away. I caught it on camera and then burst into tears. I immediately knew this was a sign – I broke the pattern, the cycle was officially over. Suffice to say, I crossed the threshold – the year of the snake served me well.
Whenever I tell people I want to document a year of my life and write a memoir, they always seem to say “you must have an interesting life to tell people about!” And I always respond, “believe me, I do!” And I mean it. I have so many stories like this one to tell you!
If you enjoyed this story and/or know someone interested in the themes of symbolism, meaning-making and pursuing a life aligned with your path of purpose (where the magic happens), please like, follow and help me share my stories with those who need proof there’s something else going on here that has the power to serve us oh-so well… if we’re willing to take the leap.