What is the meaning of the cross with a black serpent tattoo?

Answer 1

The cross with the snake on it has many meanings, ranging from the staff of Aesculapius or Hermes' caduceus, which represent healing, and messengers respectively, to the asherah pole the biblical Old Testament god ordered the Israelites to build while wandering around the desert in order to be saved from snakes. All these variations of snakes on poles or crosses represent healing, as both Aesculapius and Hermes, or Mercury, were the gods of healing in ancient Greek and Roman pantheons.

The crucified snake, also known as the Flamel, or the staff of Flamel in alchemical circles follows this meaning, but in mystical terms. The snake in alchemy represents poison, so the crucified snake represents removing the volatile aspects of the potion the alchemist was working with in order to create the fabled "elixir of mercury" also known as the elixir of long life, or immortality. In alchemy, though, all the material tools are symbolic of oneself, so the poison is actually the base and animalistic instincts of oneself that as an alchemist one must remove, or "crucify", in order to accomplish The Great Work.

Another interpretation of the crucified serpent comes from the Gnostic sect of Christianity. The ancient Gnostics believed that the old testament god, who they called the demiurge, was actually evil, and was trying to keep mankind from reaching salvation. Therefore, the serpent from the old testament account of the fall of man, like Prometheus who stole the fire from the gods to give to mankind, was actually the divinity Sophia, or Wisdom incarnate, guiding mankind into salvation through knowledge by offering them the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. And therefore for Gnostics, the crucified serpent came to represent this concept of salvation through Gnosis, or [divine] knowledge.

A directly Biblical answer can be found in Mat.10:16. There is the wisdom that is needed to deal with the world, and the wisdom needed to attain the heaven of understanding