night python

In the early hours of the morning, before dawn, I was sleeping in a dormitory with around twenty others. My eyes closed, I sensed something move above me and heard soft sniffing near my face - something breathing in my scent. I knew without a doubt it was a python, and I instinctively knew exactly where it was and what I should do. Without moving any other part of my body, I stabbed my right arm into the air and gripped the snake around its throat below its head, so it could not swing back and bite me. I opened my eyes and stood up in the darkness, taking hold of the snake's tail in my left hand. Once secured, I moved through the grid of beds to the door and quietly let myself out, not wanting to wake the others. Outside, the sky was slowly changing to grey and I could see fields before me. I did not want to harm the python, but neither was I comfortable with the situation. I desperately wanted to find someone who knew what to do, how to handle the animal and relocate it somewhere far from me. It was heavy, so - still with its throat in my right hand, its tail in my left - I draped its long body over my shoulders and set off on foot. I could see a group of Indigenous people ahead, gathering for a dawn meeting, and thought they may be able to advise me. As I approached, a dear friend entered the field, standing tall on the path between me and the group of people. When she saw me, she went to hug me and seemed not to see the snake until I stopped her and held it up to show her. Rather than responding with fright, she laid a gentle hand on its head. I noticed her hand was older now, more weathered, but still I thought it beautiful. I knew she could not take the python from me; even so, I felt comforted by her presence. The snake began to struggle so I tightened my grip. Its emerald-green, diamond-patterned body writhed and it managed to push its head back far enough to sink its fangs a little way into the back of my hand. I wondered if it were poisonous.

protected

Lying on the floor in a room where small children played happily and my dog nosed at a ball. A mammoth green and black python slid into the room. The children were unafraid and one child - sitting just next to me - reached out and patted the snake on the tip of its tail. Agitated, it lashed around and appeared to come straight at me. I closed my eyes, certain I would feel its mouth close around my hand or face. When I opened my eyes, my dog gazed down at me anxiously, lovingly, wagging her tail. The children told me she had launched at the snake and finished it before it could hurt me.

rabbit and snake

We were staying in her parents' home while they were away. Everything was tidy and the house had obviously been cleaned, but now there were droppings; little brown mounds spread across the floor and even up the walls. A plastic bag under a table moved and I picked it up, my hand firm around the opening. Inside, a small grey rabbit with a white chest and tail writhed - the culprit. I went to walk to the door to release the rabbit outside, but my friend stopped me, telling me the rabbit was a pest. I didn't want to hurt the rabbit; it was so sweet. Or was it? Suddenly, the rabbit changed. Its face distorted, its eyes bulged and its teeth became big, sharp rectangles that nipped at my hand through the bag. I dropped the bag and the rabbit disappeared.
Next, in the same room, a group of people gathered. They sat on available furniture and, where chairs, lounges or beds weren't available, they sat on the floor or on the shelves. A giant black and lemon python slithered into the room and coiled its body against a wall of the room. I went to the corner furthest from the snake and sat under a shelf on the floor. The python, seemingly serene, followed me and relocated its heavy body to the shelf above my head. No one else seemed bothered by its presence, but I felt unsafe, sitting directly under it. I slowly, and with deliberate calm, gathered my bag and went to leave. Again the python followed me. It slithered alongside me and raised its head up to sniff my bag. I could see - feel - soft hair growing out of its nose, brushing my hand. I awoke and my dog, Billie Bear, was softly sniffing my hand. Relief!

giant python

I was inside family home where I lived as a teenager. The house had three levels: the garage, laundry and 'rumpus' room on the lower level; the entry, lounge room, kitchen and sunroom on the middle level - the 'heart' of the home; and the bedrooms and bathroom on the upper level. Balconies came off various rooms on all levels. I ran up the stairs from the middle level to the bedroom level toward my bedroom, knowing that there was an intruder, a giant python, in the house. I was desperate to see if the pets and children were unharmed, as the snake was large enough to eat them whole. I raced to the bedroom, calling out to them and, by doing so, distracting the snake, which turned to focus on me. I stayed long enough to observe that the children and animals were alive and well; it appeared that the python was just about to attack them. I then ran back down the stairs, to the front door, the snake - a clammy pale-skinned creature with an enormous head - in close pursuit. I opened the front door and, though the snake reared up and attempted to strike my face, I somehow ushered the snake through the doorway and closed the door firmly behind it. We were safe.

python, girl and baby

I was observing a young girl playing near a drain. At first I was not physically there, only spiritually, but when she needed me, I manifested in her space. There had been a great rainfall and the waters were unusually high. The girl wielded a long stick, poking it about in the water and in the drain that ran between the creek and the road. I saw a huge brown python swim into one end of the drain, heading toward the other end where the girl was playing, hitting the water with her stick. Knowing this would agitate the snake and that she was likely to be attacked, I interrupted the scenario and grabbed the snake around the throat just under its head as it appeared from out of the drain. The python was furious. It writhed about, its mouth gaping wide open, desperate to bite me. It was so long that the other end of its body was still in the drain. The young girl seemed oblivious to my presence and continued beating the stick about in the water. I was not sure what to do about the snake. I felt certain that if I let it go, it would attack me or the child. I continued holding onto its throat, squeezing quite hard, puzzling over how to end the experience and keep the girl safe. Suddenly B appeared holding one of her chef's knives. I called to her and she came. I knew I could trust her accuracy to chop of the snake's head even while it was writhing about, without lopping off my fingers. I woke.
Later, I dreamed that I was in the home of my youth, trying on a pair of jeans. I realised that the jeans were maternity pants with a big elasticised section at the front. I went into the parent's bedroom and B was there, folding up clothes. I showed her the jeans and told her that I was thinking of having a baby. She paused and said that it was a good idea, that I would make a good mother. We determined that the baby, who we imagined would be a girl, would be called Micchi.