Oliver Sacks, in his book The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat, speaks at length about individuals who feel their neurological conditions make up a vital and indispensable part of their character.  As such, they resist treatment of those conditions, which is simultaneously liberating and dangerous.  Much like a snake, such conditions can lash out if not treated with respect; other times cause for their violence may be difficult to discern, or there may be no other answer than it is simply their nature.  At the same time, a union and friendship can be built with the snake.  Like any complex relationship, a patient experiences positive and negative aspects of their neurological conditions in come cases.  When swoops the hawk of modern medicine to attempt to devour this snake, we may grip our friends tight.

I plan to redo this piece in charcoal using a hawk trying to carry away a snake held by a defiant hand to mirror the staff of Mercury, the symbol of modern medicine.