Madame Blavatsky on the veiled phraseology of the Puranas, well over 20,000 years old

The serpent is the most ancient symbol because the reptile preceded the bird, and the bird the mammal. It was honoured by the Gnostic Ophites because he taught primeval men the Mysteries of Cosmos and Man. Serpent and Dragon were some of the names given to the “Wise Ones,” the initiated Adepts of olden times. On the lowest plane of materiality, the Serpent was adopted as a type of feminine pubescence, on account of its sloughing and self-renewal.

The cow is the daughter of the first desires, she whom sages named Vach-Viraj, and who was milked by Rishi Brihaspati (Jupiter). Her milk is the Milk of Wisdom; her tail, the thread of Wisdom that unites us to our Higher Self.