The snake is an ancient and ambiguous symbol. In the biblical story of the Fall, the serpent represents Lucifer.  In dreams, the significance of the snake is extremely varied. It symbolizes man's instinctive drives. With young people, it may well be appropriate to interpret the snake sexually. Freud saw the snake as a typical phallic symbol, but this by no means exhausts the list of possibilities. In the dreams of older people and those in middle age, the snake mostly appears as a symbol of change and renewal. It can also appear as a danger signal, if the dreamer is hoping to regain youthful energy by sexual over-indulgence.