Ophiolatreia: An Account of the Rites and Mysteries Connected with the Origin, Rise, and Development of Serpent Worship in Various Parts of the World

First published in 1869 and now one of the rarest and most sought-after volumes in the canon of Victorian occultism, this book pulled back the curtain on a phenomenon that had haunted humanity's religious imagination for millennia: serpent worship. Sellon, drawing on decades of research and field observations made during his years in India, systematically documents how the serpent became one of the most universal and potent symbols in ancient religion, from the temple pits of Egypt to the snake-charmer cults of the subcontinent, from the stone circles of pre-Christian Europe to the forgotten mysteries of Central America. But what made this volume genuinely transgressive for its era was Sellon's unflinching examination of the serpent's connection to phallic worship and the sexual mysteries at the heart of these ancient rites. The book remains essential reading for anyone fascinated by the hidden currents beneath organized religion, the archaeological evidence for pre-Christian fertility cults, and the Victorian scholars who risked their reputations to document what the church preferred to bury.