3a Synthesis Vertical Caduceus

...The caduceus means herald's staff, it is the staff carried by Hermes in Greek mythology. The same staff was also borne by heralds in general, for example by Iris, the messenger of Hera. It is a short staff entwined by two serpents, sometimes surmounted by wings. In Roman iconography it was often depicted being carried in the left hand of Mercury, the messenger of the gods between heaven and earth. In this diagram the serpents represent the two opposite streams between heaven and earth analogous to the diagram of the world tree, where you can also see the life tree and the dead tree as the two opposite streams between earth and heaven...