rod of Asclepius

An ancient Greek symbol associated with astrology and with healing the sick through medicine. It consists of a serpent entwined around a staff. Asclepius, the son of Apollo, was a practitioner of medicine in Greek mythology.

The rod of Asclepius symbolizes the healing arts by combining the serpent, which in shedding its skin is a symbol of rebirth and fertility, with the staff, a symbol of authority befitting the god of medicine.

The caduceus, a symbol associated with Hermes, is often used mistakenly in place of the rod of Asclepius as an emblem of the medical profession.