The Persian Mâr-Nâmeh: A 15th-Century Zoroastrian Guide to Snake Omens
"The Persian MâR-Nâmeh Or, the Book for Taking Omens from Snakes" (1892)
In 1892, George Waters, president of the Bombay Anthropological Society, presented a translation of the Mâr-Nâmeh, a late 15th-century Zoroastrian text that lists omens for seeing snakes on each day of the Zoroastrian calendar. Despite snakes being reviled as evil creatures in Zoroastrianism, the book includes many auspicious omens, suggesting possible pre-Zoroastrian or Egyptian influences. The text is part of the Revayat tradition and remains a largely forgotten esoteric work.
Despite the clear Zoroastrian hatred for these animals, serpents have not always belonged to the Ahrimanic sphere... in pre-Zoroastrian Iran, these animals were not perceived negatively.