August 9, 2026
Hiss-tery, but make it drama
"The Persian MâR-Nâmeh Or, the Book for Taking Omens from Snakes" (1892)
Ancient snake omen book slithers back with jokes, lore cravings, and chaos
TLDR: An old Persian text says seeing a snake could bring anything from trouble to good luck, even though snakes were usually seen as evil in Zoroastrian tradition. Commenters turned that twist into memes about “khrafstars” and a louder plea for more games and stories based on Persian mythology.
A dusty 1892 talk about a Persian book of snake omens has somehow turned into a very modern comment-section mood: half fascination, half comedy bit. The text in question, the Mâr-Nâmeh, lists the days of the Zoroastrian calendar and explains what it means if you spot a snake on each one. Sometimes the omen is bad, but sometimes it is weirdly sweet — like being reunited with an absent friend or receiving justice. And that is exactly where readers perked up: wait, weren’t snakes supposed to be the villains here? In Zoroastrian tradition, snakes were often treated as evil creatures to be hated and killed, so the book’s friendlier vibe feels like a cultural plot twist.
The comments instantly stole the show. One reader dropped the funniest line in the thread by recalling a running joke on Persian Wikipedia: software “bugs” being called khrafstars — basically turning an ancient category of nasty creatures into a nerdy meme. It’s the kind of joke that makes old religion, folklore, and internet culture crash together in the best way. Another commenter took the conversation in a more passionate direction, saying they wished there were more games based on Persian lore. That turned the whole thing from “huh, neat old text” into a mini rallying cry: why is this mythology so rich, dramatic, and full of monsters, yet still so underused in pop culture? So yes, the article is about snakes — but the real hiss-teria is in the reactions.
Key Points
- •George Waters delivered a lecture in 1892 on the Persian *Marnameh*, a Zoroastrian text about omens derived from snake sightings, later published in 1911.
- •The *Marnameh* was likely written in the late fifteenth century and belongs to the revayat tradition, rather than to Zoroastrian scripture such as the *Avesta*.
- •Zoroastrian tradition generally treated snakes negatively, classifying them as *khrafstar*, harmful creatures associated with Ahriman.
- •Despite that background, the *Marnameh* includes several favorable omens linked to seeing snakes on specific calendar days.
- •Waters suggested Egyptian influence to explain these positive omens, while Martina Palladino notes that snakes may have had less negative associations in pre-Zoroastrian Iran.