What does it mean to dream of a snake according to the classical interpretation of Ibn Sirin?

Ibn Sirin, the foundational scholar of Islamic oneiromancy, treats the snake as a multi-valent sign whose meaning pivots on the dreamer's inward state and the creature's specific attributes. He does not assign a single fixed meaning; rather, he reads the symbol through the dreamer's piety, the snake's colour, size, behaviour, and whether the dream occurs in the first or last third of the night. A black snake often signals a powerful enemy or hidden malice; a white or green snake may indicate a righteous adversary or, paradoxically, healing knowledge. If the snake speaks gently, Ibn Sirin reads it as acquiring wisdom from an unexpected source; if it bites, the dreamer may suffer harm proportional to the venom's perceived potency. Killing the snake generally denotes victory over an opponent, while fleeing from it suggests unresolved fear. The interpreter must weigh the dreamer's waking circumstances — debts, disputes, spiritual dryness — before pronouncing.