
If a woman encounters a snake and fears that it is drawn to her sexually, she should heed the sages’ advice abut how to check if the snake is indeed drawn to her. She should strip off her clothing and throw it at the snake; if the snake wraps itself around the clothing it shows that the snake does indeed wish to have sex with her, and if it does not wrap itself around the clothing, she has nothing to fear. If the snake wraps itself around her clothing, meaning it wishes to have sex with her, what should she do to be saved from the snake’s desires? Answer: She should have sexual relations with her husband in front of the snake; the snake will see that she is already in a sexual relationship with a man, will lose its ardor for her, and leave her alone. A different sage disagreed and said that this course would only make the snake’s desire stronger; it will see the object of his desire having sex and will want her even more. Therefore this sage suggested a different way to be saved from the snake’s desire: the woman should cut her nails and her hair and thrown them at the snake, saying “I am menstruating and am subject to niddah impurity.” Thus the snake will lose its ardor for her and will go away. The sages also said: If the woman did not manage to save herself from the snake’s lusts and he fulfilled his desire and entered her sexual organ — how shall she remove him? The woman should stand on two barrels, her legs spread. Beneath her spread legs, opposite her sexual organ, they should grill meat on coals, along with a bowl of gardencress pepperweed (Lepidium sativum L., an herb) mixed with boiling wine. The snake will smell the delicacies and exit; when he exists they should catch him with tongs and throw him onto the fire until he burns. If the snake is not burned it will return to that same woman to fill its sexual desires.
(Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Shabbat 110a)