.
In Scotland there was an ancient tradition of divination via a sacred serpent, which was the hibernating animal for divination. (Lacking any snakes, the Irish had to have a different animal.)
A Scots proverb says,
Thig an nathair as an toll
Là donn Brìde,
Ged robh trì troighean dhen t-sneachd
Air leac an là ir.
Translation:
The serpent will come from the hole
On the brown Day of BrÃde,
Though there should be three feet of snow
On the flat surface of the ground.
.