The Serpent Grail also offers a unifying theory regarding snake imagery and symbolism that is present throughout the religions of the world. It demonstrates an alternative reading of myths and fables such as St Patrick driving the serpents from Ireland and show how the shadow of the serpent cult can still be seen in both Christian architecture and ceremonies. As Philip Gardiner himself said after a recent research trip to Rome: "Rome and especially the Vatican is littered with serpent imagery. Inside the Vatican statues and sculptures link the serpent to both the grail and the Ark of the Covenant. Even the name Vatican bears the etymological imprint of the serpent: Vati = place; can = serpent." Finally The Serpent Grail looks at modern scientific research to provide the proof for the historical theories. Today scientists from all over the world are discovering healing and life-extending properties in the complex proteins that make up snake venom – from treatment for tumours and cancers to relief from high blood pressure. "In the United Kingdom, the Cancer Research Campaign has welcomed research into Contortrostatin (CN), a protein found in the venom of the Copperhead Viper, which has proved effective in combating metastasis (the spread of a malignant tumour from its original site). In experiments on mice, CN reduced the spread of tumours by 90 per cent."

The book also examines recent scientific research into why snakes are immune to their own venom which explains why the mixing of snake venom with the blood was so important in the ancient serpent worshipping ritual: "It may be that the dilution of the venom with blood – especially the blood of the same snake, which itself acts as an antidote by protecting the snake from its own venom – produced a virtual cure-all for the ancients. This would explain why the blood element in all the mythical stories we looked at was so important, especially in those myths involving the snake or serpent. For now, however, we have to welcome the fact that there are some Western scientists who are willing to look at the individual elements of snake venom in their search for new medicines." In The Serpent Grail we examine the work of Dr. Zoltan Takacs, a herpetologist at Yale University, who has discovered exactly why snakes are not susceptible to their own venom through research into the Egyptian Cobra. Takacs has discovered that an amino acid present in the cobra’s blood molecules prevents the venom from latching on to its target. Indeed, this is evident in the blood of most venomous snakes to prevent them poisoning themselves as they eat their prey. Could this explain why the mixing of serpent blood and venom was so important in venom drinking ceremony? Will modern science finally unravel the true meaning of the Holy Grail?
Phillip Gardiner, 2006