Looks more like a ribbon with words on it than a snake. The circle surrounding, is vaguely like a Celtic knot, so the ribbon could be a snake/serpent after all as the bottom of the ribbon looks like a head with an eye. Have a look at this link
?E???IED [ I agree with the words Transcribed by @ColeValleyGirl ]
TO THECarried
???????to the
???D??Almighty
Lord