It looks kabbalistic, so I'm guessing the snake represents the subtle life force, which the man has to wrestle with in order to tame (think one's own animal nature/hedonic instinct, jungian libido, etc., which must be exercised under the control of reason (signified by the man) in order to be channeled to good rather than destructive uses)

The snake being greenish represents it being unripe, hence the man still has to wrestle with it. A red snake/dragon/lion on the other hand would represent ripeness, meaning it has become tamed and can be channeled effortlessly as the man wills to.

The scorpion represents something akin to intrusive thoughts, emotions, urges, etc., that chaotic mix of internal states which constantly sting and pinch us until we learn to stomp them down as the man is doing (i.e., by taming the subtle life force).

I know it was probably meant to be a shitpost, but sometimes old illustrations that look strange like this actually have subtle meanings if you know what to look for. It's like its own pictorial language in a way.