The Ouroboros / Uruboros
“The alchemists, who in their own way know more about the nature of the individuation process than we moderns do, expressed this paradox through the symbol of the ouroboros, the snake that eats its own tail. In the age old image of the ouroboros lies the thought of devouring oneself and turning oneself into a circulatory process, for it was clear to the most astute alchemists that the prima materia of the art was man himself.
The ouroboros is a dramatic symbol for the integration and assimilation of the opposite, i.e. of the shadow self. This feed back process is at the same time a symbol of immortality, since it is said of the ouroboros that he slays himself and brings himself t life again, fertilizes himself and gives birth to himself. This is much like the cycle of the Phoenix, the feminine archetype.
Ouroboros symbolizes The One, who proceeds from the clash of opposites, and therefore constitutes the secret of the prima materia which unquestionably stems from man’s unconsciousness.”
Carl Jung
(Collective Works Vol. 14)
Plato:
“The living being had no need of eyes when there was nothing remaining outside him to be seen; nor of ears when there was nothing to be heard; and there was no surrounding atmosphere to be breathed; nor would there have been any use of organs by the help of which he might receive his food or get rid of what he had already digested, since there was nothing which went from him or came into him: for there was nothing beside him. Of design he was created thus, his own waste providing his own food, and all that he did or suffered taking place in and by himself. For the Creator conceived that a being which was self-sufficient would be far more excellent than one which lacked anything; and, as he had no need to take anything or defend himself against any one, the Creator did not think it necessary to bestow upon him hands: nor had he any need of feet, nor of the whole apparatus of walking; but the movement suited to his spherical form was assigned to him, being of all the seven that which is most appropriate to mind and intelligence; and he was made to move in the same manner and on the same spot, within his own limits revolving in a circle. All the other six motions were taken away from him, and he was made not to partake of their deviations. And as this circular movement required no feet, the universe was created without legs and without feet.”
An 11th century manuscript, the Codex Marcianus depicts the Ouroboros:
The first record of this symbol is from Egypt:
Note the serpent sitting on the Pharaoh’s forehead:
It can be successfully said, that the Ouroboros represents:
- Life/Death Cycle
- The Zodiac (Precession of the Equinoxes)
- Winter/Summer Solstices
- Regeneration
- Unstoppable and infinite change
- Reincarnation
- Rebirth
- Cycles
- Eternity
- Infinity
It can also be said that the Ouroboros represents the Milky Way:
Image taken from Digital Sky LLC
Ancient civilizations may have observed the Milky Way and noticed it looks like a snake biting its own tail. They may have also noticed that the Milky Way appears to move in a circular motion as our planet rotates through the solar system. Thus, the Ouroboros can represent what we see from Earth on certain dates of solar events (Geocentric astrology) as we orbit through the solar system.
Other interpretations of the Ouroboros are quite interesting. It is theorized that the snake, represents DNA. The snake, or serpent, being symbolized by Hermes:
Hermes was a Greek “messenger” God who wielded a Caduceus. Hence the name Caduceus of Hermes. This is origin of the medical symbol. If you take it a step further, and notice the dual intertwined snakes forming a sort of double helix DNA strand, you arrive at the conclusion that the serpent represents DNA. If the serpent is a biological anthropomorphism of DNA, then we can attribute the Ouroboros to cycles of DNA change. Similarly, the serpent in the Garden of Eden offering forbidden fruit to Adam and Eve can be interpreted as an unknown force beckoning the two to partake in experiencing and/or activating their DNA.
Throughout history, serpents have been depicted in very curious ways.
It is also interesting to note that NASA has taken pictures of a double helix formation near the Milky Way:
According to Space.com:
“The DNA nebula is about 80 light-years long. It’s about 300 light-years from the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way. The nebula is nearly perpendicular to the black hole, moving out of the galaxy at a quick clip-about 620 miles per second (1,000 kilometers per second). Magnetic field lines at the galactic center are about 1,000 times stronger than on Earth. They run perpendicular to the black hole, but parallel through the nebula. Scientists think that twisting of these lines is what causes the double helix shape.”
