
A lezard tatou in a natural ouroboros
I’d like to examine two powerful quotes from two powerful people regarding the Ouroboros symbol. First we will start with Carl Jung:
“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.”
Jung is saying that man is connected to the universe, and that we are part of the universal system of infinite cycles in which that which is destroyed becomes that which is created. Dead living tissue is recycled into elements of another form. The waste of a being or group of beings is utilized by something else. Jung is saying nothing is ever destroyed it is only recycled. Thus, as a whole, nothing can ever die and is therefore immortal. The cycle of the phoenix can be interpreted two ways. The first being an astrological cycle where the Phoenix constellation is seen with a solstice rising from the mouth of the Milky Way center thus referring to time cycles. The second interpretation is the story of the Phoenix bird who lights itself on fire and from its own ashes a new bird is created. This is the same concept. The bottom line is that there are infinite time cycles which involve the destruction and creation of the same prima materia.

Michael Maier's alchemical emblem #14
Now lets move to 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.
One of the most powerful quotes ever. This is underscoring what Jung is saying. Why would someone need eyes to see if what they are seeing is part of them? Do you need a second brain to feel your legs if your legs are already connected to yourself? Thus the creator conceived a being (the universe) which is an infinitely connected series of self-correcting cycles where nothing is truly destroyed: it is recycled. Thus, the universe moves in only one direction, forward. No matter what happens, no matter how many planets are blown up or species are killed, it is not possible to stop the eternal life force.

A woodcut depicting the Ouroboros and Solomon's Seal
I highly suggest meditating to this concept and you will find yourself thrown into a recursive mental loop where there is no escape.

















