The Ouroboros
The worm, snake, serpent or dragon biting or swallowing its own tail is
a powerful symbol of infinity, and also of universal nature, of completion,
perfection and totality, the endless round of embodied existence, the union
of the chthonic with the celestial. Parallels abound - the figure-8
symbol of infinity (quite possibly derived from the uroboros), the Chinese
yin-yang symbol, the Buddhist wheel of Life, etc.
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The Serpent biting its own tail appears in New Kingdom Egypt (1600
years b.c.e.). It was taken up by the Phonecians and then to the Greeks,
who called it the Ouroboros (or uroboros), which means
tail-devouror. They considered it the Great World Serpent encircling
the earth, associated with the world-ocean. Ouroboros became an important
Gnostic symbol, later taken up by Western Alchemy. The diagram at
the left shows the famous Ouroboros from the early Alchemical text The
Chrysopoeia of Cleopatra (2nd century c.e. Alexandria). The enclosed
words read hen to pan - 'The One, the All', or "the
all is one." The black and white halves represent the polarity of
existence
graphic from What
IS the ouroboros? - by Chris McCoy |
The serpent biting its tail is also found in Norse, Hindu, and Mesoamerican
imagery as well. For more information (and imagery) please follow
the links below
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Links - Uroboros |
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What
IS the ouroboros? - by Chris McCoy - some basic info and a few
links
Ouroboros
- what it is - pretty good intro
Of
The Androgyne: The Serpent Ouroboros - more on the Ouroboros
Ouroboros
- heaps of ancient and modern art on Ouroboros
Spira
Solaris and the Universal Ouroboros - by John N. Harris - a
detailed and informative document on the Ouroboros , explores historical
antecedents and the relationship between the Equiangular Period Spiral,
the Ouroboros, Alchemy, and the Sun.
The
Uroboros Site - by Al Razutis - graphics intensive, requires
a relatively fast PC, fast internet connection, and Cosmo Player
The
Word of God; The Production of Christ. - Presents the Word of
God as sex-magickal autofellatio - includes discussion on the Uroboros
and related subjects
Archetypes main page
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content by
M.Alan Kazlev
page uploaded 20 July 1998, last modified 7 May 2004