|
OUROBOROS
Symbols |
Home to OUROBOROS
Contents
What is an Ouroboros?*
The Classical Elements
Cross
Heraldry
Mazes and Labyrinths
Tree of Life
Yin-Yang
Links
What is an Ouroboros?
© 2007 Brandon Weatherby
The ouroboros (Greek: “tail-eater,” alternatively spelled ourobouros, oureboros or uroboros) is a serpent forming a circle, eating its own tail. The origin of the symbol is unclear. Some trace it to Neolithic cultures, and the seventh century writer Horopollon stated that the Egyptians used the ouroboros to illustrate their concept of the universe--eternity and immortality (Shepard 1232). The Egyptian goddess Isis held a sun disk mounting an ouroboros, which was called Abraxas. Isis mythology became embedded in the beliefs of the Gnostics, an offshoot of early Christianity that adopted Abraxas as the name of its high aeon (Guiley 2). The Gnostic text Pistis Sophia states that the sun disk was imagined as a great dragon with its tail in its mouth, an image also featured on Gnostic gems (Walker 268-9). The ouroboros was the “universal serpent that passes through all things… [an] unchanging law” (Cirlot 235). Sects called the Naassenes or Hophites saw the serpent as the Soul of the World, encircling all of creation (Hutin 44).
Greek alchemists later adopted the ouroboros. The symbol was possibly a variant symbol for Hermes, Mercury, Thoth or other related deities, who under the name Hermes Trismegistus, was the mythical founder of alchemy (Cirlot 235, Walker 268-9). The Chrysopoeia of Kleopatra contains a drawing of the ouroboros with the Greek inscription En to pan: ”All is One” (“Circle” 422, Shepard 1232); the same inscription appears in the second century Codex Marcianus. Sometimes, as in a Venetian alchemical manuscript, the serpent is half-light, half-dark, signifying the balance of opposing principles (Cirlot 235). Alchemists viewed the ouroboros as the guardian of a mystical treasure that had to be “destroyed or dissolved” to gain knowledge of the treasure. It was also a sign of the sun, as it had been for the Gnostics (Shepard 1232).
Alchemy was a closed process that purified substances, so the tail-eater could serve as a symbol for alchemy itself. Sometimes two creatures, the top one a winged dragon standing for volatility, were depicted swallowing each other (Biedermann Dictionary 363). Occasionally, the symbol consisted of two long-necked birds (Becker 316). The process of alchemy was viewed as having neither a beginning nor an end (Hutin 35). The opposite ends of alchemical work, the raw material and the final product, were the same. On one level, this referred to the “unity of matter,” the idea that the alchemist could reduce all material to a single primordial substance that could not be destroyed, only transformed (Hutin 77-8). On another level, the process referred to the perfection of the soul, with the raw material and the end product consisting of a human being. Thus the Latin phrase Ars totum requirit hominem: “The art requires the whole man” (Biedermann “Alchemy” 72). For those following a mystical path, the ouroboros represented the unity of sacrificer and sacrificed (Shepard 1232).
The ouroboros continued to appear in the symbolism of Western magic for centuries. It connected the zodiac signs on the Greek Cross of the Zodiac, an emblem of the Order of the Golden Dawn. The Order was a nineteenth century British “university” of magic (Cavendish 1042). The ouroboros entered the popular imagination of the twentieth century through its use in mass media, such as in the titles of E. R. Eddison’s 1922 fantasy-adventure story The Worm Ouroboros (Shepard 1232) and episodes of the science-fiction television series Red Dwarf and Gene Roddenberry’s Andromeda. Its most well-known appearance was in Chris Carter’s television series Millennium.
The ouroboros reflects the cosmic serpent of mythology through its reconciliation of opposites (Griffiths 2339-40, Walker 268-9). The tail-eater is the synthesis between chthonian and celestial principles (Cirlot 235). Thus, the symbol may be related to the yin-yang of Chinese symbolism (Shepard 1232). Jormungandr, the serpent that laid at the base of the Tree of Life in Norse tradition, grew so big that he encircled the world, biting his own tail (Coulter and Turner 252). {It has been postulated that this image only entered Norse symbolism after the introduction of Christianity [Moon 132].) The snake was often a symbol of reincarnation because of its apparent ability to constantly rejuvenate itself through shedding its skin. The ouroboros also carried this connotation (Biedermann Dictionary 362). Furthermore, the ouroboros is related to the dragon, a common symbol of beginnings and ends--and in Semitic and Indo-European myths, the primordial chaos that must be overcome to create life and order (Moon 132).
A psychological interpretation of the ouroboros sees it as an archetype symbolic of the undifferentiated personality--the Self that exists prior to the development of the ego. It may also stand for the "ongoing reality behind the individuating ego," representing the recognition of the self-sustaining individual (Moon 132-3).
Not only did the ouroboros represent the journey of the soul between the physical and spiritual realms, the cycle of death and rebirth (Becker 316, Biedermann Dictionary 363), it also signified the universe as a whole because the circle encloses everything, yet is one thing in itself (“Circle” 422). The ouroboros is an image of the eternal return (including global cycles of destruction and restoration)--the cycle of endless repetition reminding us that in every end there is a new beginning. (Biedermann Dictionary 362). It is self-sufficient Nature, the continuity of life, expressed in a cyclic pattern (Cirlot 235). The ouroboros is the “closing of the circle” (Biedermann Dictionary 362).
Becker, Udo. The Continuum Encyclopedia of Symbols. Trans. Lance W. Garmer. New York: Continuum, 1994.
Biedermann, Hans. “Alchemy.” Man, Myth and Magic: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Mythology, Religion and the Unknown. Ed. Richard Cavendish. New York: Marshall Cavendish, 1995.
---. Dictionary of Symbolism. Trans. James Hulbert. New York: Facts on File, 1992.
Cavendish, Richard. “Order of the Golden Dawn.” Man, Myth and Magic: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Mythology, Religion and the Unknown. 21 volumes. Ed. Richard Cavendish. New York: Marshall Cavendish, 1995.
“Circle.” Man, Myth and Magic: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Mythology, Religion and the Unknown. 21 volumes. Ed. Richard Cavendish. New York: Marshall Cavendish, 1995.
Cirlot, Juan Edvardo. A Dictionary of Symbols. Trans. Jack Sage. New York: Philosophical Library, 1962.
Coulter, Charles Russell and Patricia Turner. Encyclopedia of Ancient Deities. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2000.
Griffiths, J. Gwyn. “Serpent.” Man, Myth and Magic: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Mythology, Religion and the Unknown. 21 volumes. Ed. Richard Cavendish. New York: Marshall Cavendish, 1995.
Guiley, Rosemary Ellen. Encyclopedia of Angels. New York: Facts on File, 1996.
Hutin, Serge. A History of Alchemy. Trans. Tamara Alferoff. New York: Walker and Company, 1962.
Moon, Beverly. ed. An Encyclopedia of Archetypal Symbolism. Boston: Shambhala, 1991.
Shepard, Leslie. ed. Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology. 2 volumes. Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1991.
Walker, Barbara. The Women’s Dictionary of Symbols and Sacred Objects. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1988.
More ouroboros images...
SOURCE: Biedermann, Hans. Dictionary of Symbolism. Trans. James Hulbert. New York: Facts on File, 1992.
SOURCE: Westwood, Jennifer ed. Mysterious Places. 1987. New York: Barnes and Noble Books, 1998
Air
This element is characterized as masculine and active. It is associated with intelligence and pleasant personalities. Air also corresponds to the heart and blood.
Earth
Often represented in mythologies around the world as the mother goddess, the element of earth is the wellspring of life. In Jewish, Christian, and Islamic mythologies, the first man, Adam, was created from earth. Earth is often the substance from which the gods fashioned mankind. Rocks and stones represent the stability of the earth, and the temple is often an expression of the ideal structure of the earth. In the classical system, earth is associated with the melancholy temperament and the autumn. 
Fire
The symbolism of fire is ambiguous and contradictory. On one hand, it is seen as a divine presence and representation of the life force; on the other, it is a destructive power causing pain and death. Among many cultures, fire was said to be the property soley of the gods, until it was stolen by or for humans. As fire is the only element that humans can make, it shows their affinity with the gods. As a holy substance, fire purifies and renews. It is used to drive out sin and evil spirits. Fire is also the symbol of passion and love. In its darker connotation, fire is the element most associated with Hell, as an eternal punishment. During the middle ages, fire could wipe out an entire city, so it was greatly feared. Volcanoes ad lightning, associated with fire, are also unpredictable destructive agents. Fire is characterized as masculine, and it is an image of vitality, elightenment, and the Sun. 
Water
Having a very complex spectrum of meanings, water is signifigant throughout the world. It is seen by many traditional societies as the prima materia, the formless undifferentiated mass from which the universe sprang. Many creation myths (including that of the Bible) speak of water preceding the ordered world. Water also symbolizes the power of physical, emotional, and spiritual cleansing and renewal. The legend of the Fountain of Youth falls under this category. Because water is necessary for life, it is associated with fertility and is often characterized as being feminine. Water can also be destructive as in the story of the Flood. Psychologically, water is a metaphor for the unconscious mind. And as it cannot be held in one place indefinitely, water also symbolizes eternity.
Cross
The cross has a signifigance beyond the obvious. Though it is well-known as a Christian symbol of eternal life, the cross is a universal motif found around the world. In many cultures, the cross stands for orientation. It is synonymous with the crossroad, which is a traditional place of meeting between the human and spiritual worlds. Even more fundamentally, the cross represents the meeting of all direction, the center, the focus of spatial orientation.
A cross within a circle is recognized as the four seasons of the year and the four corners of the world. Roman cities were planned with a cross serving as the central intersection. The cross is related to the idea of the World Tree of Nordic myth and the ankh, another symbol of eternal life from Egypt. The cross has been seen as an allusion to the human form. The Celtic cross, with its arms crossing over a circle, is known as the "quest cross" of journies both physical and spiritual.
Heraldry
During the Medieval period in Europe, a soldier often carried a symbol of his family into battle. This symbol is called a coat of arms. The study of these coats and their meanings is heraldry. Only important, wealthy, and noble families had coats of arms. And families with the same name often had different coats. On the other hand, members of related families would often create variations on existing coats, called cadency. A coat of arms contains symbols which represent the particular family. However, the meanings of these symbols is obscure and varied and it is difficult to say what the designer had in mind. Commonly, animals such as lions were used to denote nobility, a cross was used to show Christian piety, and tools were used to identify craftsmen and workers. Many times, an animal's name was used as a pun on the family's name, such as a lion for Lyons. This is called canting. Another common practice was using legends or anecdotes to choose symbols for the arms. There are no central rules for creating arms and there is no set meaning to any of the symbols used.
Mazes and Labyrinths
The origin of human fascination with the maze symbol has been lost to history, but it is clear that mazes have been a powerful symbol for thousands of years. The oldest mazes can be found around the Mediterranean, especially in Europe. Mazes have always been closely associated with death, as they are found in many ancient tombs. A maze often represents the journey of the soul to the afterlife; it is theorized that mazes may be "maps" of the underworld, as they most often have one entrance and one exit Mazes can also signify a journey of self-discovery. The story of Theseus, who defeats the Minotaur at the center of the Labyrinth, is an example of this because the Minotaur represents the "primal" aspects of human nature. There is evidence to suggest that in Scandinavia, and elsewhere, labyrinths were used in fertility rites as a "prison" from which a virgin girl had to be "rescued". Mazes have also been powerful luck talismans. In Christian symbology, the labyrinth represents the path to salvation. Certain churches have labyrinthine patterns on their floors, which a pilgrim will follow as a meditative exercise. Significantly, the maze and labyrinth present a choice of paths, echoing the times in life when a person is faced with uncertainty. This aspect was important to more modern mazes, such as hedge mazes. Though lacking the strong spiritual power of past labyrinths, hedge mazes can be a challenging form of entertainment and a source of beauty and mystery
Tree of Life
The Tree of Life was created from Jewish mystic tradition, which was read heavily by alchemists and others interested in esoteric knowledge during the Middle Ages and the Rennaisance. The Tree is a way of "charting" God; of bringing an understanding of a transcendant being to our finite and limited world. Each circle on the Tree, called a sephiroth, was seen as one aspect of God's nature and was related to an aspect of his material Creation.
The bottom of the Tree corresponds with our world and as you move higher, you come closer to an understaning and oneness with God.
Each sephiroth is named and has a title, which will be shown in caps. The names and numbers below correspond with the diagram at the left.
Daath- KNOWLEDGE: enlightenment, illumination. This is not a true sephirah, but was created by the Fall of mankind. It must be passed through to reach the upper Tree
Chinese Taoist thought relies on the understanding of opposites. Throughout nature, one observes dichotomy, and this is represented by the yin-yang. The simplest yin-yang is the circle split into two parts, one side white, the other black. The white side, called yang, stands for the expansive, positive, powerful, male principle. It is also associated with the sun. The black side, called yin, represents the confining, negative, weak, female principle. Yin is also associated with the moon.
The two opposites are contained in a circle, the symbol of wholeness, indicating that rather than fighting for dominance over each other, yin and yang strive to blossom into a whole. Also, within each half of the circle is contained a small part of its opposite, meaning that the two are interrelated and a part of each other.
