Uroboros (Ouroboros)

The serpent devouring its own tail • Symbol of eternity • Circle of death and rebirth

The Uroboros (Greek: oura = tail, boros = devouring) is one of the oldest and most profound Symbols of human history. It shows a snake or a dragon holding its own tail in its mouth, forming a circle.

The Uroboros appears in:

• Ancient Egypt
• Gnosis
• Hermetics
• Alchemy
• Kabbalah
• Mysticism and esotericism

and is considered a universal symbol of unity and the eternal cycle.

Historical origin

The oldest known depictions come from ancient Egypt. There the Uroboros symbolized:

• the infinity of creation
• the cosmic cycle
• the unity of beginning and end

It was later adopted by Greek, Gnostic and alchemical traditions.

Esoteric meaning

The Uroboros embodies:

1. Eternity

No beginning, no end.

Everything arises from itself and returns to itself.

2. Death and rebirth

The circle symbolizes:

• Die
• Transformation
• Renewal
• Rebirth

Every end already contains the seed of a new beginning.

3.Unity of opposites

The Uroboros unites:

• Light and Darkness
• Mind and matter
• Life and Death
• Creation and Dissolution

It stands for the realization that opposites are part of a larger whole.

4.Self-creation

The Uroboros symbolically feeds on itself.

It becomes an image for:

• Self-Transformation
• internal development
• spiritual autonomy

The Uroboros in Alchemy

In alchemy, the Uroboros symbolizes:

The One is All

It stands for the process of transformation in which the impure is purified and transformed into higher forms.

The circle of the Uroboros describes:

• Resolution
• Cleaning
• Union
• Completion

Psychological significance

The psychologist Carl Gustav Jung saw the Uroboros as an archetypal symbol of the self.

He embodies:

• the wholeness of the psyche
• the cycle of inner development
• the union of conscious and unconscious forces

Symbolism

Element: Aether

Symbols:

• Snake
• Dragon
• Circle
• Wheel

Qualities:

• Eternity
• Wholeness
• Conversion
• Infinity

Spiritual Essence

"The end is the beginning,
and the beginning already rests in the end."

The Uroboros reminds us that all life runs in cycles and that every change is part of a larger, eternal circle.

Keywords

Uroboros • Ouroboros • Snake • Alchemy • Eternity • Rebirth • Hermeticism • Wholeness • Carl Gustav Jung • Circle of Life