Ouroboros Meaning, Origins, & Symbolism

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Learn the meanings of this ancient symbol in philosophy & pop culture
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Have you ever seen an image of a snake biting its own tail and wondered what it meant? This ancient symbol is called an ouroboros and has been used for millennia by cultures around the world. While it has many different meanings throughout the ages, it’s most commonly used in modern times to symbolize rebirth and renewal. Read on to learn more about the history and interpretations of this enduring symbol.

Meaning of the Ouroboros

The ouroboros is an ancient symbol most commonly associated with the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. However, the symbol was used as early as the Neolithic era, and its original meaning has not yet been discovered.

Section 1 of 8:

Meanings & Symbolism of Ouroboros

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  1. The word “ouroboros” derives from Ancient Greek words for “devouring its tail.” Oὐρά (oura) means 'tail' and -βορός (-boros) means '-eating'. [1] The snake – or sometimes a dragon – is most often curled into a circle, but is sometimes shown in a figure 8, like an infinity symbol .
  2. However, others have interpreted it as symbolizing duality, unity, eternity, completion, and regeneration. [2] Academics are not certain what it originally symbolized because no explanations have yet been discovered. [3]
    • The ouroboros has also been associated with the nature of time or the natural world.
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Section 2 of 8:

Origins of Ouroboros

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  1. The symbol was a part of The Enigmatic Book of the Netherworld , which is a funerary text that appears on one of King Tutankhamun’s gilded burial shrines. The ouroboros appears around the head and feet of what is thought to be Ra-Osiris. [4]
    • Some believe the ouroboros symbolized Ra, the Egyptian sun god, and his daily journey across the sky. Other theories connect the ouroboros to the sky goddess Nut.
    • It also represented the chaos that surrounds the orderly world. [5]
    • An ouroboros that predates the Egyptian symbol has been found on pottery created by the Neolithic Yangshao People who lived in what is now eastern China along the Yellow River. It’s believed to have symbolized the idea of unity. [6]
Section 3 of 8:

Ouroboros in Mythology & Religion

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  1. Several of these serpents are believed to surround the world and divide it from what lies beyond. The symbol has been found in temples, artifacts, and artworks from China, Greece, Scandinavia, India, and the Amazon basin. [7]
    • Greece Plato interpreted the ouroboros as symbolizing self reliance. Some historians connect it to the myth of Sisyphus, doomed to roll a boulder up a hill only to have it roll back down again as soon as he reaches the top. [8]
    • Rome In ancient Rome, the ouroboros was associated with the god Saturn, who connected December to January to begin the year anew. It symbolized infinity. [9]
    • Scandinavia Jörmungandr (also known as the Midgard Serpent or the World Snake) was an immense snake who was said to encircle the world by holding his tail in his mouth. During Ragnarök, he would release his tail to join the battle against the gods that would bring the end of the world. It symbolised transformation and rejuvenation. [10]
    • South America Indigenous people in the South American lowlands believe that the world is a disc shape with a snake circling it. The snake is sometimes depicted as biting its tail. It symbolizes the cycles of death and rebirth. [11]
    • China Some historians believe the Chinese Yin-Yang was transformed into the ouroboros when scholars in ancient Alexandria were exposed to Chinese alchemy. The Chinese believed that Yin-Yang was dual-natured and responsible for creation. [12]
    • India In one Hindu myth, the world is supported on the backs of 4 elephants that stand on the back of a turtle. [13] In some depictions, the turtle stands on the back of a snake biting its own tail. The idea of a snake biting its own tail is also used in the Vedic text Aitareya Brahmana and the Yoga-kundalini Upanishad . It represents infinity or eternity.
    • Iberia Uma pescadinha de rabo na boca (trans. "tail-in mouth little hake") and La pescadilla que se muerde la cola (trans. "the hake that bites its tail") are expressions in Portuguese and Spanish that refer to circular reasoning and being caught in a vicious circle. [14]
    • North America In the United States, there are widespread tales about a large snake that bites its own tail and then rolls around like a hoop or wheel. The hoop snake has a stinger in its tail that it can use to poison a predator. There doesn’t appear to be a specific interpretation for these creatures. [15]
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Section 4 of 8:

Ouroboros in Gnosticism

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  1. Early Christian and Jewish philosophers or Gnostics believed humans have a direct relationship with God. The ouroboros symbolized that unity with the divine, with the head being God and the tail being humans. [16]
    • The Gnostics also depicted Leviathan from the Christian Bible as an ouroboros and can symbolize the pursuit of enlightenment.
Section 5 of 8:

Ouroboros in Science

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  1. Alchemy was an ancient forerunner of Chemistry. The main goal of most alchemists was to discover the secret of turning base metals into gold and discover a universal elixir for everlasting life. [17]
    • The ancient alchemist Cleopatra the Alchemist used the ouroboros in her scroll Cleopatra's Chrysopoeia , which some believe holds the secret to transmuting base metals into gold. [18]
    • Psychiatrist Carl Jung defined the alchemical ouroboros as infinity or wholeness. [19]
  2. This symbol has been used to inspire scientists and illustrate scientific ideas in the modern-day much as it has throughout history.
    • German chemist August Kekule von Stradonitz dreamed of an ouroboros, which helped him understand the chemical structure of benzene. He used this knowledge to establish the foundation for structural theory in organic chemistry. [20]
    • Astrophysicist Martin Rees used it to illustrate the interconnectedness between the inner space of atoms and the outer space of the universe. [21]
    • The ouroboros is a metaphor for self-reference in cybernetics. [22]
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Section 6 of 8:

Ouroboros in Popular Culture

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  1. The symbol has captured the imagination of artists, writers, and marketers to symbolize cycles and interconnections between the past and the present or alternate worlds. It has appeared in sports, video games, literature, movies, & TV shows.
    • Literature
      • The Ouroboros: Time Cures All Ills by Woody Clark
      • The Worm Ouroboros by E.R. Eddison
      • The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan
      • A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
      • A Court of Thorns & Roses by Sarah J. Maas
      • Lock Every Door Riley Sager
      • Aurora by Kin Stanley Robinson
      • Battle Angel Alita by Yukito Kishiro
      • “All You Zombies” by Robert Heinlein
      • “Never Again,” The X-Files
    • Film
      • The Neverending Story
      • Annihilation
      • Ouroboros
    • Television
      • Millennium
      • “Ouroboros,” Red Dwarf
      • Altered Carbon
      • The Sinner
      • “Ouroboros,” Loki
      • “Ouroboros,” Fear the Walking Dead
      • Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
      • Gods' Games We Play
      • Ninjago , Ninjago: Rise of the Snakes , & Ninjago: Shadow of Ronin
    • Gaming
      • Splatoon 3
      • Xenoblade Chronicles 3
      • Inscryption
      • Honkai: Star Rail
      • Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere
      • Broken Sword 5: The Serpent's Curse
    • Pro Wrestling
Section 7 of 8:

Ouroboros Tattoo Meanings

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  1. People get tattoos for many reasons, including personal expression and taking symbolic control of their image and body. [23] As a tattoo, the ouroboros can be a powerful symbol of renewal, much like a phoenix that emerges from the ashes. It may also symbolize eternity or infinity, especially if the ouroboros is twisted in a figure-8.
    • While many people get an ouroboros tattoo for its symbolic meaning, some may get it just because they think it looks cool.
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Section 8 of 8:

Real-Life Ouroboros

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  1. There have been a few instances where snakes in captivity have bitten their own tails. When snakes are in a great deal of pain, they can blindly strike their own bodies. [24]
    • However, this is not a common behavior for snakes in the wild.
  2. Researchers gave this lizard the scientific name Ouroborus cataphractus because it resembles an ouroboros when it rolls itself into a ball and bites its own tail for protection. [25]
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      References

      1. ↑ https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Dou%29robo%2Fros
      2. ↑ https://www.learnreligions.com/geometric-shapes-4086370
      3. ↑ https://www.uniguide.com/ouroboros
      4. ↑ https://youtu.be/lDET2twnw-o?t=32
      5. ↑ https://youtu.be/lDET2twnw-o?t=47
      6. ↑ https://www.uniguide.com/ouroboros
      7. ↑ https://www.uniguide.com/ouroboros
      8. ↑ https://www.uniguide.com/ouroboros
      9. ↑ https://www.uniguide.com/ouroboros
      1. ↑ https://www.worldhistory.org/Jormungandr/
      2. ↑ https://archive.org/details/petergroe2000thecosmiczygote/page/n143/mode/2up
      3. ↑ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2633627/
      4. ↑ https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/world-turtle-cosmic-discworld
      5. ↑ https://www.linguee.com/spanish-english/translation/pescadilla+que+se+muerde+la+cola.html
      6. ↑ https://www.naturalhistorymag.com/htmlsite/master.html?https://www.naturalhistorymag.com/htmlsite/editors_pick/1925_01-02_pick.html
      7. ↑ https://www.uniguide.com/ouroboros
      8. ↑ https://www.britannica.com/topic/alchemy
      9. ↑ https://www.cnn.com/style/article/cleopatra-alchemist-louboutin/index.html
      10. ↑ https://symbology.wiki/symbol/ouroboros/
      11. ↑ https://www.britannica.com/biography/August-Kekule-von-Stradonitz
      12. ↑ https://youtu.be/NLc6NEuec3E?t=8
      13. ↑ https://soa.syr.edu/proj/environmentalcloudatlas/Ouroboros.html
      14. ↑ https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/717559
      15. ↑ https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/why-do-snakes-eat-themselves
      16. ↑ https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/why-do-snakes-eat-themselves

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