Ouroborus

Ouroborus (Greek) Jörmungandr (Norse) Mehen (Egyptian), Quetzecotyl (Aztec), also portrayed in Christian Gnosticism, Medieval alchemy, Taoist alchemy, Freemasonry, and the structure of the Benzine molecule, which was discovered in a dream about a serpent biting its tail by the German chemist Kekule. Why this ancient and all-pervasive symbol of the circular tail-biting serpent?


 


The serpent is the Goddess Kundalini Shakti, the energy of Consciousness. The serpent in the Garden of Eden should never have been interpreted as evil, but as the very inner force that propels the evolution of human awakening, however painful it may sometimes be. The serpent is always associated with the divine Feminine, who is the intuitive power, deeper than the rational. 

The "enso" or empty circle, in Zen sumi ink-painting, is another form of the Ouroborus. It is not just a circle but a stroke of living energy with a beginning and end, a head and tail. Yet the beginning bends to the end, the mouth consuming the tail. Not an geometric abstraction, but a singular dynamic action endlessly regenerated, like the breath. Yes, in the final analysis, every breath, exhalation meeting inhalation, is the Ouroborus in our body.

 

When the serpent bites its tail, Alpha and Omega, beginning and end, are united. This signifies Consciousness meeting itself, reflecting upon itself, and awakening itself. The sacred process of energy awakening to Self-Awareness.

The serpent is the one body who can live beyond the body while embodied. The serpent constantly sheds its old skin and re-emerges - formless information in form.