Ouroboros: The Eternal Return
Whether it be as Jörmungandr, Kundalini, the snakes that encircled the united Ra-Osiris, a symbol to represent the Gnostic duality of existence, or the Jungian archetype, this ancient symbol has been extremely present in different cultures, mythologies and schools of thought.
The basic premise of the symbol is eternal return. A snake or dragon eating its tail. Everything returns to where it started. Life to death. Creation into destruction and into creation back again. Self-destruction to grow back anew. The Ouroboros devours itself to renew itself.
This act of breaking down to be built up better is the reason we train. It's the reason we lift weights till our muscles ache, run till our lungs are fire and fight till we cannot fight any more. It's the act of self-betterment in every single aspect of life. It's sacrificing a small piece of yourself to create a better you. Sacrificing the Now for the Later.
In Norse mythology, Jörmungandr is a son of Loki. A snake that encircles the world-tree, Yggrasill, and reaches its own tail. Marking the boundary of the known world, he encircles the tree waiting for his battle against Thor during Ragnarok. Its act of self-destruction into self-betterment is it's preparation for this battle. The same way we train and better ourselves for the challenges life lays ahead of us.
Thor Fighting Jörmungandr.
Johann Heinrich Füssli (1788)
The ouroboros is used to describe the 'Kundalini' in the Indian vedas. Sanskrit for "coiled one", the Kundalini, is a source of 'primal energy'. A chakra. The serpent is thought to be coiled and asleep roughly at the base of the spine. The purpose of Kundalini yoga is to awaken the serpent so it can rise to the head of the practitioner (where the seventh chakra is found) and awaken the rest of the chakras in the body on its way there. The practitioner achieves this through meditation, recitation of mantras, yoga asanas, and breathing techniques.
The thing this serpent stands for is self-knowledge. Introspection. Delving into oneself for the answers.
Another appearance of the Ouroboros is in The Enigmatic Book of The Netherworld. The Egyptian sun god Ra and afterlife god Osiris merged into one. They were to travel the Duat (underworld). For protection, snakes wrapped themselves around his head neck, and feet. In this interpretation, the Ouroboros (which may be manifestations of the god Mehen), assumes a protective role.
Some schools of thought see the Ouroboros as a symbol that represents duality. For example, returning to the Egyptians, they saw it as a symbol for moral duality. This is represented by Seth, the god of chaos and death; and Osiris, the god of order and life. A neat parallel can be drawn here to the Taoist Yin and Yang. The Yin being the negative, female, and chaos. And the Yang being the positive, male, and order.
Central to most of his philosophy, Nietzsche regards Amor Fati as love of his fate. How does this relate to the Ouroboros? He suggests that is the "formula for human greatness." To not want anything different in your life. To live as if your life had to be repeated identically with no possibility of change, eternally. Think about it. How would you live your life if you knew that the moment you died, you were reborn and had to start THE EXACT SAME life you just lived? With no change. No different decisions. Same shit all over again. Over and over and over again.
A few weeks or so ago I got a tattoo of the Ouroboros. For me, it was a combination of all the previously mentioned interpretations. It was a reminder to prepare for the great challenges that life will bring. To be introspective and seek self-knowledge. To remember to live life to the fullest - with one foot in chaos and one in order.
