Changes

==Origin==

==Origin==

From Greek (drakōn) ''ouroboros'' ‘(snake) devouring its tail.’

From Greek (drakōn) ''ouroboros'' ‘(snake) devouring its tail.’

*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1940s 1940s]

*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1940s 1940s]

==Definition==

==Definition==

*1:a circular [[symbol]] depicting a snake, or less commonly a [[dragon]], swallowing its tail, as an emblem of [[wholeness]] or [[infinity]].

*1:a circular [[symbol]] depicting a snake, or less commonly a [[dragon]], swallowing its tail, as an emblem of [[wholeness]] or [[infinity]].

The '''Ouroboros''' or '''Uroboros''' (/jʊərɵˈbɒrəs/; /ɔːˈrɒbɔrəs/, from the [[Greek]] οὐροβόρος ὄφις tail-devouring snake) is an [[ancient]] symbol depicting a serpent or dragon eating its own tail.

The '''Ouroboros''' or '''Uroboros''' (/jʊərɵˈbɒrəs/; /ɔːˈrɒbɔrəs/, from the [[Greek]] οὐροβόρος ὄφις tail-devouring snake) is an [[ancient]] symbol depicting a serpent or dragon eating its own tail.

The Ouroboros often symbolizes self-reflexivity or cyclicality, especially in the sense of something constantly re-creating itself, the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_return eternal return], and other things such as the [[phoenix]] which operate in [[cycles]] that begin anew as soon as they end. It can also represent the [[idea]] of primordial [[unity]] related to something existing in or [[persisting]] from the beginning with such force or [[qualities]] it cannot be extinguished. While first emerging in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egypt Ancient Egypt], the ''Ouroboros'' has been important in religious and [[mythological]] [[symbolism]], but has also been frequently used in [[alchemical]] illustrations, where it symbolizes the circular nature of the alchemist's opus. It is also often associated with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnosticism Gnosticism], and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermeticism Hermeticism].

The Ouroboros often symbolizes self-reflexivity or cyclicality, especially in the sense of something constantly re-creating itself, the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_return eternal return], and other things such as the [[phoenix]] which operate in [[cycles]] that begin anew as soon as they end. It can also represent the [[idea]] of primordial [[unity]] related to something existing in or [[persisting]] from the beginning with such force or [[qualities]] it cannot be extinguished. While first emerging in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egypt Ancient Egypt], the ''Ouroboros'' has been important in religious and [[mythological]] [[symbolism]], but has also been frequently used in [[alchemical]] illustrations, where it symbolizes the circular nature of the alchemist's opus. It is also often associated with [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnosticism Gnosticism], and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermeticism Hermeticism].

[[Carl Jung]] [[interpreted]] the ''Ouroboros'' as having an archetypal significance to the human [[psyche]]. The Jungian psychologist [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erich_Neumann_(psychologist) Erich Neumann] writes of it as a representation of the pre-[[ego]] "[[dawn]] state", depicting the undifferentiated [[infancy]] [[experience]] of both [[mankind]] and the [[individual]] child.

[[Carl Jung]] [[interpreted]] the ''Ouroboros'' as having an archetypal significance to the human [[psyche]]. The Jungian psychologist [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erich_Neumann_(psychologist) Erich Neumann] writes of it as a representation of the pre-[[ego]] "[[dawn]] state", depicting the undifferentiated [[infancy]] [[experience]] of both [[mankind]] and the [[individual]] child.

[[Category: Mythology]]

[[Category: Mythology]]