what does the symbol of a snake eating its own tail mean?

Answer 1

The correct term is Ourovoros Ophis (the tail-eating snake) and its greek from oura (tail) vora (eating) and ophis (snake, serpent). The Chinese had images of pig-headed dragons (the earliest dragon archetypes, 4700-2200 b.C.) eating their tails. Then it appears in Egypt. The Greek philosophers gave the sympol its name: Plato (in Timaios) identifies it with the first primordial, immortal, perfect being. The snake (or dragon, or winged dragon, in some cases) stands for a hermaphroditic symbol of rebirth. Generally the tail-eating snake is seen as a symbol of eternity, the endless cycle of life and death, but it is more complex than that: there is two quite different images of the Ourovoros - the one who bites his tail and the one who swallows its tail. The first is static (often painted half-black, half-white), dividing what is inside and what is outside, a symbol of perfection and balance between negative and positive, male and female, constructive and destructive, somewhat like the yin & yang. The second, however, is dynamic: it symbolises spiral movement and energy; when the snake reaches it head it dissapears, and so it signifies the whole and the absolute, consuming itself until it reaches the point where it has to start again. This is its symbolic use in Alchemy. Orphic cosmology (an ancient greek mystic movement c. 6th century bC) recognised the Ourovoros Ophis as the symbol of Aeon, the lifetime of All & Everything (the univerce), as the snake was wrapped around the cosmic egg, forming a perfect circle (Epikouros -341 to 270 bC- wrote: "the whole was from the beginning like an egg, with the serpent/spirit around it like a circle"). It was the codex of Markianos (11th century AD) that attracted Karl Jung's attention to the symbol as an archetype, together with the term "One the Whole". So the symbolism can be interpreted according to these two variations, as a symbol of a static, immobile, perfect universe that has closed the circle, attained wisdom and is at peace, or as a symbol of eternal energy, in the constant process of self-devouring and self-regenerating - "my End is my Beginning"; the latter version can be seen as a symbol of the eternally existing spirit and reincarnation or transmigration of the eternal soul...

Answer 2

Snake Eating Its Tail

Answer 3

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what does the symbol of a snake eating its own tail mean?

Answer 4

The snake eating the tail is the symbol of infinity, it goes around and around, never ending. It is called Orob Orous

Answer 5

It could mean enernity or Ragnorok the end of the world

Aztecs that it was one of thier Life gods

Norse thought it was a snake long enought to circle the world and bite its own tail.

Answer 6

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The Ouroboros represents many different things. In one meaning it is said to represent the self-destructive nature of earthly life. In another it represents the perfect Cycle or something self-sustaining. A serpent who's waste became it's food. It lived off of what it could provide itself. Those are rather complete opposite meanings but the sybmol has been around a long while and has been adopted by many different groups. For example: Plato saw it as the first living being. Having no need for anything other than itself (its waste becoming it's food). It was also used in north mythology but not for symbolism it was an actual character. In alchemy it is a purifying sigil descriped by Swiss psychologist, Carl Jung, as: "The alchemists, who in their own way knew more about the nature of the individuation process than we moderns do, expressed this paradox through the symbol of the Ouroboros, the snake that eats its own tail. The Ouroboros has been said to have a meaning of infinity or wholeness. In the age-old image of the Ouroboros lies the thought of devouring oneself and turning oneself into a circulatory process, for it was clear to the more astute alchemists that the prima materia of the art was man himself. The Ouroboros is a dramatic symbol for the integration and assimilation of the opposite, i.e. of the shadow. This 'feed-back' process is at the same time a symbol of immortality, since it is said of the Ouroboros that he slays himself and brings himself to life, fertilizes himself and gives birth to himself. He symbolizes the One, who proceeds from the clash of opposites, and he therefore constitutes the secret of the prima materia which [...] unquestionably stems from man's unconscious." The famous Ouroboros drawing from the early alchemical text The Chrysopoeia of Cleopatra dating to 2nd century Alexandria encloses the words hen to pan, "one is the all". Its black and white halves represent the Gnostic duality of existence. As such, the Ouroboros could be interpreted as the Western equivalent of the Taoist Yin-Yang symbol. The Chrysopoeia Ouroboros of Cleopatra is one of the oldest images of the Ouroboros to be linked with the legendary opus of the Alchemists, the Philosopher’s Stone. As a symbol of the eternal unity of all things, the cycle of birth and death from which the alchemist sought release and liberation, it was familiar to the alchemist/physician Sir Thomas Browne. In his A letter to a friend, a medical treatise full of case-histories and witty speculations upon the human condition, he wrote of it: "[...] that the first day should make the last, that the Tail of the Snake should return into its Mouth precisely at that time, and they should wind up upon the day of their Nativity, is indeed a remarkable Coincidence," It is also alluded to at the conclusion of Browne's The Garden of Cyrus (1658) as a symbol of the circular nature and Unity of the two Discourses: "All things began in order so shall they end, so shall they begin again according to the Ordainer of Order and the mystical mathematicks of the City of Heaven." It was also used in Christianity, some African cultures, Freemasonry, Aztec, Hindu, Theosophy and who's symbolism is used in the anime series "Fullmetal Alchemist" which is why I know so much :p

Answer 7

There are two types of herpes simplex virus: HSV-1 and HSV-2. Both virus types can cause sores around the mouth (herpes labialis) and on the genitals (genital herpes). Cold sores are caused by the herpes simplex virus (HSV).
Cold sores sometimes called fever blisters, are groups of small blisters on the lip and around the mouth. The skin around the blisters is often red, swollen, and sore. The blisters may break open, leak a clear fluid, and then scab over after a few days. They usually heal in several days to 2 weeks.
The herpes simplex virus usually enters the body through a break in the skin around or inside the mouth. It is usually spread when a person touches a cold sore or touches infected fluid—such as from sharing eating utensils or razors, kissing an infected person, or touching that person's saliva. A parent who has a cold sore often spreads the infection to his or her child in this way. Cold sores can also be spread to other areas of the body.
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Answer 8

Snakes have a special place in folklore and, here, it refers to regeneration. Snakes have also been seen to be associated with the removal of disease and is particularly part of the culy of Asclepius (the health God). The symbol of a snake on a pole is still used to signify health in some circumstance.

Answer 9

It means, "Ouroboros" or, "Uroborous. It is a symbol of renewal,infinity, and the Eternal Return ( as in Neitzsche's philosophy and Poincare's recurrance theorum for systems with finite and bounded phase space.)

It is seen in many different cultures, Ancient Egypt, Japan, India, Greece, Aztecs, & Native Americans, to name just a few. In the series X-Files, Scully, had one tatooed, on her back.

Answer 10

alot of great interpretaions here given by othersalot of them are right
the snake is a traveling digestive system the snake represents eating life feeds on life the snake is also a symbol of immortilty as it sheds its skin and is reborn