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ouroboros

Symbolism
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

An ouroboros is the ancient symbol of a serpent or dragon eating its own tail, representing cyclical time, eternal return, self-renewal, and the unity of creation and destruction.

Detailed Definition
In poetry, the ouroboros can symbolize repeating patterns in nature, history, memory, or human experience. Because the creature consumes and continually recreates itself, it often suggests that endings contain beginnings and that death, loss, or decay may lead to renewal. Poets may use the image to express eternity, confinement within an inescapable cycle, or the self-consuming nature of desire, thought, or art.
Example
Example in poetry:
In a poem about grief and renewal, a poet might write: “Winter bit its silver tail, / and spring rose from the circle’s mouth.” Here, the circular, self-consuming image evokes the ouroboros and suggests that winter’s ending becomes the beginning of spring.
Additional Notes
The term comes from Greek: oura means “tail,” and boros means “eating” or “devouring.” Ouroboros imagery appears in ancient Egyptian, Greek, Norse, alchemical, and mystical traditions. It is especially associated with alchemy, where it can represent the unity of opposites and the cyclical transformation of matter. Related symbols include the circle, the cycle of seasons, the phoenix, and the wheel of fortune. Unlike the phoenix, which is reborn after destruction, the ouroboros emphasizes an unbroken, continuous cycle. In poetry, the symbol can have either hopeful or unsettling connotations: it may imply regeneration and continuity, or repetition, entrapment, and self-destruction.
Also Known As
Self-Devouring Serpent Eternal Serpent Cyclic Serpent Symbol of Eternity
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