Ouroboros

Ouroboros is one of the oldest mystical symbols in the world. While the etymology comes from the Greek for “tail eater”, ouroboros has been depicted as early as 1600 BC in ancient Egypt and is even included in King Tut’s tomb.

The premise of a snake or dragon consuming its own tail symbolizes wholeness and infinity; it speaks to the natural cycle of destruction and creation, representing the unity of all things material and spiritual, which never disappear but perpetually change form.

In Jungian psychology, ouroboros is an archetype of the process of individuation. One of Jung’s most frequently quoted phrases that I often reference in my teaching speaks beautifully to this phenomena:

“Until we make the unconscious conscious, it will rule our lives and we will call it fate.”

Individuation is the process of bringing the unconscious parts of ourselves to light; a welcoming in of all the aspects of ourselves that have been repressed or denied: individually, culturally, societally.

Through this process of excavation, illumination, and integration of these denied parts- the self that feels inadequate, the self that feels ashamed, the self that compartmentalizes feelings, the self that feels like a burden to others, the creative self, the playful self, and so on...we call back our Soul’s divine birthright to inner harmony, wholeness, and connection to the unified field of Grace.

This piece came to me like a flash of lightning and was completed over Easter weekend on 4/4. It features one of my beeswax ancestral mandala studies, heavily inspired by late mentor Richard Yarde, and includes 44 beings/88 hands- numbers that weren’t pre-planned, but ones that I learned afterward hold powerful vibrations of healing.

20”x20”, mixed media on canvas, 2021Ouroboros is one of the oldest mystical symbols in the world. While the etymology comes from the Greek for “tail eater”, ouroboros has been depicted as early as 1600 BC in ancient Egypt and is even included in King Tut’s tomb.

The premise of a snake or dragon consuming its own tail symbolizes wholeness and infinity; it speaks to the natural cycle of destruction and creation, representing the unity of all things material and spiritual, which never disappear but perpetually change form.

In Jungian psychology, ouroboros is an archetype of the process of individuation. One of Jung’s most frequently quoted phrases that I often reference in my teaching speaks beautifully to this phenomena:

“Until we make the unconscious conscious, it will rule our lives and we will call it fate.”

Individuation is the process of bringing the unconscious parts of ourselves to light; a welcoming in of all the aspects of ourselves that have been repressed or denied: individually, culturally, societally.

Through this process of excavation, illumination, and integration of these denied parts- the self that feels inadequate, the self that feels ashamed, the self that compartmentalizes feelings, the self that feels like a burden to others, the creative self, the playful self, and so on...we call back our Soul’s divine birthright to inner harmony, wholeness, and connection to the unified field of Grace.

This piece came to me like a flash of lightning and was completed over Easter weekend on 4/4. It features one of my beeswax ancestral mandala studies, heavily inspired by late mentor Richard Yarde, and includes 44 beings/88 hands- numbers that weren’t pre-planned, but ones that I learned afterward hold powerful vibrations of healing.

20”x20”, mixed media on canvas, 2021