April 2023

The Ouroboros

Spring has sprung, and with it, new life! Those crazy winter storms have passed leaving our gardens a mess. Now’s the time for spring cleaning! Literally and figuratively. Time to clear away things that do no serve us, that hinder our growth, or holds us back from our full potential. As a reminder of Nature’s cycles of birth, growth, death, and rebirth, I think on what we’ve made our logo, our version of the Ouroboros. Here is a brief description and history from Barbara G. Walker’s book, “The Woman’s Dictionary of Symbols and Sacred Objects”:

“Ouroboros was a Gnostic name of the great World Serpent, who was supposed to encircle the earth - back when most people thought the earth was a flat disc - or else to embrace the Mystic World Egg… A number of traditions indicate that the original serpent protecting the World Egg was female, a mother-serpent, link Ananta the infinite in India, or Mehen the Enveloper (Ua Zit, Buto, Uraeus) in Egypt. The male serpent became the guardian of the Egg only after patriarchy was well established. His swallowing of his own tail (to make an endless round) was probably based on the primitive notion that the female serpent swallows the male in order to fertilize herself: a notion that was reported by Pliny and solemnly believed throught Christian Europe. Sometimes, Ouroborous was androgynous or a pair of mated serpents swallowing each other’s tails. This serpent image once commanded great devotion as a symbol of the entire life of nature. He, she, or it often bore the caption Hen to pan: ‘The One, the All.’...”

There is much more you can google about Ouroboros, but we love it as the symbol on our ODDUA logo. “ODDUA” a Yoruban word meaning, “The end and the beginning.” They seem to fit just right together. Thanks to Amy Reilly, for her beautiful artwork in making this fiery version of our Ouroboros.