The Corrupted “Wheel of Life”: An Essay on Ouroboroses

Abstract

The focus of this article is a symbolic image often found in world mythology – a giant snake or a dragon biting its own tail. This image is usually denoted by the Greek word “ouroboros” (οὐροβόρος), which means literally “eating its own tail.” This essay is devoted to an interpretation of this symbol, which the author sees as leading to the much broader topic of human unfreedom and the forms that this unfreedom takes. The first section deals with the unique features of Gnosticism which have made it appealing in extremely varied times and situations. Gnosticism will be the basis for my considerations about ouroboros. The author’s reflections start from understanding the Gnostic worldview as an expression of apprehensiveness about the radical otherworldliness of the human spirit and its alienation from the universe. The second section deals with the symbolism of the ouroboros and its place in Gnostic conceptual schemes as a reference to the closed cycle of nature that enslaves the human spirit. The third section attempts to decipher layer by layer the Gnostic conceptions associated with the ouroboros. Various levels of interpretation are identified: literal, mythological–magical, psychological-ascetic, and sociopolitical. In the fourth section, the author connects Gnostic ideas with Christianity by interpreting St. Paul’s Epistles, particularly his ideas concerning rulers and authorities. The place occupied by the ouroboros in the Christian universe is analyzed. The last section relies on the ideas of René Girard, Jacques Lacan, and Alain Badiou to illustrate the manifestations of the ouroboros in different dimensions of human existence, both individual and collective, with special emphasis on human desire and its futile circlings.