The ouroboros or uroboros (/ˌjʊərəˈbɒrəs, ˌjʊəroʊ-/, from the Greek οὐροβόρος ὄφις tail-devouring snake) is an ancient symbol depicting a serpent or dragon eating its own tail.
The ouroboros often symbolizes self-reflexivity or cyclicality, especially in the sense of something constantly re-creating itself, the eternal return, and other things such as the phoenix which operate in cycles that begin anew as soon as they end. It can also represent the idea of primordial unity related to something existing in or persisting from the beginning with such force or qualities it cannot be extinguished. While first emerging in Ancient Egypt and India, the ouroboros has been important in religious and mythological symbolism, but has also been frequently used in alchemical illustrations, where it symbolizes the circular nature of the alchemist's opus. It is also often associated with Gnosticism, Hermeticism and Hinduism.
Carl Jung interpreted the ouroboros as having an archetypal significance to the human psyche. The Jungian psychologist Erich Neumann writes of it as a representation of the pre-ego "dawn state", depicting the undifferentiated infancy experience of both mankind and the individual child.
Uroboros (stylized UROBOROS) is the seventh studio album by Japanese metal band Dir En Grey. It was released on November 11, 2008 in the United States by The End Records and, due to the time difference, November 12, 2008 in Japan through Firewall and European releases by Gan-Shin. The album is named after the Ouroboros symbol, which is a dragon or snake figure depicted in full circle consuming itself. This represents continuity and the cycle of power, emphasizing the theme of reincarnation, an idea propagated heavily by the band during promotion.
The album art, designed by the band's long-time artist Koji Yoda, was conceived with inspiration from King Crimson's 1970 album Lizard.
Following the finale of their 2007 touring, much of the song writing was completed on an individual basis in January and February 2008, without the members meeting to collaborate. The original announcement of recording was slated for the beginning of 2008, while it was later announced that the album began pre-production in March 2008. The members regrouped after two months of solitary working and shared their independently developed tracks, with guitarist Kaoru saying the intent was to show "I'm making this song right now," with the intent of producing a larger variety of songs. Recording of the first tracks then began in the spring in the Sony Building in Tokyo. Dir En Grey later returned to the pre-production phase for the remaining tracks of the album.
Uroboros is an outdoor 1979 sculpture by Charles Kibby, located at Westmoreland Park in the Sellwood neighborhood of southeast Portland, Oregon. It is a modern depiction of the uroboros, an ancient Egyptian and Greek symbol depicting a serpent or dragon eating its own tail.
According to the Regional Arts & Culture Council, which administers the work, the cast concrete sculpture measures 48 inches (120 cm) x 14 inches (36 cm) x 72 inches (180 cm) and rests on a base that measures 24 inches (61 cm) x 20 inches (51 cm) x 20 inches (51 cm). The organization lists "MAC 1979–80" as the funding source. However, the Smithsonian Institution lists the sculpture's measurements as 45 inches (110 cm) x 45 inches (110 cm) x 16 inches (41 cm), on a base that measures approximately 21 inches (53 cm) x 20 inches (51 cm) x 16 inches (41 cm). The Smithsonian categorizes Uroboros as abstract ("geometric") and notes that it was commissioned by the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) before being donated to the park.