OUROBOROS
In mysticism the infinity symbol is identified as a variation of the ouroboros- an ancient image of a snake eating its own tail said to represent the eternal cycle of the cosmos, the transcendence of duality, and the union of opposites. After emerging in ancient Egypt, the ouroboros became an important symbol in alchemy as it represented the circular nature of the alchemists opus (soul).
The first known appearance of the ouroboros motif as we know it today was in the “Enigmatic Book of the Netherworld.” This ancient text was discovered in the tomb of Tutankhamun, the son of Amonhotep IV and is dated back to the 14 century B.C. The text chronicles the actions of the god Ra and his union with Osiris in the underworld which puts it in the realm of metaphor. There’s an illustration on this text with two serpents holding their tails in their mouths, coiled around the head and feet of an enormous god which possibly represents the unified Ra-Osiris. All that illustrious symbolism means to convey is there is a perfected being that is capable of moving beyond duality. This figure is given the cryptic title of ‘he who hides the hours.’ Here the ouroboros is Mehen- the protective snake god known as the enveloper. What we’re talking about here is the beginning and the end of time and it’s cyclic nature.
A well known 2nd century alchemist known simply as Cleopatra utilized the ouroboros in her writings on inner transformation. She famously depicted the words “hen to pan” meaning “one is the all,” which she surrounded by an ouroboros. The alchemist is ultimately seeking liberation from the seemingly dualistic nature of reality by unifying the conscious and the unconscious mind; the unity of opposites. Alchemists see our dualistic thinking as a hindrance to spiritual awakening. They believed that my meditating on the spirit of Mercury (the substance that permeates all matter) we can free ourselves and escape death.