SYMBOLS FOR THE REBEGIN 1: CHASING TAIL

Your ReBegin explores various elements within the cycles of creation and destruction and how they relate to our lives. So I thought it would be fun to connect the blog logo into that concept and every so often have the logo through its own series of rebegins*. Right now it exists in a draft stage, eventually it will reach a more polished look, and in time it will have guest interpretations and variations. I’m looking forward to imagining where it may go, and if you have an idea, write me about it!

The logo is inspired by several concepts: the modern day recycling symbol; the familiar symbol for infinity, but with an extra twist; a touch of the good old ancient Yin-Yang; and the, perhaps lesser known, but deeply important, Ouroboros, which is often depicted as a serpent eating its tail.

While a rather odd image to take in literally, an examination of the figurative aspect proves quite fascinating. It embodies the idea that life and death is in a constant cycle, constantly feeding off of and re-creating itself (hence ReBegin). In some cases it is considered the soul of the world and/or the eternal unity of all things in the material universe of which we are bound within. It reveals that one form, the outer reality, eventually is destroyed, but can become another; the inner or unseen realm. Such a cycle has both good and bad connotations, for creation is not always good and all destruction is not necessarily bad. It is a counterbalancing of opposites. It is a paradox worth wrapping your head around (see if you can reach your tail while at it).

The symbol traces as far back as ancient Egypt (1600 B.C.) where it was depicted as either a male and female snake biting each other or black and white snake representing night and day, heaven and Earth. Since then, it has, like many great ideas, gone through various cross-pollinations and transformations (yup more rebegins) as it passed through different cultures. The Greeks adopted the title Ouroboros , which means “tail-devourer.” China and the Hindus have a dragon. In Norse mythology it was called Jormungandr and encircled the world. Even Aztecs and other “New-World” cultures host such an image. In alchemy it is associated with powerful magic, the Wheel of Time, the duality of nature, and the art of developing one’s consciousness through the cycles of death and rebirth.

Ouroborus shows us that creation and destruction are inextricably linked. We tend to think that creation as merely good, destruction merely bad, but in reality they are different facets of the same process. Acts of creation impart destruction, and destruction gives way for creation. The key of the symbol, is that in nature, they are balanced, and one feeds the other.

Are we, as humans, conscious enough in our acts of creation so that the destruction we leave behind as a result is balanced and imparts more life? Or are we merely blindly consuming away without feeding the cycle? For there to be a future, there must be rebegins that honor this ancient principle, that of the soul of our world.

How can you explore and interpret Ouroboros in your personal life?

Bon appetite!

*The lower case rebegin is both a verb and a noun to describe transformations and the capitalized ReBegin is a noun to describe this site or a specific unit of transformation – make sense?