The Uroborus Reunion

The uroborus, also spelled ouroboros in the Greek translation, is an ancient symbol depicting a serpent or dragon swallowing its own tail and forming a circle.

The online encyclopaedia Wikipedia describes the uroborus as a representation of self-reflexivity or cyclicality, especially in the sense of something constantly recreating itself. The cycles begin anew as soon as they end. The uroborus can also represent the idea of primordial unity related to something existing in or persisting from the beginning with such force or qualities that it cannot be extinguished.

Carl Jung, the founder of analytical psychology, interpreted the uroborus as having an archetypical or a quintessential significance to the human psyche. The Jungian psychologist Erich Neumann described it as a representation of the pre-ego dawn state. Newmann, on the basis of mythological and ethnographical material, depicted the uroborus as the original psychic state prior to the birth of ego consciousness. He used the circular image of the tail-eating serpent to represent the fundamental Self, the original ‘mandala-state’ of totality out of which the individual ego is born.

Edward F. Edinger’s book, Ego and Archetype, describes the individual’s journey to psychological wholeness. The book is a synthesis of Carl Jung’s fundamental psychological concepts. According to Edinger the Self is born but the ego, based on life experiences, is made. In the beginning of our psychic life all is Self and because, at this stage, the Self is the center of and totality of being, the ego totally indentifies with the Self, and even experiences itself as a deity. Edinger indicates that “it is generally accepted among analytical psychologists that the task of the first half of life involves ego development with progressive separation between ego and Self”. During the second half an ego-Self reunion unfolds with a surrender of the ego as it experiences and relates to the Self. Edinger acknowledged that while the basic separation- union principle is a good working formula it’s too broad and a more balanced idea would be to understand the process of psychological development as a continuous circular or spiral process of “alternation between ego-Self union and ego-Self separation.

Edinger developed the four figures in following diagram to represent the relationship between the ego and Self at different stages of development. The first figure shows the original uroborus state in which the ego is completely unconscious of the Self.

The line connecting the ego-Self axis represents the vital connecting link between the ego and Self that ensures the integrity of the ego. Initially ego and self are one. The ego is present only as a potentiality. Gradually the ego begins to emerge and become more conscious of itself. The last figure, according to Edinger, is an ‘ideal theoretical limit which probably does not exist in reality. This stage represents a total separation of ego and self and a complete consciousness of the ego-Self axis”.

A continuous cycle of inflation and separation occurs through out life and finally concludes in a process called individuation.

Individuation, a Jungian term, is a search for totality. It means that one becomes a totally integrated personality or a person. It is a discovery of the totality of your Self. Jung coined the word individuation to signify the process of the unfolding personality in the course of one’s life. It is a natural, inherent process in man. It cannot be stimulated by something external. It grows from within and just as the body can become deformed or ill by lack of nutrition or exercise, the personality can be adversely affected by a deficit of experience or education. An entry on individuation in Wikipedia states that people that have advanced towards individuation, besides being physically and mentally healthy, are more harmonious, mature, and responsible.

So what is psychically unfolding from the moment of our birth is a very interesting and complex process of psychic development. In the first half of life we are constructing and establishing our ego/personality. The development of this personality is based on our educational, professional and societal experiences. Throughout this process we continuously drift back and forth between the affairs of the ego (personality) and the wholeness of the encapsulating Self. For the personality to develop in a healthy way there must also be a conscious link to the Self as proscribed by Edinger’s ego-Self axis line. We must continuously be aware of the ‘idea’ of Self. During the occasions of separation from the Self the ego/personality is in fact in a state of alienation from the Self. Without a continuous healthy attention to the ego-self axis there is a danger that the ego may become permanently alienated from the Self possibly resulting in an isolated, lonely, and narcissist personality.

A lot of people mistakenly indentify completely with their egos and believe that the ego is actually their true or total self when in fact the ego is only one compartment within our total being; a segment that, poorly managed, can cause many problems. Eckhart Tolle’s recent book A New Earth provides a very good insight into the role of the ego and explains how we can “transcend the ego-based state of consciousness and create a saner more loving world by coming to experience who we truly are”.

We start out in our psychic life a completely whole uroborus. As we get older our ego begins its journey of separation. Our life experience moulds our personality and this process continues until we reach a peak or plateau in midlife. When we get there we become who we are like it or not. Midlife is a point of transformation where we begin another journey that involves the integration of all of life’s experiences into, as when we started, a whole. We experience a uroborus reunion.

There is no consensus that personality development stops at a specific interval in life. There is a view that says change stops at a certain age. It’s called the ‘hard plaster’ theory. The name given to the view that change happens in later life but at a slower rate is called the ‘soft plaster’ theory. Another group, called the “Contexulists’, maintains that change is present in the personality throughout life.

Whatever the real story is concerning the development of the ego/personality there should be little doubt that it does change over time and that we can positively manage that change if we are paying attention. And whenever or if it does stop, peak, or level off we can knowingly proceed with the positive development of the final phase or phases as we eventually embrace an ego-Self re-harmonization.

Many of us make the effort to keep our physical bodies in good health throughout life. We exercise regularly and pay attention to what we ingest. Many of us also understand the need for emotional soundness and spend a lot of time on tasks and entertainment that we enjoy. All of this helps our psychic development too of course but the results may be improved if we better understand the real nature of our psyche. If we become more aware of the process involved with our psychic development we can strive to properly nourish the ripening of our personalities and maintain a sense of wholeness throughout its development. We can then facilitate a more beneficial reunion of the ego-Self during the second half of life. As to how we accomplish this, well, it’s a natural occurring process anyway without a guaranteed outcome but when we are fully aware of this process there are many avenues all around us which we can utilize to complement the development process.

We can turn to yoga, meditation or prayer and even psychoanalysis if necessary to keep our psychic development on the right path. Keep a diary. Attend motivational courses or read inspiring books. Paint a picture. Do anything that keeps you in touch with your true self and helps with maintaining and ultimately establishing a healthy character. The most important thing you can do throughout life is to continuously look inside for as Socrates said “the unexamined life is not worth living”.

And one more thing – just because the ego-Self process develops naturally doesn’t mean that the end results are guaranteed. No one will receive an e-mail advising them that it’s time for introspection and harmonization. We must first be continuously and fully aware of the process in order to maximise the benefits. Without recognition we will sense that something is up but fail to realise just what it is and miss life's greatest reunion.