The image Chris Carter chose to
represent his darkest television drama, a snake eating its own
tail, is called the Ouroboros. Carter
tells us, in his own words, why he picked such a symbol.
"The
image that appears on the main title of the show, which is a
snake eating its tail, a circular snake. The snake is a
classic and ancient image. I think it's come from several
different cultures, it's called the Ouroboros and it has many
different meanings. One is eternal return, everything being
circular, everything recurring and also of a snake eating its
tail, of it devouring itself, which is a more negative
context. I thought for Millennium it had equal parts of
each and left some then to the imagination of what it might
mean. But it's a very powerful image and I think it's really
perfectly representative of the show."
Showing itself primarily in
ancient Gnostic texts, the Ouroboros is any image of a snake, worm,
serpent, or dragon biting its own tail. Generally taking on a
circular form, the symbol is representative of many broad concepts.
Time, life continuity, completion, the repetition of history, the
self-sufficiency of nature, and the rebirth of the earth can all be
seen within the circular boundaries of the Ouroboros.
Societies
from throughout history have shaped the Ouroboros to fit their own
beliefs and purposes. The image has been seen in ancient Egypt,
Japan, India, utilized in Greek alchemic texts, European woodcuts,
Native American Indian tribes, and even by the Aztecs. It has, at
times, been directly associated to such varying symbols as the Roman
god Janus, the Chinese Ying Yang, and the Biblical serpent of the
garden of Eden. Even The X-Files' Dana Scully chose the
Ouroboros to be tattooed on her back because she felt it represented
the progression of her life. It seems that the Ouroboros is a
powerful archetypal symbol, a part of our Spiritus Mundi,
the collective unconscious which thrives within each and every human
being regardless of race or culture.
Here, the Abyss presents to you a
collection of some of the most striking artistic representations of
the Ouroboros, many taken from the Millennium television
series itself.
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Millennium Title Image
Millennium Print Ad
Millennium (Black & White)
Millennium (Wallpaper)
Greek Alchemy Symbol
Greek Alchemy Text
Aztec Symbol
Jacob Boehmes (1682)
Graeco-Byzantine Alchemy Text
Celtic Jewelry
Native American Symbol
Japanese Symbol
Lamb Carving
Lambspring Woodcut (1625)
Lambspring Woodcut
George Withers Emblem
Linked Ten-Thirteen Snakes
Mathematical Interpretation
Art Imitates Life
Real Life Ouroboros
Dana Scully's Tattoo
Dana Scully's Tattoo (Enhanced)
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