In addition to the well-known “ouroboros” of the alchemist (a single serpent devouring its own tail), another important symbol is that of two serpents devouring each other. A crowned and winged serpent, representing the universal or cosmic spirit holds a common snake by the tail. This latter snake, representing base matter or the virgin earth, is eating the tail of the crowned serpent. They signify the volatile and the fixed, the sulfur and the salt, the elements of fire and earth, and distillation and condensation. They negate each other and become one (an ouroboros) and in doing so complete the work.
Size: 3.5″ x 2.5″
Mixed media: oil, paper, ink, varnish, gold pigment, resin on canvas.
Tagged as:
Alchemical,
Elementals,
Mixed Media,
Ouroboros,
Serpent
The image of a serpent entwined around an egg is found in the symbolism of such widely-flung ancient belief systems as India, Egypt, European Druids, and Gnostics of the Near and Middle East. It is also known as the Orphic Egg.
“The ancient symbol of the Orphic Mysteries was the serpent-entwined egg, which signified Cosmos as encircled by the fiery Creative Spirit. The egg also represents the soul of the philosopher; the serpent, the Mysteries. At the time of initiation the shell is broke. and man emerges from the embryonic state of physical existence wherein he had remained through the fetal period of philosophic regeneration.” (Manly P. Hall)
Size: 3.5″ x 2.5″
Mixed media: oil, paper, ink, varnish, gold pigment, resin on canvas.
Tagged as:
Alchemical,
Elementals,
Mixed Media,
Serpent,
Snake
The ouroboros, self-devouring serpent, is both the Prima Materia of Alchemy and the Soul of the World. Perfect, self-creating, self-destroying, it is a symbol of the human quest for self-realization as well as the universe itself, wherein creation and destruction, alpha and omega, are inseparable, locked in a cycle of transformation eternally. Used symbolically in esoteric practices, it is a kind of mandala to contemplate, toward realization of the nature of Nature itself.
Size: 2″ x 2″
Mixed media: oil, paper, ink, varnish, gold pigment on canvas.
Tagged as:
Alchemical,
Chimera,
Dragon,
Mixed Media,
Ouroboros,
Serpent
To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.
-William Blake, from “Auguries of Innocence”
Size: 2.5″ x 3.5″
Mixed media: oil, paper, ink, varnish, and gold pigment on canvas.
Tagged as:
Alchemical,
Animal,
Dragon,
Ouroboros,
Rose,
Serpent,
Snake
This emblem, said to originate from a gnostic signet ring, shows abundant alchemical symbolism representing completion of the transmutation of base matter. The red lion, which is the philosopher’s sulfur, is joined to the serpent, the philosopher’s mercury. This resulting living being is crowned with a halo which tells us that it has become gold. The sun and moon represent light and darkness, truth and dream, in balance.
Size: 2″ x 2″
Mixed media: oil, paper, ink, varnish, and gold pigment on canvas.
Etsy link.
Tagged as:
Alchemical,
Animal,
Chimera,
Equinox,
Lion,
Mixed Media,
Serpent,
Snake
The self-devouring serpent, symbolizing the universe (without beginning or end) rests atop an inverted pyramid representing the hierarchy of planets. The golden key if acquired grants access to the mysteries of the heavens.
Size: 2.5″ x 3.5″
Mixed media: oil, paper, ink, varnish, gold leaf, and gold pigment on canvas.
Etsy link.
Tagged as:
Alchemical,
Dragon,
Elementals,
Equinox,
Illumination,
Mixed Media,
Ouroboros,
Serpent
