In Norse mythology, Jörmungandr, also known as the Midgard Serpent or World Serpent, is an unfathomably large and monstrous sea serpent or worm who dwells in the world sea, encircling the Earth and bi
Thor lifts Jörmungandr, disguised as a cat. (Lorenz Frølich)
Thor's fishing trip depicted on the Altuna Runestone, one of the few confirmed Viking Age depictions of Jörmungandr.
Thor fishing for the Midgard Serpent in an illustration from an 18th-century Icelandic manuscript
Thor Battering the Midgard Serpent (1790) by Henry Fuseli
The ouroboros or uroboros is an ancient symbol depicting a snake or dragon eating its own tail. The ouroboros entered Western tradition via ancient Egyptian iconography and the Greek magical tradition
Jörmungandr
…unfathomably large and monstrous sea serpent or worm who dwells in the world sea, encircling the Earth (Midgard) and biting his own tail, an example of an ouroboros. As a result of him surrounding Midgard, the beast is referred to as the World Serpent. Jörmungandr releasing his tail is one of the signs of the…
A dragon-like ouroboros in a 1478 drawing in an alchemical tract
First known representation of the ouroboros, on one of the shrines enclosing the sarcophagus of Tutankhamun
A highly stylised ouroboros from The Book of Kells, an illuminated Gospel Book (c. 800 CE)
Engraving of a wyvern-type ouroboros by Lucas Jennis, in the 1625 alchemical tract De Lapide Philosophico. The figure serves as a symbol for mercury.