A seemingly innocuous ring. Such a 'little thing.' Miles are trodden for it, lives sacrificed and whole lands lost. All for such a 'little thing.'

The one ring is born of a serpent power. Traditionaly this power has an association with the ring form. The ancient symbol of the serpent swallowing its tail (left) sometimes has a positive connotation. The serpent symbolises, completion, renewal and oneness. Yet it has a shadow side. The alchemy of Sauron is to turn a positive symbol into dark use. Cleverly Sauron forges the one ring as a container for his evil. The serpent power of the dark lord is the tail of the snake and it returns, is swallowed, by the head of the snake with its large malevolent eye. Yet in Sauron's ring the eye is left out. The eye resides elsewhere. The evil eye in Sauron's ring is removed. The aim of the ring is to return to its master. The ring wants to be reunited with the eye. The eye of the serpent. The ring will never be complete until it is one with the eye. This will unleash the serpent power again. This ring though has the crawling power of the snake. To return to the eye it can cover ground. It can lose masters on the way just as a snake can shed skins. Once reuinited with Sauron the circle is complete. The snake swallows its tail and disappears into the eye. A return to oneness. One dark power, one to rule them all. This 'little thing' only seems that way because we see it in an incomplete form.

The Ring is a symbol of evil consuming itself

The evil of the dark lord must consume itself to take form. The tail of Saurons evil past must be taken in by the eye, his current manifestation. Only then can he take form and take up arms. When the ring returns the tail is swallowed by the eye. The evil past will be consumed and the circle will close. This is why Sauron is black. The serpent swallows its tail and disappears, densifies into darker than black.

The ring has the hypnotic power of the serpent.