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Dragon Dreams, Michelle Snyder
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Fascinating to young and old alike, dragons guard treasures, bring good
fortune, kidnap princesses, and are slain by knights; we are in awe of their
power and majesty. Yet, though
they be the stuff of fairy tales, there is historic basis for these infamous
beasts. According to historian-cryptographer Duncan-Enzmann, Dragon lore stems
from Celtic and Greek observations of dinosaur bones found
at Mongolia’s Flaming Cliffs, between
5900 and 3750 BC. As
the Celts and Greeks migrated back to Europe from Asia,
the stories of these legendary beasts came with them.
The symbolism of dragons differs
around the world: some are ferocious and destructive, terrorizing human-kind,
some are bringers of good fortune and happiness. Dragons can be as small as a
silkworm or can fill the entire sky. They
are at home in air, on earth, in fire, or in water. They generate lightening,
thunder, and rain, and they ensure fertility, order, and prosperity. Since
antiquity, dragons have represented the vast primal forces that support the
material realm.
Dragons are mythological creatures, both
good and evil. Colossal beasts, they are symbols of immense power. Western symbolism emphasizes the negative side of
their power and energy; the dragon-foe became synonymous with Satan and has
come to symbolize evil. In western literature dragons symbolize intense passion
and represent the battle knights must fight against immorality. In the Grail stories, passion is the uncontrollable emotion
that drives Tristan and Iseult into their adulterous and tragic love affair;
similarly, the dragon which Lancelot kills is also associated with adulterous love.
The red and white dragons fighting under a hill where Pendragon tried to build his castle were symbolic of two
adjacent nations warring with each other - the white dragon represents the
Saxons and the red dragon, the Britons. In Anglo-Saxon legends from 793 AD, dragons are recorded as bad
omens: a famine happened shortly after they saw fiery “dragons” in the sky. In
Greek mythology Perseus saved Andromeda from being sacrificed to a sea
dragon.
Oriental
mythology represents the dragon as a positive force, representing power,
strength, and good luck. Dragons are revered beings in China and, although fierce, are rarely mean-spirited.
Usually long and serpentine, with four legs, Chinese dragons have attributes of
other animals: some have horse-like heads, some stags horns, some soles of
tigers. Four-toed dragons are associated with the four elements of antiquity
(earth, fire, air, water); five-toed dragons are symbols of Chinese emperors. Only the emperor can use this image,
for others there are severe penalties for doing so.
Dragons symbolize power,
prosperity, and nobility, and they have friends in high places. These powerful
creatures represent everything from chaos, power, and the
ultimate foe, to wisdom, protection, and the unconscious. Dragons can be benevolent, lazy, or demanding. Not only are the concepts that dragons
symbolize quite diverse, but how they are represented is equally so. Dragons
can be serpents, reptiles, birds, or snakes. Some breath fire, some do not; the
possibility of fire-breathing dragons is supported by the existence of the
Bombardier beetle, which spews chemicals from sacs inside onto a predator
outside, burning the would-be attacker. Popular and appealing, dragons
appear in films, toys, fashions, music, books, and promotions. These fabulous,
mythical, and sometimes magical creatures will continue to evolve, diversify,
and occupy our imaginations and our planet for a long time to come.
Article and artwork
copyright 2012, Michelle Snyder
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| Art and Symbols Once Upon a Time |
Author Bio: Michelle is an
author, speaker, columnist, blogger, and teacher. Her post-graduate degree from
the University of Wales is in the discipline of decoding ancient symbols. She
has been teaching art and visual language to students of all ages for 35 years,
and has written many books about decoding symbols. Her latest book is an
original fairy tale based on her research. Her artwork, inspired by her love of
symbols, has appeared in galleries from Massachusetts to California. Michelle
is co-owner of White Knight Studio with her husband Jay.
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