The Fascinating World of Dragons

@raalkivictorieux Master Ra’al Ki Victorieux

Explore the mystical #dragons of East and West. Connect with your Dragon Guardian #AtmaUnum https://wp.me/p3JLEZ-55Z

Dragons have permeated human culture for centuries, capturing our imaginations and inspiring countless myths and legends. From the mystical creatures of East Asia to the powerful beasts of European folklore, the dragon holds a revered and diverse position in global mythology and belief systems.

A dragon is a magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in Western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as winged, horned, and capable of breathing fire. Dragons in eastern cultures are usually depicted as wingless, four-legged, serpentine creatures with above-average intelligence. Commonalities between dragons’ traits are often a hybridization of feline, reptilian, mammalian, and avian features. Some scholars believe large extinct or migrating crocodiles bear the closest resemblance, especially when encountered in forested or swampy areas, and are most likely the template of modern Asian dragon imagery.

Etymology

The word dragon entered the English language in the early 13th century from Old French dragon, which, in turn, comes from the Latin: draco (genitive draconis) meaning “huge serpent, dragon”, from Ancient Greek δράκων, drákōn (genitive δράκοντος, drákontos) “serpent”. The Greek and Latin term referred to any great serpent, not necessarily mythological. The Greek word δράκων is most likely derived from the Greek verb δέρκομαι (dérkomai) meaning “I see”, the aorist form of which is ἔδρακον (édrakon). This is thought to have referred to something with a “deadly glance”, or unusually bright or “sharp” eyes, or because a snake’s eyes appear to be always open; each eye actually sees through a big transparent scale in its eyelids, which are permanently shut. The Greek word probably derives from an Indo-European base *derḱ- meaning “to see”; the Sanskrit root दृश् (dr̥ś-) also means “to see”.

Historic tales and records

Draconic creatures appear in virtually all cultures around the globe and the earliest attested reports of draconic creatures resemble giant snakes. Draconic creatures are first described in the mythologies of the ancient Near East and appear in ancient Mesopotamian art and literature. Stories about storm-gods slaying giant serpents occur throughout nearly all Near Eastern and Indo-European mythologies. Famous prototypical draconic creatures include the mušḫuššu of ancient Mesopotamia; Apep in Egyptian mythology; Vṛtra in the Rigveda; the Leviathan in the Hebrew Bible; Grand’Goule in the Poitou region in France; Python, Ladon, Wyvern and the Lernaean Hydra in Greek mythology; Kulshedra in Albanian Mythology; Unhcegila in Lakota mythology; Jörmungandr, Níðhöggr, and Fafnir in Norse mythology; the dragon from Beowulf; and aži and az in ancient Persian mythology, closely related to another mythological figure, called Aži Dahaka or Zahhak.

Nonetheless, scholars dispute where the idea of a dragon originates from and a wide variety of hypotheses have been proposed.

In his book An Instinct for Dragons (2000), David E. Jones (anthropologist) suggests a hypothesis that humans, like monkeys, have inherited instinctive reactions to snakes, large cats, and birds of prey. He cites a study which found that approximately 39 people in a hundred are afraid of snakes and notes that fear of snakes is especially prominent in children, even in areas where snakes are rare. The earliest attested dragons all resemble snakes or have snakelike attributes. Jones therefore concludes that dragons appear in nearly all cultures because humans have an innate fear of snakes and other animals that were major predators of humans’ primate ancestors. Dragons are usually said to reside in “dark caves, deep pools, wild mountain reaches, sea bottoms, haunted forests”, all places which would have been fraught with danger for early human ancestors.

In her book The First Fossil Hunters: Dinosaurs, Mammoths, and Myth in Greek and Roman Times (2000), Adrienne Mayor argues that some stories of dragons may have been inspired by ancient discoveries of fossils belonging to dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals. She argues that the dragon lore of northern India may have been inspired by “observations of oversized, extraordinary bones in the fossilbeds of the Siwalik Hills below the Himalayas” and that ancient Greek artistic depictions of the Monster of Troy may have been influenced by fossils of Samotherium, an extinct species of giraffe whose fossils are common in the Mediterranean region. In China, a region where fossils of large prehistoric animals are common, these remains are frequently identified as “dragon bones” and are commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine. Mayor, however, is careful to point out that not all stories of dragons and giants are inspired by fossils and notes that Scandinavia has many stories of dragons and sea monsters, but has long “been considered barren of large fossils.” In one of her later books, she states that, “Many dragon images around the world were based on folk knowledge or exaggerations of living reptiles, such as Komodo dragons, Gila monsters, iguanas, alligators, or, in California, alligator lizards, though this still fails to account for the Scandinavian legends, as no such animals (historical or otherwise) have ever been found in this region.

Robert Blust in The Origin of Dragons (2000) argues that, like many other creations of traditional cultures, dragons are largely explicable as products of a convergence of rational pre-scientific speculation about the world of real events. In this case, the event is the natural mechanism governing rainfall and drought, with particular attention paid to the phenomenon of the rainbow.

1. Dragonology and Symbolism

– Dragon Meaning

The meaning of dragons varies across different cultures, often representing power, strength, and protection, while in some cases also symbolizing danger and chaos.

The dragon is the only mythical zodiac animal, and it combines the characteristics of nine different creatures. It has the horns of a deer, the head of a camel, the eyes of a rabbit, the ears of an ox, a snake’s neck, a belly of a clam-monster, fish-like scales, eagle claws and the palms of a tiger.

– Dragon as the Kundalini Serpent

In many esoteric traditions, the dragon is associated with the Kundalini energy, often depicted as a coiled serpent residing at the base of the spine. It symbolizes spiritual awakening and the pursuit of enlightenment.

2. Japanese Dragons

Japanese dragons (日本の竜/龍, Nihon no ryū) are diverse legendary creatures in Japanese mythology and folklore. Japanese dragon myths amalgamate native legends with imported stories about dragons from China, Korea and the Indian subcontinent. The style and appearance of the dragon was heavily influenced by the Chinese dragon, especially the three-clawed long (龍) dragons which were introduced in Japan from China in ancient times.  Like these other East Asian dragons, most Japanese ones are water deities or kam associated with rainfall and bodies of water, and are typically depicted as large, wingless, serpentine creatures with clawed feet.

Indigenous Japanese dragons

The c. 680 AD Kojiki and the c. 720 AD Nihongi mytho-histories have the first Japanese textual references to dragons. “In the oldest annals the dragons are mentioned in various ways,” explains de Visser, “but mostly as water-gods, serpent- or dragon-shaped.” The Kojiki and Nihongi mention several ancient dragons:

• Yamata no Orochi (八岐大蛇, lit. ’eight-branched giant snake’) was an eight-headed and eight-tailed dragon slain by the god of wind and sea Susanoo, who discovered the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi (legendary sword of the Imperial Regalia of Japan) in one of its tails.
• Watatsumi (海神, lit. ’sea god’) or Ryūjin (龍神, lit. ’dragon god’) was the ruler of seas and oceans, and described as a dragon capable of changing into human form. He lived in the undersea Ryūgū-jō (龍宮城, lit. ’dragon palace castle’), where he kept the magical tide jewels. The Ryujin Dragon, also known as Owatatsami, is considered a God in Japan, tutelar of the sea, with power over the ocean. He lives in a sea palace and can take human form.
• Toyotama-hime (豊玉姫, lit. ’Luminous Pearl Princess’) was Ryūjin’s daughter. She purportedly was an ancestress of Emperor Jimmu, Japan’s legendary first emperor.
• Wani (鰐) was a sea monster that is translated as both “shark” and “crocodile”. Kuma-wani (熊鰐, ‘bear (i.e., giant or strong) shark/crocodile’) are mentioned in two ancient legends. One says the sea god Kotoshiro-nushi-no-kami transformed into an “8-fathom kuma-wani” and fathered Toyotama-hime, the other says a kuma-wani piloted the ships of Emperor Chūai and his Empress Jingū.
• Mizuchi (蛟 or 虯) was a river dragon and water deity. The Nihongi records legendary Emperor Nintoku offering human sacrifices to mizuchi angered by his river engineering projects.
• Raijū is Raijin’s animal companion and messenger that commonly take form of a dragon.
• Kiyohime (清姫, lit. ’Purity Princess’) was a teahouse waitress who fell in love with a young Buddhist priest. After he spurned her, she studied magic, transformed into a dragon, and killed him.
• Nure-onna (濡女, lit. ’Wet Woman’) was a dragon with a woman’s head and a snake’s body. She was typically seen while washing her hair on a riverbank and would sometimes kill humans when angered.
• Zennyo Ryūō (善如龍王, lit. ’goodness-like dragon king’) was a rain-god depicted either as a dragon with a snake on its head or as a human with a snake’s tail.
• In the fairy tale “My Lord Bag of Rice”, the Ryūō “dragon king” of Lake Biwa asks the hero Tawara Tōda (田原藤太) to kill a giant centipede.
• Urashima Tarō rescued a turtle which took him to Ryūgū-jō and turned into the attractive daughter of the ocean god Ryūjin.

The word dragon in japanese can be:

• Tatsu: from old japanese.
• Ryu: from chinese long.
• Naga: from sanskrit naga.
• Doragon: from english dragon. Word usually used for european dragons.

Chinese-Japanese dragons

Chinese dragon mythology appears to be the source of Japanese dragon mythology. Japanese words for “dragon” are written with kanji (“Chinese characters”), either simplified shinjitai 竜 or traditional kyūjitai 龍 from Chinese long 龍. These kanji can be read tatsu in native Japanese kun’yomi, and ryū or ryō in Sino-Japanese on’yomi.

Many Japanese dragon names are loanwords from Chinese. For instance, the Japanese counterparts of the astrological Four Symbols are:

Seiryū < Qinglong 青龍 “Azure Dragon”
Suzaku < Zhuque 朱雀 “Vermilion Bird”
Byakko < Baihu 白虎 “White Tiger”
Genbu < Xuanwu 玄武 “Black Tortoise”

Japanese Shiryū 四竜 “4 dragon [kings]” are the legendary Chinese Longwang 龍王 “Dragon Kings” who rule the four seas.

Gōkō < Aoguang 敖廣 “Dragon King of the East Sea”
Gōkin < Aoqin 敖欽 “Dragon King of the South Sea”
Gōjun < Aorun 敖閏 “Dragon King of the West Sea”
Gōjun < Aoshun 敖順 “Dragon King of the North Sea”

Some authors attempt to differentiate Japanese ryū and Chinese long dragons by the number of claws on their feet. In 1886 Charles Gould wrote that in Japan the dragon is “invariably figured as possessing three claws, whereas in China it has four or five, according to whether it is an ordinary or an Imperial emblem”. A common belief in Japan is that the Japanese dragon was native to Japan and was fond of travelling, gaining claws as it walked further from Japan; e.g. when it arrived in Korea, it gained 4-claws; and when it finally arrived to China, it gained five-claws. However, contrary to the Japanese belief that the three-clawed dragons also originated in China and were introduced to Japan.  Three-clawed dragons were depicted in China earlier in history  and were the principal form of dragons which were used on the robes of the Tang dynasty. When the Chinese dragons were introduced in Japan, they still had three claws. Three-clawed dragons were seldom used after the Song dynasty and were later depicted with four or five claws in China.  Three-clawed dragons were briefly revived during the Qing dynasty.

Indo-Japanese dragons

When Buddhist monks from other parts of Asia brought their faith to Japan they transmitted dragon and snake legends from Buddhist and Hindu mythology. The most notable examples are the nāga ナーガ or 龍 “Nāga; rain deity; protector of Buddhism” and the nāgarāja ナーガラージャ or 龍王 “Nāgarāja; snake king; dragon king”. de Visser (1913:179) notes that many Japanese nāga legends have Chinese features. “This is quite clear, for it was via China that all the Indian tales came to Japan. Moreover, many originally Japanese dragons, to which Chinese legends were applied, were afterwards identified with nāga, so that a blending of ideas was the result.

Some additional examples of Buddhistic Japanese dragons are:

• Hachidai ryūō 八大龍王 “8 great naga kings” assembled to hear the Buddha expound on the Lotus Sutra, and are a common artistic motif.
• Mucharinda ムチャリンダ “Mucalinda” was the Nāga king who protected the Buddha when he achieved bodhi, and is frequently represented as a giant cobra.
• Benzaiten 弁才天 is the Japanese name of the goddess Saraswati, who killed a 3-headed Vritra serpent or dragon in the Rigveda. According to the Enoshima Engi, Benzaiten created Enoshima Island in 552 CE in order to thwart a 5-headed dragon that had been harassing people.
• Kuzuryū 九頭龍 “9-headed dragon”, deriving from the multi-headed Naga king シェーシャ or 舍沙 “Shesha“, is worshipped at Togakushi Shrine in Nagano Prefecture.
• Gozuryū 五頭龍 “5-headed dragon” is worshipped at Ryuko Myojin Shrine in Kamakura.

Dragon temples

Dragon lore is traditionally associated with Buddhist temples. Myths about dragons living in ponds and lakes near temples are widespread. De Visser lists accounts for Shitennō-ji in Osaka, Gogen Temple in Hakone, Kanagawa, and the shrine on Mount Haku where the Genpei Jōsuiki records that a Zen priest saw a 9-headed dragon transform into the goddess Kannon. In the present day, the Lake Saiko Dragon Shrine at Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi has an annual festival and fireworks show.

Temple names, like Japanese toponyms, frequently involve dragons. For instance, the Rinzai sect has Tenryū-ji 天龍寺 “Heavenly Dragon Temple”, Ryūtaku-ji 龍沢寺 “Dragon Swamp Temple”, Ryōan-ji 竜安寺 “Dragon Peace Temple”. According to legend, when the Hōkō-ji 法興寺 or Asuka-dera 飛鳥寺 Buddhist temple was dedicated at Nara in 596, “a purple cloud descended from the sky and covered the pagoda as well as the Buddha hall; then the cloud became five-coloured and assumed the shape of a dragon or phoenix”.

The Kinryū-no-Mai “Golden Dragon Dance” is an annual Japanese dragon dance performed at Sensō-ji, a Buddhist temple in Asakusa. The dragon dancers twist and turn within the temple grounds and outside on the streets. According to legend, the Sensō Temple was founded in 628 after two fishermen found a gold statuette of Kannon in the Sumida River, at which time golden dragons purportedly ascended into heaven. The Golden Dragon Dance was produced to celebrate the reconstruction of the Main Hall of the temple in 1958 and is performed twice yearly.

Dragon shrines

Japanese dragons are mostly associated with Shinto shrines as well as some Buddhist temples.

Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima or Itsukushima Island in Japan’s Inland Sea was believed to be the abode of the sea-god Ryūjin’s daughter. According to the Gukanshō and The Tale of Heike (Heinrich 1997:74–75), the sea-dragon empowered Emperor Antoku to ascend the throne because his father Taira no Kiyomori offered prayers at Itsukushima and declared it his ancestral shrine. When Antoku drowned himself after being defeated in the 1185 Battle of Dan-no-ura, he lost the imperial Kusanagi sword (which legendarily came from the tail of the Yamata no Orochi] dragon) back into the sea. In another version, divers found the sword, and it is said to be preserved at Atsuta Shrine. The great earthquake of 1185 was attributed to vengeful Heike spirits, specifically the dragon powers of Antoku.

Ryūjin shinkō 竜神信仰 “dragon god faith” is a form of Shinto religious belief that worships dragons as water kami. It is connected with agricultural rituals, rain prayers, and the success of fisherman.

3. Chinese Dragons

The Chinese Dragon, also known as the loong, long or lung (simplified Chinese: 龙; traditional Chinese: 龍; pinyin: lóng), is a legendary creature in Chinese mythology, Chinese folklore, and Chinese culture at large. Chinese dragons have many animal-like forms such as turtles and fish, but are most commonly depicted as snake-like with four legs.

Seen as possessing magical powers, the Chinese dragon is benevolent. Wise and powerful, the dragon symbolises courage, confidence and adventurousness, whilst being seen to represent success and ambition.

Chinese dragons were considered to be physically concise. Of the 117 scales, 81 are of the yang essence (positive) while 36 are of the yin essence (negative). Initially, the dragon was benevolent, wise, and just, but the Buddhists introduced the concept of malevolent influence among some dragons. Just as water destroys, they said, so can some dragons destroy via floods, tidal waves, and storms. They suggested that some of the worst floods were believed to have been the result of a mortal upsetting a dragon.

The dragon’s spiritual significance can be traced back to the Neolithic Age more than 5,000 years ago. China became more united during the reign of Huangdi (2717–2599 BC). Known as the Yellow Emperor, he united many of China’s original tribes, combining elements of their symbolism as one new totem – the dragon. This marked the start of the unification of Chinese civilisation, which explains why Chinese people refer to themselves as ‘Descendants of the Dragon’. Over time the dragon has come to represent the spirit of the Chinese people, which is strongly associated with innovation, independence and enterprise, and it is celebrated throughout Chinese art and culture.

The people paint the dragon’s shape with a horse’s head and a snake’s tail. Further, there are expressions such as ‘three joints’ and ‘nine resemblances’ (of the dragon), to wit: from head to shoulder, from shoulder to breast, and from breast to tail. These are the joints; as to the nine resemblances, they are the following: his antlers resemble those of a stag, his head that of a camel, his eyes those of a demon, his neck that of a snake, his belly that of a clam (shen, 蜃), his scales those of a carp, his claws those of an eagle, his soles those of a tiger, his ears those of a cow. Upon his head, he has a thing like a broad eminence (a big lump), called chimu. If a dragon has no [chimu], he cannot ascend to the sky.

Visser, Marinus Willem de (1913), The Dragon in China and Japan. Amsterdam: J. Müller.

There is a long-established tradition of celebrating the dragon in China through art. Whether they are expressed in the form of carvings, paintings, or costumes, dragons are usually depicted dynamically. Strong and unyielding, these interpretations reflect the indomitable qualities of the dragons of myth and legend.

This proud national emblem is also celebrated through Dragon Dances, which are an important part of many Chinese festivals, including New Year. Of all the parades that take place throughout the New Year festivities, the Chinese Dragon Parade is the highlight. Costumes consist of a large head and a tail-like body in sections which are lifted on poles. Customarily performed along with lion dancers, acrobats and martial artists to the sound of drums and horns, the parade ends in a burst of firecrackers.

Ancient Chinese emperors described themselves as sons of the dragon god and used its symbolism to underscore their authority. One of the most spectacular examples of this association is the Nine-Dragon Wall found at the Forbidden City in Beijing. Use of dragon motifs was strictly reserved for the royal family who often used dragon patterns on their clothing, and even today the dragon is still associated with imperial power.

Chinese literature and myths refer to many dragons besides the famous long. The linguist Michael Carr analyzed over 100 ancient dragon names attested in Chinese classic texts.

• Tianlong, celestial dragon that guards heavenly palaces and pulls divine chariots; also a name for the constellation Draco.
• Shenlong, thunder god that controls the weather, appearance of a human head, dragon’s body, and drum-like stomach.
• Fuzanglong, underworld guardian of precious metals and jewels, associated with volcanoes.
• Dilong, controller of rivers and seas.
• Yinglong, winged dragon associated with rains and floods, used by Yellow Emperor to kill Chi You.
• Jiaolong, hornless or scaled dragon, leader of all aquatic animals.
• Panlong, lake dragon that has not ascended to heaven.
• Huanglong, hornless dragon symbolizing the emperor.
• Feilong, winged dragon that rides on clouds and mist; also a name for a genus of pterosaur (compare Feilong kick and Fei Long character).
• Azure Dragon, the animal associated with the East in the Chinese Four Symbols, mythological creatures in the Chinese constellations.
• Qiulong, contradictorily defined as both “horned dragon” and “hornless dragon”.
• Zhulong was a giant red draconic solar deity in Chinese mythology. It supposedly. had a human’s face and snake’s body, created day and night by opening and closing its eyes, and created seasonal winds by breathing. (Note that this zhulong is different from the similarly named Vermilion Dragon or the Pig dragon)
• Chilong, a hornless dragon or mountain demon.

Fewer Chinese dragon names derive from the word long’ 龍:

• Longwang, divine rulers of the Four Seas
• Longma, emerged from the Luo River and revealed bagua to Fu Xi

Some additional Chinese dragons are not named long, for instance,

• Hong, a two-headed dragon or rainbow serpent
• Shen , a shapeshifting dragon or sea monster believed to create mirages
• Bashe was a giant python-like dragon that ate elephants
• Teng is a flying dragon without legs

Chinese scholars have classified dragons in diverse systems. For instance, Emperor Huizong of Song canonized five colored dragons as “kings”.

• The Azure Dragon [Qinglong 青龍] spirits, most compassionate kings.
• The Vermilion Dragon [Zhulong 朱龍 or Chilong 赤龍] spirits, kings that bestow blessings on lakes.
• The Yellow Dragon [Huanglong 黃龍] spirits, kings that favorably hear all petitions.
• The White Dragon [Bailong 白龍] spirits, virtuous and pure kings.
• The Black Dragon [Xuanlong 玄龍 or Heilong 黑龍] spirits, kings dwelling in the depths of the mystic waters.

With the addition of the Yellow Dragon of the center to Azure Dragon of the East, these Vermilion, White, and Black Dragons coordinate with the Four Symbols, including the Vermilion Bird of the South, White Tiger of the West, and Black Tortoise of the North.

Dragons were varyingly thought to be able to control and embody various natural elements in their “mythic form” such as “water, air, earth, fire, light, wind, storm, and electricity”. Some dragons who were able to breathe fire were thought to be exiled from tiān and banished to Earth.

Nine sons of the dragon

Several Ming dynasty texts list what were claimed as the Nine Offspring of the Dragon (龍生九子), and subsequently these feature prominently in popular Chinese stories and writings. The scholar Xie Zhaozhe in his work Wu Za Zu Wuzazu (c. 1592) gives the following listing, as rendered by M.W. de Visser:

A well-known work of the end of the sixteenth century, the Wuzazu 五雜俎, informs us about the nine different young of the dragon, whose shapes are used as ornaments according to their nature.

• The Pulao, four leg small form dragon class which like to scream, are represented on the tops of bells, serving as handles.
• The [qiú niú 囚牛], which like music, are used to adorn musical instruments.
• The Chiwen, which like swallowing, are placed on both ends of the ridgepoles of roofs (to swallow all evil influences.
• The [cháo fēng 嘲風], beasts-like dragon which like adventure, are placed on the four corners of roofs.
• The [yá zì 睚眦], which like to kill, are engraved on sword guards.
• The [xì xì 屓屭], which have the shape of the [chī hǔ 螭虎 (One kind small form dragon)], and are fond of literature, are represented on the sides of grave-monuments.
• The [bì àn 狴犴], which like litigation, are placed over prison gates (in order to keep guard).
• The [suān ní 狻猊], which like to sit down, are represented upon the bases of Buddhist idols (under the Buddhas’ or Bodhisattvas’ feet).
• The [Bixi, also known as [bà xià 霸下], finally, big tortoises which like to carry heavy objects, are placed under grave-monuments.

Further, the same author enumerates nine other kinds of dragons, which are represented as ornaments of different objects or buildings according to their liking prisons, water, the rank smell of newly caught fish or newly killed meat, wind and rain, ornaments, smoke, shutting the mouth (used for adorning key-holes), standing on steep places (placed on roofs), and fire.

The Sheng’an waiji (升庵外集) collection by the poet Yang Shen (1488–1559) gives different 5th and 9th names for the dragon’s nine children: the taotie, form of beasts, which loves to eat and is found on food-related wares, and the jiāo tú (椒圖), which looks like a conch or clam, does not like to be disturbed, and is used on the front door or the doorstep. Yang’s list is bì xì, chī wěn or cháo fēng, pú láo, bì àn, tāo tiè, qiú niú, yá zì, suān ní, and jiāo tú. In addition, there are some sayings including bā xià, hybrid of reptilia animal and dragon, a creature that likes to drink water, and is typically used on bridge structures.

The oldest known attestation of the “children of the dragon” list is found in the Shuyuan zaji (菽園雜記, Miscellaneous records from the bean garden) by Lu Rong (1436–1494); however, he noted that the list enumerates mere synonyms of various antiques, not children of a dragon. The nine sons of the dragon were commemorated by the Shanghai Mint in 2012’s year of the dragon with two sets of coins, one in silver, and one in brass. Each coin in the sets depicts one of the 9 sons, including an additional coin for the father dragon, which depicts the nine sons on the reverse. It’s also a Chinese idiom, which means among brothers each one has his good points.

Number nine

The number nine is special in China as it is seen as number of heaven, and Chinese dragons are frequently connected with it. For example, a Chinese dragon is normally described in terms of nine attributes and usually has 117 (9×13) scales—81 (9×9) Yang and 36 (9×4) Yin. This is also why there are nine forms of the dragon and nine sons of the dragon. The Nine-Dragon Wall is a spirit wall with images of nine different dragons, and is found in imperial Chinese palaces and gardens. Because nine was considered the number of the emperor, only the most senior officials were allowed to wear nine dragons on their robes—and then only with the robe completely covered with surcoats. Lower-ranking officials had eight or five dragons on their robes, again covered with surcoats; even the emperor himself wore his dragon robe with one of its nine dragons hidden from view.

There are a number of places in China called “Nine Dragons”, the most famous being Kowloon in Hong Kong. The part of the Mekong in Vietnam is known as Cửu Long, with the same meaning.

Dragon claws

Early Chinese dragons are depicted with two to five claws. Different countries that adopted the Chinese dragon have different preferences; in Mongolia and Korea, four-clawed dragons are used, while in Japan, three-clawed dragons are common. In China, three-clawed dragons were popularly used on robes during the Tang dynasty. The usage of the dragon motif was codified during the Yuan dynasty, and the five-clawed dragons became reserved for use by the emperor while the princes used four-clawed dragons. Phoenixes and five-clawed two-horned dragons may not be used on the robes of officials and other objects such as plates and vessels in the Yuan dynasty. It was further stipulated that for commoners, “it is forbidden to wear any cloth with patterns of Qilin, Male Fenghuang (Chinese phoenix), White rabbit, Lingzhi, Five-Toe Two-Horn Dragon, Eight Dragons, Nine Dragons, ‘Ten thousand years’, Fortune-longevity character and Golden Yellow, etc.”

The Hongwu Emperor of the Ming dynasty emulated the Yuan dynasty rules on the use of the dragon motif and decreed that the dragon would be his emblem and that it should have five claws. The four-clawed dragon would be used typically for imperial nobility and certain high-ranking officials. The three-clawed dragon was used by lower ranks and the general public (widely seen on various Chinese goods in the Ming dynasty). The dragon, however, was only for select royalty closely associated with the imperial family, usually in various symbolic colors, while it was a capital offense for anyone—other than the emperor himself—to ever use the completely gold-colored, five-clawed Long dragon motif. Improper use of claw number or colors was considered treason, punishable by execution of the offender’s entire clan. During the Qing dynasty, the Manchus initially considered three-clawed dragons the most sacred and used that until 1712 when it was replaced by five-clawed dragons, and portraits of the Qing emperors were usually depicted with five-clawed dragons.

In works of art that left the imperial collection, either as gifts or through pilfering by court eunuchs (a long-standing problem), where practicable, one claw was removed from each set, as in several pieces of carved lacquerware, for example the well known Chinese lacquerware table in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Zodiac

The dragon is one of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac which is used to designate years in the Chinese calendar. It is thought that each animal is associated with certain personality traits. Dragon years are usually the most popular to have children. There are more people born in Dragon years than in any other animal years of the zodiac.

In the Chinese zodiac, the dragon is a powerful and auspicious sign, associated with strength and good fortune. Famous people born under this zodiac sign include the naturalist Charles Darwin, two-time British Prime Minister Harold Wilson, founder member of the Beatles John Lennon, singer Tom Jones, and the actor Benedict Cumberbatch.

Constellations

The Azure Dragon is considered to be the primary of the four celestial guardians, the other three being the Vermilion Bird, White Tiger, Black Tortoise. In this context, the Azure Dragon is associated with the East and the element of Wood.

Dragon boat racing

At special festivals, especially the Dragon Boat Festival, dragon boat races are an important part of festivities. Typically, these are boats paddled by a team of up to 20 paddlers with a drummer and steersman. The boats have a carved dragon as the head and tail of the boat. Dragon boat racing is also an important part of celebrations outside of China, such as at Chinese New Year. A similar racing is popular in India in the state of Kerala called Vallamkali and there are records on Chinese traders visiting the seashores of Kerala centuries back (Ibn Batuta).

Dragon dance

On auspicious occasions, including Chinese New Year and the opening of shops and residences, festivities often include dancing with dragon puppets. These are “life sized” cloth-and-wood puppets manipulated by a team of people, supporting the dragon with poles. They perform choreographed moves to the accompaniment of drums, drama, and music. They also wore good clothing made of silk.

With fenghuang

Fenghuang (simplified Chinese: 凤凰; traditional Chinese: 鳳凰; pinyin: fènghuáng; Wade–Giles: fêng4-huang2), known in Japanese as Hō-ō or Hou-ou, are phoenix-like birds found in East Asian mythology that reign over all other birds. In Chinese symbolism, it is a feminine entity that is paired with the masculine Chinese dragon, as a visual metaphor of a balanced and blissful relationship, symbolic of both a happy marriage and a regent’s long reign.

As nāga

In many Buddhist countries, the concept of the nāga has been merged with local traditions of great and wise serpents or dragons, as depicted in this stairway image of a multi-headed nāga emerging from the mouth of a Makara in the style of a Chinese dragon at Phra Maha Chedi Chai Mongkol on the premises of Wat Pha Namthip Thep Prasit Vararam in Nong Phok District, Roi Et Province, Thailand.

With tigers

The tiger is considered to be the eternal rival to the dragon, thus various artworks depict a dragon and tiger fighting an epic battle. A common chengyu to describe equal rivals is “dragon versus Tiger”. In Chinese martial arts, “Dragon style” is used to describe styles of fighting based more on understanding movement, while “Tiger style” is based on brute strength and memorization of techniques.

Botany

The elm cultivar Ulmus pumila ‘Pendula’, from northern China, called ‘weeping Chinese elm’ in the West, is known locally as Lung chao yü shu (‘Dragon’s-claw elm’) owing to its branching.

Language

A number of Chinese proverbs and idioms feature references to a dragon, such as “Hoping one’s child will become a dragon” (simplified Chinese: 望子成龙; traditional Chinese: 望子成龍; pinyin: wàng zǐ chéng lóng; Jyutping: mong6 zi2 sing4 lung4).

4. Korean dragons

Korean dragons (Korean: 용/룡; RR: yong/ryong) are legendary creatures in Korean mythology and folklore. The appearance of the dragon reflects its relation to its East Asian counterparts, including the Chinese dragons.

Korean mythology

Whereas most dragons in European mythology are linked to the elements of fire and destruction, dragons in Korean mythology are primarily benevolent beings related to water and agriculture, often considered bringers of rain and clouds. Hence, many Korean dragons are said to have resided in rivers, lakes, oceans, or even deep mountain ponds.

The symbol of the dragon has been used extensively in Korean culture, both in Korean mythology and ancient Korean art.

Ancient texts sometimes mention sentient speaking dragons, capable of understanding complex emotions such as devotion, kindness, and gratitude. One particular Korean legend speaks of the great King Munmu, who on his deathbed wished to become a “Dragon of the East Sea in order to protect Korea”.

The Korean dragon is in many ways very similar in appearance to other East Asian dragons such as the Chinese and Japanese dragons. It differs from the Chinese dragon in that it developed a longer beard.

As with China, the number nine is significant and auspicious in Korea, and dragons were said to have 81 (9×9) scales on their backs, representing yang essence. Very occasionally a dragon may be depicted as carrying a giant orb known as the yeouiju (여의주), the Korean name for the mythical Cintamani, in its claws or its mouth. It was said that whoever could wield the yeouiju was blessed with the abilities of omnipotence and creation at will and that only four-toed dragons (who had thumbs with which to hold the orbs) were both wise and powerful enough to wield these orbs, as opposed to the lesser, three-toed dragons.

Imugi

Korean folk mythology states that most dragons were originally imugis (이무기; Imugi), or lesser dragons, which were said to resemble gigantic serpents. There are a few different versions of Korean folklore that describe both what imugis are and how they aspire to become full-fledged dragons. Koreans thought that an imugi could become a true dragon, or yong or mireu, if it caught a Yeouiju which had fallen from heaven. Another explanation states they are hornless creatures resembling dragons who have been cursed and thus were unable to become dragons. By other accounts, an imugi is a proto-dragon that must survive one thousand years in order to become a fully-fledged dragon. In either case, they are said to be large, benevolent, python-like creatures that live in water or caves, and their sighting is associated with good luck.

The imugi is also called ishimi (이시미), miri (미리), yeongno (영노), gangcheori, kkwangcheori (꽝철이), kkangcheori (깡철이), bari (바리), hweryong (훼룡; 虺龍), or iryong (이룡; 螭龍).

Gangcheori

Gangcheori are dragon-shaped monsters that popularly feature in Korean mythology that were introduced in the 17th century. One of the earliest records of Gangcheori being mentioned is the Jibong Yuseol (1614). In those days, there was an old saying, “Where Gangcheori goes is like spring even it is fall.” When author Lee Soo-kwang asked an old man in the countryside about the origin of the word, the old man told him about a monster called Gangcheori that burns down everything in a few miles. According to the records in “Seongho saseol” (mid-18th century), Gangcheori is a venomous dragon that like to live in swamps or lakes, and emits a powerful heat that destroys moisture and causes drought. It also brings storms, lightning, and hail to ruin crops.

Korean cockatrice

The Korean cockatrice is known as a gyeryong (계룡; 鷄龍) “chicken-dragon”; they do not appear as often as dragons. They are sometimes seen as chariot-pulling beasts for important legendary figures or the parents of legendary heroes. One such legend involves the founding of the Kingdom of Silla, whose Lady Aryeong was said to have been born from a cockatrice egg. It is also the origin of the name for the city of Gyeryong in South Chungcheong Province.

5. Druk, the Thunder Dragon of Bhutanese mythology

The dragons of these regions exhibit a rich tapestry of symbolism and history, with the Druk of Bhutan and Tibet holding a particularly significant role in the cultural narrative.

The Druk (Standard Tibetan: འབྲུག, Dzongkha: འབྲུག་) is the “Thunder Dragon” of Tibetan and Bhutanese mythology and a Bhutanese national symbol. A druk appears on the flag of Bhutan, holding jewels to represent wealth. In Dzongkha, Bhutan is called Druk Yul “Land of Druk”, and Bhutanese leaders are called Druk Gyalpo, “Thunder Dragon Kings”. During the Bhutanese mock election in 2007, all four mock parties were called the Druk [colour] Party. The national anthem of Bhutan, Druk tsendhen, translates into English as “Kingdom of Druk”.

The druk (also known as a “duk” or “dug”) was adopted as an emblem by the Drukpa Lineage, which originated in Tibet and spread to Bhutan. According to traditional accounts, when the sect’s founder, Tsangpa Gyare, 1st Gyalwang Drukpa, began to build Ralung Monastery, there was a violent storm. Thunder, or the “Cloud-Voice,” is seen as the roar of the dragon. Deciding that this was an omen, he named the monastery Drug-Ralung, adding the word “thunder dragon” to the name. The disciples at the monastery were known as Drugpa, or “Those of the Thunder.” As of the 1900s, the Grand Lama of Bhutan wore a hat with thunder dragons on it to signify the origins of the sect. As the sect became more popular, it set up monasteries in what is now Bhutan, with the result that the area became known as Dug Yul, or Land of Thunder, among both Tibetans and Bhutanese.

6. European Dragon Legacy

European dragons have been integral to folklore and mythology, featuring prominently in tales of heroism and adventure. From the fiery Fafnir of Norse mythology to the legendary Saint George and the Dragon, these creatures have left an indelible mark on European storytelling.

Proto-Indo-European

The tale of a hero slaying a giant serpent occurs in almost all Indo-European mythology. In most stories, the hero is some kind of thunder-god. In nearly every iteration of the story, the serpent is either multi-headed or “multiple” in some other way. Furthermore, in nearly every story, the serpent is always somehow associated with water. Bruce Lincoln has proposed that a Proto-Indo-European dragon-slaying myth can be reconstructed as follows: First, the sky gods give cattle to a man named *Tritos (“the third”), who is so named because he is the third man on earth, but a three-headed serpent named *Ngwhi steals them. *Tritos pursues the serpent and is accompanied by *Hanér, whose name means “man”. Together, the two heroes slay the serpent and rescue the cattle.

Ancient Greek

The ancient Greek word usually translated as “dragon” (δράκων drákōn, genitive δράκοντοϛ drákontos) could also mean “snake”, but it usually refers to a kind of giant serpent that either possesses supernatural characteristics or is otherwise controlled by some supernatural power. The first mention of a “dragon” in ancient Greek literature occurs in the Iliad, in which Agamemnon is described as having a blue dragon motif on his sword belt and an emblem of a three-headed dragon on his breast plate. In lines 820–880 of the Theogony, a Greek poem written in the seventh century BC by the Boeotian poet Hesiod, the Greek god Zeus battles the monster Typhon, who has one hundred serpent heads that breathe fire and make many frightening animal noises. Zeus scorches all of Typhon’s heads with his lightning bolts and then hurls Typhon into Tartarus. In other Greek sources, Typhon is often depicted as a winged, fire-breathing serpent-like dragon. In the Homeric Hymn to Apollo, the god Apollo uses his poisoned arrows to slay the serpent Python, who has been causing death and pestilence in the area around Delphi. Apollo then sets up his shrine there.

The Roman poet Virgil in his poem Culex, lines 163–201 Appendix Vergiliana: Culex, describing a shepherd having a fight with a big constricting snake, calls it “serpens” and also “draco“, showing that in his time the two words were probably interchangeable.

Hesiod also mentions that the hero Heracles slew the Lernaean Hydra, a multiple-headed serpent which dwelt in the swamps of Lerna. The name “Hydra” means “water snake” in Greek. According to the Bibliotheka of Pseudo-Apollodorus, the slaying of the Hydra was the second of the Twelve Labors of Heracles. Accounts disagree on which weapon Heracles used to slay the Hydra, but, by the end of the sixth century BC, it was agreed that the clubbed or severed heads needed to be cauterized to prevent them from growing back. Heracles was aided in this task by his nephew Iolaus. During the battle, a giant crab crawled out of the marsh and pinched Heracles’s foot, but he crushed it under his heel. Hera placed the crab in the sky as the constellation Cancer. One of the Hydra’s heads was immortal, so Heracles buried it under a heavy rock after cutting it off. For his Eleventh Labor, Heracles must procure a golden apple from the tree in the Garden of the Hesperides, which is guarded by an enormous serpent that never sleeps, which Pseudo-Apollodorus calls “Ladon“. In earlier depictions, Ladon is often shown with many heads. In Pseudo-Apollodorus’s account, Ladon is immortal, but Sophocles and Euripides both describe Heracles as killing him, although neither of them specifies how. Some suggest that the golden apple was not claimed through battle with Ladon at all but through Heracles charming the Hesperides. The mythographer Herodorus is the first to state that Heracles slew him using his famous club. Apollonius of Rhodes, in his epic poem, the Argonautica, describes Ladon as having been shot full of poisoned arrows dipped in the blood of the Hydra.

In Pindar’s Fourth Pythian Ode, Aeëtes of Colchis tells the hero Jason that the Golden Fleece he is seeking is in a copse guarded by a dragon, “which surpassed in breadth and length a fifty-oared ship”. Jason slays the dragon and makes off with the Golden Fleece together with his co-conspirator, Aeëtes’s daughter, Medea. The earliest artistic representation of this story is an Attic red-figure kylix dated to c. 480–470 BC, showing a bedraggled Jason being disgorged from the dragon’s open mouth as the Golden Fleece hangs in a tree behind him and Athena, the goddess of wisdom, stands watching. A fragment from Pherecydes of Athens states that Jason killed the dragon, but fragments from the Naupactica and from Herodorus state that he merely stole the Fleece and escaped. In Euripides’s Medea, Medea boasts that she killed the Colchian dragon herself. In the final scene of the play, Medea also flies away on a chariot pulled by two dragons. In the most famous retelling of the story from Apollonius of Rhodes’s Argonautica, Medea drugs the dragon to sleep, allowing Jason to steal the Fleece. Greek vase paintings show her feeding the dragon the sleeping drug in a liquid form from a phialē, or shallow cup.

In the founding myth of Thebes, Cadmus, a Phoenician prince, was instructed by Apollo to follow a heifer and found a city wherever it laid down. Cadmus and his men followed the heifer and, when it laid down, Cadmus ordered his men to find a spring so he could sacrifice the heifer to Athena. His men found a spring, but it was guarded by a dragon, which had been placed there by the god Ares, and the dragon killed them. Cadmus killed the dragon in revenge, either by smashing its head with a rock or using his sword. Following the advice of Athena, Cadmus tore out the dragon’s teeth and planted them in the earth. An army of giant warriors (known as spartoi, which means “sown men”) grew from the teeth like plants. Cadmus hurled stones into their midst, causing them to kill each other until only five were left. To make restitution for having killed Ares’s dragon, Cadmus was forced to serve Ares as a slave for eight years. At the end of this period, Cadmus married Harmonia, the daughter of Ares and Aphrodite. Cadmus and Harmonia moved to Illyria, where they ruled as king and queen, before eventually being transformed into dragons themselves.

In the fifth century BC, the Greek historian Herodotus reported in Book IV of his Histories that western Libya was inhabited by monstrous serpents and, in Book III, he states that Arabia was home to many small, winged serpents, which came in a variety of colors and enjoyed the trees that produced frankincense. Herodotus remarks that the serpent’s wings were like those of bats and that, unlike vipers, which are found in every land, winged serpents are only found in Arabia. The second-century BC Greek astronomer Hipparchus (c. 190 BC – c. 120 BC) listed the constellation Draco (“the dragon”) as one of forty-six constellations. Hipparchus described the constellation as containing fifteen stars, but the later astronomer Ptolemy (c. 100 – c. 170 AD) increased this number to thirty-one in his Almagest.

In the New Testament, Revelation 12:3, written by John of Patmos, describes a vision of a Great Red Dragon with seven heads, ten horns, seven crowns, and a massive tail, an image which is clearly inspired by the vision of the four beasts from the sea in the Book of Daniel and the Leviathan described in various Old Testament passages. The Great Red Dragon knocks “a third of the sun … a third of the moon, and a third of the stars” out the sky and pursues the Woman of the Apocalypse. Revelation 12:7–9 declares: “And war broke out in Heaven. Michael and his angels fought against Dragon. Dragon and his angels fought back, but they were defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in Heaven. Dragon the Great was thrown down, that ancient serpent who is called Devil and Satan, the one deceiving the whole inhabited World – he was thrown down to earth and his angels were thrown down with him.” Then a voice booms down from Heaven heralding the defeat of “the Accuser”

In 217 AD, Flavius Philostratus discussed dragons (δράκων, drákōn) in India in The Life of Apollonius of Tyana (II,17 and III,6–8). The Loeb Classical Library translation (by F.C. Conybeare) mentions (III,7) that, “In most respects the tusks resemble the largest swine’s, but they are slighter in build and twisted, and have a point as unabraded as sharks’ teeth.” According to a collection of books by Claudius Aelianus called On Animals, Ethiopia was inhabited by a species of dragon that hunted elephants and could grow to a length of 180 feet (55 m) with a lifespan rivaling that of the most enduring of animals. In the 4th century, Basil of Caesarea, on chapter IX of his Address to Young Men on Greek Literature, mentions mythological dragons as guarding treasures and riches.

Post-classical Germanic

In the Old Norse poem Grímnismál in the Poetic Edda, the dragon Níðhöggr is described as gnawing on the roots of Yggdrasil, the world tree. In Norse mythology, Jörmungandr is a giant serpent that encircles the entire realm of Miðgarð in the sea around it. According to the Gylfaginning from the Prose Edda, written by the thirteenth-century Icelandic mythographer Snorri Sturluson, Thor, the Norse god of thunder, once went out on a boat with the giant Hymnir to the outer sea and fished for Jörmungandr using an ox-head as bait. Thor caught the serpent and, after pulling its head out of the water, smashed it with his hammer, Mjölnir. Snorri states that the blow was not fatal: “and men say that he struck its head off on the sea bed. But I think the truth to tell you is that the Miðgarð Serpent still lives and lies in the surrounding sea.”

Towards the end of the Old English epic poem Beowulf, a slave steals a cup from the hoard of a sleeping dragon, causing the dragon to wake up and go on a rampage of destruction across the countryside. The eponymous hero of the poem insists on confronting the dragon alone, even though he is of advanced age, but Wiglaf, the youngest of the twelve warriors Beowulf has brought with him, insists on accompanying his king into the battle. Beowulf’s sword shatters during the fight and he is mortally wounded, but Wiglaf comes to his rescue and helps him slay the dragon. Beowulf dies and tells Wiglaf that the dragon’s treasure must be buried rather than shared with the cowardly warriors who did not come to the aid of their king.

In the Old Norse Völsunga saga, the hero Sigurd catches the dragon Fafnir by digging a pit between the cave where he lives and the spring where he drinks his water and kills him by stabbing him in the underside. At the advice of Odin, Sigurd drains Fafnir’s blood and drinks it, which gives him the ability to understand the language of the birds, who he hears talking about how his mentor Regin is plotting to betray him so that he can keep all of Fafnir’s treasure for himself. The motif of a hero trying to sneak past a sleeping dragon and steal some of its treasure is common throughout many Old Norse sagas. The fourteenth-century Flóres saga konungs ok sona hans describes a hero who is actively concerned not to wake a sleeping dragon while sneaking past it. In the Yngvars saga víðförla, the protagonist attempts to steal treasure from several sleeping dragons, but accidentally wakes them up.

Post-classical Western

The modern, western image of a dragon developed in western Europe during the Middle Ages through the combination of the snakelike dragons of classical Graeco-Roman literature, references to Near Eastern dragons preserved in the Bible, and western European folk traditions. The period between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries represents the height of European interest in dragons as living creatures. The twelfth-century Welsh monk, Geoffrey of Monmouth, recounts a famous legend in his Historia Regum Britanniae in which the child prophet Merlin witnesses the Romano-Celtic warlord Vortigern attempt to build a tower on Mount Snowdon to keep safe from the Anglo-Saxons, but the tower keeps being swallowed into the ground. Merlin informs Vortigern that, underneath the foundation he has built, is a pool with two dragons sleeping in it. Vortigern orders for the pool to be drained, exposing a red dragon and a white dragon, who immediately begin fighting. Merlin delivers a prophecy that the white dragon will triumph over the red, symbolizing England’s conquest of Wales, but declares that the red dragon will eventually return and defeat the white one. This story remained popular throughout the fifteenth century.

The oldest recognizable image of a fully modern, western dragon appears in a hand-painted illustration from the medieval manuscript MS Harley 3244, which was produced in around 1260 AD. The dragon in the illustration has two sets of wings and its tail is longer than most modern depictions of dragons, but it clearly displays many of the same distinctive features. Dragons are generally depicted as living in rivers or having an underground lair or cave. They are envisioned as greedy and gluttonous, with voracious appetites. They are often identified with Satan, due to the references to Satan as a “dragon” in the Book of Revelation. The thirteenth-century Golden Legend, written in Latin, records the story of Saint Margaret of Antioch, a virgin martyr who, after being tortured for her faith in the Diocletianic Persecution and thrown back into her cell, is said to have been confronted by a monstrous dragon, but she made the sign of the cross and the dragon vanished. In some versions of the story, she is actually swallowed by the dragon alive and, after making the sign of the cross in the dragon’s stomach, emerges unharmed.

The legend of Saint George and the Dragon may be referenced as early as the sixth century AD, but the earliest artistic representations of it come from the eleventh century and the first full account of it comes from an eleventh-century Georgian text. The most famous version of the story from the Golden Legend holds that a dragon kept pillaging the sheep of the town of Silene in Libya. After it ate a young shepherd, the people were forced to placate it by leaving two sheep as sacrificial offerings every morning beside the lake where the dragon lived. Eventually, the dragon ate all of the sheep and the people were forced to start offering it their own children. One day, the king’s own daughter came up in the lottery and, despite the king’s pleas for her life, she was dressed as a bride and chained to a rock beside the lake to be eaten. Then, Saint George arrived and saw the princess. When the dragon arrived to eat her, he stabbed it with his lance and subdued it by making the sign of the cross and tying the princess’s girdle around its neck. Saint George and the princess led the now-docile dragon into the town and George promised to kill it if the townspeople would convert to Christianity. All the townspeople converted and Saint George killed the dragon with his sword. In some versions, Saint George marries the princess, but, in others, he continues wandering.

Dragons are well known in myths and legends of Spain, in no small part because St. George (Catalan Sant Jordi) is the patron saint of Catalonia. Like most mythical reptiles, the Catalan dragon (Catalan drac) is an enormous serpent-like creature with four legs and a pair of wings, or rarely, a two-legged creature with a pair of wings, called a wyvern. As in many other parts of the world, the dragon’s face may be like that of some other animal, such as a lion or a bull. As is common elsewhere, Catalan dragons are fire-breathers, and the dragon-fire is all-consuming. Catalan dragons also can emit a fetid odor, which can rot away anything it touches.

Gargoyles are carved stone figures sometimes resembling dragons that originally served as waterspouts on buildings. Precursors to the medieval gargoyle can be found on ancient Greek and Egyptian temples, but, over the course of the Middle Ages, many fantastic stories were invented to explain them. One medieval French legend holds that, in ancient times, a fearsome dragon known as La Gargouille had been causing floods and sinking ships on the river Seine, so the people of the town of Rouen would offer the dragon a human sacrifice once each year to appease its hunger. Then, around 600 AD, a priest named Romanus promised that, if the people would build a church, he would rid them of the dragon. Romanus slew the dragon and its severed head was mounted on the walls of the city as the first gargoyle.

Dragons are prominent in medieval heraldry. Uther Pendragon was famously said to have had two gold dragons crowned with red standing back-to-back on his royal coat of arms. Originally, heraldic dragons could have any number of legs, but, by the late Middle Ages, due to the widespread proliferation of bestiaries, heraldry began to distinguish between a “dragon” (which could only have exactly four legs) and a “wyvern” (which could only have exactly two). In myths, wyverns are associated with viciousness, envy, and pestilence, but, in heraldry, they are used as symbols for overthrowing the tyranny of Satan and his demonic forces. Late medieval heraldry also distinguished a draconic creature known as a “cockatrice“. A cockatrice is supposedly born when a serpent hatches an egg that has been laid on a dunghill by a rooster and it is so venomous that its breath and its gaze are both lethal to any living creature, except for a weasel, which is the cockatrice’s mortal enemy. A basilisk is a serpent with the head of a dragon at the end of its tail that is born when a toad hatches an egg that has been laid in a midden by a nine-year-old cockatrice. Like the cockatrice, its glare is said to be deadly.

Post-classical Eastern

In Albanian mythology and folklore, stihi, ljubi, bolla, bollar, errshaja, and kulshedra are mythological figures described as serpentine dragons. It is believed that bolla, a water and chthonic demonic serpent, undergoes metamorphosis passing through four distinct phases if it lives many years without being seen by a human. The bollar and errshaja are the intermediate stages, while the kulshedra is the ultimate phase, described as a huge multi-headed fire-spitting female serpent which causes drought, storms, flooding, earthquakes, and other natural disasters against mankind. She is usually fought and defeated by a drangue, a semi-human winged divine hero and protector of humans. Heavy thunderstorms are thought to be the result of their battles.

In Slavic mythology, the words “zmey“, “zmiy“, or “zmaj” are used to describe dragons. These words are masculine forms of the Slavic word for “snake”, which are normally feminine (like Russian zmeya). In Romania, there is a similar figure, derived from the Slavic dragon and named zmeu. Exclusively in Polish and Belarusian folklore, as well as in the other Slavic folklores, a dragon is also called (variously) смок, цмок, or smok. In South Slavic folklores, the same thing is also called lamya (ламя, ламjа, lamja). Although quite similar to other European dragons, Slavic dragons have their peculiarities.

In Russian and Ukrainian folklore, Zmey Gorynych is a dragon with three heads, each one bearing twin goatlike horns.[170] He is said to have breathed fire and smelled of sulfur. It was believed that eclipses were caused by Gorynych temporarily swallowing the sun. According to one legend, Gorynych’s uncle was the evil sorcerer Nemal Chelovek, who abducted the daughter of the tsar and imprisoned her in his castle in the Ural Mountains. Many knights tried to free her, but all of them were killed by Gorynych’s fire. Then a palace guard in Moscow named Ivan Tsarevich overheard two crows talking about the princess. He went to the tsar, who gave him a magic sword, and snuck into the castle. When Chelovek attacked Ivan in the form of a giant, the sword flew from Ivan’s hand unbidden and killed him. Then the sword cut off all three of Gorynych’s heads at once. Ivan brought the princess back to the tsar, who declared Ivan a nobleman and allowed him to marry the princess.

A popular Polish folk tale is the legend of the Wawel Dragon, which is first recorded in the Chronica Polonorum of Wincenty Kadłubek, written between 1190 and 1208. According to Kadłubek, the dragon appeared during the reign of King Krakus and demanded to be fed a fixed number of cattle every week. If the villagers failed to provide enough cattle, the dragon would eat the same number of villagers as the number of cattle they had failed to provide. Krakus ordered his sons to slay the dragon. Since they could not slay it by hand, they tricked the dragon into eating calfskins filled with burning sulfur. Once the dragon was dead, the younger brother attacked and murdered his older brother and returned home to claim all the glory for himself, telling his father that his brother had died fighting the dragon. The younger brother became king after his father died, but his secret was eventually revealed and he was banished. In the fifteenth century, Jan Długosz rewrote the story so that King Krakus himself was the one who slew the dragon. Another version of the story told by Marcin Bielski instead has the clever shoemaker Skuba come up with the idea for slaying the dragon. Bielski’s version is now the most popular.

7. Dragon as Animal Totem and Spirit

My Dragon

The fire in you inspires me

Your wings make me fly

Your power enlightens me

Your strength protects me

For many, the dragon serves as a powerful animal totem and spirit guide, embodying concepts of strength, wisdom, and transformation. When Dragon materializes as your Spirit Animal it’s time to rekindle your soul’s fire. Dragon as a Totem Animal belongs to those who think and act with intense clarity of purpose. Call in Dragon as your power animal when you need strengt as a leader. Some of the dragon symbolism are:

• Wisdom
• Metaphysical
• Knowledge
• Majesty
• Supernatural
• Protection
• Elemental magic
• Grounded energy
• Luminous indomitable spirit and strength
• Insight
• Divine illumination
• Invisibility

Dragon correspondences include fire, water, earth and air. Rising sun. Matriarchy, the Mother Goddess, Mithras, Hours, Apollo, Indra, Soma, Aruna. They have a primitive element. Also, they are related with protection, warrior energy, elemental magic, movement through space, benevolence, wisdom, intelligence, mystical knowledge, ancient wisdom, ancient power, transformation, awe, divinity, learning/teaching, infinity, spiritual instrucion, longevity, hidden secrets, wealth, prosperity, a love of shiny things, invisibility, dreams, dreamwork, illusion/seeing through illusion, fear (causing and soothing), inspiration, autonomy, mastery, death, destruction, groundedness, fulfillment of potential, happiness, the hability to defeat with intelligence, discipline and strength. Rulership/leadership. Raising power is sometimes called invoking the Eye of the Dragon.

8. Contacting Your Guardian Dragon

Beliefs in the ability to establish a connection with a guardian dragon persist in certain spiritual practices, signifying a deep bond and source of guidance. Some won’t see the dragon because they have lost the magic.

Choose a dragon of unconditional love, who wish to help Gaia and all who live upon her by lifting the vibration higher. They are kind, and close to humanity to assist us with the deep healing that we desire. Ask for their transmutational fire. Ask that you can tap into your psychic nature and allow yourself to vie the world through the eyes of wonder and mistery.

Ways to strengthen your bond with the dragon are:

• Read about dragons.
• Meditation.
• Collect images that resonate with you.
• Drawing. Ask that he reveal himself through the drawing process.
• Journal to collect your thoughts, feelings, images, pictures and other information related to you and your guide.

The dragon energy is strong, give permission and invite the dragon energy into your life. It carries ancient wisdom that we need. Working with dragon guardians is strong, powerful and life changing. Call upon your dragon guardian and ask him to take you as an apprendice. Take time everyday to call upon your dragon during meditation and allow your energy to merge with it. In time, you will be able to hear and understand the messages.

Dragon serves as a powerful guardian and guide. Encourage communication with your inner Dragon, and acknowledge Dragon’s presence as often as possible. Dragon teaches us to effectively live our lives with the honesty, courage, and strength of a peaceful warrior. Dragon speaks to those special places within us, stoking the fires of our hearts.

The origin of Dragon may be traced back to Ouroboros, the tail eating serpent, “what goes around comes around”; origin, beginning, completion. Dragons feature in many phantheons: China, Japan, Greek, Celtic, Egypt, Nordic, and in the Hebrew bible, the Seraphin were described as Drakones, or flying serpents.

9. Dragons in Contemporary Culture

Throughout history, dragons have continued to inspire artists and creators across various mediums, leaving an indelible mark on contemporary art and popular culture.

In some Chinese circles, it is considered bad luck to depict a dragon facing downward, as it is seen as disrespectful to place a dragon in such a manner that it cannot ascend to the sky.

Dragons and dragon motifs are featured in many works of modern literature, particularly within the fantasy genre. As early as the eighteenth century, critical thinkers such as Denis Diderot were already asserting that too much literature had been published on dragons: “There are already in books all too many fabulous stories of dragons”. In Lewis Carroll’s classic children’s novel Through the Looking-Glass (1872), one of the inset poems describes the Jabberwock, a kind of dragon. Carroll’s illustrator John Tenniel, a famous political cartoonist, humorously showed the Jabberwock with the waistcoat, buck teeth, and myopic eyes of a Victorian university lecturer, such as Carroll himself. In works of comedic children’s fantasy, dragons often fulfill the role of a magic fairy tale helper. In such works, rather than being frightening as they are traditionally portrayed, dragons are instead represented as harmless, benevolent, and inferior to humans. They are sometimes shown living in contact with humans, or in isolated communities of only dragons. Though popular in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, “such comic and idyllic stories” began to grow increasingly rare after the 1960s, due to demand for more serious children’s literature.

One of the most iconic modern dragons is Smaug from J. R. R. Tolkien’s classic novel, The Hobbit. Dragons also appear in the best-selling Harry Potter series of children’s novels by J. K. Rowling. Other prominent works depicting dragons include Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern, Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea Cycle, George R. R. Martin’s series A Song of Ice and Fire, and Christopher Paolini’s The Inheritance Cycle. Sandra Martina Schwab writes, “With a few exceptions, including McCaffrey’s Pern novels and the 2002 film Reign of Fire, dragons seem to fit more into the medievalized setting of fantasy literature than into the more technological world of science fiction. Indeed, they have been called the emblem of fantasy. The hero’s fight against the dragon emphasizes and celebrates his masculinity, whereas revisionist fantasies of dragons and dragon-slaying often undermine traditional gender roles. In children’s literature (such as Cressida Cowell’s How to Train Your Dragon series) the friendly dragon may become a powerful ally in battling the child’s fears.” The popular role-playing game system Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) makes heavy use of dragons.

Conclusion

Exploring the multifaceted world of dragons unveils a rich tapestry of symbolism, history, and spiritual significance transcending geographical and cultural boundaries, embodying the timeless allure of these mythical creatures.

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