Dragons and Winged Serpents

Dragons and Snakes are symbols for human DNA. Fire representing soul
sparks of light emanating from the flame of creation.

Dragons are winged beings portrayed in the ancient mythologies of most

cultures. They link with winged gods from the heavens who came to
Earth to create the human race and are a very important symbolism in
the creational blueprint of our reality.

Much of dragon lore tells us that dragons were loathsome beasts and evil
enemies to humankind. But dragons were born of a time other than men,
a time of chaos, creation out of destruction. The dragon is a fabulous and
universal symbolic figure found in most cultures thought the world.

Symbolism of the dragon:

Gnostics: "The way through all things."

Alchemy: "A winged dragon - the volatile elements; without wings -

the fixed elements."

Guardian of the 'Flaming Pearl", a symbol of spiritual perfection

and powerful amulet of luck.

Chinese: "The spirit of the way"' bringing eternal change. The early
Chinese believed in four magical, spiritual and benevolent animals;
the Phoenix, the Tortoise and the Unicorn and the Dragon, the
 most revered of all. It holds an enormous magical pearl (DNA
symbol), which has the power to multiply whatever it touches.

Many legends say dragons were fabulous animals usually represented as

a monstrous winged and scaly serpent or saurian with a crested head
and enormous claws represented usually as a gigantic reptile breathing
fire and having a lion's claws, the tail of a serpent, wings and scaly skin.

The various figures now called dragons most likely have no single origin,
but spontaneously came to be in several different cultures around the
world, based loosely on the appearance of a snake and possibly fossilized
dinosaur remains. Mythology about dragons appear in the traditions of
virtually all peoples back to the beginning of time - though dragons
appeared in various forms.

Among their earliest forms, dragons were associated with the Great
Mother, the water god and the warrior sun god. In these capacities they
had the power to be both beneficent and destructive and were all-
powerful creatures in the universe. Because of these qualities, dragons
assumed the roles taken by Osiris and Set in Egyptian mythology.

By the time of the early Egyptian period a considerable dragon- and

serpent-worshipping cult had developed. This cult gradually spread to
Babylon, India, the Orient, the Pacific Islands, and finally the North
American continent, as more and more cultures began to recognize and
appreciate the special powers and intelligence of dragons. The cult
reached its peak during the days of the Roman Empire and disappeared
with the advent of Christianity.

The dragon's form arose from his particular power of control over the
waters of the earth and gave rise to many of the attributes singled out by
different peoples as the whole myth developed.

They were believed to live at the bottom of the sea, where they guarded
vast treasure hoards, very frequently of pearls.

Rain clouds and thunder and lightning were believed to be the dragon's
breath, hence the fire-breathing monster.

The significance of the dragon was its control over the destiny of
mankind.

As dragon mythology developed in the western world, dragons came to

represent the chaos of original matter with the result that with man's
awakening conscience a struggle arose, and the created order constantly
challenged the dragon's power. This type of dragon was considered by
many to be the intermediate stage between a demon and the Devil and as
such came into Christian belief.

However, in the Eastern world the dragon adopted a rather different

significance. He was essentially benevolent, son of heaven, and controlled
the watery elements of the universe.

Dragons have been an integral part of the culture of the Chinese,

Koreans and Japanese peoples since the beginning of recorded history.
In China they are used to mark the stairways over which only the
Emperor could be carried. In Japan they are used in Buddhist temples
both as decoration and as fountain heads for purification before worship.
In many cases the dragon is combined with the phoenix to symbolize
long life and prosperity. It is also combined with the tiger to represent
heaven and earth or Yin and Yang.

The male dragon holds a war club in its tail while the female dragon
holds a sensu or fan in its tail. One of the problems lies in that you
cannot always see the tail or tell the difference between the fan or the
war club.

The Chinese dragon is a central figure of both good and evil in their
fables and legends. According to the Chinese the dragon originated in
their middle kingdom and has always had five toes. The dragon by
nature is a gregarious creature who wanders the earth.

However, the farther it goes from China, the more toes it loses. Hence,
when it reached Korea it only had four toes and by the time it got to
Japan it only had three. This also explains why it never made it to
Europe or the Americas in that by the time it got that far it had lost all of
its toes and could not walk.

China Dragons

The Japanese account of the dragon is very similar to that of the

Chinese. The Japanese also believe that the dragon had its origins in
their country. Again they know that the dragon has a tendency to travel
and the farther it travels the more toes it grows. By the time it reached
Korea it had four and by the time it got to China it had five. Again this is
the reason it never made it much farther than China. It kept growing
toes and could not walk any further.

The Koreans tell a similar story of the dragon. They of course know that
the dragon began with them. Probably just like they know that karate
began in Korea. The Korean dragon has always had four toes. When the
dragon travels East or North, it loses toes. When it travels South or West
it gains toes. This explains why the Japanese dragon has three toes and
the Chinese dragon has five toes. It also explains why the dragon never
made it to Europe or the Americas. As it traveled West to Europe, it grew
so many toes that it could no longer walk. As it traveled East to the
Americas, it lost all of its toes and could no longer walk.

The Western type of dragon has been variously described, and individual
dragons had their own unique forms. They appeared to be created from
parts of various creatures, with the result that in general, they were
described as having eagle's feet and wings, lion's forelimbs and head,
fish's scales, antelope's horns and a serpentine form of trunk and tail,
which occasionally extended to the head.

In parts of Africa where the dragon is also considered as an evil power,

the monster was believed to be the result of the unnatural union of an
eagle and a she-wolf.

The destructive powers of the dragon derived from it's fiery breath, which
can devastate whole countries. Dragon's eyes also have this fiery red
quality, sometimes believed to reflect the treasures they guarded.

Later traditions believed that misers would assume the form of dragons
by constantly gloating over their treasure.

The dragon fears nothing except the elephant with whom he will engage
in battle, entwining himself around the elephant and inflicting fatal
blows. However, as the elephant finally collapses, his fall crushes the
dragon to death.

The dragon is supposedly the enemy of the sun and the moon, both in
Eastern and Western mythology, and is believed to be responsible for
eclipses. These occur when the dragon is attempting to swallow either of
the heavenly bodies; which accounts for the dragon's appearance in
primitive astronomy.

In Armenian traditions, the fire and lightning god had powers to stay the
dragon's control of the heavens, as could thunderbolts in Macedonian
myth. A dead man was thought to become a dragon, while dragons were
believed to be the guardians of treasures in burial chambers.

Because the dragon was the natural enemy of man, his death became the
ultimate goal, consequently there are innumerable battles between gods
and dragons, saints and dragons, and in the medieval world, knights and
dragons.

In Greek legends, the dragon fought on the side of the Titans and
attacked Athena, who flung him into the heavens, where he became a
constellation around the Pole Star.

Hercules encountered, and killed the dragon Ladon while fulfilling his
eleventh labor.

In Scandinavian literature, Beowulf was slain by a dragon.