Fear of Dragons/Love of Dragons

I used to fear Dragons, especially the Dragon inside. I kept my own internal Dragon submerged deep inside my subconsious. After all, Dragons are greedy, hoarding, hugely destructive, and symbolic of the devil, right? And the best way to deal with  them is to heroically kill them, like St, George, right?

Yes! ...and...um...NO! No, not at all! I mean, look what happens when we jump to killing everything we see as a threat. Pretty soon, everything looks like a THREAT! That's how we get tragedies like Faluja, and the firebombing of over 100 men, women, and children who sought shelter in a fortress like cave in Bagdad during the 1990's, and latest war with Iraq for it's "weapons of mass destruction" that turned out to be nothing of the sort.

There Must be some other way of dealing with our fears, our "enemies", our Dragons.

Our stories are models for behavior. The way we see Dragons and the way we deal with them in our myths and legends teach us how to deal with threats and fears in life.  What if our stories of Dragons told of a different way of dealing with our fears?

Dragon Lady faces her greatest fear and her Inner Power

 

Well, I did some research. I learned that Dragons in China were considered wise, and even beneficial, though even more powerful than Smaug or Fafnir. I found stories of heroes and heroines who had a very different way of dealing with dragons, like St Margaret, whose weapon was the Cross, and Medea, who used song and herbs to put the dragon to sleep. I especially love Ann MaCaffry's Dragon Riders of Pern, where the dragons are powerful allies in defeating a greater enemy, and a Chinese story where the Dragon guards the kingdom.

 Gradually, my understanding of dragons changed. This has changed--and continues to change-- the way I deal with my own fears. Some of this change is reflected in my paintings of Dragons.

During April, beginning April 6th, many of my Dragon paintings, along with their stories, will be on display at Vashon Intuitive Arts. I will be sharing many of my favorite Dragon Stories on this blog, and will have cards and prints available both on my etsy store, and at Vashon Intuitive Arts.

Today I Was a Dragon

Dragon Emerging from the Sea
inspired by a Qi Gung image, 
available on etsy

I flew around the room, breathing fire, sometimes swimming like a sea dragon, sometimes walking dragon-like. Why was I surprised when Kara as a rabbit and Sara as a ferret were frightened of me? I'm not a ferocious dragon! I don't eat my friends! I decided to give my rabbit friend a ride, so that she could experience flying as well.

In this Hero's Journey workshop with Sherene  Zolno, Kara Jones, and Jane Velencia, we were asked to become--to act out-- our totem animal, then to list the attributes of that animal. I was a dragon! That is a a bit of a shift from my old image of being a dragon rider!!

Grandmother Dragon
My Dragon is nurturing!

When we went to the wall paper to write the qualities we found while being our totem animals, I remembered giving some of my friends "rides" as a dragon, and wrote, "empowering others" as one of my dragon qualities, along with "ancient wisdom" and "flying above the world".

I think my dragon can breathe flowers as well as fire!

What is your totem animal, and what do you admire about it?

Dragon Lore

Isn't he a cutie! This little guy was made by one of the first graders I'm working with.

And this Sea Serpent!

And this one with 4 wings!

Dragon Lore: Practice dragons with First Graders

Dragon Models

We made some fantastic Dragons today!

I was surprised how much first graders know about dragons--and what they didn't know. Very few had heard about St George and the dragon, or were familiar with dragons as maiden eating pests, but many knew about wise Chinese dragons, as well as many modern dragon stories that I don't know.

Children could describe many kinds of dragons; dragons that live in water, those that have wings, the many that are serpent like. They knew that not all dragons have legs, not all spit fire (some spit ice!), many spit poison.

I gave the children plastic modeling clay and three ways to make the dragon body: starting with a ball, a cylnder (snake), or a pancake shape. I showed them ways to individualize their dragons by pulling out long necks or legs, making fins for the water dragons, adding horns, drawing on scales, etc. We found the pancake shape was best for making sea dragons with fins.

Here are some of the results:

Making the eyes on a Sea Dragon

Check out the nest, complete with eggs!

This Dragon has 4 wings!

Dragon Lore: Nagas and Serpents

These Nagas guard the entrance
 to a Buddhist temple in Thailand.

I spent the day reviewing my Dragon books, remembering the different types of dragons and the many many different stories about them. There are the usual stories of heroes killing dragons who are eating beautiful maidens and devastating the country side. There are stories of Dragons fighting each other, stories of Dragons becoming people and people becoming Dragons. There are the saints (and not so saintly heroines like Medea) who defeat the dragon with Divine Love or it's symbols.

I'm teaching Dragon Lore to first graders; we will make clay dragons and dioramas for them to live in. Which of the hundreds of Dragons shall I tell them about?

I promised their teacher three types of Dragon body types for them to create. The most common body type in stories seems to be serpentine.

Serpent Dragons

The Lambton Wyrm
The Lambton Wyrm, caught by young lord Lambton when he played hooky from church one Easter Sunday in 1420, unnerved him so, he changed his ways and became one of the faithful. He threw the Wyrm--about 3' or 4' long--into a nearby well and went on a pilgrimage. When he got back, he found that the Wyrm had grown so long it circled the hill nine times, and was eating sheep, cattle, and even occasional people.  On the advice of the local witch, he had special armor made, all covered with spikes, and lured the Wyrm into the fast flowing river. Here he chopped it up into tiny bits, which the river carried away before they could reunite and make that dragon whole again.

Jason and the Golden Fleece
You've heard how Jason and the Argonauts captured the golden fleece from the serpentine dragon guarding it? You may not have heard that Medea, a woman he picked up in his travels, sang to the Dragon and splashed juniper and other herbs into his eyes until he fell asleep. When Jason grabbed the fleece and fled to the ship, Medea stayed behind long enough to rub a healing salve in the dragon's eyes. Later, when she needed to flee her enemies, the dragon carried her away on his back. Medea was the first Dragon Rider I know of.

Naga
When I traveled to Thailand and Laos, I learned of the Naga. These great serpents live in sumptuous palaces in lakes and rivers. They are guardians of Knowledge, and they guard the stairs to the Heavenly Palace. They frequently give gifts to humans. When the Buddha was meditating under a tree and about to be drenched by a heavy rainstorm, a seven headed Naga spread his seven hooded heads over the Buddha to protect him.

As I learned more about the Naga, I realized that they were not just snakes; they are considered the same or relatives to Dragons.

Walking the Golden Pathway: Stories of Love and Loving

Hanging the show tomorrow and still need to photograph and frame several pieces! Bless the sun, but it does cast shadows and make it difficult to get good photos!

The theme of my show is Walking the Golden Pathway; Stories of Love and Loving. I will invite people to share their stories of Loving, perhaps inspired by my work.

This is "Love in Utero". Sometimes it takes courage to have a baby. This woman is pregnant, and the dragon is her friend. The dragon is both her own creative power, and the danger a pregnancy can involve, especially if the woman has a chronic disease. In some countries many woman and babies still die in childbirth. Even in the U.S., there is always an element of the unknown. Will the baby be OK? Will the birth be natural, or will it involve a C section or induced labor?

This image was inspired by a fellow dragon lover, who has Multiple Sclerosis, and has decided to risk a pregnancy at age 35. She is doing well so far!

My story of courage is when 5 doctors told me I should abort a pregnancy, due to what they considered medical complications. The 6th doctor, a woman,  agreed to follow my pregnancy and deliver the baby, at the University Hospital.

What's your story?