Time of the Water Dragon

It is 2012 and the Year of the Dragon.

The year of the Water Dragon. This is a year cycle from now until 9th February 2013. 

In Chinese tradition, the dragon symbolises positivity. However, in the West, the dragon is considered a force of badness and all that is destructive but many establishments use dragons as a powerful emblem.

Some believe that dragon myths are linked to ancient people discovering dinosaur bones. Some argue that dragons are invented and imagined beings. Others have reported "seeing" dragons during deep meditations, vision quests, drug-induced hallucinations, dreams and other mental trips. Many people do try to guess what the Dragon was, physically, and not what the dragon is. 

There are dragon energies, knowned as ley lines, the electromagnetic grid of geometric patterns. Some use this form of physics as a type of holistic medicine.

The Enhanced Dragon Force

There are different elements: Earth, Air, Fire and Water. These are combinations of elements that produce life and being. This is the time of the Water Dragon. What does it mean?
 
Nouishment, movement, flowing, cleansing, holding, carrying, drifting, and in reflection of that, exploration. These are strong moving currents that carry ones wishes. These dragons work and operate spiritually, although there is far more to it than I can put here. This would make a vast post simply discussing the Chinese dragon of element Water. 

Have dragons always been considered evil in the West?

Historically, dragons have a long tradition of being fearsome and dangerous. Stories of dragon slayers, heroes rescueing princesses from being sacrificed to dragons, dragons burning villages, fire breathing dragons, dragons guarding secret hoardes of treasure, only to be slain by warriors. Dragons related to sea serpents, horned beasts and monsters. Dragons resembling dinosaurs. Dinosaurs portrayed as vicious giant predators. All this psychologically plays on people's fear of dragons. Dragons are different in the East where they are considered a part of life, and fulfillers of dreams, carryers of health and wisdom, makers of magic, wonderful and respectful beings.

I view the dragon as this. A being that exists in a different level, but equally part of the Earth, and where it lives, the Laws of Physics influence where we are. Dragons hold treasure. Symbolically, the treasure is the vital essense of the planet, the soil, rocks, minerals and waters.

In Norse mythology, the world is embraced by a water dragon named Jormungandr. When the story of the god Thor (a powerful warrior god of thunder and lightening), fights with Jormungandr at the final battle "Ragnarok", the forces of nature are in collision. This is a message of chaos, a warning for the future generations. Thor, a symbol of the power of strong men, has come so far in might as to try and overthrow the forces of nature but Thor is also a protector of the folk on Midgard. This isn't to topple the balance of nature or end the dragons but to compete and by doing so we tamper with the environment.

In myths, the gods and goddesses in stories are both stories about people (represented by gods and goddesses because myth gets twisted over the ages), and of nature. The true gods and goddesses are a part of nature too. Unlike the Western view of light/dark, good/bad, there is just earth, wind, storm, ice, fire! As the Earth, Air, Fire and Water go through period of CALM and then unrest and BATTLES.

This Chinese celebration ought to be a good lesson to the West because many people in our countries/cultures have forgotten the meaning of the dragon force. Respect the Dragons.

The picture above is by Anne Stokes. Visit the artists' site here.