Dragons as a symbol - differences in meaning east and west

[S:C]

What does the symbol of the dragon stand for in the east in comparison to the west, is there a difference? The west isn’t very fond of them, but the east does value those in folklore and myth, is that wrong, can anyone explain please? Thanks.

[Cobie]

Western dragon is a dynosaur; Eastern dragon is an alligator.

[Lairg]

 

The term dragon may be used figuratively.  Many ancient visitors were depicted with scales such as the Asar/Osiris and Aset/Isis (brother and sister)

 

 

Here are the Hindu Nagas - reputed to appear as  human, or human on a reptilian body, or all reptilian

 

 

 

Here are Fuxi and Nuwa, brother and sister, standing amongst the stars, with the square and compasses still used in Freemasonry - in a somewhat Masonic embrace commemorated(?) with foot, knee and hand over back.

 

 

 

Here is a Thai version 

 

 

Edited 18 hours ago by Lairg

[Haribol]

One interpretation put forward by Jordan Peterson, is that the western dragon represents the ultimate predator: a flying, fire breathing snake. The anti human, so to speak. Our deepest fear. 
 

This makes sense to me. The hero leaves home, encounter a dragon in a cave, slays it (his fear) and returns with gold to his people. The heroes journey. This is related to indo European myth, I believe, which has been reccreated by Bruce Lincoln, where Trito (third man/warrior), goes on a journey to retrieve stolen cattle with the help of the sky god. After slaying the serpent, he returns the cattle to the priestly cast who reestablish order by sacrifice.

 

The word dragon comes from greek drakon «meaning "serpent" or "large seafish," which stems from dérkesthai, meaning "to see clearly".»

 

The we have Sigurd Fåvnesbane, who for whatever reason is depicted as drinking the blood of the dragon he has slayed, attatchment one and two.

 

The dragon of the far east and Quetzalcōātl I am curious about, please enlighten me.

 

Also, @Lairg, since you mention the Indian tradition… what do you make of the following pic of Vishnu:

Sigurd:

 

edit: also, it’s ability to fly, walk and swim, as well as its fire breathing strikes me as very significant.

Edited 16 hours ago by Haribol

[Lairg]

52 minutes ago, Haribol said:

depicted as drinking the blood of the dragon he has slayed,

 

That is likely to be  symbolic - a more severe account than the tradition of St George taming the dragon and leading it through the market.   That is a reference to the human learning to control its personality will.

 

The intelligence of the personality will, as a precondition to first stage enlightenment, is moved by the human spirit, from defensive control of the personality to a new role of creativity.

 

[Lairg]

58 minutes ago, Haribol said:

@Lairg, since you mention the Indian tradition… what do you make of the following pic of Vishnu

 

Same as St George: the personality will needs to be controlled and transformed as a precondition to enlightenment

 

 

[Haribol]

27 minutes ago, Lairg said:

The intelligence of the personality will

Could you explain what this is, please?

[Nungali]

I  remember a long thread with good pictures on this subject here , years back . Could be worth finding .

[Lairg]

>The intelligence of the personality will

 

You may recall in the Castaneda writings that Don Juan refers to the mind as a "foreign intelligence".  That is a useful, if approximate statement.

 

Each chakra properly has an intelligence to operate the relevant part of the human energy body.  Thus there is an intelligence that operates the physical body and its thousands of parallel biological and energetic processes and sub-intelligences.  

 

Sometimes trauma and toxicity result in the managing intelligence giving up, leaving its subsidiary intelligences, including elementals, to do the best they can.  Severe autism often is a symptom.

 

The energies of the mental plane used in the human mind can be divided into lower and higher mental.  The lower sub-plane substances properly are managed by a dedicated intelligence that can be called: the personal will.  

 

The PW protects its primary asset: its self esteem.  It hates to be wrong, and will defend that asset by turning away from events, energies, relationships and intelligences that dispute its "wisdom".

 

The PW is valuable as it forces the personality to get its act together - to protect the self-esteem of the PW.  That requires the personality to control physical and emotional desires and lower frequency mental processes.

 

Eventually the human has the personality sufficiently controlled that the human can interact with transpersonal/spiritual energies.

 

At that point the PW fights for its continued existence.  Eventually, after many incarnations the human spirit is strong enough to overcome the PW and the PW miraculously discovers that it actually has a higher function: creatively expressing the spiritual nature of the human spirit.

 

 

 

Edited 12 hours ago by Lairg

[Haribol]

@Lairg a few thoughts. Some of this might seem random, but it feels right to share in the context of serpent/dragon and personal will: