DRAGONOMY
- The Rainbow Dragon and The Sacred Warrior
By: PH GOLDING
Soul, the Dragon and the Sacred Warrior together have a special relationship. The Dragon lives to be
conquered. Soul lives to be released into consciousness. The Warrior lives to be redeemed by uniting with Soul.
They in fact are all aspects of ourself and this Spiritual integration constitutes our inward journey.
"This is the beginning of alchemy, that we shall discover our every word and deed to be but symbols, our hopes and aspirations only fables, our histories and traditions merely legends. All that we know, like the symbol of the unicorn, is an indication of that which lies within".
(Manly P Hall, "Self-Unfoldment: By Disciplines in Realization", p.83)
Symbolism has been used down the ages in esoteric spiritual teaching to convey certain themes and to spark the imagination. The symbols esoteric nature also gives it a mysterious quality and adds to the fraternity of, say, the members of a mystical order such as an "Order of the Rainbow Dragon".
Only the members know the meaning of the symbol, thus a special bond is created. Also the hidden meaning of the symbol can be very deep and complex and much feeling and reverence can be attached to it. To contemplate the deeper meaning of a mystical symbol creates a meeting place in the mind where Soul, the rational mind and the emotional nature can mere and work in harmony together. In this way, symbols have become living things that reside in the collective unconscious of humanity.
Now that we have taken this journey together, it is time for you also to be initiated into the meaning of the Rainbow Dragon. To begin with, the many colours of the Dragon represent the many energetic qualities of the Life-Force. Also, the Rainbow Bridge is the symbol of the 'Antakarana', which is the name given to the stream of consciousness we build when we are purposefully integrating into our Soul and then Monad. It is the 'road we build to heaven', so to speak. The colour red on the body of the Dragon is a powerful energy. On a positive polarity red represents Divine Will and Power to Love and Work Together. On a negative polarity, red represents Domination; Destruction; Separation and other fearful qualities. So the Dragon is a powerful figure. The green patches balance the red with the harmony of nature and the feminine Earth. The Dragons fiery breath represents Cosmic Fire, the Transforming Power of the Life Force.
The Dragon has a firm grip on his own tail which symbolizes the Unity of the Circle, Integration, Personal
Responsibility - Emotional and Honesty. His tail is not being wasted lashing out at others. He is complete within himself. In alchemical terms, the base of the pyramid of realization is complete, with Will, Knowledge, Emotion and Awareness, completing the four corners, setting the foundations for the real work to begin. The flag he is holding bears the cross of time and space and the blue circle is the symbol of the incarnated Soul and Unity.
The cross and the circle represents the Soul incarnated in time and space. More than this, it is the symbol of
transfiguration, which is the term used in the Bible designating Soul becoming complete - Master of Her earthly vehicle.
The wings of the dragon represent the Souls capacity to fly above the opposites of the material world, including the limited rational mind. If you look closely you will see that the Dragon, who often represents the fear that blocks our path to the Self, isn't as ferocious as he first seems. Fear is like that, for fear is the bearer of treasure, which you will discover if you have the courage to face your fears. The Chinese Dragon is a jolly Dragon because the focus is on what the Soul gains more than what the Ego loses. The Rainbow Dragon is actually an integration of the East and the West, for that is the way of the Aquarian age.
In the myths of the Dragon, particularly in Western legends of he Saint George and the Dragon type, the
Dragon is a villainous creature who roams around the country side stealing treasure, especially gold, and
kidnapping fair maidens. The Dragon then proceeds to hide the treasure and the maiden in his cave, which he then guards ferociously. In actual fact, the Dragon represents ourselves. He is the fear that bars the dark and murky cave of our subconscious, that ominous labyrinth where we dare not venture into for fear of being lost forever by becoming submerged in the storms of our emotional garbage. St George is the Sacred Warrior, who symbolized the Awakened Ego who has surrendered to Soul. He is a masculine symbol who risks destruction by penetrating into the feminine subconscious for the purpose of integrations, armed with the power of the Feminine Soul with whom he is seeking to unite (this of course is the way of integration for both men and women).
The treasure hidden away in the cave is Unity, Harmony, Wisdom, Realization. The fair maiden is our Soul. Our One True Love. Our Destiny. The Key to Gods Kingdom. She is the ferry-man who will guide us to her and finally through the portal of SELF and out into Cosmic consciousness.
Of course, in the first stages of our great Cosmic journey we are like poor peasants who run from this terrifying creature and thus never discovering what it truly possesses. The more the peasants run, the bigger and more terrifying the Dragon seems. Then one frightful day, a peasant becomes caught in a trap laid by the terrible Dragon. He can do nothing but fight, that's if he doesn't die of fright first. So he fights, desperately, fearfully, and to his amazement he survives. The dragon is not slain, only wounded, and has run off into the forest. The peasants has been badly wounded and stumbles into the cave for refuge. In fear of the dark he stays at the mouth of the cave and doesn't realize the treasure contained within. However, the fair maiden kept captive deep inside the cave is a mysterious and powerful magician, a Being of Light, a Goddess in fact, who is under a spell placed on her by the Dragon. To break the spell she needs to unite with a human who will willingly surrender to her. If this occurs the Dragon will no longer have power over her.
The other villagers see these things and fear him. They know one is never the same after being face to face with a Dragon. Talking with him reminds them of the Dragon, so terrifying to them that they would rather not think about it. The villagers know that when one survives an encounter with a Dragon, one seemingly becomes possessed by a mysterious power.
Because of the strange force growing within him, the peasants values begin to change. He is less and less
interested in the petty affairs of the squabbling villagers. He spends much time alone pondering the nature of his new found wisdom, and feels in his heart the calling of his one true love, the mysterious Goddess who came to him in a vision while hiding wounded in the cave.
As time goes by, the peasant begins to gain the reputation as a shaman, and even though they still fear him, the villages come to him with their problems. Soon the peasants yearning to unite once again with the
Goddess grows stronger than his fear of the Dragon and so, fashioned out of his own hard work he purposefully dons a shinning suit of armour made of knowledge, places in his scabbard his lovingly forged sword of truth, scoops up his shield of steadfastness, mounts his newly acquired stead of justice, and reaches for his lance of courage. The villages watch in trepidation and puzzlement as the new warrior rides out of the village in search of the Dragon. They knew it would eventually come to this but the villagers can never understand why someone would want to deliberately go out hunting for Dragons.
Eventually the warrior returns once again wounded but with more wisdom and more fighting skills. More
importantly, a greater bond with his Goddess. As the years roll on, the warriors Dragon hunting expeditions increase. Sometimes he finds what he is looking for, sometimes he doesn't. As his skills increase and his wisdom grows, he is able to venture deeper and deeper into the labyrinth like cave, guided by the grace of his Goddess, as the Dragon attempts to thwart his every move, for the Dragon is a cunning foe.
He is now an elder of the village, teaches other warriors and selflessly serves his community, even though the villagers are of the ungrateful and still don't trust him. When he rides into the village after being out Dragon hunting, the villagers do not come out to meet him, only the other warriors and the little children. The children love his gentle nature, even though this powerful warrior is an imposing figure in his cosmic armour. The children know he has command of his strength. Most of all they crave the unconditional love and acceptance that he freely pours out to them as he plays games with them or tells them stories of the great myths and legends.
Then one day, the warrior, fighting courageously with all his skill and might, ventured further and deeper into the cave than he had ever been. The Dragon raged at him and made himself grow terrifyingly large, so much so that the warrior almost turned and retreated, but then something stopped him. Somehow the warrior knew that this was it, that there was no turning back. This time, he would rather die than leave the cave without his one true love. Mustering all the will and courage within him, he turned and deliberately faced the deadly Dragon. Feeling it's searing breath upon his face, as he stared deep into it's piercing yellow eyes.
Without taking his eyes off the Dragon, the warrior proceeded to lay down his armour. Confused, the Dragon stopped in it's tracks and watched as the warrior continued disrobing until he was completely naked. Having done this, he calmly picked up his beautifully ornate suit of armour of knowledge and reverently placed it before the Dragons scaly feet, saying, 'you are free to take me Dragon, for I no longer fear you. My body is yours to maul with your mighty teeth if you will'. Then the warrior placed his glistening shield of steadfastness before the Dragon saying; "my desires and aspirations are yours to crush with your mighty barbed tail if you will".
Lastly the warrior picked up his fine and beautifully decorated sword of truth and gently placed it at the Dragons feet saying; "my honour and integrity are yours to destroy with your fiery breath if you will". Then to the even greater astonishment of the Dragon, the warrior sat down, closed his eyes and stilled his mind.
However, instead of the terrible monster tearing him apart, at once the Dragon began to fade away like a vanishing phantom, and in it's place appeared the beautiful radiant Goddess. Suddenly brilliant golden light filled every corner of the cave and choirs of angels burst into song as She reached down to the warrior bringing him to his feet. When they embraced, Her radiance suddenly turned into a great cosmic fire that consumed them both, transforming and merging them into the Light of the World.
- The Rainbow Dragon and The Sacred Warrior
By: PH GOLDING
Soul, the Dragon and the Sacred Warrior together have a special relationship. The Dragon lives to be
conquered. Soul lives to be released into consciousness. The Warrior lives to be redeemed by uniting with Soul.
They in fact are all aspects of ourself and this Spiritual integration constitutes our inward journey.
"This is the beginning of alchemy, that we shall discover our every word and deed to be but symbols, our hopes and aspirations only fables, our histories and traditions merely legends. All that we know, like the symbol of the unicorn, is an indication of that which lies within".
(Manly P Hall, "Self-Unfoldment: By Disciplines in Realization", p.83)
Symbolism has been used down the ages in esoteric spiritual teaching to convey certain themes and to spark the imagination. The symbols esoteric nature also gives it a mysterious quality and adds to the fraternity of, say, the members of a mystical order such as an "Order of the Rainbow Dragon".
Only the members know the meaning of the symbol, thus a special bond is created. Also the hidden meaning of the symbol can be very deep and complex and much feeling and reverence can be attached to it. To contemplate the deeper meaning of a mystical symbol creates a meeting place in the mind where Soul, the rational mind and the emotional nature can mere and work in harmony together. In this way, symbols have become living things that reside in the collective unconscious of humanity.
Now that we have taken this journey together, it is time for you also to be initiated into the meaning of the Rainbow Dragon. To begin with, the many colours of the Dragon represent the many energetic qualities of the Life-Force. Also, the Rainbow Bridge is the symbol of the 'Antakarana', which is the name given to the stream of consciousness we build when we are purposefully integrating into our Soul and then Monad. It is the 'road we build to heaven', so to speak. The colour red on the body of the Dragon is a powerful energy. On a positive polarity red represents Divine Will and Power to Love and Work Together. On a negative polarity, red represents Domination; Destruction; Separation and other fearful qualities. So the Dragon is a powerful figure. The green patches balance the red with the harmony of nature and the feminine Earth. The Dragons fiery breath represents Cosmic Fire, the Transforming Power of the Life Force.
The Dragon has a firm grip on his own tail which symbolizes the Unity of the Circle, Integration, Personal
Responsibility - Emotional and Honesty. His tail is not being wasted lashing out at others. He is complete within himself. In alchemical terms, the base of the pyramid of realization is complete, with Will, Knowledge, Emotion and Awareness, completing the four corners, setting the foundations for the real work to begin. The flag he is holding bears the cross of time and space and the blue circle is the symbol of the incarnated Soul and Unity.
The cross and the circle represents the Soul incarnated in time and space. More than this, it is the symbol of
transfiguration, which is the term used in the Bible designating Soul becoming complete - Master of Her earthly vehicle.
The wings of the dragon represent the Souls capacity to fly above the opposites of the material world, including the limited rational mind. If you look closely you will see that the Dragon, who often represents the fear that blocks our path to the Self, isn't as ferocious as he first seems. Fear is like that, for fear is the bearer of treasure, which you will discover if you have the courage to face your fears. The Chinese Dragon is a jolly Dragon because the focus is on what the Soul gains more than what the Ego loses. The Rainbow Dragon is actually an integration of the East and the West, for that is the way of the Aquarian age.
In the myths of the Dragon, particularly in Western legends of he Saint George and the Dragon type, the
Dragon is a villainous creature who roams around the country side stealing treasure, especially gold, and
kidnapping fair maidens. The Dragon then proceeds to hide the treasure and the maiden in his cave, which he then guards ferociously. In actual fact, the Dragon represents ourselves. He is the fear that bars the dark and murky cave of our subconscious, that ominous labyrinth where we dare not venture into for fear of being lost forever by becoming submerged in the storms of our emotional garbage. St George is the Sacred Warrior, who symbolized the Awakened Ego who has surrendered to Soul. He is a masculine symbol who risks destruction by penetrating into the feminine subconscious for the purpose of integrations, armed with the power of the Feminine Soul with whom he is seeking to unite (this of course is the way of integration for both men and women).
The treasure hidden away in the cave is Unity, Harmony, Wisdom, Realization. The fair maiden is our Soul. Our One True Love. Our Destiny. The Key to Gods Kingdom. She is the ferry-man who will guide us to her and finally through the portal of SELF and out into Cosmic consciousness.
Of course, in the first stages of our great Cosmic journey we are like poor peasants who run from this terrifying creature and thus never discovering what it truly possesses. The more the peasants run, the bigger and more terrifying the Dragon seems. Then one frightful day, a peasant becomes caught in a trap laid by the terrible Dragon. He can do nothing but fight, that's if he doesn't die of fright first. So he fights, desperately, fearfully, and to his amazement he survives. The dragon is not slain, only wounded, and has run off into the forest. The peasants has been badly wounded and stumbles into the cave for refuge. In fear of the dark he stays at the mouth of the cave and doesn't realize the treasure contained within. However, the fair maiden kept captive deep inside the cave is a mysterious and powerful magician, a Being of Light, a Goddess in fact, who is under a spell placed on her by the Dragon. To break the spell she needs to unite with a human who will willingly surrender to her. If this occurs the Dragon will no longer have power over her.
The other villagers see these things and fear him. They know one is never the same after being face to face with a Dragon. Talking with him reminds them of the Dragon, so terrifying to them that they would rather not think about it. The villagers know that when one survives an encounter with a Dragon, one seemingly becomes possessed by a mysterious power.
Because of the strange force growing within him, the peasants values begin to change. He is less and less
interested in the petty affairs of the squabbling villagers. He spends much time alone pondering the nature of his new found wisdom, and feels in his heart the calling of his one true love, the mysterious Goddess who came to him in a vision while hiding wounded in the cave.
As time goes by, the peasant begins to gain the reputation as a shaman, and even though they still fear him, the villages come to him with their problems. Soon the peasants yearning to unite once again with the
Goddess grows stronger than his fear of the Dragon and so, fashioned out of his own hard work he purposefully dons a shinning suit of armour made of knowledge, places in his scabbard his lovingly forged sword of truth, scoops up his shield of steadfastness, mounts his newly acquired stead of justice, and reaches for his lance of courage. The villages watch in trepidation and puzzlement as the new warrior rides out of the village in search of the Dragon. They knew it would eventually come to this but the villagers can never understand why someone would want to deliberately go out hunting for Dragons.
Eventually the warrior returns once again wounded but with more wisdom and more fighting skills. More
importantly, a greater bond with his Goddess. As the years roll on, the warriors Dragon hunting expeditions increase. Sometimes he finds what he is looking for, sometimes he doesn't. As his skills increase and his wisdom grows, he is able to venture deeper and deeper into the labyrinth like cave, guided by the grace of his Goddess, as the Dragon attempts to thwart his every move, for the Dragon is a cunning foe.
He is now an elder of the village, teaches other warriors and selflessly serves his community, even though the villagers are of the ungrateful and still don't trust him. When he rides into the village after being out Dragon hunting, the villagers do not come out to meet him, only the other warriors and the little children. The children love his gentle nature, even though this powerful warrior is an imposing figure in his cosmic armour. The children know he has command of his strength. Most of all they crave the unconditional love and acceptance that he freely pours out to them as he plays games with them or tells them stories of the great myths and legends.
Then one day, the warrior, fighting courageously with all his skill and might, ventured further and deeper into the cave than he had ever been. The Dragon raged at him and made himself grow terrifyingly large, so much so that the warrior almost turned and retreated, but then something stopped him. Somehow the warrior knew that this was it, that there was no turning back. This time, he would rather die than leave the cave without his one true love. Mustering all the will and courage within him, he turned and deliberately faced the deadly Dragon. Feeling it's searing breath upon his face, as he stared deep into it's piercing yellow eyes.
Without taking his eyes off the Dragon, the warrior proceeded to lay down his armour. Confused, the Dragon stopped in it's tracks and watched as the warrior continued disrobing until he was completely naked. Having done this, he calmly picked up his beautifully ornate suit of armour of knowledge and reverently placed it before the Dragons scaly feet, saying, 'you are free to take me Dragon, for I no longer fear you. My body is yours to maul with your mighty teeth if you will'. Then the warrior placed his glistening shield of steadfastness before the Dragon saying; "my desires and aspirations are yours to crush with your mighty barbed tail if you will".
Lastly the warrior picked up his fine and beautifully decorated sword of truth and gently placed it at the Dragons feet saying; "my honour and integrity are yours to destroy with your fiery breath if you will". Then to the even greater astonishment of the Dragon, the warrior sat down, closed his eyes and stilled his mind.
However, instead of the terrible monster tearing him apart, at once the Dragon began to fade away like a vanishing phantom, and in it's place appeared the beautiful radiant Goddess. Suddenly brilliant golden light filled every corner of the cave and choirs of angels burst into song as She reached down to the warrior bringing him to his feet. When they embraced, Her radiance suddenly turned into a great cosmic fire that consumed them both, transforming and merging them into the Light of the World.