If I could have any pet in the entire Universe, it would be a…DRAGON! As a teen and young adult, I read all of Anne McCaffrey’s Pern books and spent many hours sketching dragons during “boring” lectures. I imagined riding at great speed on dragon backs and wrote poems and stories about my own dragon friends. As I became older, my focus turned to business and the outside world and my dragons “disappeared” into the background.
I discovered that dragons have played an important part in history all over the world. In the east, the dragon is a symbol of strength and good fortune. Children born in the year of the Dragon are considered to be specially blessed and destined to do special things.
The Ming Emperors built the Great Wall of China along a line where a great dragon is supposed to be sleeping. It apparently worked, because China remained unconquered for hundreds of years after the wall was completed. Even today, when building a house in China you might have the chi master come and determine where on your property the dragon sleeps. That’s where you want to build your house.
In Japan, the enchanted sword, Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi (The Grasscutter Blade) sprang from the tail of Yamata-no-Orochi, the eight headed dragon, when the god Susa-no-o killed the dragon to save Kushinada-hime, the princess with whom the god had fallen in love. According to legend, the sword from the dragon’s tail has been passed from Emperor to Emperor to this very day.
In the western world, the dragon has represented both evil and good. To the English, St George is a national hero. Every school child knows how George slew the dragon. And St George’s day is a holiday where children go to school in fancy dress (that’s costumes for us Americans) and hold a medieval style pageant.
Fairy tales told of evil dragon’s who ate children for breakfast and guarded vast treasures. Heroic Knights were able to kill them or trick them into giving away their treasures. But some dragons were wise and helpful if a knight could get up enough courage to ask a question or was smart enough to listen to what the great beast said.
Many countries have chosen to be represented by the Dragon. Henry Tudor (VII) brought the red Welsh dragon to prominence when he took the crown of England
and the flag of Richard III was blazoned with three golden dragons. In modern day, the flags of Bhutan and Wales carry dragons, as well as the flags of many of the world’s rulers. Emperors, Monarchs, Barons and Earls all want the strength of the dragon to represent them.
My love of dragons waned over the years, but never really went away. In the eighties and nineties, any movie with a dragon in it got me into the theater. Some were great, others were barely worth the time and money. But in the last ten years, my dragon friends have reasserted themselves.
Christopher Paolini wrote Eragon and I was totally hooked again. (As a writer, I decided not to go see the movie because it would ruin the image of that world I had held in my head for so many years.) Shows from companies as wide ranging as animation studios to the History Channel have focused on dragons.
At a local swap meet, I “accidentally” found four dragon friends who just had to come home with me.
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And when I got mauled by my insane Bengal Cat, who turned out to be the perfect tattoo to cover the scar that went all the way around my leg? A dragon of course.
Every so often they appear in my dreams. Hmmm. Maybe it’s time for me to pull out that tale about a dragon shape shifter I started a few years ago.
Tell me about your experiences with dragons (real or fictional) and I’ll enter you in this week’s contest to win this Medieval style Dragon Pendant and Celtic Dragon Bookmark.
Hanna
I, too, have always loved Dragons. So much so, that I ended up writing a short story that featured a Dragon. She won't reveal her "true" name, but has plenty of stories to tell.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth
Ah, dragons! Love them. I spent many a night under the blankets with my flashlight flying and traveling "between" with McCaffrey's dragons and fire-lizards. I love Paolini and also Lackey for their tales of dragon filled worlds.
ReplyDeleteI have also had the privilege of reading Elizabeth's dragon short-story and hope there is more of it forthcoming..... Hint, hint.
Wow - Those are really cool. I've got ...somewhere in a packed box... some dragon and magician figurines from the San Francisco Music Box company.
ReplyDeleteI have so many of those collectible dragons. Wicks & Sticks used to be my favorite place and I always found wonderful dragons there.
ReplyDeleteI too am a dragon lover! Plus I was fortunate to be born beneath the year of the fire dragon * does a dance *
ReplyDeleteI've only attempted to draw a dragon once... but they are quite difficult to do, and it was for a friend's character.
As for knick-knacks, I have four fiber optics (one is one of those electric balls),lamp, statues, daggers, pictures, a small little pewter statuette, dragon plague that states "Go Away" and dragon tarot cards (I searched long and hard for them. It was the only tarot I wanted.)
The last place I lived, the hubby allowed me to have the living room in a dragon motiff. He found a bunch of dragon pictures, traced them on the walls, and I had to paint them. My curtains there was green with fire.
But I love my dragon things. I really liked Mercedes Lackey's Dragon Jouster books, and Deborah Cooke's Dragonfire and Allyson James's dragon series.
Two or three friends of mine once created a role playing world about a dragon-human hybrid people.
I love the dragon also. I really got started into dragons with my collection of oriental pieces. I enjoy dragon series books also.
ReplyDeleteI love your post on this. You did a good job with the history and every thing. I have a Gift store called The Mystical Gift Shop, and right now I'm just geeting started. Don't have a hole lot in their right now but will soon. I was wondering if you would be willing to add me to you link list. It would be greatly appreciated.
ReplyDeleteYeah I like this a lot. I love Eragon so much. Saphira is my soul mate. I'm not sure if I'm joking. And it's a great thing you did not see the movie. They MESSED IT UP AND DIDN'T MAKE ANY SEQUELS. I love dragons so much, I believe they exist, or at least used to, you know what I mean? I even have scientifical proof that they were actually here on Earth. DRAGON LOVERS UNITE!!!!
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