by @LygiaCabus Ed 2008
published 2023 @BRAZILWEIDNEWS *Youtrick
Dragons are fabulous animals, usually represented as a huge winged serpent that breathes fire through its nostrils.
Its biological type is between the reptile and the saurian (dinosaurs): head with a large crest, powerful horns, huge tusks, thick and knotted leather covering the entire body up to the tail, not infrequently provided with spurs, possibly bone or cartilaginous tissue .
Endowed with extraordinary powers, Dragons' breath is considered poisonous and their blood, when spilled in battle or at the time of death, is equally fatal for anyone hit by liquid splashes.
Reptiles by nature, dragons find comfort in cold, dark, and damp places. Therefore, caves are ideal homes for dragons, in addition to the few lightning and cool, they are easily protected and protected places to store treasures and food reserves.
Hills close to human groups or herds of mammals were the preferred locations for choosing a den.
There are dragons that live in water: seas, lakes, rivers but, preferably, in swamps, like the English “Knuckers” dragons.
(www.kairell.donagh.nom.br - 2005)
In the West, some of the first reports about dragons appear in the Jewish (Bibles) and Greek scriptures.
In Europe, legends about man-eating, fire-breathing or “pestilence-spiting" monsters gained ground in the popular imagination.
The stories tell of threatened cities and villages and of kidnappings of maidens who were cruelly murdered, decapitated or impaled, except when a virtuous knight opportunely intervenes in the situation armed with a magic sword.
One of the most famous heroes to rescue a city and its imprisoned maiden is Saint George, whose victory is interpreted as a victory for Christianity over the forces of Evil.
In Eastern Europe, Dragons are linked to the traditions of the Occult Secret Societies, of those who claimed to be descendants of the ancient Indian Nagas whose representation, the figure of a Dragon or a serpent, means Wisdom, whether used for good or evil. . .
The famous Vlad Tepes, or Dracula, was a member of the Secret Society of Dragons in his region and his nickname “Dracula” means, precisely, Dragon. In this tradition there is a clear association between Dragons and Wisdom, a historical relationship with roots yhay remais in the most remote antiquity.
CHINA
Dragon carved on a tomb, Liao dynasty (916–1125)
Dragons appear in the mythological traditions of almost all people in the world. In the East, Dragons are not necessarily evil. At China, they are very prominent figures. Folk festivals are dedicated to them.
Dragons even symbolize the Chinese people who call themselves "Long De Chuan Ren" (Children of the Dragon).
For the Chinese, the dragon is a mythical and divine creature related to abundance, prosperity and good fortune. Temples and pagodas are built in honor of Dragons and for them incense is burned and prayers are said.
They are the rulers of all agents of the forces of Nature. They live in the waters, fly in the skies and roam the bowels of the Earth and the Oceans; they produce tectonic movements causing earthquakes, seaquakes and tsunamis.
Chinese dragons are classified into nine categories:
1. Horned Dragon (ruler of air),
2. Celestial Dragon, which maintains and protects the abodes of the Gods;
3. Spiritual Dragon, rain generator;
4. Dragon of Hidden Treasures, Guardian of Riches;
5. Serpent Dragon, inhabitant of the waters;
6. Yellow Dragon, also aquatic, which would have presented the legendary emperor Fu Shi with the elements of writing.
The last four are the King Dragons, rulers of the four cardinal points.
"Along with the Unicorn, the Phoenix and the Turtle, it was considered one of the first four animals that helped in the creation of the world. The dragon had the wealth of wisdom and power for victory.
The emperor of China was considered to be descended from a dragon. Chinese scholars carefully categorized dragons by several criteria such as the Cosmic Tasks classification:
Celestial Dragons: These dragons protect the heavens, support the homes of deities, and defend them from decay. Only these dragons had five claws and only the Imperial insignia was allowed to describe them.
Spiritual Dragons: These controlled the climate on which life was dependent. They had to be appeased as they got angry easily. Simple negligence and disasters would follow.
Earth Dragons: These were lords of the rivers, they controlled their flows. Each river had its own dragon that ruled a palace far below the waters.
Underground Dragons: These dragons were guardians of the precious metals and jewels buried in the earth. Each had a large pearl and could multiply anything they touched.
They were also classified by color:
Blue: Omen of Summer
Red and Black: Dragons these cores were dark beasts whose fights caused storms and other natural disasters.
Yellow: These were the luckiest and most developed of the dragons. It could not be dominated, captured or even killed. They only appeared in protected places and only if there was a moral perfection in that ones whose seek him.
Chinese Dragons could take human or beast form if they wished. But, they had a bizarre collection of phobias. They feared iron even being creatures that were seen as masters of such elements and almost divine. Interestingly, they also feared other strange things like centipedes or silk threads.
Japan also had its dragons. Called Tatsu, they were closely related to Chinese Dragons.
Like them, they also had different subtypes, however, they generally only had three claws and were more snake-like."
(www.kairell.donagh.nom.br - 2005)
In Chinese mythology, much older than that of the Jews, there is also a Genesis, an account of Creation, and an Eden. The Chinese Paradise, called the Garden of Wisdom, was inhabited by the "Dragons of Wisdom" (Initiates, Mages).
It was located on the Pamir Plateau, among the highest peaks of the Himalayan mountain range.
There, at the culmination of Central Asia, the Lake of Dragons fed four great rivers: Oxus, Induas, Ganges and Silo; Therefore, the Lake is called "Dragon with Four Mouths".
The Buddhist movement of the Great Vehicle (Skt. Mahayana) emerged at India around the 2nd century.
This movement is based on several texts that were recorded from speeches (Sansk sutras) given by Buddha Shakyamuni himself (6th century BC) and then preserved in the kingdom of the nagas — water dragons with a serpent body and a human head — until that the disciples become able to receive them.
One of these people capable of receiving the Mahayana teachings would have been the Indian monk Nagarjuna (2nd-3rd century), whose works originate from the philosophical school of the Middle Way (Skt. Madhyamaka).
Nagarjuna did not intend to create a philosophy, but rather to elucidate the teachings of the Discourses on the Perfection of Wisdom (Skt. Prajnaparamita Sutra), a set of Mahayana texts that he would have received directly from the nagas. IN DHARMANET
"Mystics see, by intuition, in the serpent of Genesis, an animal emblem and a high spiritual essence; a cosmic source of super-intelligence, a great fallen light, a sidereal spirit, aerial and telluric at the same time, 'whose influence surrounds the globe' (qui circumambulat terram - De Mirville) ... and which only manifests itself in the physical aspect that best matches its moral and intellectual sinuosities, that is, the form of a snake. ...In all languages, at ancient ages, the word dragon had the same meaning as the Chinese word "long" or - 'the being that excels in intelligence'. In Greek, drakon is "the one who sees and watches." BLAVATSKY, 2003 - p 228
Cave painting representing a Pterodactyl, dated millennia old, belonging to the Black Dragon Wash culture, from Utah - USA.
In Black Dragon Wash, Utah, this ancient and evolved culture left on the rocks artistic representations of a Pterodactyl, the fearsome winged beast of Prehistory (antediluvian), a fact that could unequivocally attest to its immense antiquity.
IN Fantastic Domains
SCIENCE & THEOSOPHY:
THE HIDDEN FACE OF DRAGONS
Researchers from different areas, geologists, archaeologists or theosophists, who defend the hypotheses of a more ancient origin for the human species, admit that a transition period may have occurred in which human beings lived with saurians or large reptiles.
The theosopher H.P. Blavatsky wrote, in her Secret Doctrine (2003), citing the naturalist Curvier:
"If there is something that can prove the existence of hydras and other monstrosities whose figures were so often reproduced by historians of the Middle Ages, this something is indisputably the plesiosaur." Globo Revolution. vol V - pg. 247
The existence of Dragons, as prehistoric animals, contemporary to an archaic human race, can still be contested, but their reality as a cultural element, their character as a powerful symbol present in the popular imagination and in religious allegories around the world is a undeniable fact. Rich in semiotic content, the Dragon sometimes represents good, sometimes evil.
He is the monster that terrifies mortals, he is the opponent of God and men in the book of Revelation, the ally of Black Magic, the kidnapper of medieval maidens; but it is also a symbol of wisdom, physical strength, power, protection and good fortune.
This seemingly multifaceted character of dragons is the result of millennia of syncretism between cultures around the world.
The dragon's evil appearance is most notable in the West, where it has been associated with the figure of the Devil on account of its "appearances" in Christian scriptures.
The dragon is also supposed to be the monster Leviatan, one of the most enigmatic creatures mentioned in Genesis. In the apocryphal gospels, in Bartholomew, he appears submissive and, before Christ and the apostles, confesses his evil deeds.
Other references to the diabolical dragon are the clashes with the Archangel Michael and Saint George. In the apocryphal gospel of Bartholomeu, the "enemy of men" is described thus:
Belial ascended, imprisoned by 6,064 angels and bound with chains of fire. The dragon was one thousand six hundred cubits high and forty cubits wide. His face was like burning ember and his eyes were dark. A foul-smelling smoke came out of his nose, and his mouth was like the face of a cliff...
Bartholomeu then went and stamped on his neck, which he had hidden up to his ears, saying to him:
— Tell me who you are and what your name is... Belial replied:
— At first he called me Satanail , which means messenger of God but since I did not recognize the image of God, my name was changed to Satan, which means guardian angel of Tartar.
IN THE GOSPEL OF BARTHOLOMEU
[Apocryphal. AT https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3aEvjlB8bw]
The folklore involving Dragons guarding treasure is a popular adaptation for the Guardian Dragons of Eden, Guardians of the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.
In ancient Hebrew books, dragons may be saw the Cherubim appointed by the Creator to defend Paradise.
These angels are described in the Book of Enoch with a zoomorphic appearance, equipped with multiple wings, flaming swords and a zoomorphic face, between man and dragon.
They are, therefore, guardians of Wisdom and still harbor other meanings: they represent the creative cosmic energy, eternity and the Cosmos itself coiled upon itself, a circle of serenity that when awakened in whirlwinds, unfolds its spirals in infinity, manifesting - in all things that exist in the Universe.
The image of the Dragon associated with wisdom contains a profound message. The image says that Wisdom is not related to any type of weakness.
There is no conflict between strength, power and happiness, good fortune, compassion and common sense. The original sign, conceived at unsuspected times in human history, refers to Psychic Regeneration and Immortality.
Hermes considered the serpent the most spiritual of all beings.
Jesus admitted the Serpent as endowed with Wisdom and one of his teachings said: "Be cunning as the serpent."
LEMINISCATO, THE OUROBOROS
Many peoples, nations, tribes symbolized the “Spirit of God” in the form of a burning serpent that hovers above - or is immersed in - the primordial waters until the day of awakening, when it expands through the verb (thought) taking the form of leminiscato, the serpent that bites its own tail, representation of the Universe, Eternity, Infinity in a spherical form (or circular, depending on the conception of the general structure of this world) of the celestial bodies. BLAVATSKY, 2001 - p. 131
by @LygiaCabus Ed 2008
published 2023 @BRAZILWEIDNEWS *Youtrick
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BLAVATSKY, Helena Petrovna. Edéns, serpentes e dragões.
Em A doutrina secreta – vol. III, Antropogênese.
_________________________________ O resplandecente dragão da sabedoria.
_________________________________ O cisne, símbolo do raio divino.
Em A doutrina secreta – vol. Eu, Cosmogênese. São Paulo: Pensamento, 2001.
Enciclopédia BARSA. São Paulo: Britânica/Melhoramentos, 1961.
DOMÍNIOS FANTÁSTICOS. Misteriosas Américas . Acessado em novembro de 2007.
ELFWOOD Ilustrações. Artes Plásticas em Realismo Fantástico . Acessado em maio de 2005.
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O dragão chinês . Em York – Reino Unido. Acessado em maio de 2005.
