Dragons; The Beast of the Psyche
It was at this moment, that she had to choose between the seen and the unseen. True to her nature, she chose the unseen.
About two years ago, I came across the work of Joseph Campbell. I was watching an old interview of his on youtube, where he was talking about the framework behind stories and reality. The way fairytales, and mythical creatures link with real life are things I find myself thinking about often whenever I think about story writing. What caught my attention during that interview was when he started talking about the symbolism of Dragons, and the way they represent the human mind.
If you’ve read my first blog post Write Your Dragons Out, you’d know that I spoke a little bit about all of that, and the way the Dragon is a mirror of the hero himself, hoarding, protecting everything that he unconsciously doesn’t want to face. In the blog post, I spoke about becoming brave enough to slay the Dragon, and to slay the part of us that is afraid of the unknown.
However in today’s piece of writing, I wanted to go deeper into the mind of the Dragon. To explore everything that makes up such a beautiful, and yet terrifying beast. What better way to explore this fantastical beast, than through the world of a story…
The Woman and the Dragon
It was dark, and the breeze was getting colder, she was at the point where her feet grew blisters where the straps of her braided sandals rubbed against her skin with each step. On her way home, the path below her grew rugged, it feels like it’s been years since she left the apothecary. A woman at your state should not leave and seek help alone, not at a time like this, they said. A woman who is determined, cannot be stopped, even at a time like this, she thought. Vials of herbal blends clinked in her right pocket with her steps. She used her hands leaning her weight on rocks and tree trunks, anything she could hold onto to press her forward on her path. Just a little while left, she thought to herself. But it’s only a matter of time until, the muscles of her legs and hips grew tired, and her swollen belly grew heavier, releasing waves of lightning through her abdomen. As she began to step into a cave along her path, she looked up at the sky, anxiety furrowing her brows. She bit her bottom lip, took a deep breath and a soft blink, releasing a single tear. Giving up everything over to the great unknown, she knew it was happening, and it was going to happen now.
She sat in surrender against the walls of the dark cave she’d usually be scared of, but not this time. This time she could only focus her energy on one thing, and that is to deliver her baby in a healthy manner as best as she could, no matter the circumstances. Little did she know, the cave she chose for isolation, had been the home of a beast she only heard about in stories growing up. With every wave, she roared, and leaned her sacrum on the walls behind her attempting to soothe her aching back. Reaching into her pocket, she heard a thunderous breath coming from the inside of the cave. Shuddering in fear she turned her attention towards the noise, only to be faced with the rising silhouette of a Dragon. The glass containers slipped from her grip, shattering across the ground below her. A part of her knew the secrets of the unseen, the other part of her paused in surprise by what stood before her.
Closing her eyes she remembered, the strength blessed upon her body to grow a human child. She remembered the beast within her, able to keep her young protected by faith, come peace or chaos. Behind her closed eyes, she is a Dragon, a solid, unafraid vessel of infinite possibilities waiting to be birthed into the world. However, reality was too much to bear through the lens of her eyes. Facing the beast in the body of a birthing woman felt physically impossible. It was at this moment, that she had to choose between the seen and the unseen. True to her nature, she chose the unseen.
She shared her space, unafraid of what the Dragon could be capable of doing, after all she was an unwelcome trespasser. She chose to maintain her focus on her most important goal. Choosing to ignore her surroundings, and face her fear with a faithful heart.
The thunderous breathing began to draw closer, a part of her doubting if this could be the end of everything at once. The Dragon caved around her using it’s left wing closing off the entrance of the cave. Still, she stayed strong. The woman felt an energy shift. Could it be? She thought, could the Dragon be helping me? She continued. She could not believe what was happening before her eyes, the cold air stayed out with the help of the Dragon’s wings, encouraging a warm environment for her new baby to be welcomed into. Hot air flowed out of it’s nostrils, encouraging the herbal blend’s aroma to fill the air with smell of lavender, softening the woman’s system. Slowly, the aches across her back began to disappear, the tension across her body began to soften, the smell of lavender flowed through her, calming her mind, body and soul. She looked up at the dense cave walls, contentment like a salve beneath her brows, her lips softly curling up at the edges, she took a deep breath and a soft blink, releasing a single tear. Expressing her deep gratitude to the great unknown.
A vessel between the seen and the unseen, she bellowed in surrender, strongly welcoming life into the world. The cry of her child echoed her thoughts all the way back, through every step of her baby’s growth within her. Every step of her journey from maiden to mother. Looking over to her right, the Dragon sat curled up by the entrance of the cave. She lovingly smiled as a thank you, from one living being to another. When she noticed a reflection in its relaxed eyes that caught her attention. It was when she looked over to her left, towards the belly of the cave, she understood. Four eggs, laid cuddled up in a nest made up of layers and layers of scarlet vines, and burnt pieces of tree bark. It was only a matter of time when she heard the faint sound of the lightning spark across one of the eggs, beginning to crack its shell. Looking back at the Dragon she stood up, now was her time to go. Ripping the top layer of her scarlet stained dress, she wrapped her baby in warmth. She took one last look at the portal of wonders, held her cuddled baby close enough to her chest, and made her way back home.
Before writing this blog post, I kept wondering how I was going to be able to link everything that makes up a Dragon in a way that didn’t feel confusing or too much to digest at once. The thing is, through the studies of Joseph Campbell I was able to learn that Dragons represent the unconscious mind. He was able to make that link through the studies of Carl Jung who is best known for his curiosity when it comes to the subconscious mind. According to Jungian psychology, Dragons represent the archetype of the Mother, which further links Dragons to the essence of the feminine energy which is, the unknown.
A while ago I was inspired to intentionally live in my feminine energy, and when I say that, I don’t only mean within the realm of girly things. I mean living with a more laid back mindset, approaching life in a way that felt more mentally soft. During that time, I was having a talk about this to one of my teachers when she told me something interesting I felt was really fitting to today’s topic, which is why I brought this up. She said, to live in your feminine energy means being fully unafraid of the unknown.
Through the tales that Campbell studied, he was able to see that the hero slaying the Dragon was a representation of when we slay the part of ourselves resisting change, in order for us to grow into new versions of who we are. However, after learning about the Dragon’s link to the mother archetype, and that link to the feminine energy, I felt like, what if we approached our inner Dragons by the way of a mother? Instead of approaching it with intensity, what would happen if we faced it with a more nurturing energy? What if we gained the Dragon’s trust, instead of slaying it before it could even speak for itself? What if we sat with ourselves, dissected our minds, and understood the way we are, to move forward onto new versions of ourselves, birthing our highest potential in a way where we can be proud of all the parts that made us who we are today? Trust is the only way we can live in harmony with the unknown. With a relaxed state of mind that felt mentally soft.
I was going to talk more about the story of the Woman and the Dragon. I could go on and on exploring the different layers that make up this story, but since I wanted to dedicate this piece of writing specifically to what Dragons represent in general, I feel like this is a good place to stop, at least for now. After all, an unexplored story leaves room for the unknown, and with that comes the endless amount of possibilities.
