Have you ever taken a moment and stepped away from the breakneck speed of life today, and pondered something utterly off the wall? Perhaps there are all kinds of amazing things to work though, think about and resolve and yet, sometimes, it is good to consider something else that does not necessarily have an answer. So, lets create something.
Think back, close your eyes and imagine that you are back in the time of King Arthur, part of the Chinese Royal Court or a member of the Inca or Mayan Empires. Imagine that you are the brave knight or warrior who must save a damsel, emperor or high priest from the dangers of a fire-breathing, human-hungry, foul-smelling dragon. You must face a menacing creature that lives in some type of damp, dark, dangerous cave. Lots of brave fellows who have come before you have failed. Part of you thinks this is pretty much a no-win situation but life is pretty short in these times anyway, so the rewards from a grateful ruler are worth the effort, so you give it a try.
Your exploits become the stuff of legends: local folklore is now based on your adventures. Even though the dragon was victorious, you will now live forever in the hearts and minds of brave warriors everywhere: right, you and that poor sacrificial virgin, together for eternity.
Legends, whatever we may think we believe, are basically founded on some level of truth. The facts of the past are often difficult to verify, but the basics of the stories are handed down for centuries. So the question becomes: whatever became of dragons? Dragons, and legends of dragons have existed throughout ancient history in virtually every culture on this planet, including Europe, China, South East Asia, as well as Central and South America. There are dragon legends in Scandinavia, Africa, and Babylonia as well. Pretty busy creatures, those dragons!
The legends universally tell of great heroes fighting terrifying, fire-breathing dragons, all covered with vicious horns and fearsome scale covered tales. Dragons have bulging eyes and flaring nostrils. Every single dragon legend indicates that the Dragons of the past could breathe fire.
However, the curious aspect of the ancient stories is the fact that in all this time, among all the archeological digs and discoveries of all of history, not one dragon skeleton has ever been discovered. The images, drawings and paintings depict creatures that do not resemble dinosaurs, because dragons are not prehistoric. Dragons are unique in body structure and the really curious aspect is that the global depiction of dragons is utterly consistent, no matter where you go. There has never been anything quite like them uncovered anywhere in the world, yet the word ‘dragon’ exists, the legends persist and the daily references to dragons refuse to desist.
No one anywhere can provide tangible proof that dragons ever existed yet global legends say that they did. How can the imaginations of all the people of all of these cultures be so consistent in dragon characteristics, if they were not all describing the same thing because that is exactly what they saw? What did they see and where did these ‘dragons’ go?
Even the Metaphysical Community and the Catholic Church use a resin, aptly called Dragon’s Blood, as if the magic concepts of old are still operable today. Burn Dragon’s Blood resin/incense and a spiritually powerful white smoke comes up. The concept of the power of a dragon’s blood literally persists to this day.
Were ‘fire-breathing’ dragons alien spacecraft? Were they weapons of war by alien cultures used to terrify local populations? No one knows and few people speculate. We accept that dragons existed but we can’t prove it. Sometimes we believe that things exist but we can’t prove it and it does not necessarily make any of us crazy. Sometimes we can look into the past at what we believed and somehow we just adopt it too.
Maybe the symbolism that dragons offer, which can be positive or negative, still impacts us. What we believe helps to define us. Maybe this is just a fun topic to open conversation doors or maybe some day, someone will provide an answer to the legends of dragons. In the meantime, what a fascinating topic to ponder!
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