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Here we demonstrate the different perceptions of dragons around the world and back in time, to help you understand the evolution of the dragon symbolism. Our main focus is the teaching of techniques to improve yourself, found in the "practices" section, so we simply resume the different mythologies.

Either good or evil, a dragon is always powerful. Every mythology used the dragon to picture some form of active power. Not all appreciate the symbol it represents, where some consider it to be a god of great wisdom. Here we wish to summarize the different views and usage of the dragon in the most popular mythologies. You will notice that the oriental has a better opinion of dragons then the occidental.

The dragon is often a great reptile with wings. Some times inspiring, other times frightening, it is always fascinating. It is ferocious, destructive, wise, protective, many aspects altogether. It is for many a symbol of the universal order, the cycle of life and it’s ever continuation.

Mythologies of the world

The Ouroboros is a dragon or serpent that bites it’s own tale, making a circle to represent the infinite continuation of things. It represents the regeneration following destruction.

For the Nordic people, the earth was surrounded by an agitated see. This infinite ocean was the domain of the World-Dragon, an ancient force of chaos. The god Thor battled with it for many ages until he successfully capture him in the battle of Ragnarok, using a beef’s head as a bait to attrack the chaotic dragon.

The Celtics tell a legend of dragons fighting each other, rendering all sterile around them. The King Llud defeated both of them by making them drunk from delicious hydromel, and killed them in their weakened sleep.


In ancient Greece, the dragon Python represents the powers of the telluric energies. The god Appolon defeated the dragon in battle, and killing him, fixed his energy in the city of Delphi, thought to be the center of the world at that time.

The Aztec people prayed the goddess of earth, Coatlicue. She was wearing a skirt made out of snakes. She had a human body and two heads of dragon to represent the good and evil forces of nature. She is a statement of the superiority of natural forces over human power.

In Egypt, the dragon Apopis, lord of night and chaos, attacked Râ, god of the light and the Sun. Râ wins the battle each time the sun rises and Apopis has to go back in the darkness where he comes from.


The imperial dragon of ancient Egypt is the symbol of the god Osiris, lord of the dead and the hells. It is him who made the Nil overflow each year, so that the people could again make good harvest of their dried out fields.

Dragons often live beneath the earth or deep in the ocean. Many traditions associate them to the evil forces because they live in darkness. It is the devil for Christians and he must not have access to their hearts and thoughts. He is powerful, yet unknown, and people usually are more afraid from the unknown than from a well known threat.

St-Micheal is said to be at the head of the celestial army that defeated Satan in the shape of a dragon with seven heads, incarnation of the seven original sins of the Christian philosophy.

The great legend of the Holy Grail is closely linked to the Great Dragon, the power that is everywhere. The king Uter Pendragon, dreamed of a great red dragon, and inspired him to hold the symbol of the red dragon to lead his battles. He passed this symbol to his son, king Arthur, with the help of the great mage Merlin.

Dragons of orient

For the oriental elders, the dragon is the combination of the four elements. It lives in the earth or in the water, it flies and it breaths fire. It is considered that the energies of the dragon is there before any natural even, from the revitalizing rain to the disastrous typhoon.

For the Hindu, the giant dragon Vasuki, with it’s multiple heads, is twisted around Mount Mandara. He is agitating the oceans and creator of the Sun, the Moon, and the elixir of immortality.

In Japan, the dragon called Tatsu is the turbulence in nature. He is fighting with the tiger that represents the physical aspect of nature.

In china, the dragons define the shapes of nature and the environment. The Chinese dragons are always violent and powerful, but never evil. He the energies of the Sun and the Earth at the same time. A blue dragon is said to protect the house of the gods. The emperors of ancient china where said to be the incarnation of the dragon Yu. The ground is said to be crossed all over by the “lines of the dragons”, powerful energy lines flowing through the earth.

The celestial dragons have 5 fangs, while the earthly dragons have only 4. 5 is the number of spirituality and eternity, while 4 is the number of the earth and the flow of time. Many dragons hold a pearl in their fangs. For the Buddhists, this pearl is the access to wisdom of spiritual illumination. There are also great stories of dragons in the Buddhist teachings.