Next week we take on the archetype of the inner Dragon with the opening of my Reflections class on the Mythic Characters of the Psyche. As any one who loves research knows, there is no end to what you can learn about a topic any more than there is to what you can learn about a person. That’s a truth that makes life so fascinating. When it comes to dragons, world cultures are abundant with stories. While working on my notes for this class, I became especially intrigued by the difference between how dragon mythologies developed through the centuries in the Western mind versus how the dragon archetype was viewed in the Eastern mind or traditions. The distinction reminded me of the division between the feminine/masculine and right/left brain in some ways in that Western dragons are seen as externally aggressive opponents whereas Eastern dragons are viewed as ferocious protectors. I could easily see that some people have aggressive inner dragons while others have dragons of inner protection. These individuals would never want to slay their dragons. Such an action would leave them feeling far too vulnerable; it would literally be like taking the “dragon-fire” out of their belly. But what if you do want to slay one or more of your dragons? How do you do that? How do you even recognize a dragon? Like Daenerys Targaryen, the Queen from the House Targaryen, she commands dragons that are now threatening to take charge of her. Classic to the myth of dragons, these mythic creatures of power are not our soldiers that we command to defend us when we feel frightened. They cannot be tamed or domesticated. The truth is, there is always the possibility they will turn their fire on us. So how do we approach our inner dragons? That is what we will explore together in class. What fun… myss/CMED/workshops/reflections/series-6.asp
Posted on: Sat, 23 Aug 2014 13:09:04 +0000
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