Dragon Energy
Work in progress - Dragon Energy
I’ve been painting a lot of dragons recently.
It started out in April, a dragon figure emerged from the inky splotch of bluey green waves. I thought it to be a seadragon (Phyllopteryx taeniolatus), related to the seahorse family. It appeared from seemingly nowhere on April 16th and has been hanging around ever since.
This week I have been battling the ennui of lockdown, trying to keep my energy up and be experimental. I started making larger paintings inspired by my daily May ink artworks.
I thought of flight and began drawing the shape of dragon wings, outstretched over a landscape. Suddenly the dragon herself came roaring over the hill, its open wings both a shield and protection for the hillside town beneath.
I always thought of this dragon as powerful, yet benevolent. I looked up information about the Chinese dragon mythology and found this in Wikipedia:
Unlike the western Chinese dragon, rumored to be evil and dangerous, the Chinese dragon is said to be kind and noble. He symbolizes divinity, goodness, excellence, power and energy.
It is also important in Taoist belief as a force of creation that holds potential for the future.
Maybe it is because I have been rereading the Dragonflight series of fantasy books by Anne McCaffrey. Maybe it is because this dragon energy is in the air, protecting us and the earth from danger as we have time to reflect on our lives and allow the earth itself time to reset.
Sometimes I feel like I am in a fairytale where time has stood still. The story of Sleeping Beauty where the kingdom was put to sleep for a hundred years and a thorny briar grew up all around it until the prince arrives to awaken the princess with a kiss. There are many such stories in folklore and soon too this time of the pandemic will become history.
As we spend time within our houses and within ourselves, we are in a sense being asked to awaken. To spend our time reimagining a new future of possibilities and connections. To do things differently. To awaken our ‘dragon energy’. To spread our wings, roar at injustice, to become strong and filled with divine goodness.
Seadragon - the one that started it all
Wings - 20 May
Strange postsript: On my internet search for dragon energy references, I found a whole article about a reference to the American President by the (in)famous rapper Kayne West (of Kim Kardashian fame). He said they both “are dragon energy” defining this as natural leaders with instincts and foresight. And even more interesting, this all came out on April 25, not long after my first dragon emerged. Things that make you go hmmmmm……
