Common Themes, East & West:

Dragons & Serpents

Ouroboros from 1760
(Tail-swallowing Serpent, symbol of time and eternity)
Alexander Roob's The Hermetic Museum Alchemy & Mysticism, page 402.
(Slightly modified by the C.G. Jung Institute of Los Angeles
& negativized by me)

http://www.umass.edu/umext/snake/myth.html

This brief but lively University of Massachusetts site by Scott Jackson and Peter Mirick looks at ancient serpent mythology as well as at modern snake "myths."  The authors look at the positive, healing aspects of serpent mythology as well as at the fear and negativity surrounding these creatures.

This page by Soror Ourania looks at the mythology of the naga (Sanskrit for "serpent") in various cross-cultural contexts.  The essay is brief, some of the data is shaky (e.g., linguistic connections), but it's nevertheless an interesting site.

This page from Jennifer Walker's charming "Here Be Dragons!" site retells Greek, Norse, German, British, Native American, and Ethiopian myths of dragons.  She also includes excellent related links to many of these tales.

This interesting little page by Chris Witcombe looks at the energy flow underlying European and Asian stories of dragon and dragon-killers.  He writes:

The power or energy of the lung-mei, or dragon current...has been represented visually by the image of the dragon. The dragon is a familiar image in China, and also figures prominently in one form or another in the legends of many cultures around the world. Frequently, these legends tell of the killing of the dragon, which is a vital part of a cycle of birth and death and the re-animation and fertilization of the earth.

The site is illustrated and offers several excellent, related links at the end.

This is another illustrated page by Chris Witcombe in which he looks more deeply at geomancy, Feng Shui, and the lung-mei, or dragon-current.  A long list of useful Feng Shui sites is included at the end.

This site, "Riding the Wind: Dragon Style Gung Fu," looks at Chinese martial arts -- especially one style of Gung Fu -- as a form of dragon-energy.  It's detailed, well written, and I found it fascinating.  [Note: if this link breaks, try their home page at http://www.shaolin.com and click on "Styles," then "Dragon."]

This site explores the Chinese astrological sign of the Dragon. Unfortunately, the style is strictly "pop culture."  [For those interested, more detailed astrology sites are listed under my Star Lore page.]

This is a brief, descriptive, illustrated essay on the symbolic role of the dragon as it appears on the Vietnamese Coat of Arms.  (Also included here are the three other creatures on the Coat of Arms: the unicorn, tortoise, and phoenix.)

Serpent
Lithuanian artist, Sigitas Mickevicius (1962- )
120x95, oil on canvas, 1995
[Courtesy of Kukas Gallery,Vilnius, Lithuania: Link updated 9/16/00]

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Oracle/2810/zaltys.html

From the Lithuanian website, "Sacred Serpent" (see below for direct URL), comes this fascinating, carefully researched page by Vilija Witte on the mythology of the harmless grass-serpent, or zaltys, revered for its kindness and healing powers in the Baltic region of northern Europe.

This is the haunting and powerful Baltic tale of Egle, Queen of Serpents.  (It comes from the same "Sacred Serpent" site as the above essay -- here is a direct link to its home page:  http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Oracle/2810. Click on the opening illustration for further information as well as related articles.  I have doubled listed this site, and annotated it more fully, on my Baltic page under Lithuania. Note: these are Geocities sites, which means there will be intrusive pop-up "banners" on each page -- look for the "x" in the top right corner, click on it, and the ad will vanish.)

This is another page from Jennifer Walker's "Here Be Dragons!" site.  This time she looks at many films on dragons, commenting on each plot.  She has a good eye for illustrations and offers useful related links for each film.

[Added 24 January 2000]: These are terrific "interactive" animated stories on Asian & European dragons -- the eight little "chapters" each take a few minutes to load, but they're worth the wait (you can choose versions with or without sound).  [This is double listed on my Lunar New Year 2000 page.]

Animal Guides
Creation Myths
Crones & Sages
Dragons & Serpents
Earth Goddesses & Gods
Floods, Storms, Rainbows, & Other Weather Wonders

Added Summer 2000:
Weather-Working Introduction
An experimental, on-going ritual in cyberspace

Food: Sacrality & Lore  [Forthcoming]
Green Men
Landscape: Sacrality & Lore   (Mountains, Wells, Springs, Pools, Lakes, Caves, Labyrinths, Spiral Mounds, Crop Circles, Stone Circles, Feng Shui)
Music
Nature Spirits of the World
Rituals of Puberty
Sacred Theatre, Dance & Ritual
Shamanism
Sky Goddesses & Gods
Star Lore & Astrology
Symbols, Signs, & Runes: [Forthcoming]
Time (Calendars, Clocks, Natural Temporal Cycles, Attitudes toward Time, & Millennium Issues)
Trees & Plant Lore
Tricksters, Clowns, Magicians, Jesters & Fools
Weaving Arts & Lore (Cosmic Webs, Spinning, Spindles, Clothing)

 

Down to Geographical Regions: Africa

To Lunar New Year 5 February 2000 The Year of the Dragon

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Please note that I cannot help with homework but if you have comments or suggestions, please email me at jenks7@webcom.com

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Copyright 1998, 1999, 2000 by Kathleen Jenks, Ph.D.
Latest Updates:
30 May 1999; 24 January 2000; 16 September 2000 (updates + checked all links).