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Dragons:bits and peices

Dragons

Legends and Facts .

This book deals with the dragon, its myths, its environments, its abilities, and every other facet there is as it is portrayed throughout history and throughout the world. . .

Dragons - true dragons, and yes they do exist - are intelligent, educated, gentle, fierce, and very admirable creatures. Within these pages you will find legends, lore, descriptions, pictures, characteristics, and more. It is presented to give a better understanding of what these creatures were and what they are. Dragons can be found throughout the myths and legends of the world, spanning thousands of years. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes, live in a variety of environments, and have a variety of specialties. In magick, the dragon is most commonly associated with fire, however there are also water and earth dragons. Dragons are not commonly found on earth in this day and age but they do exist with us. They can be contacted though it is difficult to build the trust between human and dragon. In WhiteRose's Book of Shadows you will soon find methods to make contact. . .

Physiology . Although they are reptiles, dragons are homoiothermic, or warm blooded. This allows them to adapt to the variety of environments that they encounter within their territories. As mentioned earlier, dragons are generally split into three categories: Earth, Water, and Fire. Earth dragons are then subdivided into Land and Air. Dragons of the air have the stereotypical wings (like in DragonHeart). Dragons of the land can take on a variety of appearances. Some have small, unusable wings; some have no wings and are very snake-like with short stumpy legs (such as the common portrayal of Asian dragons); and some have the basic body of an air dragon but without the wings. Water dragons are basically snake-like. The fire dragon is commonly called a salamander and as thus is similar in appearance but it too may have wings. . Dragons have a rather lengthy life span. Depending on the species a dragon can live to be 100 to 1,000 years. They are susceptible to illness, but they are few in number. Each species have illnesses specific to it. Unlike most living things, the dragon's leading cause of death is not old age but rather death comes from its only predator: humans. Disease is the second biggest killer, but it is also rare. At this point in time, dragons are very rare as they were nearly hunted to extinction in the dark ages. .

Circle Casting Dragon Style Cameron Mandrake

I just thought I'd drop a note on the traditional Dragon Tradition Circle casting. The circle is cast with the Blade, the Cup and the Censor. The Priest starts with the Blade in the north and draws the boundary of the circle. As he does he recites "I tread this Path for the Elements, that which comprises all that we see."

The HPS takes to sprinkling the boundaries with the Cup filled with salted water. She recites "I tread this Path for Self, a reflection of the Divine."

The HP then takes the censor and carries the smoke to the boundaries of the circle in a deosil direction. He recites "I tread this Path for Spirit, that which unites all things."

The HP or HPS then state the charge of our Circle. It is as follows.

"Our Circle is a place where hearts and minds can meet and share in the wonder and empowerment of a living and loving Goddess. We are a coven of friends, but above all things we are Family. Our Love and our Magick binds us together and our Circle keeps us and nurtures us. We are blessed. Blessed Be!"

The Dragon Guardians are then invoked.

EAST

Mighty Dragon, Guardian of the realms of the East. Your tongue is a sharp sword, cutting with the knowledge of the arcane. Your spirit flows as graceful as a swift in flight. Purify us with truth. Blessed Be.

SOUTH

Mighty Dragon, Guardian of the realms of the South, your breath is aflame with the fires of inspiration and passion. Your spirit is searing and fervent. Purify us with Love. Blessed Be.

WEST

Mighty Dragon, Guardian of the realms of the West, your coils are the cleansing healing waves that nurture the soul. Your spirit lunges, leaps and splashes like a Talbot at play. Purify us with pulsing tides. Blessed Be.

NORTH

Mighty Dragon, Guardian of the realms of the North, your talons run like roots into the earth, giving you infinite strength. Your spirit is substantial, hard and pure like a clear crystal. Purify us with persistent wisdom. Blessed Be.

Each of these Dragons has a secret name that they are also invoked with. A suggestion is that anyone using these invocations meditate to find an appropriate name for each Guardian and use it along with or instead of the words "Mighty Dragon".

I find that the Circle charge sets the mood for the Circle and I change it to suit the situation. If anyone has ideas for a Circle charge, I'd like to hear them. I have a number of Circle charges that I use but fresh ones always are nice. Blessed Be. Cameron Mandrake

. Historical Descriptions of Dragons

Tales of The Dragon In India . "Africa produces elephants, but it is India that produces the largest, as well as the dragon, who is perpetually at war with the elephant, and is itself of so enormous a size, as easily to envelop the elephants with its folds, and encircle them in its coils. The contest is equally fatal to both; the elephant, vanquished falls to the earth, and by its weight crushes the dragon which is entwined around it.*" . *Pliny's Natural History, Book viii., chap. xi, translated by J. Bostock and H.T. Riley; Bohn, London, 1885. . .. Dragon Tales From Herodotus . " The frankincense they procure by means of the gum styrax, which the Greeks get from the Phoenicians. This they burn, and thereby obtain the spice; for the trees which bear the frankincense are guarded by winged serpents, small in size, and of various colors, whereof vast numbers hang about every tree. They are of the same kind as the serpents that invade Egypt, and there is nothing but the smoke of the styrax which will drive them from the trees.*" . "the Arabians say that the whole world would swarm with these serpents, if they were not kept in check, in the way in which I know that vipers are." "Now with respect to the vipers and the winged snakes of Arabia, if they increased as fast as their nature would allow, impossible were if for man to maintain himself upon the earth. Accordingly, it is found that when the male and female come together, at the very moment of impregnation the female seizes the male by the neck, and having once fastened cannot be brought to leave go till she has bit the neck entirely through, and so the male perishes; but after a while he is avenged upon the female by means of the young, which, while still unborn, gnaw a passage through the womb and then through the belly of their mother. Contrariwise, other snakes, which are harmless, lay eggs and hatch a vast number of young. Vipers are found in all parts of the world, but the winged serpents are nowhere seen except in Arabia, where they are all congregated together; this makes them appear so numerous.**" . " I went to a certain place in Arabia, almost exactly opposite the city of Buto, to make inquiries concerning the winged serpents. On my arrival I saw the back-bones and ribs of serpents in such numbers as it is impossible to describe; of the ribs there were a multitude of heaps, some great, some small, some middle-sized. The place where the bones lie is at the entrance of a narrow gorge between the steep mountains, which there open upon a spacious plain communicating with the great plains of Egypt. The story goes, that the spring the snakes come flying from Arabia towards Egypt, but are met in this gorge by the birds called ibises, who forbid their entrance and destroy them all. The Arabians assert, and the Egyptians also admit, that it is on account of the service thus rendered that the Egyptians hold the ibis in so much reverence.***" . Herodotus describes the winged serpents as being "shaped like the water-snake, and states that its wings are not feathered, but resemble very closely those of the bat.****" .

** Herodotus, Book iii. chap. cviii.

*** Herodotus, Book ii., chap. lxxv.