Dragons have been around for as long as there have been humans. Our ancestors, having seen the bones of what we now understand as dinosaurs, could very well been the precursor of the mythology. Or perhaps there really were dragons. They do, after, all appear in almost every civilization on Earth. And, as we've been told, every legend contains a seed of truth.
Being a fan of Occum's Razor myself, I prefer the straightforward theory that dragon bones are actually the relics of dinosaurs that died long ago. However, I am open minded enough to understand dragons as archetypes or, perhaps they are residual energy from dinosaurs. Or, if you would like to go the Carl Jung route, perhaps they are archetypes of our shadow self.
Regardless, here there be dragons. In this remarkable book, Rachel Patterson shares with us her personal account of living with dragons. In these pages, the author recounts her personal experience with these beings, and then follows through with ancient stories of dragons the world over. Some encounters are positive and others not so much.
The relationship with dragons is a complicated one. In the east, seeing one was considered good luck, but in the west, dragons were vicious wealth hoarders and symbols of destruction. One of the most common tropes of human versus dragon is the knight versus the dragon motif.
For example, there's a Turkish tale of a king who supplied a cranky dragon with young maidens through a lottery system. The poor soul who “won” the lottery was doomed to become the dragon's lunch. A young peasant and a magician went into the caverns beyond the village to destroy the beast. This tale received a modern upgrade in the 1981 film Dragonslayer.
Modern dragons today no longer hoard the village gold, burn down flocks of sheep or dine on the succulent flesh of the newest debutante. However, even if you consider dragons as real or as archetypes, the one thing I learned with playing with this energy is that they can make your life miserable if you don't show respect. I stiI can attest to the psychic whiplash I got when I was flippant while working with their energy.
The author instructs us on what dragon energy is and how to properly interact with it. There are meditations composed to help us to see them as well as rituals for forging a powerful connection with them. We are taught how to construct an altar and leave milk as an offering. Spell work is simple and practical. There is a small herbal dedicated to dragons as well as a list of crystals that can be used to amplify energies.
The one thing that impressed me the most is that you never summon a dragon. At the best you'll get ignored, but at the worst, energy will rebound on you, like the swipe of a dragon's tail. However, if approached wisely and with respect, the dragon, whether he be real or an archetype will be cooperative and easy to work with.
~review By Patricia Snodgrass
Author: Rachel Patterson
Moon Books, 2024
105 pp. $9.50 p.
