The Dragon and Creation: Reclaiming the Sacred in Our Lives

by Susanne Iles

The dragon plays an integral role in the creation mythologies of many world cultures. Asthe messenger between Heaven and Earth, the dragon helps form the framework for our temporal and spiritual existence. By way of example, the ancient symbol of the dragonUroboros swallowing its tail, illustrates the cosmogenic circle of the alpha and the omega- the beginning and end, creation and re-creation.Most humans have lost sight of the magical cycles of nature and creation, of the ability tocreate and of thought made manifest. Modern society has attempted to separate thismystical energy from its traditional sacred and ethical roots; thus cursing mankind with asense of profound isolation and detachment. No longer do we feel a part of that which issacred.By rediscovering the magic of the dragon we can begin to find our common origins andrecreate the link between Heaven and Earth. Passion, reverence and enchantment for thisworld and each other can be reclaimed by reconciling the spiritual and earthly realms,moving us closer to our own creation of a world of tolerance and shared wisdom.Our ancestors' convergence of their spiritual and physical existence was tantamount tosurvival. Their creation beliefs helped maintain respect for life and its lessons and gavethe Unknown form through poetic oral traditions, art, music and ritual.To illustrate the mythic origins of creation and the dragon’s role, the legends of Tiamat,Quetzalcoatl, Itzpapalotl, Nü-Kua, Aido Hwedo and the Rainbow Serpent, will reveal themagic of the dragon, the beliefs of our ancestors and the path to our own creation.

Tiamat

The dragon Tiamat is regarded as the mystery of Chaos, primaland uncontrollable, passionate in her unchecked creative energy.She is the frightening Unknown of "formless primordialmatter"

sacrificially recreated as the very beauty of Earth itself.In Babylonian mythology, Tiamat is the creatrix of the celestialand earthly realms as a result of her violent demise. She is the primordial mother of alland the personification of the saltwater ocean

- chaos embodied in the form of theancient Divine feminine. Her union with Apsu, the personification of fresh water, createdthe first gods Lachmu and Lachamu (ie. silt) who, in turn, created a race of deities.The "Enuma Elish" is an epic poem of creation written around 2000 B.C. The legend isinscribed on seven clay tablets and is approximately 1000 lines. It is said to be a chant towelcome the Babylonian New Year.

The story unfolds with Apsu growing increasinglyupset at the antics of their unruly children. Apsu decides to kill them, much to Tiamat’sdespair, but his plan is revealed and the deity named Ea kills him in his sleep. In a rageover the death of her husband, Tiamat vows to kill her descendants and creates an army

of monsters in her grief. She assigns the god Kingu as her consort and convinces him tolead her army into battle.The young gods became frightened and realized they were no match for the powerfulTiamat. They persuaded the god Marduk to champion them by promising him manythings, including making him their supreme god and ruler of the universe.Marduk kills his ancestor Tiamat by filling her with the winds and striking her vulnerable body, splitting her "like a shellfish in two parts."

With her upper half he constructed thearc of the sky; with her lower limbs he created the Earth. Her arched tail became thewheel of Heaven, from her water came the clouds and her tears became the source of theEuphrates and Tigris rivers. Kingu also perished at the hand of Marduk, his blood and bones becoming the first humans.The Tiamat myth personifies man’s fear of the Unknown and the primal knowledgechaos can quickly turn to destruction. Early man was aware destruction and creation gohand and hand, but with the sacrifice of the Ego it has the capacity to becometransformed into something poetic, beautiful and sustaining. Although man’s physicalform is created from the blood and bones of Kingu to remind us of our common andhumble origins, we carry within us the breath of transformative spirit. Just as Tiamat’s body became the life sustaining wellspring, our primal passions can be forged into positive creative energy if we so choose.

Quetzalcoatl

"....I shall leave my song-image on Earth. My heart shall live, it will come back..."

Quetzalcoatl is another dragon-being who, through self-sacrifice,organized the cosmos and formed a world nourishing both man’s physical and spiritual life. He created the fifth cycle of mankind by using the ancestor’s ashes and bones to give their bodiesform. Knowing humans must be connected to Heaven and theessence of the Divine for their survival, he used his own blood toanimate them and thus became humanity’s protector.Also known as the "Feathered Serpent," Quetzalcoatl is the ancient cultural hero amongthe Aztec, the Toltec and other Middle American peoples. Legends attribute him with being the son of the virgin goddess Coatlicue and is often described as having light hair and skin. As the father of culture, Quetzalcoatl introduced agriculture (ie. the growing of maize), the calendar, monotheism, music and dance, arts and crafts.

Varying storiesshow him to be a gentle deity who requested the end of human sacrifice, accepting butterflies and serpents instead. In his dragon form he ruled the wind, the rain and thefertility of the Earth, the cycles of human sustenance. As a celestial and terrestrial beinghe was man’s magical connection to the mysteries of Heaven and the sacred earthlyrealm.When he was driven away by war he promised to return to his people one day. Someaccounts have him leaving in a dragon boat or on a raft of serpents. Some believe he

sacrificed his human body and flew off into the sky to become the bright planet we knowas Venus.

By sacrificing himself and empowering mankind, Quetzalcoatl left behind alegacy of knowledge, culture, and the secrets of creation and rebirth, gifting man with the potential for greater enlightenment.

Itzpapalotl

"Death, be not proud, though some have called theeMighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;For those whom thou think’st thou dost overthrowDie not, poor Death; nor yet canst thou kill me.From Rest and Sleep, which but thy picture be,Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow..."

We are introduced to death in the guise of the dragon Itzpapalotl. She isthe ancient Chichimec representation of Mother Earth in her mortuary phase symbolizing the world’s cyclical changes - the rhythms of the seasons andagriculture. Also known as "Obsidian Knife Butterfly,"

a goddess of creation andtransformation, Itzpapalotl is shown wearing butterfly wings to indicate her shamanic andtransformational powers. Her appearance as a dragon with butterfly wings symbolizes thehuman fear of death, yet provides hope for a gentle sleep, transformation and rebirth. Theemerging butterfly represents the human soul and its journey heavenward. Her hands andfeet are depicted alternately as jaguar

or eagle claws, as she grips the corners of the skywith her hands. Her fierce countenance expresses the darker aspects of nature found indrought, floods, storms, disease or death. Another face of Itzpapalotl is one of great beauty showing her gift of kindness through release of suffering, transformation of thesoul and the fostering of new growth in spring.Itzpapalotl teaches us although natural law in all its beauty and destruction must prevail,it is not final. We are taught death can be overcome and our spirit transformed into a lifeeverlasting.

Nü-Kua

In the beginning, according to Chinese mythology, there was a cosmic egg filled with thedarkness of chaos. A giant named P’an Ku was formed in the chaos and he slept, whiledeveloping, for eighteen thousand years. When he awakened he broke the egg and thedarkness poured out, as well as the light which had been hidden by the chaos. The dark pieces fell and created the Earth, while the bright fragments joined together and floatedup creating the heavens. Fearing chaos would return if the brightness above fell into thedarkness below, P’an Ku made it his mission to keep the sky and Earth apart until he wascertain the world was safe.

Tens of thousands of years passed until P’an Ku was sure histask was complete, with everything in place as it should be. Hesunk down to the Earth in exhaustion and died. His expired breath became wind and clouds. His body and limbs formed themountains and hills, while the blood flowed as streams and