Dragon

The dragon has, since ancient times, been a monster that personifies both the destructive and the life-giving (the latter through its role as the guardian of the "hard-to-find treasure"). Compare with the serpent, which shares much symbolic content with the dragon. (In many contexts, the terms are interchangeable, but a general distinction is that the dragon is the “mythological form of the serpent” [Introduction to Jungian Psychology , p. 102].) This is evident in our modern stories, where dragons are evil in one tale, but in another embody good without contradicting our understanding of the monster. In Egyptian mythology, for instance, the dragon was associated with both good gods like Osiris and evil ones like Set.  

In contemporary dreams, the reptile often takes on the role of the dragon.  

Mother and Primal Monster

The dragon is closely related to the Great Mother, explicitly so in Sumerian myth, but also in connection with figures like Demeter in Greek mythology. It is depicted as a monster that crawls in deep caves, is believed to dwell beneath the waters (compare with the Midgard Serpent), and is generally considered "moist." The dragon is also an image of the primordial state, as seen in Babylonian mythology, representing the primal chaos that exists before the world is separated into opposites. (Cf. Androgyny.) Like the negative aspect of the mother archetype, the dragon is devouring, annihilating, and driven by greed.  

The Hero’s Enemy  

The dragon is the monster that the hero must defeat. In Jungian psychology, this is seen as an illustration of the confrontation between consciousness and the unconscious, such as in the form of the shadow or the mother complex.

In alchemical terms, the adept must free the anima mundi from prima materia (or his instinctual self) through this mortificatio (the slaying of the dragon); or release Mercury from its first, toxic, dangerous stage. “Affective outbursts, contempt, desire, and claims to power—all of these must undergo mortificatio if the libido, in its primitive and infantile form, is to be transformed,” Edinger comments (Anatomy of the Psyche, p. 150).

Water Monster

Both the dragon and the serpent are linked to water, which is the symbol of the unconscious par excellence. In Kundalini yoga, in Norse mythology, in the Bible, and elsewhere, dragons are thought to dwell in water. In China, the dragon was sacred and worshipped for its ability to bring rain. The dragon has also been associated with the aquatic crocodile.  

Union of Opposites

The dragon is a serpent with wings and can represent a union between the serpent’s underground principle and the bird’s aerial principle. This expression of the union of opposites is perhaps the oldest symbol of alchemy, where it is often depicted eating its own tail (for example, as a symbol of wholeness or the primordial state).  

The Dragon Stone

According to the alchemists, the dragon (but also the mystical fish, which can be seen as a symbol of the Self, and the toad) contained the "dragon stone" within it, specifically in its head. It is a gemstone that—despite all of this—can only be acquired by cutting off the dragon’s head. Only then does it become a gemstone: "If it is not extracted from the living dragon, it can never become a gemstone" (Ruland, paraphrased from Anatomy of the Psyche, p. 154). This “means that consciousness [the head] contains the symbolic image of the Self, and just as the lapis unites opposites, the Self assimilates the contents of consciousness and the unconscious,” writes Jung (Mysterium Coniunctionis, par. 141).  

Guardian of the Treasure

In fairy tales, myths, and contemporary stories, the dragon is powerful, terrifying, and fire-breathing. But it is also intelligent and can communicate with humans—that is, it is conscious. In many myths, ancient and modern, the dragon guards “the treasure that is hard to find,” and thus symbolizes what the ego must overcome—one’s inner demons, so to speak. Like other “great” symbols (such as the serpent, the tree, and water), the dragon symbol is neither good nor evil in itself.

Desire and Greed

Another way to view the dragon as the guardian of the treasure is in line with its devouring nature. A dragon watches over its treasure and demands maidens, but uses neither for anything—it merely desires them, wants them, and then jealously guards them; in other words, it is an expression of both desire and greed.

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