dragon question

[karmaslave]

Not sure where to post this, or if it sounds really silly but...
I know this is a vague question but who/what are dragons? There are some mentions of them in these forums. I've always been obsessed with them since I was a kid, thinking they were my 'friends' and in some ways felt a deep connection to these creatures and as a kid, thinking I was part dragon or something. I always thought it was just my childish imagination but then I came here and saw people talking about them so I'm curious.

Thank you for any help!

[CFTraveler]

Are you talking from a biological standpoint, or a metaphysical standpoint? Or a mythological standpoint?

[karmaslave]

O.o ahah, metaphysical i think.

[CFTraveler]

From a metaphysical standpoint, it depends on your cultural bias.
For example, in Asia the dragon is considered an ancestor of man, and a being that exemplifies all that is good and magical.  So a dragon is good, and the ancestor of humanity (or of some part of it).
In western medieval metaphysics, the dragon was the opposite, something evil that burned people and kidnapped maidens.  In a way it also exemplified magic, but it was seen as demonic.

This was due to biblical misunderstanding, because anything reptilian became associated with the serpent of the garden of eden, who was not actually a serpent, but a type of winged angel.  But the association has been made, and it's hard to divorce ourselves from cultural traditional associations.

Nowadays we have come to recognize the dragon as a very basic part of us-the most primitive- and tend to associate characteristics to it depending on it's color, for example.  We've tried to look at it the way the ancients did, as something that protects us, that has magical abilities and so on.