This is the third post in a series inspired by The World Dragon Oracle, created by yours truly and featuring dragon artwork from the amazing Anne Stokes. To read the others, start here: World Dragons: Why Create an Oracle?
Dragons in the role of prophet or diviner may seem, at first glance, to be a bit strange. Yet, there is a potent trail of history and lore to follow where dragons are quite closely tied to divination.
Pythos and the Oracle of Delphi
Sitting high atop Mount Parnassus in Greece, the Oracle of Delphi, for the Greeks, was the centre of the world. It was here that the stone which represented the navel of the world, the Omphalos, was kept. Thousands travelled to the site to hear the prophecy of the priestess. This knowledge was sought by common folk, leaders, and scholars alike. Alexander the Great, Sophocles, Philip II, and Cicero are just a few of the famous who visited Delphi and asked the divine for answers.
The great Greek guardian dragon, Pythos, is synonymous with the famed Oracle of Delphi. Gaia, a Greek Titan, had tasked Pythos with guarding the oracle and the oracle site. The dragon did so, loyally and well, until the time arrived for her to transform and leave her physical body behind.
Pythos’ transformation came at the hands of the Greek God, Apollo, who used his bow and arrows to slay the dragon’s physical form. The dragon’s sacrifice was revered with the naming of the oracle and the festivals of Delphi in her memory, Pythia and Pythos, respectively.
Dragon Luck
Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese practice which, at the most basic understanding, acts as a guide for how to maintain balance in one’s home and personal life. Feng Shui embraces dragon energies where the dragon is seen as a conduit for success, abundance, and good luck. Those that wish to receive the good luck of the dragon place a dragon statue in their home. Typically, the statue faces east and is displayed so that the dragon’s flight, should it wish to do so, is not hindered.
Year of the Dragon
Many Chinese proverbs and phrases also include references to the good attributes of a dragon, such as wishing for a child to be born in the Chinese Year of the Dragon. In the Chinese zodiac, which is a 12-year cyclic zodiac based on birth year, those born under the sign of the dragon are believed to have the blessings of confidence, strength, and determination.
Charms
Pliny the Elder, a Roman scholar who authored Natural History, included some very interesting charms and blessings which involved dragons.
As a protective charm for a household, Pliny explains that “The dragon is a serpent destitute of venom; its head placed beneath the threshold of a door, the gods being duly propitiated by prayers, will ensure good fortune to the house, it is said.”[1]
Blessings from the dragons were also granted, “Dragons licked the ears of Melampodes, and bestowed upon him the power of understanding the language of birds.”[2]
Dragon Warnings
Dragons could also be seen as harbingers of ill fortune. The Anglo Saxons saw the appearance of dragons in the sky in 793 CE as a forebearer of woeful events. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records, “This year came dreadful fore-warnings over the land of the Northumbrians, terrifying the people most woefully: these were immense sheets of light rushing through the air, and whirlwinds, and fiery, dragons flying across the firmament.” [3]It was in this same year that the Northmen began their ferocious raids against Britain, beginning with the destruction and pillage of the monastery at Lindisfarne.
[1] Pliny the Elder, Natural History: A Selection, (New York, NY: Penguin Classics, 1991), 34.
[2] Pliny the Elder, Natural History: A Selection, (New York, NY: Penguin Classics, 1991), 47.
[3] Alfred the Great, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle Part 2, AD 750 – 919 The Medieval and Classical Literature Library: http://mcllibrary.org/Anglo/part2.html.
Virginia Chandler 