Tag: D. J. Conway

Different Types of Dragons You Might Encounter

Different Types of Dragons You Might Encounter

 
 
Dragons are much the same as other astral entities, although I have yet to meet an “evil” dragon. Their view of what is vital to your growth and advancement may exceed your present abilities to perform. To dragons, the physical is simply a hindrance that they tend to ignore. After listening to their advice, carefully consider if you can or should make the changes now or at all. Be certain that you are not holding back because of fear of the unknown or simple laziness. And always look at the end results sure to occur from taking action. You, and only you, are responsible for your life, regardless of where you received the advice you decided to follow.
 
The types of dragons who are attracted to you will be the ones who have the most to offer you at the present time. Before rejecting a dragon find out what she/he has to teach you. Be brutally truthful with yourself. If you find that you need what the dragon offers, but do not feel that you can endure the teaching and results in large doses, do some negotiating. Present your case for a modified lesson plan; be plain-spoken about your emotional and mental inability to withstand the great stresses of immediate and upheaving change. When you do start working with a particular dragon on specific issues in your life, make an honest effort. As long as you are trying, even though you fall short at times, the dragon will be patient.
 
You can also acquire a personal dragon guardian. The guardian dragon does not automatically come into this life with you as does your spiritual guardian. It is a personal choice by that dragon(or dragons), just as one would choose a close friend. Although you can attract guardian dragons by cultivating certain attitudes and atmospheres, they can show up without any encouragement at all. They are gregarious little creatures, full of curiosity and mischief, who enjoy their own brand of practical jokes and the company of humans and animals.
 
Although guardian dragons tend to be fun-loving creatures who enjoy a good laugh, they are very serious about protecting you and your property. You might think of them as a spiritual watch-dog with boundless energy, influence and power. Cultivating their friendship helps when dealing with ritual with the other dragons. If you do not develop the friendship of your guardian dragon, the other dragon powers are not likely to be so cooperative.
 
Not all dragons are the same, no more so than are humans. They each have their own personalities. Their appearances vary according to the subspecies to which they belong, as do their special talents. Even individual dragons within a subspecies have identifying characteristics, markings and bodily appearances. Dragons can be even more individualistic than we are.

Different species of dragons have different abilities and interests. Dragons connected with the element of Fire, or those of fire and volcanoes, for example, are primarily effective in getting thing moving or tearing down impossible barriers. Wind and Air dragons are creatures of creative and mental aspects. Water dragons help stabilize emotions, heal emotional pain and point you in the right direction to discover love and friendship. Earth dragons are interested in the acquiring of material possessions and the accomplishment of goals. These are very general descriptions of dragon interests and abilities, as draconic abilities over lap in many areas. It is best to work with a balance of types of dragons, with one particular dragon-aspect predominating, according to the intent of the ritual.
 
Above all, a magician must know her/himself, all the good and bad habits, and face them squarely. There cannot be any self-delusion if ritual is to be effective and positive in nature. And why would anyone want their rituals to be negative when there will eventually be such a price to pay?
 
The magician may choose to begin working dragon magick as an effort to better the physical life, and this is not a bad or wrong procedure. Working on physical needs and desires, and seeing them manifest, gives a budding magician great trust in her/his inner powers. When the physical body and the surrounding are in which the magician must life and work are well and cared for, when there is less struggle and strife in life, then the next logical step for the balanced person is to seek spiritual enlightenment.
 
After all, when the very foundation of magick and ritual is finally uncovered the magician finds that all ritual and spell working is meant to be a means for spiritual growth and development. Whether or not we choose to follow that upward path is an individual responsibility. We are each responsible for our choices in life, how we react to the choices of others around us, even to our being here in the first place. We have no right to place any blame on others for what is going worn in our lives. If you make a wrong decision, change it and learn from the experience. Dancing with the dragons can make this life-path a little easier and a lot more interesting.
 
 
Dancing with Dragons
D. J. Conway

Why Bother Cultivating the Cooperation and Companionship of Dragons?

Why Bother Cultivating the Cooperation and Companionship of Dragons?

Why bother cultivating the cooperation and companionship of dragons? Because their wisdom and elemental-type energies are unequaled, boundless. They have access, by means of their extremely long lives and unique thought-processes, to forgotten information and knowledge, especially in the field of magick. Dragon power also helps the magician to make personal, inner changes that may be necessary. Helping to remove past negative programming or self-destructive habits is well within the abilities of dragons; of course, the human involved must desire those changes. Dragon magick, like all magick, does not produce miraculous results without work. Dragons can create opportunities, provide encouragement and guidance, even back the magician into a figurative corner so that she/he must face problems and make decisions. But they will never, never do for you what you can and should do for yourself. Once befriended, dragons make excellent protectors, powerful fellow-magicians.

A true, knowledge-seeking magician weighs all possibilities for use in her/his magick, keeping what feels right to her/him and discarding the rest. Dragon magick is not for all. Dragon magick is only for the self-disciplined seeker who realizes the potential dangers, yet dares to communicate with and befriend this vast astral power of the ages. It is for the magician who is serious about changing her/his life and the living space around her/him. It is an asset for those who can give trust (not blindly, but with common sense), love and a desire for true friendship.

If you use dragon magick for unjustified purposes, or try to manipulate and control dragons, you can expect a terrific negative backlash. In the matters of self-protection or bringing justice down upon dangerous members of society. I have absolutely no second thoughts about employing dragons. As to manipulation and control, one simply does not do that with friends and co-magicians. Common sense tells you that such behavior will terminate the friendship and cause other magicians to cease their cooperation, perhaps even to work against you. If you prove a danger to dragons, they are likely to enspell you to such a point that your magick does not work.

“Dancing with Dragons”

D. J. Conway

What If You Have Attracted A Dragon or Dragons Who Make You Feel Uncomfortable?

What If You Have Attracted A Dragon or Dragons Who Make You Feel Uncomfortable?

What if you have attracted a dragon or dragons who make you feel uncomfortable? I have known this to occur with other spiritual guides, so I suppose it can also happen with dragons, although I have not personally experienced this. If a dragon make you uncomfortable, it is very likely that you are not ready yet to work with its energies. First, become clear in your own mind why you feel this discomfort. Perhaps the actual root of the discomfort is a bit of programming struggling to make itself felt and keep control over your activities. Perhaps the dragon’s coloring has triggered old conditionings. A black dragon produces this feeling in people who have been taught that dragons, and particularly black dragons, are evil. The further into the subconscious you dig, the more you are amazed at what is it there, controlling your thoughts and actions when you least expect it.

If you still feel uncomfortable, set aside a time for a brief meditation and mental conversation with the dragon. Explain carefully and politely that you are attempting to remedy the situation, but at this time you just do not feel that the two of you can work positively together. Project as much good will as you can. The dragon will understand. I have never known a dragon to stay where it is not welcome.

The first dragons I saw were the huge elemental ones who appeared one night about a week before we discovered that some bikers up the road were operating a meth lab. By the time the ATF forces, FBI, and local law enforcement descended upon the area, the dragons had put up very strong defenses around our property. At no time did we have any problems with the bikers. And, although some of their members shot it out with officials in another location, the arrests near us were quiet. After that, all colors and sizes of dragons made appearances, join in rituals and generally hanging around the house. They are still with us.

As your journey begins in dragon magick, go prepared for a fantastic voyage on which you can make new friends and magick-working partners, and you will be pleasantly surprised at the knowledge you will learn. Dance with the dragons in their endless round of energy, and feel all areas of what you want from the astral plane, and you may well (and very likely will) have an unprofitable journey filled with unpleasant experiences. Would-be conquering invaders have never been met with friendship, whatever plane of existence they were on. Exploring traders who were willing to listen and bargain a bit always had the most successful, profitable voyages of discovery. Travel into dragon country with caution, an open mind, and friendship in your heart. The journey will be well worth it.

“Dancing with Dragons”

D. J. Conway

So How Does One Go About Finding Dragons?

So How Does One Go About Finding Dragons?

 

So how does one go about finding dragons? You begin by learning as much about dragons and their magickal habits as possible. Then you look at your reasons for wishing to practice dragon magick with an objective and critical eye. When you feel comfortable with these steps, and only then, you begin building an atmosphere that will attract dragons. You perform certain actions that arouse their curiosity and will draw them to your vicinity. You beam a mental welcome, setting aside time and place to communicate with them on the astral level through mental visualization and speech. And you have to believe they exist, even if you cannot see them with your physical eyes or prove their existence to someone else.

You have to cast aside social taboos on “seeing” things and know with your heart that dragons do exist, if you wish to attract dragons. Mentally invite the dragons to make their presence known by thought or deed. Be sensitive and extra aware of what is occurring around you. Most dragons tend to be subtle in their first contacts with humans. They may choose to make an appearance in dreams or as flashes of movement seen in the peripheral vision. They may even forego these types of appearance to simply touch your psychic “feelings.”

Guardian dragons, the easiest to contact, often appear as little voices or faces and forms in the mind. Dragons may show up unannounced at any time, but especially during meditation or magickal rituals, either singly or several at a time. They love the power flow of ritual and will make an appearance just to bathe in the energy. They may well have been there all the time; you just did not notice them. Since dragons are masters of concealment that is not surprising.

These smaller dragons delight in sharing the vibrations of tarot and rune readings and other psychic practices. One of our guardian dragons likes to play with my crystal pendulum. He either pats it with a claw or mentally sends it spinning in nonsense directions. The only solution to using the pendulum is to let him tire of his game before attempting to get a reliable answer. He and his companions like to peer over my shoulder during tarot readings muttering their own interpretations all the while. One just has to be patient with them, as one would with a small, curious child.

You have to be willing to practice a great deal of patience, self-control, and self-discipline, learning to work with a specific set of magickal laws in order to consistently attract and elicit the help of dragons. As with all magickal procedures, nothing is cast in concrete but there are certain aspects of these procedures which cannot be eliminated or changed to any great extent without disturbing th flow of magickal power.

Not all dragons are of positive magick. I dislike using the words “good” or “evil,” because negative power is just as important to the existence of life as is positive power. Negative energies have nothing to do with evil, unless you have evil thoughts and intentions within yourself. And the Goddess knows that evil thoughts and intentions exist within those who are totally against magick! It is easy for people to understand what positive energy is and does. But negative energy has received a lot of bad press. Both positive and negative aspects of many things besides energy are needed to create, indeed for the universe to stay in existence.

What most people mean by using negative energy is the deliberate use of this type of power against another human. The magician realizes that sometimes, and after great deliberation of possible consequences and the true reasons behind her/his decision to use this type of energy, calling upon and sending forth negative energy can be justified. The best examples I can give of this are in the areas of rapists, child abusers, spouse beaters, drug dealers, dangerous fanatics, and serial killers. Allowing such evil to continue to exit unrestrained is potentially harmful to everyone. Working magick to get these offenders caught and punished is helpful to society as a whole in the final analysis. Even for these reasons, the magician must end the ritual with detached, unemotional involvement, an extremely difficult state of mind to reach.

Casting aside the magickal laws for working with dragon power is certain to get you into trouble. Even the most positive dragon is a wily beast who, like many humans, tend to look out for him/herself first. Dragons likely developed this attitude after trying to work with humans thousands of years ago and finding that puny mortals were unreliable, often treacherous, allies.

Your attitude toward the existence of dragons must be the first big step in preparation for meeting them. The power of dragons is a tremendous force, amplifying a magician’s ability to new heights.

“Dancing with Dragons”

D. J. Conway

Dragon Power In Magick

Dragon Power In Magick

Working with dragons in magick is different in many ways from other magickal procedures, but not so different that you can disregard certain rules. You need to know how to practice visualization and self-discipline, ethics, absolute truthfulness with yourself, consistency of practice, and meditation. And there must be an exchange of energies while working, an absolute when working with dragons. All of these are important components of any magickal system.

Visualization begins with unlearning many so-called value systems shoved on us by other people, the most common of which is that use of the imagination and daydreaming are not productive and good. The imagination and daydreaming are a negative practice if they occupy most of your life and time; if you daydream about what you want to happen instead of planning and taking action, then you are avoiding responsibility. However, for any type of magick to become truly effective, you must learn how to vividly picture in your mind the event or result that you wish to happen. Once you firmly have the event or result in your mind, you perform your ritual and then release the mental energy for manifestation.

Self-discipline and ethics go together. A magician should not, for his/her own good, dabble in controlling other people or indulge in questionable personal behavior. Jealousy, envy, lust, greed, and anger should not control what a magician does during his/her rituals. In fact, these undesirable emotions should not control any part of a magician’s life. These intense emotions tend to cloud judgment, either bringing an emotional backlash on the magician or causing deliberate harm to others, which in itself brings an eventual backlash on the magician. Either way, it is not worth the misery.

A magician must sincerely desire what she/he is asking for in ritual. If it is half-hearted wish with little emotional intensity behind it, the dragons, or any other entities for that matter, will simply not be interested in helping. And do not think you can put one over on spiritual or astral plane entities because they can see straight through to the truth. The truth is never hidden from these creatures.

One of the worst things a magician can do is take something away from another person by means of magick. This includes health, property, life or freedom. Very often I find that beginning magicians want to control another’s decisions and life on the subject of love. Too often I heard that “I know so-and-so is the true love of my life, but they show no interest. How can I use magick to make them love me?” Forget it! The price is very high for doing this kind of manipulative magick! If they were meant to love you, they would already show interest. Obviously, they are not the love of your life except in your own mind. Any magician considering such a dark use of magick had better take a long, truthful look at their ulterior motives. If someone you were definitely not interested in started taking away your personal freedom to choose, how would you feel?

The second part of the use of magick is that the magician must release the emotions and desire after the ritual is finished. To constantly think about what you want accomplished after the ritual is ended binds the energies to you and they cannot manifest. To constantly talk about your desires, or to talk about the rituals you are performing to get them, will surely keep them from manifestation. To want something so much you can taste it and yet not care if you get it is a very difficult mood to cultivate. I have never known any magician who reached perfection in this area, but getting as close to it as possible is what is important.

There must be an exchange of energies between the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual planes for any spellworking to result in manifestation. Playing at ritual magick, particularly dragon magick, will not get you anywhere. Without mental concentration, physical working, emotional involvement, and intensity of purpose, in other words energies, dragons will not be interested in adding their vast energies to yours. No entity or companion, whether of this plane or another is gong to do all the work for nothing and let you sit on your hands. Dragons are attracted by the energies you raise during ritual, a kind of astral pay-off since they feed on this energy.

Belief in powers beyond yourself is important in any kind of magick. There is an old saying: “If you believe you can, or you believe you can’t, you’re right.” We may not understand how these powers and energies work: we may not be able to describe them to anyone else; we will not be able to prove “scientifically” what they are. But we maigicians know they exist. A magician believe in them because she/he sees the results of their use.

Every magician who wishes to be effective in ritual and manifestation, who desires to grow and expand in knowledge, sooner or later comes to the conclusion that magick is a very serious practice. They learn to set aside time for study and self-improvement through meditation. They practice what are commonly called the psychic arts: tarot, runes, the pendulum, crystal reading, dream analysis, and so on. They cultivate the senses, especially observation, which includes what is in both the physical and astral realm. They learn to read their own intuitive feelings and the vibrations of others.

“Dancing with Dragons”

D. J. Conway

Full Moon Scrying Ritual

Full Moon Scrying Ritual

The upcoming summer months are the perfect time for Full Moon Scrying and I’d like to pass on an old, time honored scrying ritual originally written by D.J. Conway that I have used many times during the long summer nights:

Items Needed:
1 bright, shiny silver coin
1 small, black cauldron or scrying bowl filled with water

Perform this ritual outside where the rays of the Moon can fall directly onto the water in the cauldron. If you cannot go outside, stay in a darkened room near a window that the Moon shines through. Place the coin in the water and take the cauldron in both hands. Gaze up at the Moon and say:

“Lovely Lady of the night,
Mysteries old and futures bright,
Give me a glimpse of that to be
And as I will so mote it be.”

Look down at the coin shimmering in the cauldrons water. With your eyes half closed, adjust your vision as if you were looking into and through the coin. Don’t try to analuze anything you might see or that might come into your mind. Just accept it. Some people, rathar than seeing actual pictures within the cauldron, will have mental impressions, feelings or pictures. When you have finished, bow to the Moon and say thank you. Pour the water out on the ground. You’re done!

Making Dragon Magick

Making Dragon Magick

 
 
Half-close your eyes as you sit outside or near caves or rocks. If the light is bright, you may see the swirling iridescent silver, purple, gold, green and blue of the dragon outline shimmering ahead. Let the image enclose and energize you and breathe slowly and regularly, allowing the warm, shimmering colors to flow in and out of your own energy field, your aura. If you see nothing externally allow the image to build up in your mind and superimpose it in your imagination on the scene.
 
You may see an image of the dragon and her fabulous treasures within the cave or see her flying upwards towards the sun. There is no danger in this for she is a spiritual force, experienced through the layers of countless millennia.
 
You may feel very warm as though close to a bonfire and see sparks or sunbeams dancing in the air all around.
 
When you are ready, close your eyes and gently push away with your hands palms outwards and upright. Allow the energies to move away, or you may sense them fading spontaneously as the dragon moves on.
 
Don’t ask for anything. The experience is enough and will help you to move with confidence and attract and spread the abundance you need.
 
Be sure to take a bottle of water to drink afterwards and splash on your hairline, brow, throat and wrists or palms to cool you down.
 
While you are still there, take time to write in your Book of Shadows. You may have heard words in your mind as you experienced the dragons power or they may come now and even if you are not normally poetic, the encounter will trigger off rich and vivid descriptions of flying with the dragon, the mysterious smoke-filled air within the cave and metallic colors of your dragon. If you open your eyes in the night before sleep the colors may reform.
 
Afterwards is a good time to explore the caves and rocks, if accessible. Even if you are crammed in a tourist party, you can sense your dragon and maybe the special place that you connected with in your visions and see the shimmering silver and purples reflected on the dark walls.

Dragon Power In Magick

Dragon Power In Magick

Working with dragons in magick is different in many ways from other magickal procedures, but not so different that you can disregard certain rules. You need to know how to practice visualization and self-discipline, ethics, absolute truthfulness with yourself, consistency of practice, and meditation. And there must be an exchange of energies while working, an absolute when working with dragons. All of these are important components of any magickal system.

Visualization begins with unlearning many so-called value systems shoved on us by other people, the most common of which is that use of the imagination and daydreaming are not productive and good. The imagination and daydreaming are a negative practice if they occupy most of your life and time; if you daydream about what you want to happen instead of planning and taking action, then you are avoiding responsibility. However, for any type of magick to become truly effective, you must learn how to vividly picture in your mind the event or result that you wish to happen. Once you firmly have the event or result in your mind, you perform your ritual and then release the mental energy for manifestation.

Self-discipline and ethics go together. A magician should not, for his/her own good, dabble in controlling other people or indulge in questionable personal behavior. Jealousy, envy, lust, greed, and anger should not control what a magician does during his/her rituals. In fact, these undesirable emotions should not control any part of a magician’s life. These intense emotions tend to cloud judgment, either bringing an emotional backlash on the magician or causing deliberate harm to others, which in itself brings an eventual backlash on the magician. Either way, it is not worth the misery.

A magician must sincerely desire what she/he is asking for in ritual. If it is half-hearted wish with little emotional intensity behind it, the dragons, or any other entities for that matter, will simply not be interested in helping. And do not think you can put one over on spiritual or astral plane entities because they can see straight through to the truth. The truth is never hidden from these creatures.

One of the worst things a magician can do is take something away from another person by means of magick. This includes health, property, life or freedom. Very often I find that beginning magicians want to control another’s decisions and life on the subject of love. Too often I heard that “I know so-and-so is the true love of my life, but they show no interest. How can I use magick to make them love me?” Forget it! The price is very high for doing this kind of manipulative magick! If they were meant to love you, they would already show interest. Obviously, they are not the love of your life except in your own mind. Any magician considering such a dark use of magick had better take a long, truthful look at their ulterior motives. If someone you were definitely not interested in started taking away your personal freedom to choose, how would you feel?

The second part of the use of magick is that the magician must release the emotions and desire after the ritual is finished. To constantly think about what you want accomplished after the ritual is ended binds the energies to you and they cannot manifest. To constantly talk about your desires, or to talk about the rituals you are performing to get them, will surely keep them from manifestation. To want something so much you can taste it and yet not care if you get it is a very difficult mood to cultivate. I have never known any magician who reached perfection in this area, but getting as close to it as possible is what is important.

There must be an exchange of energies between the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual planes for any spellworking to result in manifestation. Playing at ritual magick, particularly dragon magick, will not get you anywhere. Without mental concentration, physical working, emotional involvement, and intensity of purpose, in other words energies, dragons will not be interested in adding their vast energies to yours. No entity or companion, whether of this plane or another is gong to do all the work for nothing and let you sit on your hands. Dragons are attracted by the energies you raise during ritual, a kind of astral pay-off since they feed on this energy.

Belief in powers beyond yourself is important in any kind of magick. There is an old saying: “If you believe you can, or you believe you can’t, you’re right.” We may not understand how these powers and energies work: we may not be able to describe them to anyone else; we will not be able to prove “scientifically” what they are. But we maigicians know they exist. A magician believe in them because she/he sees the results of their use.

Every magician who wishes to be effective in ritual and manifestation, who desires to grow and expand in knowledge, sooner or later comes to the conclusion that magick is a very serious practice. They learn to set aside time for study and self-improvement through meditation. They practice what are commonly called the psychic arts: tarot, runes, the pendulum, crystal reading, dream analysis, and so on. They cultivate the senses, especially observation, which includes what is in both the physical and astral realm. They learn to read their own intuitive feelings and the vibrations of others.

“Dancing with Dragons”

D. J. Conway

The Dragon Practitioner’s Staff

The Dragon Practitioner’s Staff

 

At some time you will want to include a staff among your tools. You can choose a piece of dowel or natural wood about shoulder-high or head-high. It has been my personal experience that shoulder-high is quite long enough; as with swords and wands, a staff that is too long can create disaster in one movement. You may wish to attach a crystal or small crystal ball to the top end.

If using a smooth dowel, you can purchase four lengths of cording the length of the staff. These should be in the colors of the elements. Traditionally, these are red, yellow, blue and dark green or black. Tack or glue a length of cording down each side of the staff to correspond to the elemental directions. Attach tassels of the same color at the top end of each piece of cording; if you cannot find colors, use white instead. If you do not want to tack or glue the cording, it can be attached near the top of the staff by decorative brads or nails and allowed to swing free; if you do this, use short pieces of cording to avoid getting tangled in them. You can further decorate the staff with small bells, glass beads, or whatever seems appropriate to you. If you choose a limb or twisted wood staff, it can be decorated with dangling ribbons of the appropriate colors attached near the top in the correct order. Attach the bells, glass beads, etc. to the ribbons.

When decorated in this manner, the staff becomes the dragon bridge, or the connecting link between the magician and the astral planes. The staff is a symbol of magical authority, you right to call upon and work with dragons. It is also symbolic of the center of the circle or the element of Spirit. At times it can be used like an oversized wand. Be careful when gesturing with the staff because it is very easy to knock things over.

For convenience, you might consider having some type of holder or a deep bucket of sand near one end of the altar to securely hold your staff when not in use. Or it can be laid on the floor before the altar. The problem with this method is that you may tend to stumble over the staff when deeply involved in the ritual unless you are careful. But then, a deep bucket of sand is attractive to cats and small children. Experiment until you find what works for you.

“Dancing With Dragons”

D. J. Conway

The Prime Ritual Tool In Dragon Magic – The Sword

The Prime Ritual Tool In Dragon Magic – The Sword

 

The prime ritual tool for dragon magic is a sword. It does not have to be elaborate, expensive sword. Choose one that is not too long or heavy because you will often hold it out before you for long periods of time. For a woman, a sword 18 to 20 inches in length is usually the right size. Some prefer Scottish claymores and other large reproductions, but have enough sense to know that your shoulders would be aching miserably after a few minutes of holding it out in front of you. Besides, long swords are notoriously clumsy and difficult to maneuver with a cast circle. It is quite easy, when totally involved in magic, to sweep everything off the altar with a swinging sword. Men should also chose a lighter, shorter sword for the same reasons. Swords do not need a sharpened edge.

 

The magician could use a painted wooden sword as a substitute for a metal one, although you might find it difficult to adjust your thoughts to the use of such a ritual tool. However a dragon is not impressed by the weight or elaborateness of a sword, just the fact that you have one. The sword is of the element of Fire.

Let’s Get Wild & Crazy, lol!

Funny & Naughty Comments & Graphics
Well, OK, not totally wild and crazy! I am going to take a detour from my regular postings that I do during the week. I am going to post some Dragon Magick, which I noticed quite a few of you liked. Then I am going to put on some more Dark Arts’ Spell, which I noticed hundreds of you liked them, lol! You little devils, you! You know if you have any requests for types of spells that you would like for me to post, please let me know. I will be more than happy to post any kind of spell or material you are interested in. Just ask! Now on with the show……… 
~Magickal Graphics~

Seeking and Working with Dragons

Seeking and Working with Dragons 

It should be obvious by now that I have a deep respect and love for dragons, a belief in their powers as co-magicians that is backed by years of personal experience. And I hope I have piqued your interest enough to want to work with them.

So how does one go about finding dragons? And how do you use their power? Should you do co-magick with dragons, or should you avoid the partnership?

I assume since you have read this far, that you either already practice some form of magick or are seriously contemplating doing so. If you are experiencing any doubt about your worthiness (Goddess forbid!) to work in the area of magick, any area of magick, you have some serious work to do on your self-image and the programming you have undergone that created your poor self-image.

Every magician, indeed every person who even uses prayer, constantly walks the fine line between an overinflated ego and an appreciation of her/his self-worth. She/he understands, without any cover-ups, exactly why they are choosing to work magick at any given time. This understanding is vitally necessary in order to assess the end-result of the spellworking, the type of magick used, and the consequences that may be forthcoming for certain actions. What others think of a magician’s reasons is not important; they do not pay the penalties, gain the advantages of the rituals, or know exactly what that magician may think and feel. However, the magician must know what is deep within her/his own mind and heart, know it and deal with it if there is negative programming or intentions that are selfish and unjustified.

A good magican is neither white nor black. A good effective magician is what I call gray, one who understands completely the consequences of actions and is willing to do what is necessary, particularly in the areas of protection and the removal of evil. An effective magician knows her/himself like no one else does; she/he has to be brutally honest about real intents and purposes for using any type of magick in the first place, but especially so when practicing dragon magick.

In dragon magick, the magician cannot afford any lingering doubts as to her/his right to ask help from these powerful entities. Like many other beings, physical and nonphysical, dragons will take advantage of anyone who vacillates in her/his commitment or who is unclear about their intent of a ritual.

I have yet to meet an “evil” dragon, although I have encountered a few who distrust humans so much that one must take special care when working with them. Dragons become “evil” only when there is an imbalance of energies, a disruption of the powers flowing from the Earth and humans to dragons and back again. To re-establish a positive flow of this power, the magician does not join every fanatical group out picketing and rioting. She/he knows that all changes begin within the self. Like ripples in a pond, when the self becomes balanced the immediate atmosphere and community are affected. When the community becomes balanced, this spread further, taking in countries and eventually the entire world. But, as with all things, a majority of individuals must desire and seek the balance and improvement or it will not occur.

Does this mean that unless you are perfect in all levels of your being that you cannot attract, contact and learn from dragons? Of course not? But if you desire a continued companionship with them, you must strive to better yourself, balance the ebbs and tides of energies within you, and make this effort, an on-going project. Every magician and spiritual seeker should be aware that there is no such thing as complete perfection within the human body and mind 100 per cent of the time. If you could become that perfect, you would no longer inhabit a physical body. The laws of the universe do not allow anything to remain static, non-moving or non-growing. Perfect is static in whatever form it currently has; therefore, in order to confirm to the laws of the universe, that perfect form must evolve into something else, some form of being that can continue to evolve to the next higher stage of life. Change is one of the few constants of universal law.

“Dancing with Dragons”

D. J. Conway

Dragons In Astronomy

Dragons In Astronomy

In astronomy, the ancient constellation of Draco is in the northern heavens and curves in a winding pattern between the Big and Little Dippers. It ends in the Dragon’s Head, a trapezium of four stars. The star Draconis is a brilliant double star. The constellation has probably shifted over the millennia and may have once been the polestar to which the pyramid of Cheops was aligned.

Ancient astrologers called the north node of the Moon Caput Draconis, or head of the dragon, and the south node Cauda Draconis, or tail of the dragon.The nodes (the actual meaning is “knot” or “complication”) are not planets but points which relate the Moon’s orbit to the actual orbit of the Earth around the Sun. In astrology the north node symbolizes intake and positive aspects, the south node releases and negative aspects. These draconic nodes are still considered important to today’s astrologers.

“Dancing with Dragons”

D. J. Conway

Northern Dragons

Northern Dragons 

Probably the greatest of Northern dragons was Nidhogg (Dread Biter) who lived in Niflheim and was constantly gnawing at the World Tree. Nidhogg would be classified as a chaos dragon, one who destroys in order to re-create. This idea of destruction-resurrection extended to the Norse belief that Nidhogg stripped all corpses of their flesh.

In the Northern regions, dragons were said to live in cold seas or misty lakes, storms and fogs. When these were not available, dragons lurked in deep underground caverns, coming out when hungry or when there was a thunderstorm. Even after conversion to Christianity, the Scandinavians, especially the Norwegians, placed carved dragon heads on the gables of their churches to guard against the elements, as for years they had guarded their ships with dragon-headed prows.

In the original legends of Scotland, Scandinavia, and northern Germany, dragons were not winged, nor were they totally evil. Up until the early Middle Ages, it was reported that flights of dragons were as common as migrating birds. By the Middle Ages when the Christians had grabbed control of nearby everything and were fanatically persecuting Pagans, they changed the ideas of dragons into winged monsters, always menacing and evil, some with multiple heads. They described some of them as having the throat and legs of an eagle, the body of a huge serpent, the wings of the bat, and a tail with a arrow tip; we now call these two-legged dragons wyverns. Christianity was quick to equate dragons with their Devil and their Hell. The Christians also portrayed all non-Christian rulers as evil, destructive dragons.

There are many Christian references to dragons, all of them negative, which generally speaking meant “down with Pagan ideas.” One such tale is told in the book of Bel and the Dragon in the Apocrypha: another is described in the book of Daniel. Christian tales of saints and dragons always picture the dragon losing. The Christians want you to believe that they have killed dragon power, but this is not so. They have not, and never will destroy magick or the wily, elusive dragon.

Christianity and its admonition to hunt down and destroy dragons brought about the end of common dragon sightings, for these great and knowledgeable beasts withdrew from the physical plane, especially in Britain, and Europe. In the Orient dragons were never subjected to the malicious hunting practices of Europe and so continued to involve themselves in human and cosmic affairs. Oriental dragons, being as a whole gregarious extroverts, having generally been treated with much more respect and honor than other dragons.

In Mexico the dragons of the Olmecs were pictured with the body of a rattlesnake, the eyebrows of a jaguar, and feathers. This combination of serpent-jaguar-dragon was common among the civilizations of Mexico, Central America, and certain portions of South America. This combined sinuous and hungry form symbolized the ambiguities of the universe, the process of destruction and re-creation, subconsciously understood by even the most primitive people. Although these cultures were primitive by our standards, they were certainly not without knowledge, cultural advancements, and scientific studies. After their own fashion, they were very spiritual people, who would have been perfectly capable of discovering dragon power; their strange half-dragon, half-jaguar carvings represent their understanding and acknowledgement of the dragons of their continent. Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered Serpent, a dragon serpent figure known and revered over much of the area, bore many of the same characteristics as Oriental dragons.

“Dancing with Dragons”

D. J. Conway

Dragon’s Blood

Dragon’s Blood

Several tales tell of the magickal uses of a dragon’s organs and blood. In European lore, the blood was said to make a person invulnerable to stab wounds if they bathed in it, able to understand the speech of birds and animals if they drank it. One of Bothvar’s companions, in the Danish Hrolf’s Saga, ate a dragon’s heart and became extremely brave and strong. Eating the tongue gave eloquence and the ability to win any argument. The liver cured certain diseases, as did various other parts.

Medieval medicine and magick mention the use of dragon’s blood many times. Since dragons are not going to willingly give up their blood, magicians had to turn to other sources. There were said to be several sources of this material, other than from an actual dragon. The “bloodstone” hematite, an ore rich in iron, and the mineral cinnabar, a compound of mercury, were both called forms of dragon’s blood. However, the most widely used “dragon’s blood” was a gum resin. It was said that trees which originally grew from actual spilled dragon’s blood produced a reddish-brown sap of great magickal value. This species of tree is still called Dracaena draco by botanists. Incisions were made in the bark and sap collected as it congealed into resin. Most of these trees are found in the East Indies, souther Arabia, and the Canary Islands. Dragon’s blood resin is still known and used in magickal procedures today.

“Dancing with Dragons”

D. J. Conway

The Precious Stone, Dracontias

The Precious Stone, Dracontias

Dragons have a precious stone, called the dracontias, in the forehead. This stone is credited with amazing powers of many kinds. For the stone to hold its powers, however, it had to be removed before the dragon was dead. There is a story of such a stone acquired and then kept within a family for centuries. About 1345 the Chevalier do Gozano, who was later Grand master of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, killed a dragon on the island of Rhodes. It is unclear how he managed to extract the dracontias before the dragon died; it was said that if the dracontias was extracted after death it lost its power. This stone, about the size of an olive and beautifully colored, became a family heirloom. On several occasions this dracontias was put into water; the water was boiled and drunk as an antidote to poison and disease, with complete recovery by the ill person.

“Dancing with Dragons”

D. J. Conway

Dragons and Their Interaction With Humans

Dragons and Their Interaction With Humans

Today true practical dragon magick and power are almost a forgotten art in the world of magick. Generally speaking, only those practitioners and believers in the Faerie Tradition speak of the existence and validity of dragons. Few people know of the joy and companionship and spiritual knowledge that come from dancing with dragons. Dancing with dragons takes cooperation, not master-slave relationships: it takes great self-discipline to reach into another level of existence and contact a dragon as a co-magician.

It has been my experience that, although dragons have form and existence, they do not exist in this physical world as we do. Dragons inhabit the astral plane which co-exists with and interpenetrates this physical plane. Astral beings are as real as we are; they just have a body that vibrates at a different rate than physical matter does.

Dragons can be everywhere and, in a matter of speaking, in all things. Every elemental action and reaction has the possibility of being an extension of a dragon and its power. This is not to suggest that dragons go about controlling people and incidents. usually they take little note of ordinary humans, deeming them beneath their notice.. There are two reasons a dragon might become involved with humans and their problems. First, if there appears to be an immediate danger to the dragon’s area itself. Second, if a magician knows how to properly contact and communicate with dragon power, and if she/he can persuade the dragon to help.

The only exception I know to this are dragons talking with children. Some dragons take a delight in communicating with small children, particularly those who have psychic ability. Unfortunately, parents and society take a dim view of such ability, hedging it about with so much disfavor that most children stop using it.

One of my grandsons, when quite small, saw dragons all the time. He described them to me in great and accurate detail, although I had never discussed them with him. When he finally realized that this made his mother very angry he shut off the ability. The programming may be effective enough to keep him from re-opening and exploring his early friendship with dragons while he lives at home, but the desire is still there. When he visits us, the first place he goes is to the bookcase full of dragon statues. He is very quiet and intent while he looks over every single one, although he is familiar with them all. I leave him to his silent contemplation as I realize it is a form of communication between him and his “lost” dragon friends. Someday, if and when he feels strong enough to dispense with his subconscious programming, he may decide that acknowledging the existence of dragons is not wrong.

On rare occasion an astral being, such as a dragon, will manifest itself so clearly on the physical that people see it with the physical eyes. It is my opinion that some of the so-called monsters, such as those of Loch Ness, are astral beings. Nessie is possibily a kind astral sea dragon. For this reason I do not expect that there will ever be any hard physical evidence, the kind scientists can put under a microscope or dissect, produced to validate Nessie’s existence.

Carl Sagan, in “The Dragons of Eden,” spent a lot of time and paper trying to discredit dragon stories around the world. His narrow-minded, tedious explanations tried to convince the public that the stories of dragons came from racial memories of dinosaurs. But then more than a few scientists, unless they can capture and dissect something, are not about to admit they do not know everything about this world and its creatures, let alone admit that there might be other planes of existence that interact with ours.

There is not only one way to see and work with dragons. There are many magickal systems in the world, and they each tend to look at dragons in their own way. Some systems think of them as elemental energies without independent existence. Others think of them as symbolic, again having no true existence. It has been my experience that dragons are real creatures who come and go from the astral plane as they please. I have seen them, heard them and felt their power. After working with dragons in ritual, I leave it to you to form your own opinion.

Dancing With Dragons

D. J. Conway

Dragons In Other Cultures

Dragons In Other Cultures

Everywhere the legged dragon is associalted with creation or life-giving. Throughout the world the Goddess or Great Mother, is connected with serpents, dragons, and spirals. As the great whale-dragon, Ishtar brought about the catastrophic flood which made it possible for a new order of humans to develop. Tiamat of Mesopotamia was the Mother-creator-dragon whose body was shaped inot the heavens and Earth. Worldwide, dragons and serpents are symbolic of the energy source of life, healing, oracular powers, fertility and maternal blessing.

H. P. Blavatsky states in her books that the dragon is a very old sign for Astral Light or Primordial Principle. This means that there is always wisdom in chaos, even if humans cannot see it. The dragon stood for psychical regeneration and immortality. Perhaps the stories which insist that dragons were partial to virgins simply meant that the seeking of wisdom and true innocence of the spirit were traits which attracted draconic beings.

In some cultures a full initiate was called a dragon or snake. Priests of Egypt and Babylon called themselves Sons of the Serpent-God or Sons of the Dragon. Even the Druids of the Celts spoke of themselves as snakes. In Mexico, the priests of Quetzalcoatl referred to themselves as of the race of the Dragon. The Welsh word Draig or dragon, was used to denote a leader, hero, warleader or prince. King Arthur and his father Uther Pendragon were said to have used a dragon as their emblem. Even today the royal banner of Wales has four-legged red and gold dragon on it.

The dragon has become a symbol of evil and the Christian devil only after the church gained power. In an attempt to crush the ancient beliefs of Pagans, the Christians spread their propaganda of their devil, calling them the Dragon. By instilling deep fears, particularly of eternal punishments, the priests and church leaders managed to grasp control of rulers and governments. By becoming the controlling forced behind governments, the church could control the people themselves, either through making their own Christian religious belief the state religion or by influencing the laws that were passed. Even then, though, there were truly individualistic people who refused to give up what they knew to be for them, true spiritual paths. These Pagans had to go underground, living in fear of persecution and death, for centures until they were once again granted the freedom to follow their ancient ways, freely speak of contacting the powerful astral beings who aided them.

 

“Dancing with Dragons”

D. J. Conway

Dragons In Alchemy

Dragons In Alchemy

In alchemy, the dragon was considered to be matter, metal and the physical body. Often mentioned in conjunction with the dragon was the dragon’s sister: spirit, metallic mercury, and the soul. Ancient alchemy used the picture of a dragon or winged serpent as one of its many secret symbols. A common symbol of spiritual alchemical work was the dragon or serpent holding its tail in its mouth, an unending circle of eternity. Near this circled dragon was written the Greek motto “en to pan,” or “all is one.” The fabled Philosopher’s Stone of alchemy was also considered the One Which Is All. This Stone was closely connected in ancient writings with the Great Work of alchemy; the Great work simply means humankind becoming God, or merging with the Supreme Creative Forces within, thus completing the cycle of human growth by returning to the Source.

Jung wrote that the alchemists considered the winged dragon as female, the wingless dragons as male. Jung also considered water in dreams and analysis as unconscious spirit or the water dragon of Tao. This water dragon of Tao symbolized the yang embraced in the yin, or balanced growth in spirit. In Chinese Taoist symbolism, the dragon was seen as ‘the Way,” the bringer of eternal changes. Often in was depicted as guardian of the Flaming Pearl, or spiritual perfection. Joseph Campbell also speaks of the winged dragon or serpent as being the balance between Earth and Spirit. To the Chinese, the dragon was a potent symbol of luck and power. Silver dragon amulets were worn to help gain these qualities.

“Dancing with Dragons”

D. J. Conway

What are Dragons?

What are Dragons?

 

 

Many cultures around the entire world have stories of dragons in one shape or another. Some are depicted as huge wingless serpents, other more like the traditional picture we of the Western world have of dragons: heavy bodied with wings. Dragons are shown with four legs, two legs, or no legs at all. Some dragons were said to have arrowhead-pointed tails, while others have spiked knob on the end of the tail. Some have twisted horns, others long antennae rather like those of moths. But the dragon, in whatever form, is there in thousands of folk stories, regardless of the description attached to it. Humankind has a subconscious knowledge of the dragon and its powers that even the assumed thin veneer of so-called civilizations cannot remove.

I discovered dragons and their potential powers years ago as a child. Being open-minded and noncritical, as most children are, I enjoyed the company of dragons, faeries, elves, and similar beings on a daily basis. My activity, however, was deeply frowned upon as “imagination.” I soon learned to keep quiet about my special ability in order to stay out of trouble with adults. Soon I began ignoring these others beings because I was afraid of making a slip and talking about them. Ridicule and punishment were severe when this happened; the subconscious negative programming had begun. When I finally rebelled against family control, I found the inner door not only shut, but locked. It took years of conscious retraining and experience before I could again understand how to call upon these beings, especially dragons, and use their magickal powers.

Negative programming has created havoc and unhappiness in a great many lives. This type of programming is inflicted upon others because of fear and a desire to control. The perpetrator forgets, or does not care, that they are dealing with an individual who has the right to her/his special abilities, dreams and goals in life. This happens not only to children, but to anyone who is less than sure of themselves, dependents upon someone else, or unable for whatever reason to leave the situation and people who are causing them great mental and emotional pain. If these beleaguered souls could make contact with their own special dragons, they could build the inner power to either remove themselves from the problem or at least refuse to accept the guilt, fear and control being placed upon them.

But what are dragons? Are the real or imaginary? In the Western world, our word dragon comes from the Greek drakon and the Latin draco. Drakon comes from a verb meaning to see, to look at, or possibly to flash. Certainly in most legends dragons spend their time watching, whether it be treasure, territory, or the supposedly captive maidens. The word “dragon” is used in many different fields, as diverse as astrology, astronomy, alchemy, magick, heraldry, psychology and the study of dreams. From the time that humans began to record things, dragons have been mentioned.

“Dancing with Dragons”

D. J. Conway