Dragons of Our Dreams - by Shirley Sokol
If you were to close your eyes in a quiet place, and envision the dragon of your dreams, what would it look like? Would it be fierce or friendly? Would it be small or large? Perhaps with a wingspan the length of a giant cedar from trunk to top. What about the color, red, green, grey or black? Would your dragon reside in a cave, forest, mountain top or sea?
Dragons of your dreams are either created by you or perhaps visit you for a purpose. One person I spoke with said that when they envision a dragon, it is fierce, large, and possibly evil. He said that it would live in the highlands of Scotland. It would be a greenish grey color and might rule over the people who lived below. He added that he may need to fight the dragon to protect the people. Another perspective came from a lady who said her dragon would be named Eleanor and may be her spirit guide. My dragon would be large, strong, and black in color and have a scary flame. He would have tips of red on his tail and live in a cave towards the top of a mountain. He would be there to protect us and would communicate to only a select few.
In folklore, this mystical, yet real creature, symbolizes many things across the world. In mythology, dragons go back to ancient Mesopotamian art and literature. In folklore, they have forms in the Native American culture that are associated with water, rain, lightning and thunder. The American Museum of Natural History, states that dragons who lurk in European stories are powerful, wicked and dangerous. In Christian tradition, they can symbolize Satan or sin. There are so many civilizations who have written and verbal accounts of dragons in their folklore that for those who aren’t sure of their existence, there may be a hint of belief if they look into it deeper. From the Aztecs to the Greeks, Native Americans, Chinese, Europeans and Mayan cultures…to name a few…dragons of different colors and meanings continue their portrayals through the arts.
Our culture today is enamored and in awe of dragons. Today’s audiences can’t wait to see friendly dragons that you can ride high up into the sky or fierce warrior dragons from another time that protect the people and their land. Artificial intelligence (AI), which combines computer science and artistry, has created visuals that may be close to our dreams. Now that AI is introducing programs to our screens, we can share the imaginations of other dreams. If we hadn’t created our own vision of a dragon to that point, we now have the option to choose from a large list.