Fire Dragon ~ Druid Animal Oracle Part IV

Note ~ The Druid Animal Oracle by Philip and Stephanie Carr-Gromm is a tarot that works with the sacred animals of the Druid tradition. The Druids were very early psychologists whom used animal behavior to try and understand the human psyche. By understanding and making a connection with our animal brothers and sisters, we can use these animals as guides, and by doing so we can better understand ourselves.

I have broken the four Druid Dragons (which represent the elements of earth, fire, air, and water) into four blogs. It is much easier to digest these four elemental dragons one at a time. Although dragons can be divided into four elements, most partake in all four elements – originating from water, circling and living around the hills, flying through the air, and/or breathing fire.
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It is he who, blazing, seeks burial mounds,
He, the smooth, spiteful dragon that flies throught the night,
Enveloped in flame; all men fear him greatly
~Beowulf

Fire Dragon (Gaelic name ~ Draig-teine)
The name Pendragon brings to the imagination stories of heroic kings of Britain and probably the most famous of them all ~ King Arthur. My heart skips a beat at the mention of King Arthur, Sir Lancelot and Lady Gwenivere and the adventures my mind takes them on. The name Pendragon however did not start with King Arthur, it began with his father. Uther, the future king of sub-Roman Britain and the father of King Arthur, saw an image of a fire-breathing dragon in the sky (most believe the dragon to have been a fiery comet). Uther, in his excitement, immediately went to the Druid Merlin to decipher the meaning of the fire dragon he had witnessed. Merlin explained that the fire dragon was a two-fold symbol of his ill brother’s coming death, King Aurelius, and his own future kinghood. This symbol came at a time when Uther was trying to force Paschent and the Saxons out of Britain. **Backing up a bit, Paschent’s father, Vortigem, had previously taken the throne of Britain by murdering Uther’s brother Constans.** By this point in the story Uther and his other brother Aurelius had retaken the throne and killed Vortigem, but still had Paschent and the invading Saxon army to deal with. Uther did win the battle against Paschent and the Saxons at which point he assumed the name “Pendragon”, which literally means “Head of the Dragon”, and took the dragon as his totem beast. When returning to Britain he discovered his brother was poisoned by an assassin and immediately is crowned king. He then proceeded to have two dragon statues constructed, one of which becomes his insignia. He also secured Britain and stomped out the Saxon invasion. King Arthur and later kings continued the Pendragon name and the dragon symbol became a heraldic emblem to stand behind.

Story of the Wales Dragon

The legend of the dragon on the Welsh flag is a very interesting tale, one that dates back to the time when Vortigem had taken the throne after killing King Constans. Votigem was trying to build his fortress at Dinas Emrys, but failed due to the continual collapse of its foundation. A young boy named Emrys, whom would later become known as Merlin, was brought forth to use his ‘mystical visions’ to explain why the foundation was so unstable. Emrys explained that there were two dragons below the ground in a lake in an eternal struggle, one which shook the ground in which the foundation stood. One dragon was red and represented the Britons, the other was white and represented the Saxons. Vortigem did not believe this tale and immediately had the ground excavated. The two dragons were found and began fighting immeditately. The red dragon defeated the white dragon and became the emblem of Whales.

Nwyvre ~ The Dragon’s Fire
Each of the four dragons I have explained thus far ~ Earth, Air, Water, and Fire ~ represent power and energy. Each dragon mediates this power or energy in a different way and we must learn how to weave all 4 “dragon energies” into our being, the key being balance. The Druids believed that the Fire Dragon represented kingship, leadership, rulership and mastery. For this reason, Merlin was able to predict Uther’s vision, as well as, his future accurately.

As I noted above, the Druids were very early psychologists whom used animal behavior to try and understand the human psyche. The Druids believed the Fire Dragon guards the ‘Inner Fire’ that burns inside our being which is called Nwyvre in Druidry. While Earth Dragons are seen as passive - coiling around hillsides and lying dormant for the most part, the Fire Dragon in mythology is seen mostly as a malignant force destroying all that lies before it. But the Druids did not see the Fire Dragon as only malignant. They believed the Fire Dragon to be neutral or having a mirror effect - being malignant or benign based on how ready we are to take on the ‘Inner Fire’ of our being. The Fire Dragon reminds us that not all power is for everyone. The Fire Dragon only becomes malignant when we take on too much. When the energies we surround ourselves with consume us and send us into “burn-out” and nervous exhaustion. One such energy is anger. Anger can erupt without warning or remain scattered making every effort to succeed fail. Anger can cause exhaustion and keep us unmotivated, therefore the goal we strive for is never reached. As with anything balance is a must physically and psychologically. The Fire Dragon can also become malignant during drug abuse, which causes the mind to become muddled and in time permanently damaged - creating an imbalance. In this case the unity of Mind, Body, and Soul is completely broken – I know this from experience. Abusing your “Inner Fire” and the Fire Dragon’s power can only create a dangerous situation and can most certainly become fatal, creating a fierce and ‘fiery’ situation.

However, learning to befriend the Fire Dragon can promote vitality, enthusiasm, and courage that will help one overcome obstacles in life. By befriending the Fire Dragon, what I mean to say is that we learn where our limitations are and how to work around them or with these limitations creating a positive spin. Once we learn how to balance stressful situations the Fire Dragon begins to “fuel” our “Inner Fires” allowing us to master leadership situations and to accomplish objectives.