Not All Dragon Dreams are Nightmares
by  Jeff Bronson

One night I awoke from a dream about a dragon. It wasn't a  nightmare, but it wasn't that wonderful either. The being surely wasn't  Puff, the Magic Dragon. What could be the significance of it?

 Always a powerful creature, the dragon could be friend of rival  depending on the culture of beliefs it came from. Dragons from Eastern  cultures have traditionally been the embodiment of truth and virtue,  prosperity, and spiritual or personal quest. On the other hand, Western  culture has typically revered dragons as evil, harmful, guardians of  treasure and symbols of greed. So does this mean if you are from Eastern culture, you dream of good dragons and if you are from Western  tradition, ruthless ones?

 What about Biblical imagery? In Revelations 12, we are told of a dream  in which the devil takes on the appearance of a red dragon. Does this  then mean that dragons are diabolical?

 While this is one extreme explanation, another, which is widely accepted across belief systems, is that to dream of a fire-breather is to dream  about a personal problem that must be handled. This sort of dream is an  anxiety dream, kind of like those you used to have where you dreamt of  walking into the cafeteria and the whole school stopping to laugh at  you. Perhaps you will even find yourself fighting a dragon while a  couple of of your other personal anxieties (like for me, being too late  to take a test that is going to control what I do for the rest of my  life) take place around you.

 It is believed that if the dragon in your dreams has wings, it is  representing transcendence and insight. For example, if you are dreaming of riding a dragon, you may be in for some kind of spiritual  transformation.

 Possibly your dream dragon is standing in front of a cave, overseeing  its entrance. Many sources decipher that the cave is your subconscious  and inside that cave is treasure, which in turn is your true self. And  consequently if you fight your dream dragon, what you are really  fighting is your own fear of coming to grips with your inner  self.Dragons in dreams are also associated with power, fire, and  passion. Some people believe that these creatures are symbols of your  sexual and emotional domains. However, it is also cautioned that these  dreams are there to remind you to apply self control, which when not  utilized, can lead to all types of destruction.

 Still an added explanation comes from Freud and Jung, who, as you may  have surmised, attribute dragon dreams to a person's "devouring" traits  of his or her mother or if you are male, your inability out of fear or  misunderstanding to incorporate your feminine side into your  personality.

 So the next time you awaken frightened from a dream about a dragon,  don't turn on all the lights and take cover under the blankets. Write  down what you dreamt and then when you are more conscious, really ponder about a few of the issues and worries underlying your everyday life.  The majority of the times these are harder to face than fire-breathing  creatures. That said, just take into account that your dream is giving  you a message and that is that you can do it-you can overcome and  destroy your dragon.

About the Author

Jeff Bronson is the owner of Obscuria.com, a darkly unique Gothic shop. Obscuria offers a  quality selection of dragon figurines and dragon collectibles, and many custom made, exclusive in the U.S items.