It was September, 1986 that I was introduced to the festival of Michaelmas. I had enrolled my daughter in the first class of the fledgling Waldorf School of Princeton and at the end of the first month of school there was a Saturday gathering around a dragon and a dragon slayer. 28 years later and I am still learning about dragons and dragon slayers.
The Archangel Micha-el is the Spirit of Our Times and brings to the human soul a capacity to recognize, name and slay or tame the dragons that dwell in the caves of our soul and our sense of self.
We find in Micha-el the source of light that illuminates the darkness within. But, Micha-el appears in darkness, not above or beyond it. In other words, Micha-el comes to us so we can see ourselves, find the courage of I, in the midst of inner and outer darkness.
Through my work as a spiritual mentor supporting others as they undertake the activities of finding, knowing, and becoming themselves, and through my own personal self-imagining, I’ve recently come to recognize and name three types of dragons: karma dragons, trauma dragons, and demon dragons. Much of my work with my individual clients is about discerning these three types of obstacles to selfhood and determining how to forge and use the inner sword that brings the strength of Michael to confronting and overcoming karma, trauma and demons.
Let’s discern these dragons.
The Karma Dragons
Karma dragons are the obstacles found in our thoughts and feelings about our inherited selves: the forms and functions of our physical and biological selves and the attitudes and myths of our families and immediate communities. These innate dragons are so tough to see and tougher to slay. These karma dragons are the ones that form our false selves and then defend these distorted identities against the freedom that comes with a a growing, evolving sense of selfhood.
The biggest problem with karma dragons is that they look like us, or like mommy or daddy, so slaying them feels like a crime against the self and all that defines us. It feels that if we slay them everything will die and there will be no I.
The Trauma Dragons
Trauma dragons are the events of our lives that take a part of our souls and freeze them in suspended animation. Suspended animation is the slowing or stopping of life processes by outer or inner means without termination.
“Without termination” of life, yet no capacity to live. Have you seen any of the zombie movies??? Have you wondered why young people find the image of zombies so intriguing?
Trauma dragons are the ones that have taken away the life of your soul, usually just parts of your soul. They keep you from feeling any vibrant warmth or enthused engagement for your work, your relationships, your personal goals. These are the dragons that “scare the life out of you.”
Trauma dragons can be great loss, great inflating success or devastating failure, sexual, emotional, or spiritual abuse, a physical illness or accident. I’ve had my share of battles with trauma demons…and brought new life to the zombie bits of my soul. You can, too.
The Demon Dragons
Finally, the nasty little demon dragons. These soul vermin attack our thoughts, our feelings, and our acts of will and turn them into rigid thoughts, robotic habits and toxic reactions. They are cancerous. A demon dragon finds a single thought, feeling or deed and attacks it, not to devour it but to corrupt it. One corrupt thought, feeling or behavior then begins to grow and metastasize throughout our soul. Demon dragons are the enemies of moral development.
And they are so little. Karma dragons look like us but are large, dramatic, and so familiar. Trauma dragons range in size and make a lot of pain and though they may hide, once out in the open they are easily recognized and can be overcome. But the little demons are like fleas and gnats, too small to be seen.
Typing Your Dragons & The Courage of I
The moment you can type a dragon: karma, trauma, demon, you will find a light, a warmth, a tone, and a force entering your soul. This is the Micha-elic courage of I.
When you take up the Michaelic task of naming and slaying your personal dragons, there is much benefit in having conversations that both support and guide you in your work. You are the only one who can free yourself from your dragons, no one and no being can do this for you, not even Micha-el. Micha-el bring the light of the Sun and conversations can encourage your courage of I.
Use these distinctions in your moments of self-reflection – your dragon hunts. See if they don’t help you in your dragon-spotting and dragon-slaying. Michaelmas is the soul season for this courageous work of facing your karma, your trauma, your demons.
Lynn, the universe is more and more amazing. The email on dragons was in my inbox when I came home from a visit to a doctor, where I was scheduled for an immediate test (tomorrow) – to rule out cervical or uterine cancer. I’m holding strongly to the intention that this will truly rule it out, and also, today and after the last few weeks as this has been pending, have been dealing with a great upsurge of (thanks for the name!) Trauma Dragon. Thanks for the reminder of Micha-el, whom I often do call on, but hadn’t thought to do so yet about this. This Trauma Dragon is actually pretty fascinating, full of many interesting reflective scales, of many colors, bouncing the reflection of fears I didn’t think I had back at me, so I can’t deny them, but must face them, engage with them. I’m not sure if destroying this dragon is exactly right; engaging seems like the right thing. I feel an emotional vibrational intensity that doesn’t seem to ask to be conquered, but allowed. I hope, of course, that I am able to meet the testing of this particular dragon without needing it to escalate to get my attention, and I do welcome all the help I can get. I just love the synchronicity of receiving this message today! Thanks so much.
I love how Lynn voiced this idea. It feels freeing, believe it or not, to divide our dragons into three types. I can see how the karma dragon can appear nearly invisible because of how closely it mimics our mirrored appearance, and the trauma dragon- that suspended place- I know that one well and am living that one right now, pushing the mist out of my way at times, welcoming it, at others. The demon dragons are those I want to be on the lookout for. Those tiny voices of nit-picking, clawing, undermining the self are very subtle, yet very capable. And wow! The insight into Micha-el as being present in the darkness, not above or below it, but helping us discover our own “I” -our own self, rings so true after feeling that “alone” kind of darkness post kidney surgery myself, where the only “presence” I felt was my own. I will be chewing on these ideas for awhile.
Lyn,
I thank you for these definitions and the inspiration for reflection in a more systematic way. Some of us need this! I have identified some in each category. This does unwind my third chakra somewhat and open me for receiving and thinking clearly as I have a trauma Dragon on my shoulder as I type.
I am glad to have these ideas to work in with my current plan of unwinding and looking at and clearing these obstacles.
Keep up the inspirational work
Rachel