Bringing the paths of magick together through the symbolism and power of the sword.

Dragon Exercise

by Jim Slagle

Quiet serpent, coiled, asleep; resting in unconscious deep.
Does this image, of sleeping snake with eyes still closed
Convey the situation as clearly as we supposed?
Or is this sleeping one more actively reposed?

Let us now one moment take
To see this is a lively snake,
I am the one asleep.
The serpent is awake.

This is a serpent that will not be leashed. It is an unlimited, immortal energy.

It is merely a fantasy to imagine that such a powerful force can sleep! It is always active in our lives, even when we think it is asleep. If we think it is asleep, it is merely finding its creative expression through our unconscious actions.

While the kundalini remains unconscious, it is a serpent. Only by raising it to consciousness can it become a Dragon. -Daniel Watson

Most of us are probably are already adept at our own individual techniques for directing and moving creative energy. We develop these techniques naturally as part of our struggle to cope with the mundane problems of daily living. Perhaps we don't always consciously realize the remarkable extent to which we really do more and direct energy.

One way to approach this Dragon Exercise is to presume that it ushers in access to a new or more intense experience of vital energy. An alternative perspective is that this exercise merely brings into conscious application a process with which you are well acquainted. What heretofore may have been practiced unthinkingly can be engaged with deliberate intent.

There are many ways to approach The Dragon. Perhaps you will enjoy this one:

Begin Grand Terminus

Phase One - Human

Begin by switching on the juice, whatever that means to you. Perhaps you have a favorite chi-kung technique that you would enjoy using for this purpose. Move some electricity. Switch on a little heat. Build a fire in any way that pleases you. (Perhaps you can try this exercise using different "fire starters"; perhaps it might be useful to play whatever method - familiar, or made up in the moment - strikes your mood at the time).

Now, dare to be a little wild, and let this lively force flow through the internal pathways and channels within your body.

Now, wilder still, let it begin to emerge from the crown of your head. Although we will be connecting with distant realms in this exercise, for the moment let us keep to a more localized focus. Accordingly, let this energy emerging from the crown of your head remain within your immediate sphere of influence, entering back into your palms. In this way you can create a whirling pair of wheels that spin at whatever speed you choose.

Keeping this first circuit still spinning, let now add another. This will be getting even wilder, so perhaps you should take a breath or two, to brighten the existing flow. Now let additional streams emerge from the crown and circle back into the soles of the feet.

These can be like streams, or like electron shells, concentric spheres.

Energy now rising up the spine is flowing out the crown. It circulates around such space as you have given it, entering back through four entry ports: two palms, two soles. At each such interface the entry can be smooth, or perhaps you may care to add some embellishment at any of these points. As the artist, the composer of this dance, add whatever flourishes or swirls or such may suit your mood. Regardless of your changing style, be it ornate or austere, your tweaking the energetic flow in ways you find delightful exert a powerful allure to Dragon energy. This is the fabled "short cut to big energies by walking through delight."

Complete this phase by adding now the fifth and final circuit, flowing up the spine, and out the crown, then arcing down, entering the base of the spine.

This is the micro-cosmic orbit. You are running vital energies through a human vehicle. This is a wakeful human state. Spending time here creates magic.

Phase Two - Earth

What you have going now is the starting point for what we next suggest. Keep the first phase orbiting in all its channels throughout this next step.

Out of all this lively, fiery dance, send a powerful beam of your own essence deep into the Earth.

Run the orbits. Crank the fire. Press them down upon the core of the deep Earth. Dread not dark energies there, but accept them as they are.

Light and Dark are indeed opposites, as are such polarities as masculine & feminine, empty & full, freedom & destiny, etc.. One may tend to favor light over darkness, but from that it does not follow that Light=Good and Dark=Evil.

(For example, Feminine=Dark=Evil is obviously malformed, notwithstanding any consequences of pestering the wrong women with such an idea)

At this place, deep in the earth, are dark energies which can be helpful. It is important to know how to use them constructively.

It is not "dark energy" but, rather, that which separates, and names things as "evil" that is Evil.

-Daniel Watson

Technical Note 1: Some traditions associate Earth, feminine, and darkness. Things buried in the symbolic unconsciousness of Earth may be things one might prefer to leave buried without visitation. That might tend to make this exercise a bit appalling, but what better time or place to encounter such things?

You are dancing your fire in two places now: in your body, which stands upon the surface of the Earth, and also at the planetary core.

Technical Note 2: The earth's center of gravity is in direct contact (orbitally speaking) with the Sun's center of gravity. This is not a Sun meditation, but you are fooling with what might be termed a "sunspot" here. The moon is also similarly involved with this center. It may also be worth mentioning that Sun's center of gravity orbits the galactic C.O.G.

Press it, dance it. If you are new to this, you might experience fatigue like a T'ai Chi Ch'uan beginner learning to practice the Horse stance. Well, if you know what to do about that, you know what to do here.

When something at the center of the Earth (a bubbling spring, a swirling fire, or what ever form it takes) presses back then it is time for the next phase.

Phase Three - Heaven

Building on our prior steps, keep everything so far established continuously intact as we proceed. Now draw your personal energy, with darkness of deepest Earth combined, back up through the bottom of the spine, up along the channel where all the other orbits are flowing. This new beam of energy, shoot out the crown, and send it out to heaven.

Wildly our dance began, but wilder still it now becomes. This energy to the heavens send, then goose it upward more, sending it to dwell and dance among the stars.

Phase Four - The Dragon

When the earthly downward beam began to press back against you, you knew it was time to proceed to the next step. In this same way, you will know when your connections with the Stars are well established. Then we are ready to approach the grandest phase of all.

Dancing the skies are energies of Earth and Heaven now combined. Draw this down -- around or over, through or past -- existing orbits, so that you are now running a macro-cosmic orbit in parallel with the micro-cosmic orbit of which it is a part.

Dare to stand here and endure this fire: this is the Dragon.

Little will I tell you about the Dragon now.
Learn of this by your own practicing.

When done, find your own way back.

Conclude Grand Terminus

Finally, here are a few closing remarks about this exercise, derived from concepts now in development for a new book being written by Robert Moore, PhD. (http://www.robertmoore-phd.com):

To practice exercises of this sort implies that one is taking one's spiritual energies seriously. This can get one in touch with extraordinary creativity. It is in fact essential that as many people as possible achieve this, for only in this way can much practical work, desperately needed in this time & age, be accomplished.

The psychic energies one can access (by taking one's energies seriously) are so intense that certain definite forms of containment are needed. Otherwise, instead of becoming profoundly creative, one might slip away into psychosis (not the spiritual goal!) or become tediously inflated and grandiose (also not helpful!).

Definite forms of containment include:

Mental Containment - meditation, prayer, reading of what ever inspirational, philosophical, scriptural etc. material works for you.

Behavioral Containment - particularly physical exercise of diverse sorts, including yoga, stretching, aerobics, martial arts forms of many traditions, and more.

Relational Containment - keep company with friends who do love you, and neither hate you for your achievements, nor idealize you because of them. Their generous appreciation for all your triumphs & frailties will help you welcome the mortal being that you are despite the immortality that dances with and through you as you stand in the presence of the great Dragon.

Jim Slagle is a regular contributor to SwordMagick.com and has been with us since the spring of 2003. Jim has a great gift for putting the powerful emotions that can appear with the introduction of a blade and many of his tales can be found in his featured column, Encounters with Notable Blades.

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