Dragons
Traditional meaning and context
The received Zhougong Jiemeng associates a flying dragon with high office, a dragon resting in water with a request succeeding, and a dead dragon with loss of an honoured position. The movement and condition of the dragon change the omen; the animal alone is not an unconditional promise of success.
A dragon flies
The text associates this with high official rank and distinction.
A dragon rests in water
The text associates this with obtaining what is sought.
A dragon dies
The text associates this with losing an honoured position, contrasting with its favourable flying-dragon entry.
You ride a dragon up a mountain
The text gives a reading of the desired undertaking succeeding.
These are historical omen associations, not evidence of what will happen to you or your family.
MingSez’s reading
A dragon can give power, distinction or a hoped-for change an unusually vivid form. We look at what that power is doing: rising, resting, carrying you or disappearing. The image's grandeur does not settle whether the dream felt encouraging or unsettling.
How the scene changes the meaning
A dragon carries you upward and you feel exhilarated.
The scene combines movement with support from something powerful. Consider what made that support feel trustworthy.
A dragon that seemed powerful becomes still or dies.
The change in its condition is the central event. We would explore your response to diminished power or a changed expectation rather than assume a literal loss of status.
A question to take with you: Was the dragon rising, resting, carrying you, or losing its strength?
Sources and related reading
- Received Zhougong Jiemeng: Dragons, Snakes, Birds and Beasts
Wikisource revision 7907671. Animal-action entries in the section Dragons, Snakes, Birds and Beasts. The underlying print edition is unidentified; the title does not establish authorship by the historical Duke of Zhou.