Versatile and very complex character. Dragon, or "; winged serpent "; Combines the snake and bird, spirit and matter. Initially, its symbolism was completely supportive and mean water-bearing life of a snake, and the breath of life bird. He was identified with the heavenly gods and their earthly representatives - emperors and kings. Subsequently, he became ambivalent symbols denoting fertile rains following the storms, and at the same time, the destructive power of lightning and floods. In the East, the dragon, as a rule, is the Power of Heaven, bearing good, whereas in the West it is chthonic, destructive and evil. The dragon can be a solar and lunar, male and female, good and evil. In the Far East it symbolizes supernatural power, wisdom, strength, hidden knowledge, strength, water-bearing life. This is the emblem of the emperor as the Son of Heaven and, after him, a man wise and noble. Monotheistic religions portray the evil dragon force, except in specific cases where it can impersonate the Logos, the spirit animating or omnipotent deity Pleroma. The dragon and the serpent is usually used interchangeably in symbolism, representing an implicit, undifferentiated chaos, latent, unbridled nature and strength of positive water. When he belches thunder and lightning, a transition from the world of unrevealed to the created world of form and matter. Here, the dragon has a dual symbolism: it can act as a rain god, and his opponent, not giving rain to fall. His associate, on the one hand, the sea and the depths of the sea, on the other - with the tops of mountains, clouds and eastern regions of the solar. In the role of monsters, dragons - autochthonous "; lords of the earth "; With which we struggle heroes, conquerors and creators to capture or develop land. They are the guardians of treasures and access to secret knowledge. The battle with the dragon symbolizes the difficulties that must be overcome in order to take possession of the treasures of internal knowledge. The victory over the dragon symbolizes the resolution of the conflict between light and darkness, the destruction of the destructive forces of evil, or the victory over their dark nature of man and the achievement of self-. Save chaste maiden from the clutches of the dragon, then release the power clean, crushing evil. Dragon often confronts the dying god. In alchemy, the winged dragon symbolizes "; volatile "; And he lost the wings "; fixed "; , Is caught. In Chinese alchemy dragon - it's mercury, blood and semen. The Celts - the symbol of supreme power, the master. Red Dragon - an emblem Uellse. The dragon and the serpent symbolism of the Chinese inseparable. The dragon is the supreme spiritual power, the supernatural, infinity, the spirit of change, the divine power of change and transformation, the rhythms of nature, the law of formation, supernatural wisdom, strength. He - "; Deer Heaven "; The sun, the light and life. The sky, the highest power, virility yang. Dragon cloud is, in addition, the storm and life-giving rain, water depth and Spring. Blue Dragon "; Harrier "; - The highest lives in heaven and there are life-giving spirit, the power of heaven, the power of the supernatural, and the infinite. On the ground, the blue dragon - symbol of imperial authority delegated, the sign of the Emperor. In the imperial dragon is also called "; Harrier "; five claws, his head was sent to the South, and the tail - the North. It is the East and the life-giving rain. Ordinary Dragon "; manga "; has four claws on the feet and the power is temporary. An earlier form of the Chinese dragon was a dragon with three claws. Subsequently, this form of the dragon was adopted in Japan. Hornless dragon "; Is "; lives in the sea and has depths of the sea, it also symbolizes the scientist. Dragon "; chiyao "; lives in the mountains or on the ground, and represents the state of human. According to Wang Fu, the dragon has a "; nine correspondences "; "; His horns are like deer, camel head, his eyes like a demon snake neck, belly crawl, scales like a carp, claws eagle, the soles of a tiger, and cow ears "; Two "; fighting "; Competing dragon, looking at each other, represent the duality of forces of yin and yang, all opposite and complementary forces, the forces of heaven and earth, usually between them depict either the sun, or "; pearl of heaven "; And Moon. Turning their backs to each other dragons symbolize the beginning of the yin-yang. When they are shown chasing their tails for each other, it is a symbol of mutual creative action of the forces of yin and yang. Often depicted with a dragon "; dragon ball "; or "; flaming pearl "; There are different interpretations of these images are either thunder or have in mind that when the moon, the bearer of the rain falls, it swallows the dragon, and when it arrives - it's a sign that he spits out her little. In Taoism and Buddhism, it is "; pearl-fulfilling all desires "; , The pearl of perfection, in other words, the wisdom, the beacon and spiritual essence of the universe. It may be of Bodhisattva in the process of continuous illumination. Dragon, shown together with Phoenix - a symbol of union of Heaven and Earth, the Emperor and Empress, the divine potentiality, encapsulating all the opposite, the interaction of macrocosm and microcosm, the two aspects of the androgyne, the rhythms of evolution and involution, birth and death. Their symbol is also a double helix. Dragon, shown together with a tiger could mean lust, tiger, in this case would symbolize anger and hostility. In Christianity, the dragon is considered the serpent, "; so even the old serpent "; , The power of evil, the devil, the tempter, the enemy of God. It is, moreover, death, darkness, paganism and heresy. In the Old Testament "; the home of the Dragon "; associated with "; the shadow of death "; Psalms 44:19 and depths of the water. "; The dwelling of the Dragon "; was considered a place of desolation and destruction. Winners of dragons appear as victors over the forces of evil and heresy. Dragon with a knotted tail personifies evil defeated, as it was believed that the power of the dragon in its tail like a scorpion. Archangel Michael, Throws the dragon is a victory over the darkness of the sun god, that Christianity was transformed into a version of the defeat of Satan. Dragons are the attributes of the saints Kado, Clement Metskogo, George Kane, Margaret, Martha, Samson, Sylvester and St. Philip. The Egyptians Dragon is the emblem of Osiris, god of the dead. Apophis, the dragon of darkness and chaos, throws each morning sun-god Ra. In the Greco-Roman culture is an attribute of Hercules, winner of the monsters. Sometimes depict dragons harnessed to the chariot of Ceres. The Jews considered a symbol of desolation; inhabitant of the desert. In Hinduism, the dragon - the power, the words spoken, the attribute of Soma and Varuna. Indra threw the dragon. In Iranian culture - the attribute Haoma. The Japanese dragon with three claws on the feet is Mikado, imperial and spiritual power. In Sumerian-Semitic mythology - "; adversary "; , The power of evil.