Dark path cross over question for FaeSpirit39....

[MonSno_LeeDra]

Faespirit39 wroteL



I don't believe in a "Dark Path". However I do believe that you can believe in darker things in life. Hubby LOVES all things vampiric, draconic, skullish etc (then again I am attracted to the same!), where I am focused more in faeries (and the like), nature, animals etc.



I've just got to ask. I can understand the inclusion of Vampiric and Skullish items in a dark orientation but why things Draconic?

Please don't take this as an attack or anything I just wanted to avoid having the discussion change the purpose of the original thread.

[aranarose]

I have to wonder that as well. My husband follows a draconic path, but it is anything but dark. I'm the one on what would be termed a darker path. His work with dragons includes a great deal of healing, he's physically healed me on several occasions.

And I'm also wondering about how she seems to consider faeries and nature lighter as opposed to darker. Having worked intimately with the fae for many years, trying to divide them into light or dark is fruitless. They are a muddy mix of it all.

[RainInanna]

The idea of dragons being dark or even malevolent is not new. Consider dragons slain by knights, Tiamat, Apep, or Biblical references to dragons.

As to fae, I suspect she's referring to the more benevolent types, ie. local devas.

[MonSno_LeeDra]

I agree dragon lore goes back ages but most of the negative slant has risen after the rise of Christanity. With the Dragon used as a persona of the "Devil" to fight it was to fight the Christian Devil. Yet this persona transfer was against the European variety of dragon most other areas the dragon was an element of nature and preceived as good.

Tiamat and Apep are both earlier gods / goddess that pre-date Christanity. While Tiamat is described as a Dragon, Apep is more of a serpent / crocodile vice dragon. Yet neither is trully dark or evil only representations of chaos.
Tiamat

by Micha F. Lindemans
In Babylonian myths, Tiamat is a huge, bloated female dragon that personifies the saltwater ocean, the water of Chaos. She is also the primordial mother of all that exists, including the gods themselves. Her consort is Apsu (http://www.pantheon.org/articles/a/apsu.html), the personification of the freshwater abyss that lies beneath the Earth. From their union, saltwater with freshwater, the first pair of gods were born. They are Lachmu and Lachamu, parents of Ansar and Kisar, grandparents of Anu (http://www.pantheon.org/articles/a/anu.html) and Ea (http://www.pantheon.org/articles/e/ea.html).
In the creation epic Enuma elish, written around 2000 BCE, their descendants started to irritate Tiamat and Apsu so they decided to kill their offspring. Ea discovered their plans and he managed to kill Apsu while the latter was asleep. Tiamat flew into a rage when she learned about Apsu's death and wanted to avenge her husband. She created an army of monstrous creatures, which was to be led by her new consort Kingu (http://www.pantheon.org/articles/k/kingu.html), who is also her son. Eventually, Tiamat was defeated by the young god Marduk (http://www.pantheon.org/articles/m/marduk.html), who was born in the deep freshwater sea. Marduk cleaved her body in half, and from the upper half he created the sky and from the lower half he made the earth. From her water came forth the clouds and her tears became the source of the Tigris and the Euphratus. Kingu also perished, and from his blood Marduk created the first humans.

"The Deep" (Hebrew tehom) at the beginning of Genesis derives from Tiamat.

"Tiamat." Encyclopedia Mythica from Encyclopedia Mythica Online.
<http://www.pantheon.org/articles/t/tiamat.html (javascript:void(0))>
[Accessed December 17, 2007].

Apep

by Micha F. Lindemans
An Egyptian monster living in perpetual darkness. This snake god is the chief of the antagonists of the sun god Re (http://www.pantheon.org/articles/r/re.html) and each night he tries to stop the sun god's barque on his journey through the underworld. In the struggle between light and darkness, the monster is wounded by the divine entourage of Re with knives and spears. The god Seth (http://www.pantheon.org/articles/s/seth.html) and the god Mehen (http://www.pantheon.org/articles/m/mehen.html) were often depicted defending the solar barque. Apep is the personification of darkness, evil, and chaos. Occasionally, the battle was decided in his favor, causing a solar eclipse, but his victories were of short duration for Re always triumphed in the end. Eventually, Apep was slain by Re, who cut up his body and burned it. The Greeks referred to him as Apophis (http://www.pantheon.org/articles/a/apophis.html).

http://www.pantheon.org/images/glyphs/apep.gif
The name of Apep in hieroglyphs.


"Apep." Encyclopedia Mythica from Encyclopedia Mythica Online.
<http://www.pantheon.org/articles/a/apep.html (javascript:void(0))>
[Accessed December 17, 2007].

APEP:

http://www.egyptianmyths.net/apep.htm

http://www.thekeep.org/~kunoichi/kunoichi/themestream/apep.html

The Imagery of Knights slaying Dragons greatly originated with the slaying of the dragon by St George.

http://www.kellscraft.com/stgeorge.html

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/stgeorge2.html

http://www.ctspanish.com/festivals/stgeorge.htm

[RainInanna]

They may not be dark or evil to you, but they have been to others. Even the part you quoted pointed out Apep is the "personification of darkness, evil, and chaos", and mentioned Tiamat creating armies of monsters in a rage. Chaos, destruction, rage, etc. are often considered dark. Apparently Faespirit39's DH is thinking of those kinds of things.