Inglinga: The White Dragon as a Sacred Symbol.

The White Dragon has been featured so many times, so why another blog dealing with this? Well, I believe that it is necessary to go deeper into the inner meaning of the symbol because it seems that not everyone understands why we use it and, more importantly, how we use it. I am not going to rehash what has been said before, but will try to use new ideas and material in order to 'put the record straight' on the subject.

'Radical Britain' ran a blog-post tracing the origins of the modern White Dragon Flag to Woden's Folk. Since WF was founded in 1998, and the symbol had been around and used over a decade before this, the statement is not strictly true. The first use of the symbol within the Heathen Movement was through the White Dragon Kindred which then operated as a separate group made up of activists within Odinism. I ran the White Dragon Kindred but this was well before WF was formed. The original version of the White Dragon was the 'dragon rampant' drawn up for us by a lass in Scotland.

We used the White Dragon on Red background from the start, as the colours of the English Cross Flag, but with an outline of Black for the dragon, thus giving us the colours of the Norns and also the colours used in alchemy - Black/White/Red being the colours of transformation. The colours Red & White also symbolise -

1. The White Race.

2. The Sacred Blood Struggle.

The term 'dragon' stems from the following roots -

dra = 'to turn', 'to twist', 'to coil'.

gon = kan = 'serpent'.

Thus we have the dragon as a Winged Coiled Serpent; if we used this correct symbolism very few people would understand it, so we adopted the four-legged dragon which is far better known. But this was not the only reason, for this symbolism has much deeper meanings -

Kan also means - 'kin', 'knowledge', 'fire' (i.e. Fire Serpent), 'kingship', 'light' (torch), the pineal gland.
The Root *dra- can also be related to 'three' and thus to 'spirit', as can the idea of 'spiral' inherent in 'to twist', 'to coil', 'to turn'. The symbolism has a spiritual power.
The symbol we use is 'four-footed' which links it to the Fylfot-Swastika or 'Fol's Foot'/'Four Foot'. The fylfot is a spiral shown in a two-dimensional symbol. This also fits with the White Dragon being symbolic of our own Milky Way Galaxy, which is a spiral made up of 88 constellations.

'He (Gurdjieff) said that from time to time from another world - 'from Above' - a Sacred Individual is incarnated in human form with a very high and special mission, the working of which is not visible in this world and which can only be perceived by the disciples or companions who are specially prepared. This mission is not performed in this world except in so far as the being who is engaged in it is incarnated in human form.'

This piece by a disciple of Gurdjieff, Bennett, clearly tells of the incarnation of an Avatar, a Higher Being incarnated in human form in order to fulfil a Divine Mission on Earth. This does not actually concern us here but I have had to quote this in order to understand the rest.

'A certain possibility is introduced from a realm where the impossible does not exist. It is something new which doesn't belong to the cause and effect of this world, and therefore changes the whole situation.'

This is where change can take place, when something undreamed of can be fulfilled in the physical world. The idea stems not from this world, but from a parallel world, but its effect is fulfilled here on Earth.

'The doing of this and how it is done is unseen; but, in general, it is necessary that something should be seen, manifested, so that the particular new thing should be able to operate in the visible world amongst people with ordinary perceptions.'

This statement is of extreme importance because something has to be 'manifested' so that people with 'ordinary perceptions' can understand it. Without this the new idea could not work on this level.

'It is to fulfil this second part of the mission that the sacred image is created and this sacred image has unlimited power in it, because its source is beyond the existing world. That Sacred Image we see as the founder of a religion, as a prophet, or as an incarnation of God, who introduces a new hope into the life of men.'

Of course, the Sacred Image can be just that - an image! The statement could apply just as well to a Sacred Symbol that embodies the essence of the Divine Mission. The power of a particular symbol can be seen in the Swastika used by the National Socialists, a symbol of extreme power - an Aryan Symbol. True, this symbol had been used by many groups before, but the Swastika seemed to take upon itself a power of its own, a power that would unite a nation which was on the brink of collapse. More than that, the reversal of the symbol into a mode which moved against the flow of time was a magical act in itself - it reversed the downward decay of time. It created a rebirth of a nation. More so, it symbolised a backwards journey to the Golden Age of the Gods.

Back to the White Dragon. As I have shown before this seems also to have been a symbol of Northern Europe, and indeed may stretch back to the time of At-al-land. It also links to the 'elves' since 'elf' or 'alb' refer to the colour 'white' as well as to the ideas of 'light' and 'shining'. The 'Lord of the Elves' is Ingwe-Frey, the Divine Ancestor of the English Folk. Then, too, this land was once called Albion - 'The White Island' or 'Isles of the Elves'. As I am going to show here, the White Dragon can be linked to the 'White Island' and also to Ingwe, the Divine Ancestor of the English.

The symbol of the four-footed dragon is also important in that the symbolism of 'four feet' was used in ancient times for the stability of the era of the Golden Age. The 'dragon-rampant' is used to show movement and action as opposed to the 'dragon-passant' or 'passive dragon'.

The White Dragon Symbol seems to have taken upon itself a life and power of its own. It spread rapidly amongst the Englisc Nationalists until the movement splintered; but today the symbol has moved beyond the confines of Englisc Nationalism and is being used by various groups who oppose the New World Order. By instigating the collapse of Englisc Nationalism the powers-that-be seem to have inadvertently caused the symbol to spread even further afield, mainly amongst the stronger and more militant groups. It has even moved beyond the confines of the English.

As I have just shown, inherent in the symbolism of the White Dragon is a spiritual power which is today growing and spreading. All of the old symbols are of little power to us now, since the White Dragon Symbol has a new vitality and power whose strength derives from 'beyond'. This is a symbol, that is, it represents something, it stands for something. Symbols work on an unconscious level, though they must first be understood by the 'ordinary perceptions'. This symbol represents everything that we stand for, everything that we struggle for, everything that we have dedicated our lives to.

As yet the White Dragon Symbol is not a unifying power as such, though it is unifying a section of society. It is a Germanic Symbol and thus could unify the Germanic Folk or the Saxon Nation. The symbol of the dragon was used widely on the Dragon-Ships of the Vikings - the Norsemen. It is a known heathen symbol of very ancient origins. But it is more than that, for it has a specific meaning, or set of meanings; these tell us both why it is used and how it should be used. This I have outlined above.

The Milky Way Galaxy was called Iring's Way by the Saxons, and was the Road to Valhalla. It is along Iring's Way that the Einheriar travel on their way to Valhalla. The symbol for the Milky Way is thus the Saxon Irminsul, which has a 'trunk' (Iring's Way) and two 'arms' branching off (Wan & Will). The Irminsul is a Saxon version of the Norse Yggdrasil, and since the latter is the 'White Tree' we can see clearly the symbolism unfolding. The 'White Tree' not only represents the Milky Way but also the White Race. In many ancient myths and legends we see the White Tree being destroyed, but with a seedling or sapling surviving and thus renewing the Sacred Tree.

In so many myths we find the dragon as guardian of some form of 'gold-hoard' or 'treasure-hoard'; the hero, such as Sigurd, has to slay the dragon in order to gain the gold-hoard for himself. In his case the treasure is 'cursed' and brings upon him the dire consequences of such a curse. Sigurd's fate is woven around the treasure and the slaying of the dragon. But there is certainly more to this than the greed for gold. In the Legend of Sigurd he cooks the dragon's heart and when burning his finger and putting it to his mouth he takes in something that allows him to understand the Language of the Birds. Presumably he swallowed a little of the Dragon's Blood, and this gave him certain new powers. He goes beyond this and drinks the Blood of the Dragon, and eats the Heart of the Dragon. He takes into himself the essence of the Dragon.

As I have shown the symbolism of the dragon contains the ideas of knowledge, wisdom, understanding, guardianship, and is also linked to the Fire-Serpent or Kundalini. The basis of the word 'kundalini' is 'kunda' which means 'to coil', so inherent in the Kan-Rune ('gon') we find the 'Coiled Serpent'. The White Dragon can also be linked to the Fire-Serpent, as well as the Inga-Fire. This is the 'White Fire'. It is symbolic of transformation

Knowledge is accumulated over long distances of time, but there is also the accumulation of knowledge through different incarnations, different lives. This knowledge is contained in what we call the 'Blood Memory'. This 'memory' is held in the blood; was it not a taste of blood that allowed Sigurd to understand the 'Language of the Birds'? We can also find a link between learning, knowledge and the heart; the old saying 'I learned it by heart'. Sigurd eats the Heart of the Dragon and drinks the Blood of the Dragon. Understanding the birds allows Sigurd to find his destiny, to search for his Valkyrie (Sigdrifa-Brunhilde), which is his 'Higher Self' in a sense. It is Sigdrifa who gives the Runic Knowledge to him, knowledge that will aid him in his heroic life. The whole theme of the dragon and the awakening of his Inner Self is based around knowledge, about awakening the 'Blood Memory'.

Then we come to the concept of 'Blood & Soil' which is the mystical link between Man and the Land, the Earth on which he dwells and works for his survival. It is this firm link to the Earth which makes our people special, which makes our people what they are. Those who have no links to the soil, who have no firm bond with their fatherland, can have no love for that land, for that soil, nor for anything that lives upon it. But the idea of 'Blood & Soil' goes further, for it implies the 'Blood Memory', the 'Ancestral Memory', that there is a bond between the race as a whole and the Earth as a Living Being, the race being past-present-future. This is where the White Dragon becomes not only a symbol of the Folk but also a symbol of the Land.

The term 'Dragon-Lines' have been used for 'Ley-Lines' or 'Holy Lines', and the 'Dragon's Pulse' used for the energy that runs through these channels. Dowsing provides proof of energy currents linked to water, to the underground movement of water. It is known that these run to certain spots which show a spiral energy based upon 3 1/2 coils or multiples of this number. This is the same as the Kundalini in mankind, based on 3 1/2 coils of the Fire-Serpent. This we could call 'Dragon Energy' or 'Serpent Energy' and has indeed been termed the 'Woevre' which means 'Serpent'. The White Dragon can thus represent this 'Dragon Energy' of the 'White Island' (Albion). Since we can link our Folk with the land it is thus just one step away from understanding that when the White Dragon awakens within the Land, then so shall the Folk awaken on that Land.

'Blood and Soil' relate to 'Son' and 'Bodn', and we can now add 'Odroerir' to this equation. Odroerir is related to the Ansuz-Rune, Son to the Laguz-Rune, and Bodn to the 'Ur-Rune', so we can now bring 'The Ancestors' into these ideas, the 'Ancestral Memory' or 'Blood Memory'. This itself relates to the DNA, to the 'Double Helix' or 'Double-Spiral' - the 'Twin Coiling Serpents'. The Ing-Rune is a glyph of the DNA Spiral, and it is also the Rune of the Blood-Memory - it means 'offspring of' or 'son of' thus inferring memory passed on through the generations. The Edel-Rune/Odal Rune is a glyph of the 'Gift of Ing', this being the 'Blood Memory', in this case linked to the concept of 'Soil' or 'Land'. Through our runes we can link the Dragon to the Blood and to the Land.

The Edel-Rune and the English Ing-Rune are very close in their structure; perhaps the difference that shows out clearly is that the Ing-Rune is the Edel-Rune with a 'crown'. So the Edel-Rune represents the Land and the Ing-Rune represents Sovereignty over that Land. Sovereignty is deemed to be female, but the male-female roles are often intertwined in myth and legend, and indeed the Ing-Rune can mean 'son of' and is that of 'The Son', this being the Divine Hero whose mother is Sovereignty. Both ideas can be found in the same rune. In our own law the Guardian Goddess of the Land is Idunn (Freya) who sleeps under a White Wolf Skin. It is the role of the Hero to awaken the 'Sleeping Goddess'; as we have seen the means that this is done is through acquiring knowledge, that knowledge guarded by the White Dragon. That knowledge is the 'gold-hoard', which (of course) is the Ancient Solar Wisdom which remains in the Blood-Memory.

The source of the power of the White Dragon is thus not of this world; its power comes from 'beyond', from a realm outside this dimension, and thus it has taken upon itself a life-energy of its own. It is a symbol of the struggle between the Red Dragon of the Joten and the White Dragon of the Gods. This is the Eternal Struggle that plays itself out eternally in the Islands of the Mighty. This is why the symbolism of the White Dragon is under attack; it is a powerful symbol that will unite our Folk in this Sacred Blood Struggle.

Yet we can go much further than this, since the Serpent has always been seen at three distinct and different levels -

1. It is a symbol of the Creative Energy of the Multiverse, a symbol of the Universal Spirit.

2. At a human level it is consciousness reaching towards knowledge, wisdom, understanding and enlightenment.

3. It is also related to virility, fertility and regeneration.

In very ancient times in what is now known as India there existed a people known as the Nagas; these have been identified as belonging to the Aryan Race or Vedic Race. They were of 'Caucasian' appearance and had a vast knowledge of magic and insight into natural forces. They were Sun-worshippers and their symbol was the Hooded Serpent - the Cobra. Esoteric Tradition has it that the Nagas were descendants of a prehistoric race whose homeland was destroyed by a great cataclysm 10,000 years ago. An ancient papyrus mentions the Island of the Serpents -

'After you leave my island you will not find it again, and this place will vanish under the sea waves.

(Papyrus in Leningrad Hermitage).

We also know that Quetzalcoatl (a White God) was the 'Feathered Serpent', and that Viracocha was associated with the Serpent; then we have the famous Votan of South America who was of the Race of Chan ('Chan' being 'Serpent', related to the Kan-Rune). Shiva is always shown with a Hooded Serpent, the Cobra. The Serpent-Force is the Kundalini Force - the Fire-Serpent. Our own Divine Ancestor - Ingwe - is associated with Kundalini and the Inga-Fire. It should be noted that the Dragon's Breath is fire. The Serpent is the Creative Energy of the Multiverse, the Fylfot-Swastika is that force in motion. Now we see why our White Dragon has four legs, representing the Fylfot-Swastika. It is the 'Four-Foot', the 'Fol-Foot', the 'Fylfot'. In Vedic Lore the Cosmic Serpent - Ananta Sesha - has the Swastika on its multi-hooded image.

Woden's Folk has used this Sacred Symbol since it was formed back in 1998; its formation was linked to the Hale-Bopp Comet, which itself was linked to the sunken lands of At-al-land. We have used, and will continue to use, the original White Dragon Rampant which is the true symbol of our struggle, and which encompasses within itself all of the inner meanings spelt out in this post. The symbolism also links to the Holy Fylfot or 'Four-Foot' which today turns backwards against the flow of time.

Through the Nagas and the various different traditions of White Gods we can safely say that the Serpent-Dragon was originally an Aryan Symbol, used of the Aryan Initiates. It was also linked to the Swastika, also a very ancient Aryan Symbol, and symbolic of the North, the Land of Thule. As a 'Winged Serpent' it symbolises the upwards movement towards Super-consciousness, towards the Gods.

The Winged Serpent is symbolic of Higher Consciousness, of Spiritual Enlightenment; as I have stated before, in a dream of January 1st 1989 the Hooded Serpent (Cobra) was clearly associated with Woden. Now, this may not come into Saxon Lore or Viking Lore but then we are here in very late times, well into the Kali Yuga or Warg Age. The Hooded Serpent's link with Woden may go back far further than these times, indeed we do have the figure of Votan associated with the Serpent, and he was said to have come from Tullan.

I have mentioned that Shiva is associated with the Cobra, but it not perhaps well known that Vishnu has the Eagle as his symbol, and that Vishnu represents 'The Preserver' who maintains the status quo. However, Shiva represents something far more important to us today, for he is the Serpent King and his role is not to 'maintain the status quo', for he tells us that spiritual evolution through enlightenment can be achieved in one lifetime; he tells us that Nature can be given a 'helping hand' in our evolution. He appears at such times as to promote this 'hastened evolution' to man.

AFTERTHOUGHT - As the famous inventor of the 'Bach Flower Remedies', Dr Edward Bach, once pointed out, whenever someone introduces a new and novel concept there always arises another who seeks to negate the work of the former. Whenever a new idea is put forward someone tries to distort that idea. Many years ago I revived the idea of The Hooded Man as the Archetypal English Folk-Hero who would arise again in order to lead our Folk to the heights of freedom. Using the image of 'Robin Hood' who is so well known amongst the English. Not long after the process started The Sun ran an article called 'Throbbin' Hood' which sought to make Robin Hood into a 'fertility symbol', in the process degrading everything that was being put forward. No, they would not have done this as a deliberate slur on what was being revived, but it does show that whenever a good thing arises, someone, somewhere, ensures that it is either distorted, ridiculed, or dragged through the mud of their degenerate nature.