"ALCHIMIA" Painting

Alchemy (late Latin alchemia, alchimia, alchymia) is from the Greek chemeia from Arab cheo (pour, cast), which indicates the relationship of alchemy to the art of smelting and casting metals. The idea of unity is symbolically depicted in the form of the Ouroboros (Gnostic snake) - a snake devouring its own tail - symbol of Eternity and the entire alchemical Work. There is a legend about how God transformed the fire element Dragon in easy water element...the Dragonfly Metamorfosi and alchemy of soul energy the Eternal circle of rebirth. The evolution of consciousness and control of his willpower. An ancient symbol of Alchemy The Ouroboros (Gnostic serpent) which transforms into a dragonfly. Dragon holding the magical pearl of wisdom - a symbol of harmony and achieve the goal. Dragon, also a symbol of the power of the spirit, the guardian of the treasure and mysteries, is a symbol of vigilance and security in Feng Shui, brings home prosperity and protection. The dragon is a divine creature, embodying the spirit of Earth and Sky. He exhales divine Qi is beneficial, clean energy. The dragon symbolizes strength and magnanimity, courage and endurance. He carries the spirit of rebirth and change, the life-giving rain, representing the productive power of nature. LUN; LUN; lung; long Chinese dragon; East ~ "Deer heaven" In Chinese mythology, one of the four magical animals, along with a unicorn (tsilinem) the Phoenix and the turtle. Its image emerged in China in ancient times. The shape of the Chinese character "Loong", which is a pictogram depicting an animal with a long body and head topped with horns (according to some scientists — crest), found in the inscriptions on divination bones of the Yin era (XIV century BC). There is speculation that the prototype of these icons was the lizard (Liu Cheng-Huai, etc.), as well as the connections image the moon with the crocodile (Dutch researcher de Groot). In the inscriptions on divination bones of the Loon is associated with the names prototypes Qiang tribes that inhabited Western and Central part of modern Henan province and possibly the southern part of Shanxi province. Probably it was considered as the totem of some ancient tribes, that is a rare exception in the global system of primitive beliefs, in which the totem is usually being real. Perhaps this image has replaced the earlier notions of the totem — snake, lizard or crocodile. CP. associated with totemic beliefs: the custom tattoo in the form of a dragon at the Yue tribes on the East coast, legends about meat-eating dragon and the breeding and feeding of dragons like a pet at the courts of some of the legendary rulers; many legends about the birth of the mythical ancestor and rulers from connection, women with dragon (version: meeting women with the dragon, just looking at him or just a vision of a dragon in a dream, as well as the appearance of a dragon in the sky above the house, where should be born a hero; the hero's birth from the blood of the dragon, see Guan di), the presence of the dragon meta (LUN Yang) on the brow of the ancient rulers (in medieval China Loong is a symbol of the Emperor, he was portrayed on the throne, the robe of the Emperor). Particularly large role. in ancient cosmogonic perceptions. On one dish of bronze age Yin depicts two dragons; at the bottom, legless, covered with scales, each of which has a pattern of a spiral-lightning edge — dragon with paws, and also poultry and fish. Some researchers (L. P. Sychev) believe that in the second case, the Loon symbolizes the earth (the bird — the sky and the fish — the water element). The link L. with the land and recorded in the "Book of changes". However, with the development of mythological and cosmogonic views of L. began to be thought of as the embodiment of light, heavenly masculine power of Yang and lost touch with the earth as the embodiment of dark, feminine Yin. Relics of ancient communication L. with the earth visible in some legends, where L live underground, in wells, there is guarded treasures, know the location of the so-called earth lived, help the hero to escape the dungeon, and the idea of hibernation of dragons and snakes under the ground (in some legends of a late autumn L. returns to the sea, spends the summer in the heavens). As a symbol of the Yang force and heavenly the beginning of the Loon is often portrayed a winged creature, the Lord of the clouds, the clouds, rain, soaring in the clouds or swimming in the waves and enveloped in flames, apparently, a symbol of the storm as the copulation of heaven and earth (in ancient Chinese cosmogony rain is the merging of heaven and earth, so important for the agricultural population). CP. also the color characteristic of the blood L. — "black and yellow" [Shuanghuan, Xuan — "black" (color of sky) and Juan — "yellow" (color of earth)]. The spread (especially with IV B. C.) teachings on the five elements and corresponding quinary classification system, there emerged a view of dragon of five colors: Huanglong — yellow, chinlon green, chilon red, Beilun — shuanglin white and black. In the legends are mainly of chinlon (symbol of the East) and Huanglong related to the earth and the center. L. differed in appearance: Jiao — scaly, Ying — winged, Qiu — horned, Chi — polled ("Bo I", "elegant Description", III century ad). Wang Chung ("LUN Heng", "Critical judgments", I.) informs that the artists of his time portrayed L. with the head of a horse and tail of a snake. In some ancient traditions, there is mention of Loma (horse-dragon) living in the water, about the transformation of L. in horses and bulls. In early medieval legends heroes often rising into the sky riding on L. In "bencao gang mu" ("Essentials of pharmacology", XVI) Li Shi-Zhen, with reference to van Phu (I—II centuries) L. they say: "Head of a camel, horns like a deer, eyes like rabbit, ears like a cow, neck like a snake, belly like a sea-beast Shen, scales like carp, claws like a hawk, the paws like a tiger... On the back 81 of the thorn, fully nine-nine, as befits the power of Yang... under the chin glowing pearl, and on a head mount Bosan" [Basani, apparently means a knot in the center of the forehead L, also known as the Chimu ("carpentry yard") and which are magical sign L, through which it has the ability to ascend to heaven]. In the medieval tradition L. was regarded as the progenitor of all animals and birds, from whom come the "feathered, furry, scaly and armored" ("Arya and" — "of Explanations to the dictionary Erya", XI—XII). Loon — good creature, its appearance is regarded as a favourable sign, although in the ancient myths mention the fight against the evil. In the middle ages there were representations of the earth dragons, as a punishment for bad deeds deprived of the opportunity to climb to the sky. Core values: Yang, the active principle represents the Emperor as Son of Heaven and, after him, a man wise and noble supernatural power, wisdom, strength, hidden knowledge, power, water, bearing life. the highest 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. The sun, light and life, the air, the higher the power, the male force of Yang of cloud — thunderstorm and refreshing rain, water, deep and Spring the Struggle of two dragons: eternal movement of the cosmos, the opposition of antagonistic forces, providing life-evolution in nature and in man, settlement of conflicts (snakes of the caduceus). The dragon and Phoenix symbolic pair associated with the number 9 as the embodiment of male power, squared. Corresponds to the hexagram KIEN is Opposed to: the Phoenix as the embodiment of the Yin white tiger, associated with the West and death China Dragon seems to exist for reminders and memorialise existed in geological times, primitive flying creatures, known only by the fossilised remains. Lamas and Chinese Buddhists have adopted as their mystical serpent (Naga) of Indian myth. Waddell. Lamaism, p. 395. Fossil remains of stegodon, mastodons, elephants, etc. may be brought to the surface in various parts of Northern China. Such bones are called "dragon bones" and the fossil ivory is called "dragon teeth". These bones were pulverized to a powder, processed and used in medical purposes for the treatment of various disorders. There are three main species of dragon: lung, which is considered the most powerful and lives in the sky, a dragon without horns and living in the ocean and, finally, Chiao, dragon, covered in scales and live in the bogs and dens in the mountains. However, only the existence of dragon kind, the lung is considered the most reliable. This dragon is described thus: "He has seven similar traits, or forms, resembling the forms of other animals, namely: the head of a camel, horns of a deer, eyes of a rabbit, ears of a cow, neck of snake, belly of a frog, scales of a carp, claws of a hawk, and paws of a tiger. On the back it has a crest of eighty-one scales; scales on the neck are directed towards the head, and those that are on the head, are arranged in the form of the ridges of the mountain range. On each side of his mouth grow a mustache, and the chin hangs a beard, which is a bright pearl. He has no hearing. For this reason, deaf people are called lung. His breath bursts from the mouth as a cloud, and sometimes turns into water, and in some cases into the fire. His roar resembles the sound of swakara copper basins. This dragon type has several varieties. Some have horns, though some hornless; some do not have scales, while others without wings. Conventional wisdom is that the dragon, being a sacred animal, die of their own free will. He eats meat swallows. So people katatsja on the dragon in the rain, thrown into the water swallows. Chiao, living in swamps and dens, not much different from dragons living in the sky. He is described as a dragon with a small head and neck, without horns, his chest bright red. On the back of this dragon green stripes, and the sides of his yellow. It has four legs, and in some cases similar to a snake. The length of his some thirty feet. The Chinese Repository, notices of Natural History, Vol. VII, 1839, p. 252. According to other Chinese, the dragon can reduce its size up to the size of caterpillars or silkworms to grow to such a size that will cover yourself and the heavens and the earth. If he wants to climb up, it will rise until it reaches the clouds, if you want to dive into the depths of the ocean, it will sink until, until you reach the very deep bottom. The Chinese ardently believed in the existence of these mysterious and wonderful creatures. They appeared in ancient times. The legends of Buddhism abound with references to them. Tales of the Taoist mention about their deeds. In all parts of the country there is information about these hidden away from human habitats the dragons, about their terrible appearance. They have a special place in the pseudo-science of geomancy. Their images can be seen in homes and in temples. And these images are much more important than grotesque lions in the ornaments of architecture and art. However, the frequency of usages of the dragon images decreased markedly after the overthrow of the monarchy. Dyer Ball. Things Chinese, 5th Ed.: Dragon. A primitive form of the dragon known as the quay. The image of this kind of creating, directing their efforts to overcome the sin of greed, is often found in ancient Chinese objects, made of bronze. Another variety of this animal is the celestial Dragon which supports and protects the dwelling of the gods; the Spiritual Dragon, which produces wind and rain for the benefit of mankind; the Dragon of Hidden Treasures, guarding the treasure from the eyes of mortals; the Winged Dragon, Horned Dragon, Coiled Dragon living in the water; and Yellow Dragon appeared from the river Lo in order to give the Emperor Fu Hsi the elements of written language. Modern superstitions have roots in the name of four Kings of Dragons that relate to the Spirit of the Snake or Naga of the Hindus. Each of them ruled one of the four seas that make up the border of the inhabited earth. Places outside of the earth's surface, where dwelt these dragons are such names: Eastern sea, southern sea, Western sea and the North sea. Mayers. Chinese Reader's Manual, Pt. I, No. 451. Round red object which seemed part of the fabric of the dragons, variously interpreted as the sun, the moon, the symbol of rolling thunder, as the emblem of the duality of nature, like the grain of power — loss is accompanied by loss of power — or "night shining pearl", which Professor Geis was defined as a diamond or ruby. A symbol of Chinese weapons, starting with the Emperor and Khan until the time of the Qing dynasty, was a pair of dragons fighting for possession of this pearl. Minister of state-Chi Liang, Marquis of sui, while traveling abroad, on the road found a wounded snake. The Marquis gave her the medical help and actually saved her life. After that, again making a journey, one evening, he saw a snake holding in his mouth a magnificent pearl. It is said that when the Marquis approached, the snake turned to him with the words: "I am the son of His Majesty the Dragon. In the act of becoming was injured and You, Sir, I am obliged that You saved my life. As a thank you for Your kindness I brought this gem“. The Minister accepted the gift and presented it to his monarch, He put the pearl in his hall, where, thanks to her, the night turns into day. The Chinese Repository, Vol. IV, 1835, p. 238. It is believed that there were seven species of extinct "relatives" of dragons. They need special characteristics. These creatures, according to Chien chuala of the Shu, belonging to Peru, Chen Yong-Hsi, had the following features: 1. PU-Lao, carved in the top of bells and gongs, talking about his "habit" to shout loudly during the attack, his main enemy is China; 2. Chiu-NRU groves were carved on a violin because of his love for music; 3. Wee-Hsi carved in the upper part of the stone tablets because of their love of literature. He also expressed the female and male turtles, bowed to the mountain, and was used as a pedestal for tombstones with the head aimed in all directions. This river God, endowed with supernatural power; 4. PA-HSA cut out in the bottom of stone monuments, as it was believed that he was able to raise enormous gravity; 5. Chao-Feng carved on the eaves of temples, as it was believed that he was able to see the danger; 6. Chih-Wen carved on the railings of bridges because of its thrust to the water. Also his picture can be seen on the roofs of houses, as it was believed that he is able to protect housing from fire. He stands guard with open mouth and sometimes symbolically represented as the figure of a fish with uplifted tail; 7. Suan-not carved on Buddha's throne because of his predisposition to rest. As well it is identified with Chih-TSU, that is, with the symbolic lion; 8. Yai-Tzu were carved on the surface of the blade of the saber where the blade connects to the handle. The sword he was portrayed because of his craving for battle; 9. PI-Kan was cut on the gate of the prison, since he had the propensity to court and disputes and liked to use his strength and energy in the state of anger. It has a scaly breast and the horn. Some great collection of varieties of the "relatives" of the dragons are given in the work of Sheng An Wai Chi and in other publications. Among these species it should be noted Chiao-Tu, the image of which was carved on a door handle because he's like a closed thing; Tao-teh were carved on the lids and surfaces of containers for food, as it was believed that he was able to keep from overeating; and Cha-Yu, who had the head of a dragon, the tail of the horse, tiger claw; these monsters were long 4 Chang (40 feet) and loved human meat. These creatures appeared when the monarchs were insufficiently virtuous. Among other relatives of dragons, you can mention about the lang-Pei. It is said that this amphibian had short hind legs and therefore could not move quickly. So one animal "rode" on the other, which later led to the use of their front paws. This combination is a symbol of two people United together for evil deeds. It is believed that dragons are a symbol of vigilance and security. Ancient and modern people talked about these mythical creatures. They were consecrated by the religion of the ancients, especially the Chinese. Becoming the object of their mythology, they began to fulfill the will of their gods and store their treasures. Ancient stream of water was considered a living dragon, and divergent waves "fascinated". According to their beliefs, the dragons had no power to raise water a huge shaft for the purpose of damage to the ships, and with them the people. Encyclopaedia Londinensis. Heraldry, Vol. IX, p. 421. Since the commencement of the reign of the Emperor Kao TSU of the Han dynasty, 206 BC, the symbol of Imperial power was a dragon with five claws. The Imperial throne, his clothing, household goods etc. were the images of this scaly monster. This logo also had to use his sons and princes of the first and second grade. Princes of the third and fourth rank were permitted the use of images of a dragon with the claws chetyrmya, while the princes of the fifth rank and some certain officials were allowed to use as emblem the image of the snake-like animal with five claws. Then follows the description of the Palace ceremony, in the form in which it was carried out in the early seventeenth century. This will serve as an illustration of the vanished splendours of the past. In that moment, when the Emperor of China took his seat on the throne of the dragon servants with banners, satin banners and umbrellas located on his right and left hands and the orchestra began to play in the great hall, oriented North-East. On the right side of the Imperial throne were military leaders, and left — civil officials. On this signal all simultaneously bowed ready nine times. The Emperor left the Palace as follows: he sat on a pine chair, covered with yellow satin with three rows of fringe, twelve and twelve banners banners. Ahead stood twelve men with sheathed spears, ten leading horses under the saddle and in the harness, and found a dozen horses with riders, made up of sons and brothers of the Emperor, dressed in yellow satin clothes, armed with bows and swords. Immediately before the Emperor carried an umbrella of yellow satin with three rows of fringe and embroidered with gold thread depicting a dragon. A hundred men "in" women (eunuchs) surround the Emperor's chair. A group of musicians performing music at the time of entry or exit of the Emperor from the Palace, consisted of six trumpet players, two drummers, a violinist, two musicians with lyre and harp. The Chinese Repository, Vol. IX, Nov., 1840, Art. II, p. 453. The Boat festival Dragon known as &&&, &&& or &&&, is held on the 5th day of the 5th month and is a very picturesque effect. Long narrow boats with sixty and even more rowers sailing two up and down the river, making a huge noise. The noise is so strong that it creates the impression that rowers'm looking for some drowning man. It is believed that the festival came into widespread use people thanks and in honor of the memory of one of the statesmen named Chu yuan, born Ing. This man drowned himself in the river Mi-lo in 295 BC after was unjustly accused one of the petty princes of the state in protest against the actions of a criminal government. People who loved the unfortunate nobleman for the loyalty and virtue, traveled by boat to find the body, but found nothing. They had prepared a special rice bread Tsung, made of cooked rice and wrapped in leaves. Then the people went out on boats with flags and gongs along the river to the site of the tragedy. Each wanted to be first and sacrifice a decent nobleman. This method of commemoration was adopted by the people and became an annual holiday. Dragon boats usually have a length 125, width of 5.5 and a height of 2.5 feet. Their price comes to $ 500. The bow decorated with carved dragon head and stern of his tail. On Board are people who beat drums and waved flags in order to inspire and cheer on the rowers for one last move. During such celebrations often tragic accidents, and, therefore, local authorities in some districts are tightening their rules or completely prohibit such activities. It is quite likely that the origin of this practice is more ancient and is based on the intention of the people to propitiate the good Dragon, that he sent the necessary for a good harvest Rain. (See illustration of Holiday of Dragon Boat in the section of Entertainment and more details of the legend of the rebel Huang Chao under Trees). Once the dragon or the horse-dragon, emerged from the Yellow river and showed the Emperor a certain famous figure of the circle, which reflects the relationship of Yang and Yin; a king had in the stable dragons for riding and for carriages; the other ate dragons, and his Kingdom was successful. For centuries the dragon has been the symbol of the Emperor. The Emperor's throne was called the Dragon Throne; the Emperor's face — the Face of the Dragon. When he had to announce the death of the Emperor, saying that he flew into the sky riding a dragon. Japan the Japanese dragon with three claws on the feet is the Mikado, Imperial and spiritual power. The king-dragon is a notable figure in Japanese folklore. Buddhism Buddhists claim that in their many concentric seas of dragons no less than the fish; somewhere in the universe there is a Holy number, precisely specifying their number. Astronomy/logy the dragon is the fifth symbolic creation referring to the Twelve Earthly Branches. And according to Ching, the symbol of Chen belongs to the third of the four main stages of development of creation and is synonymous with lung, the dragon. In accordance with this power and function of nature are controlled by such forces as the East, the Source, etc. and those who stand under the symbol of the azure Dragon, the determining of the Eastern quadrant of uranophane". Mayers. Chinese Reader's Manual, Pt. I, No. 451. The year of the Dragon is associated with the East Spring rain color of a sea wave People born under the fifth sign of the noble, energetic, eccentric, egotistical, capricious and demanding. The year of the Dragon that brings luck and happiness, favorable for the implementation of ambitious plans, financial transactions, marriage, the conception and the work on light of the offspring, but the risk of failure. The magic of His claws, teeth and saliva has healing qualities. Fraser said that the Chinese, when they wish for rain, make a large dragon made of wood and paper and carry it in procession; but if no rain, they destroy the dragon (21). Divination In the I Ching ("Book of changes") usually means dragon sage. Psychology According Dilu, a typical Chinese dragon symbolizes overcoming and sublimation of sin (15) because it is set to "defeated dragon", who after their defeat, surrenders St. George . "DRAGONE" Закрывши от видений очи И тишиной скрепив уста Я слышу в приближении ночи Спиц шелест и трение колеса. Что за туманом поднебесной И в вихре звездного венца По бездорожью, перст небесный Ведет за колесом Жнеца. И искривляется пространство И время запеклось стеклом. Путь, в ожидании посланца, Что ведает судьбы клинком. Я открываю очи робко Взираю зарево в пыли И слышу ветер поворота Намеченного Колесом Судьбы. Pollina Ogiy