Saint George’s dragon

Interview with St. George, or Agios Georgios

Thank you for sharing about yourself, honorable Georgios, I have many questions.

Well, go ahead, but please call me George, Yorgos, Joris or even Sjors, it’s more relaxed.

Just Joris or even Sjors? That’s not possible, right? Isn’t that disrespectful towards a saint?

Well, I prefer it, my friend. The meaning of my name Georgios is ‘worker of the earth’. So, you could call me a farmer or a tiller. Quite simple. And… you haven’t recognized me yet, otherwise you’d find it quite normal.

Really? Can I actually see that as normal, for someone who is depicted on so many icons and revered in many countries?

Absolutely. See, I work on the earthly nature in people. I am the farmer or reformer of the human spirit. This human spirit is indeed of magnificent nature, but that ‘land’ is not very fertile, not purified, and there’s a lot of ‘weeds’ in it. The spirit does not work correctly. This needs to be realized before this magnificent spirit can operate at full capacity. So, my task is: purification. You might also say conversion, as my task is usually described in books, which simply means one turns in the right direction: inward.

Well, that’s surprising, because in all the images, I see you on a white horse engaged in a battle with a dragon. I don’t see you with some kind of farming tool or sprayer.

You’re right. I have been portrayed based on my primary mission: defeating the dragon, which is, of course, metaphorical.

But that has nothing to do with working the soil, does it?

Oh, it certainly does! And it becomes clear when we understand the allegory of my icon. Everything seen on icons has meaning. Unfortunately, much of that meaning has been lost over time, so now people see me as some sort of knight on a white horse, liberating the world from a monster. But that’s not the case at all.

Well, I’m curious about its intended meaning then!

I’ll gladly explain. The land, the soil I cultivate is the land of the human mind. I must purify it, making this land fertile for abundant ‘growth and bloom’ on it. My task is to cleanse this spiritual land of all things that do not belong, to plow it and prepare it for everything that can be established on it. Many beautiful things, because the human spirit is designed for this. Meant to realize subtle creations, to let fruitful creative expressions emerge, and to become fully devoted to them.

That sounds wonderful, but again… I see a dragon in those icons.

You’re right. I’ll address that now.
You see, as the cultivator of the human spirit, I confront persistent spiritual obstacles that hinder the fertility and creative power of that beautiful spirit. These are recurring monsters. Nowadays, Hollywood would depict these monsters differently than the dragons in my icons, but in my time, dragons were the most troublesome creatures you could imagine. Hence, always the dragon, or a serpentine creature of massive proportions with huge teeth, often spitting fire as well.

So, these dragons represent the recurring things that mentally obstruct us?

Exactly! These inner dragons are fiery, barely get killed, bite with their teeth if they get a chance, and don’t give up easily. They keep coming back. I must repeatedly subdue them to allow the spiritual landscape a chance to be fruitful, to let many beautiful things fully bloom. If these dragons are not subdued, not much of the land cultivation happens, and any growth can be disrupted by some creature with a very bad hot breath, scorching the young plants. This is my ultimate task: subduing and possibly eventually slaying the dragon.

Wow… I indeed hadn’t viewed it that way. But this is a very different story than what I know about you…

You’re right. The ancient story is inaccurate because its metaphorical depth was not understood. That tale says I ‘converted’ people. Well, that ‘conversion’ is kind of right because when I get to work, a person turns inward and aligns with Truth. Also, according to the books, I was arrested and tortured. According to legend, I was captured by Christian persecutors and tortured. I was placed on a wheel with double-edged swords, dipped in boiling oil, and had to drink poison, yet I suffered no injuries. Well, those tortures were metaphorical: being silenced by doublespeak, being immersed in framing, and having to swallow poisonous slander. Of course, I suffered no harm from this. How can a metaphor for a great inner spiritual strength even get injured? It’s impossible. My existence is even doubted by those who don’t understand what I truly stand for. Their only way to try to bring me down now is by denying my existence.

That’s quite something… Can you also say something about your own image?

Certainly. Firstly, I’m on a white horse. And as you might know, horses represent feelings, emotions, and motives of humans. My horse is white, indicating my feelings are pure. The white horse symbolizes a purified Emotional Center in humans, which is why the term knight on a white horse is always used. This proverbial knight, with his intentions, is entirely pure, and every woman, deep down, is obviously eagerly waiting for him. My drive to defeat the dragon, therefore, is utterly pure, as you can see from my white horse. I serve a higher purpose. With my left hand, I drive my horse, with my feeling principle – actually from my right brain hemisphere, which is sensitive and creative – and with my right hand, I wield my lance.

Yes, a very long lance, as I see in all the icons.

That’s right. My weapon is a very long lance, a historic thrusting weapon. The lance of discernment. With it, you can keep your enemy at a distance because of its length, but you can also kill them if necessary. The length signifies the distance I maintain from my opponent – with my right hand, driven by my analytical left brain hemisphere. This distance is an internal one. If I had to use a knife, I would have to approach the dragon much closer, making it easier for it to bite me. With my horse AND my lance, I can enter the battle in balance, with my pure Emotion and Reason.
The lance is also symbolic. You probably know the expression ‘to break a lance’ for something or someone. It means you strongly support or defend something. In my case, I stand up – as part of the human spirit – for the purity OF that human spirit.

Are you going to tell me now that you reside in every spirit? In every human? Even in me?

Absolutely right! Now you’re beginning to understand what I stand for! I represent an inner drive that in every human could ride the horse, subduing inner dragons. That’s why I’m very ‘ordinary’, just George or Joris, because I am in every person, but I must awaken before I can work.

But what exactly are these inner dragons? I don’t understand that yet.

You’ll find them within yourself. They SHOW themselves to you, at moments you are most vulnerable. That’s when something confuses or upsets you. But inner dragons also intrude when your cognitive strength is weakened and can’t regulate to keep you in your comfort zone.

I recognize that! It happens to me sometimes at night, or early in the morning when I’ve just woken up, and unprocessed aspects of my life strongly present themselves and often make me very restless. They keep me awake. I start to get an elevated heartbeat and ruminate, which can really unsettle me. Sleeping is then no longer possible.

I see you’ve already met your inner dragons. Very good! That’s where I can then get to work! Out of the comfort zone, not just you but every person feels unsafe, restless, insecure, and small. Because you’ve just woken up, inner dragons come much closer than they can during the day. They often approach you in a dream or nightmare. Just after waking up, your cognitive functions are still very low. Things that you handle well during the day become major issues. Dragons come with your unfinished business. Something you have neglected or overlooked. Or something where your conscience is playing up. Things that during the day can be easily brushed under the carpet with logic or not even noticed.

So, the dragon is not necessarily ‘bad’?

That’s right! It isn’t! It’s YOUR dragon, YOUR creation. You’ll see this very clearly once you understand. Who said that again? Well, nevermind. You need to understand and overcome the cause of your dragon’s creation; otherwise, it keeps driving you out of your rest, keeps biting. Even during the day, a dragon can complicate your life. It can rear its head, preventing you from staying in the Now unless you pay attention to it. Everyone has a dragon waiting for them that will eventually emerge if I’m not set to work. So, it’s crucial to call upon me, St. George. I am the worker and fighter who helps you overcome them. The Bhagavad Gita also states, “For one who has conquered his mind, the mind is his best friend; but for one who fails to do so, the mind remains his greatest enemy.” In short, anyone not invoking and utilizing me fully continues to struggle with the same issues… or with the same dragons. Or, more accurately, with the different heads of the same ‘main dragon’ that only fully reveals itself at the end of its death throes.

Good Lord… But another thing: why do I often see a small female figure on your icons?

Correct, well observed, because the story goes that I once saved a town by defeating a terrible dragon threatening the entire local population. In doing so, I would have also saved the princess named Sabra. Her rescue symbolizes saving innocence and vulnerability and the triumph over evil.
The town is, of course, symbolic and represents a community with a deeply rooted problem: a persistent collectively held and frightening delusion that threatens the community as a whole. Unfortunately, you see this happening all over the world these days.

But who ARE you then? What are you made of?

The Observer awakens me. I am the awakener and leader of Reason. I provide the correct direction to Thinking. I am the follower of conscience and the leader of Emotion. I am the empowerer of Discernment. I am the knower of true Knowledge and the knight of the Self. I adhere to True principles. And all these qualities, when detached and at an inner distance, are like poison for dragons. They cannot withstand them.

But where ARE you in myself? Where can I find you?

Well… reading this website, I’ll use Ouspensky‘s terminology. For instance, he used the term ‘chief feature’. A bit of a harsh word, but he meant the most dominant negative trait or illusion in someone’s psyche, or most profound karmic focal point, so someone’s primary dragon, so to speak. I, St. George, am awakened in the Magnetic Center that Ouspensky so accurately described. When this Magnetic Center in the human spirit becomes powerful and directs itself towards Truth, I fully manifest there. Once born within a person, I become stronger as this center strengthens and Truth is loved more deeply and surrenderingly. Once living according to that ultimate Truth, the Magnetic Center in you dissolves, as do I, by the way.

I am MORE than just the lance of Reason, MORE than the powerful white horse of the Feeling Principle. For I, St. George, wield pure Reason and pure Emotion in mastering and defeating inner dragons like old fears, inner turmoil and urge, insecurity and anger, guilt, sin, punishment, and shame. Once mastering this, my presence ensures dragons starve and disappear. They have no other choice. Their task is done. They simply vanish. I am called the emissary of the Self, which slumbers in every human and which tills the inner spiritual earth in every human, so that he/she can realize their Self to full maturity in full bloom. We are talking about an inner evolution.

Well… thank you very much, St. George… I have learned a lot and will strengthen you within myself.

You’re welcome, my dear, and also get to know my good friend and ally Ganesha. For we work together.

© Michiel Koperdraat