Illusions
I titled this post “Illusions” because of the cloud pictured above. I just found it so odd when I saw it the other day, spanning such a huge portion of the sky. This big, block-headed dragonfly’s body, sadly missing its wings.
But there it was.
Dragonfly as a power animal or totem is associated with illusion. Legend has it that Dragonfly used to be Dragon - a fire-breathing creature that flew through the night bringing light to the darkest fields and forests. Part of Dragon’s skill depended upon its mastery of illusion and magic. But then one day Coyote tricked Dragon into proving its power – and instead of creating one of the façades it was so adept at manifesting, it took its power too far and literally turned itself into the form of Dragonfly. Of course, no longer being Dragon, Dragonfly lost its power.
The lesson, I believe, is not to take ourselves so seriously (and perhaps believing our own hype) that we end up losing precisely what we’re known for.
Some might say Dragon got high on its own supply and became Dragonfly.
And this is not to say that there’s anything inherently wrong with being Dragonfly. One might argue, however, that being a beautiful, some might say magical winged creature that can hover, suspended mid-air and then zip to land on the leaf of a plant, while cool, is not quite as great as being a massive winged creature sporting emerald scales and wielding great power and fury with its fiery breath.
The whole saga of believing the illusion you’ve created so sincerely that you become arrogant and no longer take care remember the difference between truth and ‘the hype’ seems especially relevant today.
It seems we’re witnessing a lot of people – as well as governments and countries, etc. – believing their own mythology so profoundly that they end up losing all the power and influence they may or may not have actually wielded.
The Dragonfly energy I saw stretching across the sky the other day was a Dragonfly without its wings. That fact wasn’t lost on me.
It felt prophetic.