Esoteric Symbolism

Dragonflies (Ordonata) are heavy-bodied predatory insects. These elite aerial hunters are defined by their massive compound eyes, which provide a nearly 360-degree field of vision, and two pairs of independently controlled, intricately veined wings that allow them to hover, fly backward, and reach speeds of up to 35 mph.

Their hunting prowess is unmatched, achieving a 95% success rate by using upward-slanted, basket-like legs to scoop up mosquitoes, flies, and midges mid-air.

Dragonflies spend the vast majority of their lives underwater as aquatic nymphs, breathing through internal gills, in their watery domain and they are lethal. Hunting with rapid, extendable jaws, they easily dispatch any tiny aquatic organisms, including zooplankton, mosquito larvae, worms, midges, and mayfly larvae, larger species will even easily take down tadpoles, lizards and small freshwater fish.

Even more unique is their metamorphosis. Dragonflies undergo what is known as "Incomplete Metamorphosis" (hemimetabolous development). Unlike butterflies, they do not create a pupal or cocoon to transform inside. Instead, they transform directly from a water-dwelling nymph into a flying adult through a single, dramatic final molt known as "emergence".

Dragonflies are also known for a behaviour called "Obelisking", this is when they engage in a highly specialized thermo-regulation posture to prevent overheating on hot, sunny days. They will literally raise their tails into the air, towards the Sun to help regulate their temperature.

The modern scientific community explanation states the "name comes from the ancient Egyptian obelisk, a tall, four-sided stone pillar, because the dragonfly's body mimics this rigid, upright shape." I'm sure, it does.

I also do not think we will have much trouble finding mythologies that have utilised this very pretty and very savage little insect.

Let's begin with our Japanese Scribes and see how they have narrated a great tale about the Divine Man into this legendary insect the Dragonfly.

The myth of Akitsushima (秋津島)—meaning “The Island of the Dragonfly”—is a foundational legend preserved in Japan’s oldest chronicles, the Nihon Shinwa. The story starts with Emperor Jimmu, the mythical first emperor of Japan and a direct descendant of the sun goddess Amaterasu. The myth unfolds across two main legendary episodes.

The First Chronicle begins, after surviving brutal wars and conquering the surrounding clans to unite the territory, Emperor Jimmu established his Kingdom. He climbs the highest peak in Nara to survey his Kingdom, this Mountain peak is called Mount Hakkyō. In fact, the entire ridge connecting Mount Hakkyō to the rest of the Omine range is a holy path dedicated to the god, Zaō Gongen.

When we look into the symbolism surrounding this god of Mount Hakkyo we see he is connected to, (among other symbols that I will not address in this post), the Leopard, the Sword and most notably the Sacred Texts of 8 Messiahs/Buddahs, all these symbols are denoting the First Born Divine Male.

However, the well studied student is free to look further in the mythology surrounding Zaō Gongen and Mount Hakkyō, because the symbol of Divine Man is very richly communicated by our Japanese Scribes in their mythos.

This small detour into Mount Hakkyo was required, we now know that if the Dragonfly is connected to Emperor Jimmu who climbed Mount Hakkyō, then the Dragonfly is connected to Zaō Gongen, the First Born Divine Male. So let's return to the myth.

The Saga continues, once the Emperor Jimmu reaches the summit of Mount Hakkyō, he looks out over the sweeping vistas and the Seto Inland Sea, and states that he can see a Dragonfly in the shape of the mountain ridges and curved landmasses. In archaic Japanese, the word for Dragonfly was akitsu. Because of the Emperor's poetic observation, the nation was unified and officially became known as Akitsushima.

The Epic continues with the progeny of Emperor Jimmu bringing what was called "The Eight Generations Lacking History." The Epic then finally concludes with Emperor Sujin, another King down the line of succession who had to rise to the occasion when the peaceful legacy of Jimmu was threatened by a catastrophic plague that wiped out half the population.

The story relates that Sujin realized the gods were angry because he had moved the Three Sacred Treasures from the Imperial Palace and replaced them with replicas as a way to protect them from disrespect.

Three Sacred Treasures

Sujin felt the Palace was too mundane to house such sacred divine objects and hide them away. However, the people then begun worshipping these false replicas which caused societal chaos.

To try and solve the problem Emperor Sujin brought his aunt, a powerful priestess (miko), to commune with the spirit world. The god Ōmononushi possessed her and delivered an explicit ultimatum: The plague was his doing because the people were no longer worshipping the gods with proper reverence.

Ōtataneko then completely healed the kingdom, paving the way for a grand revival of the Imperial Kingdom, though the "Golden Age" that followed is attributed to Emperor Sujin, he was the last descendant and 10th (88) Emperor of Lord Jimmu, the Dragonfly King in the epic Nihon Shinwa Chronicles.

The cycle of Divine Man once again plays front and center of this Epic Legend, and it is indeed an Epic, I have probably not done it true justice trying to summarise it into this post.

However, one of the most well known myths connecting the symbol of the Dragonfly directly to the divine Samurai, surrounds the legendary warrior Honda Tadakatsu (本多 忠勝) and his mythical spear, the Tonbokiri (蜻蛉切)—which translates literally to "The Dragonfly Cutter".

The Legend relates that Honda Tadakatsu was a legendary Samurai general known as one of the "Four Heavenly Kings of the Tokugawa.

The name Honda directly relates to the First Born Divine Male as we can see with the etymology, Hon (本): Means "root," "origin," or "main."Da / Ta (多): Means "many" or "much." So Honda is the "root or origin of the many". The etymology of Tadakatsu us Tada (忠): Means "loyalty," "fidelity," or "faithfulness"and Katsu (勝): Means "victory," "to win," or "to overcome".

Ancient Japanese Dragonfly Helmet

The Legend of the Dragonfly Cutter begins, Tadakatsu’s weapon of choice was a Yari (a massive Japanese spear) forged by Fujiwara Masazane, a master metalsmith. The blade was extraordinarily long, dangerously sharp, and held an almost supernatural sheen. The legend states that during a pause on a breezy battlefield, Tadakatsu held his spear completely still, upright in the air.

A Dragonfly flew directly toward the spear's gleaming tip and landed on the tip. The dragonfly didn't run into the spear, nor did Tadakatsu swing it. The insect simply tried to gently land on the edge of the blade. However, the steel was so supernaturally sharp that the mere weight of the Dragonfly landing on the edge caused the insect to slice perfectly in half by its own momentum.

From that day forward, the spear was deemed a holy and divine weapon and named Tonbokiri. It became celebrated as one of the Three Great Spears of Japan. The Samurai commonly forged dragonfly shapes directly onto their kabuto (battle helmets) and etched them onto their sword guards (tsuba) as a talisman for absolute victory.

The Legend concludes that Honda Tadakatsu then went on to use the Dragonfly Spear in over 100 battles to not even gain a single wound. Here we have a direct symbolic connection to the immortality of the Divine Man.

We also have the connection of the magnificent Dragonfly with their annual Buddhist Obon festival that follows the mid August lunar calendar. This Ancient Japanese holiday denotes the time when the spirits of the Divine Ancestors return to the living world.

The myth goes onto say that when their Divine Ancestors return they will ride on the back of a red Dragonfly. The red Dragonflies are explicitly called shōryō-tonbo (祖霊蜻蛉), meaning "ancestral-spirit dragonflies."

It is important to recognise that the academic version of some of these Legends have become very diluted. The modern revisions have omitted the importance of the divinity of the ancestors in this festival and have now generalised it to embrace their own lost loved ones. I see this also in the South American Día de los Muertos  (Day of the Dead) Festival.

Of course, to a lesser degree in the language of symbolism there is always a degree of truth to everything, and this divine operation can also be applied to the mortal man. However the well studied student will identify that the ancient ancestors related in the mythos regarding Obon relates to their first divine ancestors.

A traditional temple song played during Obon services puts any doubt to rest as it relays it all perfectly in a single verse, “Riding on dragonflies, guests are returning from the faraway Pure Land! It's the yearly visit of our guests. Dragonfly, dragonfly, red dragonfly!” The Red Dragonfly is specifically mentioned. The well studied student also knows what the faraway land that the spirits of their divine ancestors return from, and that the colour Red is connected to the First Born Divine Male.

There is a belief that still survives in modern day Japan. If a Red Dragonfly flies directly inside a house, it must be welcomed warmly and allowed to rest undisturbed so the divine ancestor can temporarily rejoin the family circle.

Now let us turn to our Native American storytellers and see what stories they have created around this superb little insect.

There is a South-West Navajo story of the Coyote and the Dragon which is very much a lesson of humility regarding the Divine Man in the Lower Ages.

It begins that long ago, Dragonflies were actually large, powerful Dragons. One day a Coyote encountered one of these Dragons who began bragging about his strength and beauty, so the Coyote decided he would challenge the Dragon's power.

However, the Coyote was a trickster, it cleverly dared the proud Dragon to prove its magical strength by shifting its shape into something small, swift, and completely different. The Dragon, eager to prove his superiority to the Coyote transformed into a Dragonfly. However once the transformation was complete he realized the Coyote had tricked him and he was now trapped in this form. We see the shapeshifting theme continues and this time with a timely lesson, literally.

The neighboring Zuni (A'shiwi) Pueblo tribes have also woven a beautiful little Saga around the Dragonfly.

The story begins with a severe drought which forces a village to abandon their crops and homes. In the rush to leave, a young boy and his little sister are accidentally left behind. To comfort his lonely and weeping sister, the brother fashions a small toy Dragonfly out of corn husks and dried grass.

As the children played with the little toy it miraculously comes to life. Heartbroken by the children's predicament it flies up to the Council of the Gods to plead for the children.

The gods hear the creature's plea and show mercy, they restore the rains to the lands, and the children are granted the wisdom to eventually become the leaders of their returning people.

In gratitude, the children painted the creature's likeness on their sacred objects, declaring it the symbol of the life-giving summer rains—creating the very first Dragonfly.

The Hopi have a similar myth about the Dragonfly, it relays when the Hopi were migrating to find their permanent home, the tribe faced severe starvation. The Dragonflies used their supernatural abilities to help the corn crops mature in only four days, ensuring the survival of the people.

Their Dragonfly Kachina ie: god Sivuftotovi, he is directly connected to the colour Red and even now native tribal dancers will smear their bodies with red clay.

Now shall we finish with our Celtic Scribes and see how they have managed to decorate their ancient legends with this marvelous little insect.

The Divine Ancestors of the Irish, the Tuatha de Danann, have not let us down. Irish Folklore says that when then the Tuatha de Danann transformed into fairies they rode on the backs of Dragonflies. Some Celtic folklore relays that the Dragonfly is but the Tuatha Dé Danann themselves in disguise.

The Legend relates that for the Tuatha de Danann to move around the mortal realm without revealing their powerful, divine, radiant forms, their spirits would shape-shift into Dragonflies. The legend suggests that if you look at a Dragonfly from just the right angle in the fading twilight, the iridescent wings disappear, revealing a tiny, hidden fairy warrior.

"Obelisking" Scarlet Percher, Diplacodes haematodes (Western Australia)