Dragons have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. As a child I was always fascinated with fantasy stories, particularly those that included dragons, witches and wizards. I still have several dragon ornaments from my childhood. Every Saturday morning my dad would take us down to the local library and I would come home with a pile of books to devour. In particular I remember sitting down and reading Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland from cover to cover in one day. This was closely followed by Through the Looking Glass which of course has the dragonesque creature, the Jabberwocky. The Hobbit was another firm favourite which has since been read and re-read on many occasions, where I met the dragon Smaug. Even earlier I belonged to a book club at school, I remember the excitement each month when the brochure came out and I got to choose a couple of books. One of those was Green Smoke by Rosemary Manning, the delightful story of a small dragon living in a cave in Cornwall.

Even before I started my Pagan Witchcraft journey, well over thirty years ago now, dragon magic wove itself into my life. Physically being drawn to dragon ornaments, jewellery and images on clothing but in more subtle ways. My personality has always had a touch of fire dragon to it! Once I was on my Pagan Witchcraft pathway when my Craft name found me, of course it contained essence of dragon. The first part being ‘Tansy’, with my love of native herbals, the second part naturally falling in place as ‘Firedragon’.

I cannot remember exactly when my first guardian dragon arrived because it feels as if he has been with me forever. Perhaps I began to acknowledge him once my witchcraft journey began. He is a fire dragon, and he is enormous. When I feel him near, it is a presence looming behind me, literally towering above me, he can appear as several feet taller than me or the size of a house. The size usually depends on how much I have messed up and exactly how irritated he is with my behaviour. His energy is powerful, incredibly so, and he steps in not only to chastise me, but also to offer support, guidance and protection. He has become a part of my energy and I would not want to be without him, even when he gets frustrated with me.

Other dragon energies have come and gone as and when I have needed them whether for spell work, in ritual or just to lend their particular support to whatever I am working on at the time. The interesting thing is that mostly the dragons are fully grown. Rarely do I encounter a young dragon. Although on one particular occasion I was met by a new fresh-faced dragon. We had just finished a sabbat ritual in the centre of Stonehenge and were spending some time connecting with the energy of the stones when a small blue dragon appeared to me. He was very young and new to the world of humans. I had been experiencing a particularly bad time of things personally and I do believe he arrived to help me through it. Not to give advice or support because he was too young for that, but to provide a focus for me to care for him. He travelled with me for some time, until I was back on track.

Once I began to learn about witchcraft, working with dragon magic intensively became second nature. Your journey will be your own, and may well be very different from mine, but what it will be is a definite adventure.

Dragon Magic

The Dragon is the principle of clear seeing: the ability to see things in a new light as they really are, beyond all illusions. And I do not believe there can be any doubt about the strength of a dragon from physical, mental to spiritual.

You might be familiar with the idea of a dragon hording his treasure; it is that treasure that symbolises the wisdom it keeps. For us to find the knowledge it guards we must quest for it within ourselves and venture into the unknown to find the answers. If you have ever practiced yoga, you will know the dragon as the Kundalini, the force that is hidden inside us. We all have it within us to awaken the forces within the dragon.

The World of Dragon has so many different breeds, types, colours, sizes and shapes. Some you may be more familiar with than others – the Chinese or the Welsh Dragon for instance, others such as the Wyrm may be new to you. But no matter what they look like, they all hold incredible power. A dragon can be a strong, useful and wise guide or guardian and we can also tap into dragon energy to use within our rituals and our magic.

Dragons are a primeval force, they are physical and spiritual, they bring with them the full force and power of the elements. They are also very wise and intelligent. Dragon Energy is one of the most powerful energies I know of and when blended together via the four main elements, creates the etheric dragon… a superpower.

Dragon energy is linear, so be careful what you ask for. You will receive it in the most direct way possible. Be very specific about your intentions, integrity and intelligence. Dragons do not necessarily use human logic, if you offer them a problem they will find a solution, but it will be a straightforward one, removing anything in its path to solve it. Dragon magic often works quickly and can sometimes have unexpected results. Dragon energy is very good at removing dark energy, it is good for clearing negative energy but make sure you also ask for positive energy to be left in its place.

Start your journey

Whilst I do not want to put you off working with dragons, I would ask you to remember that these are very old and very wise creatures they have a tendency to get bored easily and can be impatient. Always treat them with the respect that you would a wise elder. It will take time and effort to build a relationship with dragons and a lot of practice to understand their magic. You cannot force a dragon to come to you, you cannot make one work for you. If a dragon feels you are worthy and can be trusted, then and only then will they even consider making a first introduction.

Begin by researching and reading as much as you can about dragons, their myths, stories, folklore and legends. Then think about why you want to work with them, what are your reasons and whether you are prepared to put the work and effort in to follow this through properly. Dragon magic is not a quick fix and working with dragons is not something to be taken lightly. I would say only you can decide whether you are ready or prepared to work with dragons but usually they are the ones that make the decision for you.

What I can tell you is that working with dragon energy can be very beneficial and a wonderful experience. Dragons also have so much to teach us, all that ancient wisdom waiting to be shared with us not to mention all their powerful energy and support they can provide us with.

Rachel is an English witch who has been walking the Pagan pathway for over thirty years.
A working wife and mother who has had over 30 books published (so far), some of them becoming best sellers.

Her passion is to learn, she loves to study and has done so from books, online resources, schools and wonderful mentors over the years and still continues to learn each and every day but has learnt the most from actually getting outside and doing it.

She likes to laugh…and eat cake…

Rachel gives talks to pagan groups and co-runs workshops with the Kitchen Witch Coven.

High Priestess of the Kitchen Witch Coven and an Elder at the online Kitchen Witch School of Natural Witchcraft.

A regular columnist with Fate & Fortune magazine, she also contributes articles to several magazines such as Pagan Dawn and Witchcraft & Wicca. You will find her regular ramblings on her own personal blog and YouTube channel. Rachel is host for the Pagan Portals Podcast, produced by Moon Books Publishing.

​Her craft is a combination of old religion witchcraft, Wicca, hedge witchery, kitchen witchery and folk magic.

Her heart is that of an English Kitchen Witch.

​Rachel was added to the Watkins ‘100 spiritually influential List’ for 2023.

For more information: https://www.collectiveinkbooks.com/moon-books/our-books/pagan-portals-dragon-magic