VMS -- Dragon f25v

["Dana F. Scott" <dfscott@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Human imagination has been intrigued and fascinated throughout the
centuries by the mysterious and daunting ferocity of the mighty dragon,
guardian of the underworld. At f25v we see that the VMS also has a cute
little dragon mascot. But with so many different variations of the
dragon it would be interesting to try and determine just which dragon we
have here in the VMS. It appears that our little friend does indeed have
an identity and was apparently popular during the Renaissance. It is
known as a Basilisk though very few individuals have ever seen this
dragon, for it is said that if humans as much as cast a glance at this
elusive beast they will perish. Therefore, we are not exactly sure what
it looks like. From a book entitled "Signs & Symbols, An Illustrated
Guide To Their Meaning and Origins", by Clare Gibson, (Barnes and Noble,
New York, ISBN: 0-7607-0217-9, Saraband Inc., 1996, p.135) we learn the
following:

        The basilisk -- also known as the cockatrice -- has the wings,
head,
        triple crest and claws of a bird on the body of a snake. Its
tail can
        sometimes terminate in a second head, in which case it is the
amphisbaen,
        which can see both ways. In Western belief, the basilisk was
said to
        have emerged from a yolkless egg laid in dung by a cock and
hatched
        by a toad or serpent. It had a crown on its head and a
trifurcated tail.
        In the East, it was a cock/serpent/toad hybrid. A guardian of
treasure,
        its stare could kill men and death could only be circumvented by
forcing
        it to look at its reflection in a mirror; catching sight of its
own image
        would cause it to die of shock. In Christianity, the basilisk
symbolizes
        the antichrist as one of the four aspects of Satan. It
represented sins
        such as treachery and lust, and disease (particularly syphilis)
during
        the Middle Ages.

Well, our basilisk certainly does have a trifurcated tail and possibly
scales on it back like a tortoise shell, though it might be argued that
these are just feathers on a wing. There do appear to be two horn shaped
structures on its head.

http://www.animalfacts.com/facts/basilisk.htm

Take a look at the picture at the bottom of the following Web site:
Green Crested Basilisk (Basilicus plumifrons)
http://www.k12.de.us/warner/basilisk.htm

http://www.cyclura.com/family_gallery/others/punchjudy.html

And the Basilisk may even be said to have almost magical powers of
levitation since it can run on water.
http://www.basilisk.com/

And why is the Basilisk in the VMS nibbling on the tip of a dagger
shaped lanceolate leaf? Well, it strikes me that this is another clue as
to the true identity and meaning of our special dragon. Many of you, I
am sure, are familiar with the well know Ouroboros that forms a circle
and consumes the tip of its own tail, symbolically representing the
life-cycle, including rebirth and regeneration found throughout nature.
In the VMS we see that the Basilisk completes the plant life-cycle from
earth to root to stalk to leaf and then back down to earth again as when
plant leaves are eaten by animals.

Ouroboros:
http://www.best.com/~abacus/oro/oro3.gif
http://www.best.com/~abacus/oro/oro32.jpg
http://www.inanna.com/yggdrasil/ouroboros.JPEG
http://www.best.com/~abacus/oro/oro1.jpg
http://www.best.com/~abacus/oro/oro4.gif

More Ouroboros:
http://www.thestargoddess.net/ourobor.htm
http://www.inanna.com/yggdrasil/ouroboros.html
http://www.monstrous.com/Dragons/Dragon_Symbol/dragon_symbol.html#Ouro
http://www.dragon.org/chris/ouroboros.html
http://www3.bc.sympatico.ca/JNHDA/sbb4f.htm

Basilisk Incubation by Toad:
http://www.monstrous.com/Monsters/Orient/Orient-I/Basilisk_egg/basilisk_egg.html

Basilisk Hatchlings:
http://www.monstrous.com/Monsters/Orient/Orient-I/Basilisk_birth/basilisk_birth.html

Basilisk History/Description:
http://www.taberah.org/og/page/00170.htm
http://www.monstrous.com/Monsters/Orient/Basilisk/basilisk.html
http://webhome.idirect.com/~donlong/monsters/Html/Basilisk.htm
http://www.bulfinch.org/fables/bull36.html
http://www.psyeta.org/sa/sa2.1/sax.html

The Aberdeen Bestiary:
http://www.clues.abdn.ac.uk:8080/besttest/alt/comment/det_com/birdf66r.html

Beauty and the Beast:
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Cavern/7670/whitegrl.jpg

Regards,
Dana

begin:vcard 
n:Scott;Dana
tel;cell:(408) 439-3509
tel;home:(408) 985-4274
x-mozilla-html:FALSE
adr:;;;;;;
version:2.1
email;internet:dfscott@xxxxxxxxxxx
fn:Dana Scott
end:vcard