#St. Michael and the Dragon

[rabbitcruiser]

All Saints’ Day

All Saints’ Day is a Christian festival [actually a Catholic holiday] that honors saints, and also celebrates the victory of Christ over death. The definition of saints and those who are being honored on the day are often looked at differently in Catholic and various Protestant churches.

In the Catholic Church, the day is seen as honoring saints that don’t have their own day of celebration. Many Protestants use the day to honor all Christians, both past and present. The day takes place on November 1 in Western churches in Europe and the Americas, such as in Anglican, Roman Catholic, Methodist, Lutheran, and some other Protestant churches. It is part of the Roman Rite in the Catholic Church and is a Principal Feast in the Anglican Church. It takes place a day before All Souls’ Day and a day after All Hallows’ Eve, commonly known as Halloween. Many Eastern churches observe the day on the first Sunday after Pentecost.The day begins with Vespers on All Hallows’ Eve, and the days’ observation lasts for the duration of November 1. In some congregations, a candle is lit or a bell is rung, and the names of congregants who have passed away in the previous year are read. Other prayers and readings may take place on the day. Various customs take place in different countries, such as offerings being made and graves being visited. It is a national holiday in some countries that are predominantly Catholic, but it is not in the United States.The roots of the day go back to the early Christian church. In the late fourth or early fifth century, days dedicated to all saints began being celebrated.

These days were held on different dates in different places. An All Saints’ Day began being celebrated in the British Isles at the beginning of the eighth century, possibly along with or to replace Samhain, a Celtic festival. However, some believe the choice of November 1 for the date was a Germanic idea, not being tied to the Celtic holiday. In 835 CE, Pope Gregory IV officially set the date of the holiday to November 1. After the Reformation, many churches that broke off from the Catholic Church continued to celebrate the day. In some of these churches, it is not always celebrated exactly on November 1, instead being observed on a Saturday or Sunday near it.All Saints’ Day, also known as All Hallows’ Day, All Hallows Tide, Feast of All Saints, Hallowmas, and Solemnity of All Saints, is being observed today! It has always been observed annually on November 1st.

If you are of the Christian faith, you could observe the day by attending a church service and visiting graves of loved ones who have since passed. There are various other ways the day could be observed, such as by having an All Saints’ Day party or learning about saints. If you are not religious, you could still have an All Saints’ Day party and eat some traditional foods associated with the day.

Source

[illustratus]

[lionofchaeronea]

St. Michael and the Dragon, unknown artist of the Sienese School, 14th century

[heartsgettingwiser62]

Look at me in the eye and tell me Mike Wheeler doesnt own this. I DARE YOU.

[cyberdragoninfinity]

Oh most noble Prince of the Angelic Hierarchies, valorous warrior of Almighty God and zealous lover of His glory, terror of the rebellious angels, [...] my beloved Archangel [...] with your powerful weapon cast far from me into the infernal abysses that prevaricator and proud angel that one day you prostrated in the celestial battle. Amen.

[rhianna]

APA Citation

Eckenstein, L. (1902). Albrecht Dürer.London: Duckworth & Co..

[drawmaticfanatic]

Inktober 23 2023 - Celestial

[checkoutmybookshelf]

Ok, so something I love about the Royal Dragons series that I think the Bridgerton books missed but I hope to goodness the show gets is secret "we married in" meetings. Imagine Simon, Michael, Philip, Gareth, Kate, Penelope, Lucy and Sophie getting together for tea and just gossiping about their respective Bridgertons...

[s38s73r]

The Grey Rock / An Garrek Las, St Michael's Mount, Marazion, Cornwall /Kernow

[ifartconfetti]

do americans not have fairytales to be told to kids

[rabbitcruiser]

Appreciate A Dragon Day

Dragons, the magical scaly creature born from fire, have existed throughout mythology since the times of the Romans and Egyptians. Dragons, with their celestial ways and otherworldly presence, make our lives a lot more interesting, and never cease to amaze people.

Appreciate a Dragon Day is a day dedicated to learning about dragons and sharing your love for these creatures! 

History of Appreciate a Dragon Day 

Appreciate a Dragon Day began when Donita K. Paul wanted to celebrate the publishing of her first fantasy novel “Dragonspell”, part of the five-volume series, The DragonKeeper Chronicles.

Dragons have always been popular, existing in the mythology of cultures from all over the world. Dragons inspire us and fill us with fear at the same time. Western dragons have always been depicted as fearsome creatures to either overcome or have a kinship with, while eastern dragons were typically equated with the royalty and heavenly forces, depending on the culture.

Nevertheless, dragons also tend to represent the conquering of the spiritual soul, as they are related to many of the human emotions that block the way to enlightenment. Dragons in modern culture have always been a place of fascination for them, as many authors and filmmakers have helped transform the image of a dragon to something people can admire.  

Some of the most famous stories to depict dragons are seen in Tolkien, Ursula, and J.K. Rowling’s novels. In films, movies and TV shows such as How to Raise a Dragon, Game of Thrones, and Eragon have helped shape the way people see dragons and ultimately fall in love with them. Dragons have existed since the earliest parts of history and have appeared in many different forms with many different alignments of good and evil.

The depictions of dragons tend to differ by culture. In ancient times, most societies had an ambivalent view of dragons. Like any other creature, these giant flying serpents had both a good side and a bad one. 

In the West, however, attitudes towards dragons changed with the advent of Christianity in the late Roman era. Suddenly, dragons became associated with evil because of their serpentine nature and needed vanquishing. Some people believed that dragons were a real phenomenon and created stories about how great warriors had to go out into the wilderness to defeat them. The tale of St. George and the dragon is likely a direct descendent of this thinking.

When you think about it in more detail, you can understand why people thought dragons were real. Remember, in ancient times, there was no explanation for giant bones. Nobody had a clue what dinosaurs were, or that fossilized bones were millions of years old. For all they knew, these creatures perished recently and could live beyond the horizon. Believing in “dragons” was logical and perhaps necessary to protect yourself.

The old ideas weren’t far off eighteenth- and nineteenth-century discoveries in paleontology. Once the dinosaur age took off, it became clear that there really were giant serpent-like creatures who roamed the Earth millions of years ago, firing the public imagination.

The diversity of dragons is considerable, and one of the main motivations for Appreciate A Dragon Day. The fire-breathing variety is the most famous, but there are others too. Some are like gargoyles found in medieval churches. Others are many-headed hydras that pop out of the ocean. Some even depict them as wyverns, basilisks, and other mythical creatures with loose connections to the real world. 

Folklore experts like Carol Rose point out that dragons are essentially “composite creatures.” We tend to think of them as highly-stylized, as depicted in films like The Hobbit. But Rose notes that they can have really unusual features, including elephant trunks. 

Ultimately, the idea of dragons interacting with humans fills our mind with awe and inspires us to delight our minds with fancy. Appreciate a Dragon Day asks people to share what their favorite dragon is in popular culture and tell people why they love dragons.  

How to Celebrate Appreciate a Dragon Day 

When it comes to celebrating Appreciate a Dragon Day, you have a lot of options. 

Draw, sketch, or color in pictures of dragons. Watch your favorite dragon-themed movie with friends. Read fantasy novels about dragons, including The DragonKeeper Series. Buy or sew a stuffed dragon for you or a friend you know – it’s all totally kosher!

If you love art, you can print out a dragon coloring page. Or you can attempt to paint a picture of one of these mythical beasts from scratch if you’re feeling brave. 

Another popular idea is to use the day to cook a meal fit for a dragon. What, precisely, this entails is anyone’s guess. But heavy charring is clearly an option here. You want something that involves a little fire and passion!

Another thing you can do is learn to write in Dragonese. For those of you who don’t know, this is the language that dragons speak in the film How to Train Your Dragon. The scriptwriters created an entire universe of words, waiting for you to explore them. 

You can also indulge yourself in other ways. How about collecting books and movies related to dragons and starting a dragon collection? Or what about creating a dragon mosaic, hosting a puppet show, or doing all kinds of things you can think of related to dragons?

Once you start talking about dragons, you’ll be amazed by how many people love them. Don’t keep Appreciate a Dragon Day to yourself! Share this holiday with your friends and spread your love for dragons! 

Source

[franzkafkagf]

PRINCE JACAERYS VELARYON; THE FIRSTBORN, THE SOLDIER, THE TRAGEDY

inspired by this post by @allyriadayne

house of the dragon s01e08 / tory adkisson, anectode of a pig / george r. r. martin, the world of ice and fire / tomasz jedruszek, the death of jacaerys and vermax / unknown, i am a poor wayfaring stranger / george r. r. martin, fire & blood / doug wheatley, illustrations for fire & blood / peter paul rubens, st. sebastian / house of the dragon s01e06 / michael dante dimartino, leaves from the vine / josé saramago, cain / josefa de ayala - the sacrificial lamb / callie siskel, mourner's logic / mitski, last words of a shooting star / house of the dragon s2 / sam mendes, 1917

[xpyray]

Laios fighting the dragon, source under the cut

"St. Michael fighting the dragon", located in Chapelle des Saints-Anges, by Delacroix, Ferdinand Victor Eugene, 1849-1861

[mering]

with him i have an ending

okay i want to explain some of my thought process for this one. i started it for the vsz week prompt "gods/worship" (and obviously did not finish it in time), where i wanted to do something with depictions of sainthood in medieval art and the imagery in illuminated manuscripts.

i took the basic idea of the pose from (many versions of) st michael and the dragon, switched around so that despite keeping the original power balance intact, zam is the one being impaled; in defeating vitalasy, he's forcing his hand to hurt himself. if it was up to zam, vitalasy would have retaliated and proven him right post-betrayal, but that isn't how it goes.

zam is holding the inverted eclipse shield subz gave him after the betrayal. i drew him in my wormhole design in reference to the final conversation they have, where zam is using the idea that he's broken beyond repair as a shield to avoid having to engage with vitalasy. in short: i'm trying to visually portray the contradiction present in needing someone to hurt you to maintain your worldview/sense of self, when they don't want to do that.

the lyric in the caption is from heartland, which is an album about struggles for authorial control, and resentment over how someone else portrays you, and a shift from complete belief in someone/something towards that resentment... where authorial power is conflated with godhood. (it is also about gay romance.)

also, here's a version from before i did the black background:

[talism4niac]

Actually you know what, here's a Megathread of the folks behind Project Dragon / Everhaven

I figured the least I could do is highlight as many people as I can that had involvement with the project and has posted their work. If there's anyone that I missed please DM and I'll be sure to update this when I can! Go and show these folks some love! </3

Nicholas Kole : Portfolio | Twitter | Instagram

Airborn Studios : Artstation | Twitter

Ines Marsal : Twitter

Camille Peyrebere : Twitter

Leslie Van den Broeck : Artstation

Chloé Labbé : Twitter

Janneke Bruijnes : Twitter

Malte Sturm : Twitter

Andrea Orioli : Twitter

Charlène Le Scanff : Twitter | Artstation

Julien Allard : Twitter

Lucas St. Martin : Twitter | Instagram | Artstation

Andy Hansen : Twitter | Artstation

Florian Coudray : Twitter | Artstation

Malwina Czech (Mawluna) : Twitter

Joey Vergara : Twitter -Game Designer

Mel Ramsden : Twitter -Game Designer

Shaan Joshi : Twitter -Game Developer

Bethany Higa : Twitter -Narrative Designer

Dave Huddleston : Linkedin -Lead Animator

Cris Velasco : Twitter -Composer

Hunter Howe : Twitter -Director

Michael vicente - Orb : Twitter -3D Artist

[devilmen-collector]

Origin of the names of the angels

Since I have done a post on the origin of the names of the seven kingdoms of Hell, may as well do the origin of the names of the angels.

Warning, this post contains religious content. If you are not comfortable, please ignore this.

Now let's go on with our trivia post

Seraphim

Now I just want to make a distinction. The Seraphim irl are called "the Archangels", but that doesn't mean they belong to the rank of archangel, the second-to-lowest rank, it only means they are the leaders and chieftains of all the angels, including other Seraphim.

Also, Michael, Gabriel and Raphael are the only named angels in the Bible.

Michael

"Michael" means "Who is like unto God?" in Hebrew. In the Bible, Michael is described as "the great prince, who standeth for the children of thy people" (Daniel 12:1), the angel who disputed with the devil over the remains of Moses (Epistle of St. Jude verse 9), the leader of the heavenly army fighting against the dragon (Revelation 12:7).

In the Christian tradition, Michael is the leader of God's army fighting against Satan, helper of the faithful Christians at the moment of death, champion of God's people, protector of the Jews under of the Old Testament, and of God's Holy Church. He is also the patron of many chivalric order of knights.

Michael, having led the battle against Lucifer, is the greatest of all angels, no angel could surpass him in honor and glory.

The feast day of St. Michael in Western Christianity is held on September 29, commemorating the dedication of first church built in his honor in Western Europe. In Eastern Christianity, St. Michael and all angels have their commom feast day on the 8th of November.

Gabriel

"Gabriel" means "strength of God". In the Bible, he appears as the messenger of God who delivers messages of utmost importance: he tells the Prophet Daniel two prophecies concerning the successive empires and the time elapsing before the coming of Christ (Daniel chapter 8 & 9), he appears before Zachary and foretells that his son will be the Precursor of the Lord (Luke 1:5-25), and most importantly Gabriel announces to the Virgin Mary the Incarnation of the God the Son and that she is going to become the Mother of God (Luke 1:26-38). According to tradition, Gabriel was also the angel who appeared in St. Joseph's dream (Matthew 1:18-25; 2: 13-23), and also the angel who consoled Jesus (Luke 22:43). Thus, Gabriel is the Archangel of Incarnation and Consolation.

Some traditions have Gabriel as the angel of mercy while Michael is the angel of justice. Some others have it vice versa.

St. Gabriel's feast day, according to an old tradition, is on the 24th of March, the day before the feast of Annunciation.

Raphael

"Raphael" means "God has healed". The third Archangel appears only in the book of Tobit, in which he helps the young Tobias during his journey, ultimately aiding the young man heal his father's blindness and helping him find a good spouse. Therefore, Raphael is invoked as the angel of Healing and the Patron of finding a good partner for marriage.

Raphael was also the angel who revealed that there are seven Archangels. "For I am the angel Raphael, one of the seven, who stand before the Lord" (Tobit 12:15).

The feast day of St. Raphael, in old tradition, is on the 24th of October.

Cherubim

Selaphiel, Jegudiel and Barachiel

Selaphiel, Jegudiel and Barachiel aren't found in Sacred Scripture, but only in the tradition of Eastern Orthodox Church.

For these three angels, I have already made a post about it. I'll link it here for you guys.

Selaphiel, Jegudiel and Barachiel: Origin of the names

Zadkiel

Zadkiel does not appear in the Bible, although some identify him as the unnamed Angel of the Lord who prevents Abraham from sacrificing his son during the time that God tested Abraham (Genesis 22:1-18). It's the reason why if a church (usually an Anglican church) does depict Zadkiel in its iconography, he's depicted as holding a dagger, for Abraham intended to use a dagger to sacrifice his son.

We will skip over Thrones (or Ophanim), Dominions, Virtues and Powers because there is currently no angel of those choirs in-game yet.

Principalities

Michelleel

"Michelleel" is a name that PrettyBusy completely made up themselves. No angel is known with the name Micheleel. Micheleel is the combination of Michael written in another way "Michelle" and the suffix "el", which means "God".

Archangels

Rashiel, Armisael and Zeruel

Just like with Michelleel, these three Archangels have made up names by PrettyBusy.

Angels

Samael

"Samael" means "Venom/Poison of God". He exists only in Judaism's Talmudic lore. Sometimes he is considered a fallen angel, with some people think he's Satan, while other times he is considered the angel with destructive duties.