Dragon Tattoos

Some people identify with Dragons based on the Asian zodiacs. The Year of the Dragon comes once every twelve years. It is considered a most auspicious year, and more babies are born during Dragon Years than in any of the other eleven animal years. Dragons are symbolic of good luck, health, strength and harmony.

The mythologies about dragons are found in both Eastern and Western cultures. In the East, dragons are wise and benevolent creatures, symbolic of elements or natural forces. In Europe, dragons were often part of a curse or blight upon a land, the subject of conquest for knights on a quest. They were often depicted as hoarding jewels or breathing fire against a foe in battle. In modern myth, dragons can also be found as part of science fiction and fantasy stories and images.

Asian Dragon Mythology

In Chinese mythology, the dragon is the symbol of masculine yang energy, often correlated with rivers and rain. The Imperial Dragon is recognizable by his fifth claw (ordinary dragons have four claws). The five claws in turn symbolize the dragon's ability to move in all four directions (north, east, south, west) simultaneously, while still staying connected to center and being present.  In Japanese myth, there are said to be nine different types of dragon, but in Chinenese mythology, they only have three types.