The Ascension of the Male Dragon 🐉

A Bold Meditation on the Masculine Journey

For centuries, the Chinese dragon has slithered through myth, art, and consciousness, not as a fire-breathing beast of destruction like its Western cousin, but as a symbol of power, wisdom, transformation, and fluid adaptability.

The dragon stands as the prime image of the I Ching, the Book of Changes, embodying the ceaseless dance of transformation. To me, the dragon is the ultimate masculine metaphor, not of domination, but of cultivated potential, a deep inner reservoir of power that rises only when the time is ripe.

Men, like dragons, are shapeshifters of fate, called to evolve across the seasons of their lives. In my own journey, I’ve come to see the dragon not as a brute force, but as a chameleon-like being who knows when to fly and when to lie low; when to roar, and when to whisper. The dragon can hide in mist or soar into the heavens. It does not crave attention, but embodies a watchful, evolving strength.

Taoist philosophy teaches us that true masculine power is found in wu wei—effortless action that arises from deep inner attunement with the Tao. The superior man, like the dragon, does not push or grasp prematurely. He withdraws at times, not from weakness, but from wisdom, knowing that capacity and aspiration must be cultivated in silence, like a seed waiting for spring.

David Deida, in one of my all-time favorite books entitled The Way of the Superior Man, echoes this dance between restraint and revelation. He teaches that a man’s depth is not measured by his resume or prowess, but by his ability to remain grounded in the storm of life, anchored in purpose, and present with the feminine.

Deida reminds us that the masculine heart longs to be free, but that freedom is meaningless without devotion. His superior man moves beyond the adolescent craving for conquest and into mature leadership—not dominance over others, but sovereignty over self.

In the I Ching, the dragon image appears in Hexagram 1, The Creative, representing heaven’s power, unshakable movement, and ceaseless potential. But the ancient text wisely reminds us: “Arrogant dragons will have cause to repent.”

The masculine dragon that rushes to display power without ripening inwardly risks collapse. That is why many men today—myself included—find ourselves called into periods of obscurity, frugality, and silence, cultivating character away from the stage lights.

In my own life, I have learned that the moments when I have withdrawn—whether from relationships, careers, or public ambitions—were not moments of retreat, but of deep masculine alchemy. It is in the unseen that the dragon strengthens its wings; it is in the quiet that the masculine sheds old skins.

The chameleon-like dragon motif has taught me that I can change my colors not to deceive, but to survive, to learn, to transform, until the moment arrives when my full power can be revealed.

And here’s the most beautiful part: women, in their radiant femininity, serve as catalysts for this masculine rebirth. Feminine energy—flowing, unpredictable, fierce and tender at once—calls the masculine out of hiding, not by force, but by invitation.

Women, in their vulnerability and wildness, challenge the masculine to rise in integrity, to hold space, to meet them not as boys, but as men. My advice to women: Do not mother a man into his masculine; dance with him, mirror his strength, challenge his heart, and trust his process.

True masculine divinity is not reclaimed through dominance, but through surrender to purpose, love, and evolution. It is the dance of the dragon and the phoenix, the masculine and feminine, yin and yang—forever circling, forever awakening, forever rebirthing each other in the cosmic dance.

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