Dragon Blood – Day 944

Iris Dragon – Photo: L. Weikel

Dragon Blood

It’s futile to dispute: Irises traffic in Dragon blood. They have to. They either traffic in it or have it coursing within themselves. There’s no way Dragons could feature so prominently in the visages of irises without there being a deep and abiding  – magical some might say – connection between the two.

They’re tricksters, too. I’ll give them that. Just take a look at this spray of irises emerging from a well-manicured garden along the path of my walk. Sure appears benign to me. In fact, it almost goes without saying that these flowers could call out in unison, “Nothing to see here!” and passersby would, well, pass by without nary a second look.

But of course, I’m not your ordinary passerby. I tend to linger a bit when I happen upon a thing of beauty. (Photos in my repertoire would suggest that I’m not only attracted to the beautiful. But I’ll leave that for another day.) When my attention is drawn to something, I tend to examine it from many angles and, if possible, get a couple good shots of it to share here in my 1111 Devotion.

So much beauty – with Dragons hiding in plain sight! Photo: L. Weikel

Magic Strikes Twice

As it happens, I’ve encountered these irises before. I wrote about them two years ago – almost to the day. I’m not sure if I even saw them bloom last year. But if I did, I apparently was too distracted by life to write about them.

From the quality of my photos, I’d say this year’s crop of Dragons is more blatant and ready to be identified and claimed. I’ll leave that assessment up to you, though. But I dare you to tell me this one isn’t pushing the sassy envelope. I can even read expressions on the face of this Nature Being.

Interesting Coincidence

I was pretty sure I wrote a post about these Iris Dragons a while ago. Turns out, as I mentioned above, it was two years ago – within two days or so of this exact date, not to put too fine a point on it.

When I researched that post, I was fascinated to be reminded of the appearance of Raven in my Medicine Card choice that day. Indeed, I’d chosen ‘Raven Squared,’ which means Raven was the main card that I chose, with only a blank card at the bottom of the deck.

Raven is often associated with magic and synchronicity. As a result, I wrote about the magic coursing through my life at that moment, which was exemplified by my discovery of these whimsical creatures ‘in plain sight.’

As it happens, I chose Swan reversed this morning. And underneath that choice? You guessed it: Raven.

A Magic Message

My Swan may have been telling me that I’ve been doubting myself and my intuition lately. I’ve been doubting what I know. I realize now that Raven came pecking at the door to my inner knowing through the appearance of the Iris Dragon. Raven shows up when we need to remember the magic – a timely reminder for all of us?

What an expression – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-167)

Dahlia? No, Iris! – Day 210

Irises – Photo: L. Weikel

Dahlia? No, Iris!

The title to this post is actually an inside joke with someone who may or may not even read it. But I suspect it’ll be read, so I’m going to leave it.

Karl and I came across these exquisite blooms today on our walk. I was surprised – we’d walked past these clumps of green and white striped leaves for a couple weeks now, and I never had the slightest inkling they were irises – until today. I’d actually thought/assumed (always dangerous, I know) that they were just some type of pretty ornamental grasses.

So when we came upon them today, I had to celebrate their beauty and take their photo. They were simply too pretty not to share.

But then, when I walked up to the blossoms and took their photo, I was amazed.

Take a look at this closeup:

“Dragon” Iris – Photo: L. Weikel

This stunning flower is the spitting image of a fire-breathing dragon. And as soon as I saw this Dragon staring me in the face, I exclaimed with delight and knew I would share it with you this evening.

I chose Raven ‘squared’ today (once again, meaning I had a ‘blank’ card on the bottom of the deck when I chose Raven – upright, as it happened – on my day). Raven, as I’ve elaborated upon in a variety of posts (here, here, and here, to name just a few), is all about magic.

I’ll admit that I made some decisions today that have a somewhat magical tinge to them, and I even had some magical conversations, too. But when I looked at that iris head on, face-to-face, as it were, through my iPhone’s lens, I was bowled over by the face of the dragon staring back at me. And while I see it breathing fire, I also sensed it’s a tad playful and may even be laughing at me.

And all of this reminded me of a certain Dahlia I know; a courageous, ferocious – and most definitely magical – beast… And I had to laugh at the floral ambiguity I could playfully create in this post.    

As we begin a new week, may you find the magic in your life – and don’t be surprised if it’s hiding in plain sight.

(T-901)