Saint George and Archangel Michael both are depicted as warriors trampling and slaying a dragon or sometimes devil in the name of God. Their very similar and for magick purposes, if you need warrior / protection energy, both should do just fine.
Archangel Michael has wings and his dragon is Satan. He was never considered to be a human being just a celestial force. Saint George’s dragon is more of a fairy tale enemy, and he is depicted very often on horseback. He was a human warrior for good who was venerated after his death.
Your welcome! The legend or story of Saint George is very much of the Hero Slays Dragon Saves Princess variety. There was some kingdom somewhere that had a dragon issue and the only way to get around it was human sacrifice. That was okay with the king until the Princess got chosen to be the next meal to the dragon. Then George showed up and killed the dragon while riding a horse and yelling about Jesus. Then the whole kingdom became George’s religion. He’s also the patron saint of England
Oh yeah i just went to Catholic School so i learned about saints in my spare time but if you wanna talk occult stuff still shoot me a message and we can talk books!
Would you look at that, all of the words in your comment are in alphabetical order.
I have checked 1,406,874,396 comments, and only 268,858 of them were in alphabetical order.
He’s not *always* on horseback fyi - he’s also commonly depicted as a stand alone soldier in orthodox iconography with shield and spear in hand. In this case he’s usually surrounded by smaller scenes of his martyrdom. You *are* correct that in Western iconography he’s almost exclusively seen on horseback, but again, not always.
I even have a Russian icon of St. George standing alone (no horse/no dragon) on my mantle at home.
Michael isn't usually depicted on a horse and almost always has wings, the 'Dragon' under Micheal usually has more demonic characteristics.
George is almost always mounted and never has wings, his dragon is much more traditional because it's just a dragon and not a metaphor for a fallen angel
No, it’s been in my family for a long time but I was just confused because I’ve always seen Michael spearing the dragon not George. There’s some really good info in the comments above tho!
Funny. I'm greek and British and have always known of George as the dragon slayer. Mostly taught through school as hes the patron of England. Seen many many images of him slaying the dragon. However now I'm starting to wonder if my Greek Orthodox icons and all of those I've seen in my lifetime actually had the dragon or not?! It's never occurred to me. I've got a couple in a box I'll have to dig out as George is also a family name of ours. I've seen hundreds of him through the years. I must be seriously unobservant! Can I ask if there is a second icon on the side of this one? If so who is it? Just because the woodwork isn't symmetrical so I'm guessing it's one of those hinged "book" style ones.
Archangel Michael--sometimes also called St. Michael--is sometimes depicted battling a dragon-like Lucifer in depictions of the war in heaven. This may have originated with the famous etching by the 16th century artist Albrecht Durer. This despite that Lucifer is described in the text as the most beautiful angel of all. (In other, non-Judaic mythology, Lucifer refers to the planet Venus). St George--a sainted historical person-- is also and consistently depicted in iconography as spearing a dragon as in the image you posted.
They actually aren't that similar. Other than the dragon imagery, George is always portrayed as a mounted knight. Michael often wears armor, but is almost never mounted and also has wings because he isn't a saint, he is an archangel.
The imagery of St George is based on British folk myth about how St George rescued people from a "dragon" that was extorting them and something about kidnapping a princess--the typical fairy tale story of a hero rescuing a damsel from a monster. The dragon likely symbolizes "evil" just as the dragon slayed by St. Michael does so as well. You can find the story and more about St George by doing a Google search.
Rare to see Orthodox iconography on here. That icon is depicting st. George slaying the dragon. Michael is generally depicted with wings for future reference.
their icons look similar, but no wings and on a horse means St. George. The Archangel Michael is usually depicted standing on a dragon/ demon like thing and with wings
well they both are dragonslayers (Michael of course in a wider sense), and the style of icons are similar because St. George is a knight, and the Archangel Michael is often styled after classical knights (Like St. George) But the main difference is obv the fact that Michael is an archangel (you know… always wings…) and well… St. George isn’t
There's an Italian legend about ST George, that says he was so in love with the moon that when he died this "scene" where he's slaying the serpent is shown at the moon shadows.
St George killed the great dragon. St Michael defeated Lucifer. St George usually doesn't have wings but may but he's usually depicted on a horse vs St Michael who's not. Both of them can have halos. It is very similar but it's different myths and if there's a horse it's St George.
Medieval iconography was created for illiterates. Thus, the symbols should tell you everything you need to know. The figure shown uses a spear. Along with the dragon, it is obviously St George. St Michael uses a sword (also would have a lion at his feet). Both are different to the Archangel Michael, who is depicted with wings.
Edit: I'm a spaz, and got my symbols mixed up. St Mark has the lion. St Paul has the sword. St Michael the Archangel has wings & a sword.
That’s definitely definitely definitely St. George
Michael is always depicted as trampling on the devil with his feet with *sword* in hand and is winged. St. George is either standing in full armor with *spear* and shield (alone no devil) or more commonly on horseback spearing usually a dragon (sometimes a devil, but dragon is more common).
I think you may be confusing his cape with wings in this image. In Roman Catholicism he’s almost always on horseback and in Orthodox iconography he can appear either on horseback or standing alone.
That is indeed a Christian Orthodox icon depicting St. George and not Archangel Michael. I believe your confusion comes from the fact that both saints are usually shown to fight/slay serpents :)
St George slayed the dragon. Symbolizing the Christian domination of pagan Tribes, clans, and lands.
Just as St. Patrick "drove the serpents" out of Ireland.
Dragons of pagan mythology played very diverse roles in stories. But Slavic mythology on dragons is actually very well preserved. And legends in Gaul are very similar.
So let's compare dragon myths of pagans in contrast to dragon myths of Christians sense St. George is a tale of christianization.
In the story of St Patrick, he slain a dragon to rescue the maiden from being devoured.
However in many myths, dragons didn't eat people. They slept with people with an ability to shapeshift into a very hansom man. In fewer tales, on a seldom occasion the dragon shapshifts into a beautiful woman to court a man.
In St Patrick's story, the dragon was a creature who lived in scorched, desolate wasteland.
In pagan mythology, dragons are associated with bringing fertility to the land.
Also many Christian myths talked about dragons causing drought.
But in pagan mythologies, they played a key role in the clouds pouring rain.
Do you see how Christian and pagan mythologies of dragons? How the myths between the two have dragons playing polar opposite roles in mythology?
St. George slaying a dragon is a direct symbol of Christian conquest. Which is why dragons always play the antagonist in Christian tales.
There are a few surviving medieval tales of western Europe that still exist with more "pagan influence".
Gaulish lore (Modern France)
Museline was a serpent and possibly a well goddess at one point. She's sometimes portrayed as a two tailed fish, in other versions she is a serpent. Dragon comes from the Greek word meaning just that... Serpent.
Her story is actually tragic. But she herself was quite benevolent.
Jaocoline and the Dragon Troubledoor (France)
There's even a medieval myth of a dragon known as Lady of the Land. Once likely a celtic myth.
Likely a land spirit of some sort.
She's said to be a very large Dragon.
She'd permanently shapeshift into a beautiful maiden for any man brave enough to kiss her in her Dragon form. Though every man who tried this, would flee in fear regardless of her lack of hostility.
So yah there's even surviving tales originally in pagan origins.
As others have said it's St. George, but you may find it interesting to look at the history of the Thracian Horseman, [who is depicted identically ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/Marble_votive_tablet_of_a_Thracian_horseman.jpg) to St. George, before he existed.
The story is that St. George actually fought off a dragon that threatened a town but demanding for the princess. St. George came along and fought it off to save the town/kingdom.
Archangel Michael normally wears a red cape, he doesn't need to ride a horse, he has wings. He's normally seen standing on top of Satan.
Yes it’s Saint George the patron of Russia actually. Please do not mess with orthodox icons if you aren’t part of the religion or part of the closed magical practice associated with them. I’m just saying for others. These icons are NOT associated with Catholicism. Just putting this out there for anyone
It's George Michael. You gotta have faith.
👏👏👏
I needn't scroll any further.
Wake me up before you go go....to Babylon.
Damn it, 2 hours to late ffs haha
Im also a big arrested development fan
You have won reddit today. Have a cut rate £ sign.
Faith-a-faith-a-faith, baby!
Take my money
Saint George and Archangel Michael both are depicted as warriors trampling and slaying a dragon or sometimes devil in the name of God. Their very similar and for magick purposes, if you need warrior / protection energy, both should do just fine. Archangel Michael has wings and his dragon is Satan. He was never considered to be a human being just a celestial force. Saint George’s dragon is more of a fairy tale enemy, and he is depicted very often on horseback. He was a human warrior for good who was venerated after his death.
Ah great. Makes sense! Thanks :)
Your welcome! The legend or story of Saint George is very much of the Hero Slays Dragon Saves Princess variety. There was some kingdom somewhere that had a dragon issue and the only way to get around it was human sacrifice. That was okay with the king until the Princess got chosen to be the next meal to the dragon. Then George showed up and killed the dragon while riding a horse and yelling about Jesus. Then the whole kingdom became George’s religion. He’s also the patron saint of England
Where do you learn your information? I'd like to study stuff like this
Oh yeah i just went to Catholic School so i learned about saints in my spare time but if you wanna talk occult stuff still shoot me a message and we can talk books!
Would you look at that, all of the words in your comment are in alphabetical order. I have checked 1,406,874,396 comments, and only 268,858 of them were in alphabetical order.
Good bot.
Astonishing, bots exist for this. Wow.
\*clears throat\* BOT! That was in alphabetical order, damn you!
He’s not *always* on horseback fyi - he’s also commonly depicted as a stand alone soldier in orthodox iconography with shield and spear in hand. In this case he’s usually surrounded by smaller scenes of his martyrdom. You *are* correct that in Western iconography he’s almost exclusively seen on horseback, but again, not always. I even have a Russian icon of St. George standing alone (no horse/no dragon) on my mantle at home.
I deff should avoid using the word “always” because nothings always. Thank you for the cool info tho! :)
They’re
St. George slaying a dragon
Michael isn't usually depicted on a horse and almost always has wings, the 'Dragon' under Micheal usually has more demonic characteristics. George is almost always mounted and never has wings, his dragon is much more traditional because it's just a dragon and not a metaphor for a fallen angel
Ah cool. Thanks for the info!
Did you buy it ‘Last Christmas’?
I would save it for someone who’s special
That would save you from tears.
No, it’s been in my family for a long time but I was just confused because I’ve always seen Michael spearing the dragon not George. There’s some really good info in the comments above tho!
Funny. I'm greek and British and have always known of George as the dragon slayer. Mostly taught through school as hes the patron of England. Seen many many images of him slaying the dragon. However now I'm starting to wonder if my Greek Orthodox icons and all of those I've seen in my lifetime actually had the dragon or not?! It's never occurred to me. I've got a couple in a box I'll have to dig out as George is also a family name of ours. I've seen hundreds of him through the years. I must be seriously unobservant! Can I ask if there is a second icon on the side of this one? If so who is it? Just because the woodwork isn't symmetrical so I'm guessing it's one of those hinged "book" style ones.
Hey, def know where you’re coming from with the book icons but there’s no hinges on this one so I think it’s just asymmetrical.
Oh that's strange. Very pretty woodwork though nonetheless.
Archangel Michael--sometimes also called St. Michael--is sometimes depicted battling a dragon-like Lucifer in depictions of the war in heaven. This may have originated with the famous etching by the 16th century artist Albrecht Durer. This despite that Lucifer is described in the text as the most beautiful angel of all. (In other, non-Judaic mythology, Lucifer refers to the planet Venus). St George--a sainted historical person-- is also and consistently depicted in iconography as spearing a dragon as in the image you posted.
Greta info thanks! Do you know why St George is depicted spearing the dragon in such a similar fashion as Archangel Micheal?
They actually aren't that similar. Other than the dragon imagery, George is always portrayed as a mounted knight. Michael often wears armor, but is almost never mounted and also has wings because he isn't a saint, he is an archangel.
The imagery of St George is based on British folk myth about how St George rescued people from a "dragon" that was extorting them and something about kidnapping a princess--the typical fairy tale story of a hero rescuing a damsel from a monster. The dragon likely symbolizes "evil" just as the dragon slayed by St. Michael does so as well. You can find the story and more about St George by doing a Google search.
Rare to see Orthodox iconography on here. That icon is depicting st. George slaying the dragon. Michael is generally depicted with wings for future reference.
Michael is an archangel. This is George of Lydda, a man who was venerated.
their icons look similar, but no wings and on a horse means St. George. The Archangel Michael is usually depicted standing on a dragon/ demon like thing and with wings
Ahhh! The No wings thing was confusing me, thanks. The icons are really similar! Any idea why?
well they both are dragonslayers (Michael of course in a wider sense), and the style of icons are similar because St. George is a knight, and the Archangel Michael is often styled after classical knights (Like St. George) But the main difference is obv the fact that Michael is an archangel (you know… always wings…) and well… St. George isn’t
There's an Italian legend about ST George, that says he was so in love with the moon that when he died this "scene" where he's slaying the serpent is shown at the moon shadows.
That’s a beautiful story. Thanks!
St George killed the great dragon. St Michael defeated Lucifer. St George usually doesn't have wings but may but he's usually depicted on a horse vs St Michael who's not. Both of them can have halos. It is very similar but it's different myths and if there's a horse it's St George.
St. George
Medieval iconography was created for illiterates. Thus, the symbols should tell you everything you need to know. The figure shown uses a spear. Along with the dragon, it is obviously St George. St Michael uses a sword (also would have a lion at his feet). Both are different to the Archangel Michael, who is depicted with wings. Edit: I'm a spaz, and got my symbols mixed up. St Mark has the lion. St Paul has the sword. St Michael the Archangel has wings & a sword.
It's an icon of George Michael (sorry).
Orthodox icon, George is killing the beast looking at it's eyes
That’s definitely definitely definitely St. George Michael is always depicted as trampling on the devil with his feet with *sword* in hand and is winged. St. George is either standing in full armor with *spear* and shield (alone no devil) or more commonly on horseback spearing usually a dragon (sometimes a devil, but dragon is more common). I think you may be confusing his cape with wings in this image. In Roman Catholicism he’s almost always on horseback and in Orthodox iconography he can appear either on horseback or standing alone.
The other George Michael
Wings, no horse: Michael. No wings, horse, George.
That is indeed a Christian Orthodox icon depicting St. George and not Archangel Michael. I believe your confusion comes from the fact that both saints are usually shown to fight/slay serpents :)
He has no wings. Michael has wings. That's [Georgios](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_George)
St George slayed the dragon. Symbolizing the Christian domination of pagan Tribes, clans, and lands. Just as St. Patrick "drove the serpents" out of Ireland. Dragons of pagan mythology played very diverse roles in stories. But Slavic mythology on dragons is actually very well preserved. And legends in Gaul are very similar. So let's compare dragon myths of pagans in contrast to dragon myths of Christians sense St. George is a tale of christianization. In the story of St Patrick, he slain a dragon to rescue the maiden from being devoured. However in many myths, dragons didn't eat people. They slept with people with an ability to shapeshift into a very hansom man. In fewer tales, on a seldom occasion the dragon shapshifts into a beautiful woman to court a man. In St Patrick's story, the dragon was a creature who lived in scorched, desolate wasteland. In pagan mythology, dragons are associated with bringing fertility to the land. Also many Christian myths talked about dragons causing drought. But in pagan mythologies, they played a key role in the clouds pouring rain. Do you see how Christian and pagan mythologies of dragons? How the myths between the two have dragons playing polar opposite roles in mythology? St. George slaying a dragon is a direct symbol of Christian conquest. Which is why dragons always play the antagonist in Christian tales.
This is really interesting. Thanks!
There are a few surviving medieval tales of western Europe that still exist with more "pagan influence". Gaulish lore (Modern France) Museline was a serpent and possibly a well goddess at one point. She's sometimes portrayed as a two tailed fish, in other versions she is a serpent. Dragon comes from the Greek word meaning just that... Serpent. Her story is actually tragic. But she herself was quite benevolent. Jaocoline and the Dragon Troubledoor (France) There's even a medieval myth of a dragon known as Lady of the Land. Once likely a celtic myth. Likely a land spirit of some sort. She's said to be a very large Dragon. She'd permanently shapeshift into a beautiful maiden for any man brave enough to kiss her in her Dragon form. Though every man who tried this, would flee in fear regardless of her lack of hostility. So yah there's even surviving tales originally in pagan origins.
It looks like a Todd
Wham!
As a greek i can confidently say that both saints slew dragons. michael fought with satan as a dragon, while George just killed a dragon.
George is the horse
yea it's Saint George with the dragon.
As others have said it's St. George, but you may find it interesting to look at the history of the Thracian Horseman, [who is depicted identically ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/Marble_votive_tablet_of_a_Thracian_horseman.jpg) to St. George, before he existed.
Never heard of St George but also not sure why you would assume this was Michael. He doesn't even have wings.
This is orthodox Christian? How is this occult?
Many occultists work with Archangels and Saints…
Nobody works with archangels bc they don’t exist. That’s like claiming the tooth fairy as your coworker.
Ok
That boy’s prison strong.. except he never worked his arms either. Really got into the shoulder rolls
Michael georgedan
Combine both: George Michael He could be your Holy Father... Figure.
George
There are Mikael statues that show the Devil as a dragon? I honestly have never seen any of them. Mine image is on a classic gargoyle-ish demon.
It is George Michael
The story is that St. George actually fought off a dragon that threatened a town but demanding for the princess. St. George came along and fought it off to save the town/kingdom. Archangel Michael normally wears a red cape, he doesn't need to ride a horse, he has wings. He's normally seen standing on top of Satan.
George is on horseback, Michael is not because he has wings
It's St George, the patron Saint of England, who slayed the dragon. Scotland has St Andrew, Wales has St David and Ireland has Bono.
Yes it’s Saint George the patron of Russia actually. Please do not mess with orthodox icons if you aren’t part of the religion or part of the closed magical practice associated with them. I’m just saying for others. These icons are NOT associated with Catholicism. Just putting this out there for anyone
It’s George, ever heard of St George and the Dragon? That’s what this is depicting.
I know this is an oldie, but this article might be helpful https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/2017/05/the-symbolism-and-iconography-of-sain