This is the picture of St. George and the dragon. It tells us how we can master this dragon in ourselves. Eternal vigilance is required, represented by St. George on his horse, watching it, with his spear just touching the dragon’s neck (watching = the action of Al Raquib = muraquaba = merqabah). That is all that is required. As long as the dragon knows he is being watched, he is quiet and peaceful. Then the soul - Dhat-the real I AM, represented by the lady - can lead him on the silken thread. This represents the state we have to learn to establish in ourselves. So long as the dragon was in the cave, he was a threat. He could not be seen. What he would do next was unpredictable. Only when he was brought out of the cave, making all of him visible, did the situation arise enabling St. George to see, integrate and manage him.

The ordinary state of man is one in which he is identified with his dragon. His dragon is the habitual secondary self, and the desires of his dragon are his desires. That is the state when the dragon is in the cave, is the state of non consciousness. There is no possibility even of observing him. The dragon is inside us and we believe we are the dragon. ... How to see this? How to come to the point where one sees that one's dragon is not oneself? How to arrive at having one's own St. George?

St. George does not come on the scene, you understand, a novice in the matter of dealing with dragons. He has probably been to a dragon-taming school, so the dragon soon becomes weak when confronted with him. But now a dreadful thing can occur, for it can happen that St. George himself turns into a dragon! A terrible risk is run here. For if he ever thinks he is the real beneficiary in the taming of the dragon-that the dragon will become his own domestic animal-he is in great danger.

This is why the lady is there, representing the highest soul-principle in man. Why is it represented as feminine? Because it is obedient, it is loving, it is receptive. It is not seeking for power. She only holds the dragon with a silken thread. The real meaning of this is that one must have power as if not having it. The silken thread is the representation of the Barakat, the Lataifah. St. George represents the necessary effort to be out of inner trance, and the Lady represents the Grace that we need to become a Transformed Human Being an Insan Il Kamil....