160 GSM premium stock, signed by the artist.

ST GEORGE AND THE DRAGON AT FULL HORSE MOON, 2025

Oil on Canvas, 25cm x 30cm

Tonight’s full moon is known in some traditions as the Horse Moon. A name found in both June and July in different instances. The month of July was named after Julius Caesar. It was Caesar who first sought to conquer the wild Britons of Albion, writing that “all the Britons dye themselves with woad, which gives them a blue colour and makes them more terrible in battle.”

In Celtic and pre-Roman Britain, horses were revered as sacred beings. They were linked to fertility, the Otherworld, and the turning of the seasons. Horse burials have been found alongside high-status individuals. Deities such as Epona and Rhiannon rode between worlds. The Uffington White Horse, carved into the chalk over three thousand years ago during the Late Bronze Age, is thought to represent a solar horse. One that pulled the sun across the sky in ancient belief.

The story of Saint George, one of the most enduring legends in England, seen in our flag and mummers play tradition. The legend of a maiden who is chosen as a sacrifice to a fearsome dragon that has plagued her land. As she stands at the edge of death, George appears on horseback, slays the beast, and saves the people. In time, the people are baptised, and the land is transformed. The site of Dragon Hill, which sits below White Horse Hill, is where English folklore says the battle took place. A bare patch of chalk on the summit, where no grass will grow, is said to be the spot where the dragon’s blood scorched the earth. It remains visible to this day.

Beneath the surface, the tale holds older meanings. The dragon George faces is not just a monster, but a symbol of chaos, fear, and the wild, uncontrollable forces of nature. In confronting it, George steps into the role of the archetypal hero. The one who must face the shadow to bring balance. As Jung wrote, “the hero is he who conquers the dark powers of the self.” I’d like to see the Uffington White Horse one of our most ancient symbols introduced into the St George Flag to give it a pre-Roman/colonial revamp.