Guardian Spirit As a winged serpent, dragons unite earthly powers with celestial forces, guarding the gates to the nether worlds, protecting the treasure (both material and spiritual) and controlling the earth's energies. Symbols of strength and protection, they are often portrayed as stylized spirals or mazes; sources of spiritual centering, self discovery, and a return to Mother Earth. Inhabiting lakes, barrows, and hilltops, they guard and protect all the earth and its inhabitants.