“In each of us is another whom we do not know.
He speaks to us in dreams, and tells us how differently
he sees us from the way we see ourselves”
Ghastly nightmare
A horrible dream left one of my clients very worried. Fearing the worst, Oliver wondered whether it could be an omen, perhaps some terrible event on the brink of happening. He asked me if I could interpret the dream, which I was pleased to do. What I discovered. through close analysis of the imagery (as described in Oliver’s own words), was quite different. The dream was positive, its content full of encouragement and support for challenges he currently faced!
Symbolic imagery
So, how come a dream can appear so horrible, and yet contain positive messages? It is because the imagery is symbolic - and most people simply don’t understand what they are seeing. Dreams reflect inner fears, backed up by belief systems of our own (perceived) inadequacies. Visual interpretations of these difficult concepts are what we see in dreams.
‘Reading’ a dream is not straightforward. The human imagination often assumes the worst, when put in a situation of doubt. So when we see a horrible image in a dream, we rush to a negative conclusion. That it must mean something bad. But that is not the case. The reality of dreams couldn’t be further from the scary scenes found within them. They contain very positive messages.
Oliver’s dream
This is my interpretation of Oliver’s dream. I have taken his exact words, describing his experience, and then analysed them.
A dark bedroom
‘It started in a dark room’
A room symbolises one area of your thoughts and beliefs. The house is your mind. So, a room represents one aspect of your thoughts (conscious or otherwise) within your mind.
Darkness can mean several things. It can be an area where you meet yourself, coming into contact with your secret fears. A situation in which you can see no positivity (light) at the moment. It is highly suggestive of the unknown – perhaps what to do in your circumstances today.
‘There was a bed with a teenage girl in it’
Metaphorically, a bed can represent the idea that you’ve made your bed, and now you have to sleep on it. In other words, you have created a situation that now must be dealt with.
Girl dressed in white
The girl represents the feminine (yin) aspect of your nature, such as compassion, intuition, sensitivity and tenderness. That she is a teenager tells us that whatever decisions were made (which created this situation) were perhaps naive or a little immature. Not in a bad sense, but that you simply didn’t have the wisdom available at that time to weigh up your choices in any other manner.
‘She wore a white nightgown with white sheets’
Clothes tell us how you felt about the original choice you made. At that time, you were relaxed and comfortable (nightwear) with it. White is the colour of purity and innocence. In your innocence, you couldn’t see any difficulty. If you’d given it deeper thought, you may have uncovered (bedsheet) a few reasons for consideration. As it was, everything felt fine (white).
‘She had black shoulder length hair with a fringe.
Hair represents your judgement of the situation. You are now able to freely (shoulder length hair) judge the situation for what it is worth, although there is one area which has been given short shrift (fringe). It may have been condemned without full consideration. Black (unsurprisingly) is a negative colour. It is a symbol of death, and as such connects to feelings of sadness, loss and even passivity. It can also represent a rejected aspect of your hopes and dreams. So here, I wonder whether it represents your personal feelings of sadness or rejection of an aspect of your life. Something which is no longer functioning in the way you had once hoped that it would. What it would be like. In your naivety your expectations were positive, and yet it hasn’t worked out that way.
‘Her complexion was very pale, if not white’
This situation has drawn all the life blood from you. In other words, it has been a draining situation. Your energies may be depleted by it.
Oliver
‘You were standing by her bed on the left side’
Left (or yin) represents passivity - while right (or yang) is all about action. You are passively observing your own choice. It suggests that you don’t think that you can do anything about it. Whatever it is, is happening and you have no choice in the matter (you believe).
Scary black creature
‘A black creature had his hands on the headboard, and (at the same time) was biting her on the neck. It was looming over the top of her. The creature was on the right side of the bed’
Right is the side of action. When a monster appears (my interpretation of creature) it represents irrational thoughts or behaviours. A monster can also be your outer personality trying to hide your true feelings of anger or some other powerful (but negative) emotion.
Biting flesh
Biting symbolises the desire to use your power and confidence to take incisive action – possibly having the courage to honestly to say what you actually think. This would fit well with the neck. The throat chakra is all about communication and speaking your truth.
Hands represent service towards others. So here, it may mean that you fear the consequences of the wound you would inflict (biting) by taking action now. You’ll have to decide whether that feels right. This may be a fear of expressing your own inner aggression or power.
‘It would bite her three times and stop, and then 3 more and stop, and so on but each time it stopped the girl would look at me, but no expression on her face’.
In numerology, 3 is associated with great strength and self-expression. So here, the dream is telling you that you are not expressing openly that which needs to be expressed. Similar situations keep recurring (bites again and again) because you are holding back from expressing your true nature. It keeps happening because you need to learn from this how strong you really are (karmic).
Old metal bed
‘It was an old metal bed’
This is about showing your true mettle. Mettle means inner strength and fortitude. You have it in you to do this. Old means that you’ve had the ability, combined with the inner wisdom, to do this for a long time.
Eerie sounds
‘The sound the creature made was like it was biting wood’
Voicing (sound) this need for freedom doesn’t come naturally to you. It feels a bit ‘wooden’ a bit awkward.
Outside
‘Then all of a sudden I was outside a big house, looking down on two men’
There is now a rapid change (sudden) in your understanding. You can see the situation from a higher perspective (looking down). The house represents you - the place where you feel the most supported and secure. But here, you are outside. So, the revelation which you have just had is may be that you feel an outsider in your current situation. You don’t fit in. In numerology 2 represents a duality or opposites. The two men represent these opposing outlooks within your psyche. Maybe sometimes you feel you fit in, and yet at other times you feel you don’t.
‘They were dressed in long brown trench coats, like Van Helsing’
A coat represents your outward personality, the self you present in public. A trench coat suggests that you are trying to cover up (coat) your vulnerability behind a strong macho (Van Helsing) front. But it’s not really who you are. Brown is the colour of the earth, the material existence of the soul incarnate. This is about how you want to appear in your daily life on a practical level.
‘I was attached to one of the men. He wasn’t me, but it also kind of felt that he was.’
You are fixated (attached) on the need to project a tough male image. It is absolutely not ‘you’, and yet you can’t let go of that need to try. Whether this is connected to an emotional attachment in your personal life is another thought.
‘It was strange. He stood to the right of the other man, who was a bit smaller and stockier.’
The need to appear strong and alpha male is currently dominating (right side) your perspective. Perhaps this has been created by a desire to conform to a standard set by society (films, plays etc). Who knows. Whatever the reason, the real you is not quite (a bit smaller) as confident as you would like to be.
Running
‘All of a sudden, they started running towards the house. I wasn’t with them. I followed them around.’
Running is always a positive sign! It suggests speed, energy and direction. Running towards the house means that you are rapidly getting back (running) to believing in yourself (house).
Guns
‘On the way to the house, the men’s bodies suddenly had weapons on them.’
A weapon represents a strong defence against personal attack on your beliefs. So here it is saying that, mentally (house) you have the wherewithal (weapons) to fight your own battles. In other words, overcome your own challenges. You can do this!
‘The first man had a sniper rifle on his back and a shotgun in his hand’
So, the first challenge is to overcome criticism (sniper). Rather than let it get to you (rifle on back), strike back (gun). Take a firm grasp (hand) of your inner power. Be assertive (shotgun).
Back inside
‘When we were inside the house the second man, the short stocky one, disappeared. I was inside the first man, as if I were now him.
The inside of your house represents your true self. You have regained the strength of mind and courage (first man), which you had (temporarily) lost. There is no longer a duality of thought processes.
Dark kitchen
‘I was in a dark kitchen, standing in front of an old dark wooden dining table.’
The kitchen is the emotional heart of the home, where you sort through your feelings. The kitchen table is your social connection with others who belong to the same family group. In my experience, dark wood symbolises the soul family (as opposed to your actual biological family). If I am correct, this is a much deeper level of consciousness, exploring the unknown (darkness) at soul level.
Evil, armed and grisly
‘On the opposite side of the kitchen were two grisly looking men. They were standing in a doorway. They were both armed.’
I am understanding ‘grisly’ to mean gruesome or ghastly here.
You’re in conflict with yourself at soul level. What am I to do now? You are currently preventing yourself from opening up (doorway) to new ideas and thoughts. At soul level (dark wood) your deepest values are flawed. Those values need to be given up (armed guard) and replaced by a more relaxed and fluid way of thinking. Ghastly (grisly) memories from past lives are the cause of these belief systems about yourself. It may be that there are two past lives (2 men) which are influencing your thoughts just now.
Demonic figure
‘I attacked one of them straightaway. Each time I attacked him pieces of his face would fall off. Underneath, where the piece had fallen off, was a demon-like figure with red skin, red eyes, sharp teeth, and bits of bone protruding from his face.’
This is about facing your inner demons head on. Recognising that which is beneath the surface of your conscious mind. Those inner demons are now beginning to crumble (pieces) as they come to light. In other words, they become less potent. Red is the colour of anger and rage.
A soul memory
The entire image is suggestive of a Hellish memory which has attached itself to the soul. It is now in the process of being healed. This idea is further backed up by the protruding facial bones. Bones (wherever located) symbolise that you have brought through into this incarnation an energetic disturbance to a perfectly balanced system. A feeling in the bones, as it were. So here, there is a kind of demonic rage which is relevant to your current situation. Not that you will be aware of that. Or that it is in any way scary. But just that it is.
By recognising them for what they are, these thought forms are now being dispelled (breaking off), enabling you a greater peace of mind.
Closer and closer
‘He would get closer and closer, edging around the table, until he got so close that I had to use the butt of my weapon’
This is about allowing yourself to take a really good look at that aspect of yourself. Seeing it for what it is. Allowing it out of the subconscious in a controlled way. The butt of the weapon symbolises your state of mind. You have no immediate desire to shoot to kill, but only to knock out the threat if necessary. This is about self-defence rather than outright aggression. It may be that this is how you feel in your current situation. That there is something you have to do in order to protect yourself from being consumed by an outer threat, but you have no wish to harm that individual/concept unless pressed beyond endurance.
‘Just as he got close enough to touch, I lifted my left hand’
The left hand symbolises passivity. In other words, this is about not allowing yourself any longer to be the passive participant in this drama of life. In order to reach this point within yourself, it has taken a direct threat to your being. This suggests that it not generally within your nature to be confrontational. It is not an easy thing for you to do.
Silver gauntlet
‘My left hand had a silver gauntlet on it.’
A gauntlet is protective armour for your hand. The task in hand is confrontation, and you are finding (or have been given by Spirit) extra strength to deal with this situation. Silver is the colour of intuition and self-reflection. It is closely associated with the moon and the feminine (yin) aspect of your being. Here it suggests that you will be using your intuition in dealing with the task ahead. You will be giving it some thought. This is not a situation that you will be rushing into without due consideration.
Divine Light!
‘I shouted ‘Divine Light”, and the whole thing went white and I woke up’
At last you are using your voice! This will be a situation where you need to speak out – and you now have the strength to do so. You have the whole of your spirit team behind you on this. They are helping to resolve what needs to be done, bringing truth (light) to bear on the situation. White is the colour of purity and corresponds to the presence of Spirit. You can have no doubt that you are being helped through this difficult situation. It is the highest spiritual colour, indicating a completeness to the task.