UPDATE:

After 7 years of offering my blog post for Dream Decodings, it seems like an appropriate amount of time to stop. Many astrologers believe that there are shifts in the cosmos every 7 years that affect our lives, and I am finding it so for me in the now. My hope is that these dream blogs have provided some tools for you to begin to decode your own dreams moving forward.

I may/may not write an occasional dream blog as the future unfolds, but I need more time for self-care. I find with the time it takes to organization and complete 4 yearly international pilgrimages, along with my day to day, that it’s requiring me to pull back on the extra things I offer. Likewise, it has become harder and harder to illicit dreams, and you can’t have a dream blog if you have no dreams to decode. 🙂

I want to thank everyone over the years who has offered their dreams, and those who have expressed an interest in what I have shared for information or thought, in the blogs. Your feedback has been delightful and confirming for me. It has been great fun for me to bring many of the things that have been shared with me through my mentors or in my esoteric teachings into the posts.

I wish you all dreams to remember and clarity to live by….and who knows…I may even see you in the dreamtime. Till then!!!!

More and more people are writing to me, or bringing into their sessions, that their dream experiences have been expanding into what feels like new territory. Many have shared that they are dreaming of other dimensions, other lifetimes, other situations with folks that they know intimately in the dream, but not in waking life. And although dreams of this nature may have happened randomly in the past, they are becoming nightly occurrences.

I have to admit that I have been experiencing these episodic dreams regularly as well. It is my belief, although I am open to other suggestions, that these dreams are on the rise as we are flow into becoming more aware of new and widening timelines and dimensions, as the veils thin. It is not that I believe these timelines and dimensions are just now occurring, more that we are becoming more and more conscious of their existence within us.

If there is no real linear time/space, that we use time to make sense of our day to day, and that everything is happening concurrently, then it stands to reason that moving from waking state to dreamstate might likewise only be a level of awareness in consciousness that is not linear (day to night) but holographic as we understand ourselves in these new timeline opportunities.

I listened to a scientist speaking on a YouTube recently who suggested that if you are sleeping 7-9 hours a night, that at least 3 of those hours are out of body in other domains and dimensions not necessarily experienced during your waking state, mainly because we are all distracted through our day-to-day activities. If that is true, than it sheds a bit of light on what I call “bleed throughs”, or memories of past life experiences as well as dimensional lifetimes we may not be privy to as we go about our day. Remembering them further enhances our multi-dimensional Self

To take it one step further, if infact we are becoming more conscious of the various energies that exist alongside and within us, then what this dreamer experienced can hold multiple meanings, and her evenings initial waking experience was a set-up for herself.  Also, new environments often stimulate intense dreams or restlessness due to the energies of both the land and the structure one is sleeping in. Always good to smudge the room and thank the land when you go someplace new.

I was able to ask this dreamer two questions before decoding, which can be helpful to flush out further information.

1. Did you literally scream and did your friend literally wake you? -answer: Yes, both times.
2. What was it about the picture of your mother? -answer: She never would have used that image for her obituary.

THE SEQUE AND THE DREAM

Ok, here we go.
Last weekend I was in Western MA with two of my college pals in a cabin in the woods.  VERY remote.  WE have visited many times before and always have a wonderful time together. 
So, last Friday night, July 28, I went into the bedroom to change for bed.  The windows were open and drapes open. There are no neighbors for miles.  All of a sudden, I was frozen with fear to the point I could not even go to the window to close drapes. A feeling of overwhelming fear overtook me. I felt a very strong “presence” outside the window.  I quickly dressed, pulled myself together and went out to the common area and chatted for a bit, not mentioning the “episode”.  So, then we all go to sleep.

Then the dream happens:
I was in an unfamiliar place, an all-white contemporary house.  Someone was grabbing me from behind. I was screaming, trying to get free.  I then noticed the island of the kitchen in my own house, however still in the unfamiliar house.  On the island was my phone and it was ringing with the caller photo first a photo of my mother from 30 years ago which was quickly replaced with the terrible photo my sister-in-law put in her obituary.  As I reached for the phone while someone was still trying to abduct me as soon as was able to grab it, the phone went dead or I must have hit the button to hang up.  I was screaming in my sleep and my friend came in and woke me.

Later that evening, I had another dream which i cannot remember, however, I was again, screaming and felt in danger.  Again, my friend woke me.

One of the interesting things about this is for at least 30 years I had dreams in which I would be screaming, and no sound would ever come.

THE SEQUE:

Ok, here we go.
Last weekend I was in Western MA with two of my college pals in a cabin in the woods.  VERY remote.  WE have visited many times before and always have a wonderful time together. 
So, last Friday night, July 28, I went into the bedroom to change for bed.  The windows were open and drapes open. There are no neighbors for miles.  All of a sudden, I was frozen with fear to the point I could not even go to the window to close drapes. A feeling of overwhelming fear overtook me. I felt a very strong “presence” outside the window.  I quickly dressed, pulled myself together and went out to the common area and chatted for a bit, not mentioning the “episode”.  So, then we all go to sleep.

What I would say about this part of the night, without sounding paranoid, I would hope, is that being in a remote location doesn’t necessarily mean you are alone. There are many “eyes’” that could be watching. An animal, the energy of the land, otherworldly or dimensional presences and yes, even a stranger. Again, without sounding paranoid, there have been so many articles written lately about rentals where the owner has installed hidden cameras, some to check in to make sure the house is secure, or that renters are not having parties, and others sadly, simply for nefarious reasons.

I always believe you should trust your senses. They are the barometer for incoming information that our minds often do not comprehend, but our body does.

THE DREAM:

I was in an unfamiliar place, an all-white contemporary house.  Someone was grabbing me from behind. I was screaming, trying to get free. 

The unfamiliar place could signify something as simple as not being in one’s own bed. It can also suggest that delving into the information that the dreamscape and your subconscious wishes to divulge to you, may be territory you have not allowed yourself to explore yet; it’s unfamiliar.

A contemporary house signifies the information is new for you to explore in the present. Houses can represent many things as I have suggested in past blogs. Houses can represent our self, this body in which we live. Each room in the dream also suggests something that our dream self is trying to use as a symbol or emotion of what we are trying to manifest or release.

In this case the house is all-white. White some would suggest is all colors on the spectrum of visible light. So, something is “coming to light” in this dream home. White on the Wisdom Wheel is about boundaries, even from our benefactors. I could ask the dreamer to think back to childhood—were her boundaries honored–emotionally, mentally, physically, psychically?

Someone is grabbing her from behind. This could be the lingering fear of what initially paralyzed her while dressing earlier in the evening, carried over into her dream. Or, it may suggest that this information that is potentially coming to light, may take her off-guard. It can also imply that there is a situation from the past or happening currently, where one feels trapped, be it expectation or eminent. Whichever, her screaming to get free (and wake-up) implies she is not ready to digest this info yet.

I then noticed the island of the kitchen in my own house, however still in the unfamiliar house.  On the island was my phone and it was ringing with the caller photo first a photo of my mother from 30 years ago which was quickly replaced with the terrible photo my sister-in-law put in her obituary. 

I always look at the words & symbols of the dream beyond the obvious and as a play on words. I suggest this segment is the most important part of this dream. The kitchen is a place where, in its most positive interpretation, we are fed and nurtured. It is in her own home, a place where she feels in control and safe. But an island suggests the dreamer may have felt alone, somehow separate in her family. Acknowledging this house still feels ‘unfamiliar’ suggesting the information the dream is trying to impart, is an area that has not come to light before. Perhaps something that will not feel safe or in control when/if it arises.

When we dream of a phone, we are often trying to make contact with someone, to call for help, and/or to share an experience with someone we know. But, in this case the phone was ringing, suggesting a piece of information was trying to get her attention, to bring something for consciousness review.

First the caller ID shows her mom from 30 years ago. What was her relationship like with her mom. Her mom has passed, was the dream a signal that her mom is trying to reach her beyond the veil, and if so, why? Alternatively, what info did her mom take to her grave that might help the dreamer moving forward or answer a question that might bring the dreamer closer to a personal truth?

I might even ask, what happened between her and her mom 30 years ago? Something to note, the planet Saturn has a 30-year cycle, and Saturn returns often stir things up in a person’s life. Saturn is also associated with the father, Father Time, structures that need to become solid, or perhaps change. Was her father alive then? How were things with him? The number 30 as a stand alone is often about retrospection-looking back at something. Also, without getting to in the weeds, this dream was on July 28th when the sensitive moon (subconscious, emotions, love we hope to feel) was stressed by Saturn (restrictions, limitations, maturation) and an intense Mars (energy, action, sex). Lots to think and feel through.

The number 30 can also be reduced to the number 3. In the tarot this can indicate the Empress, which also is about creativity, renewal, receptivity, nurturing, how we were mothered and how we nurture/mother ourselves. Again, energy of the ‘mother.’

The image of her mom then becomes an uncomplimentary photo of her mom’s obituary picture. So many ideas come up with this to explore, Are there unresolved feelings around her mom’s death. Did that image, though not one mom would approve of, actually show her energy or personality, is that why it is uncomplimentary. Did mom utilize ‘masks’ to be one-way infront of the public and another at home? Also, I ask this question in all dream sessions when in the office with a client: what is one word you would use to describe your sister-in-law? Just one. That holds significance for one to consider too.

As I reached for the phone while someone was still trying to abduct me as soon as was able to grab it, the phone went dead, or I must have hit the button to hang up.  I was screaming in my sleep and my friend came in and woke me.

Dreaming that we are being abducted signifies that we feel out of control or powerless to external memories or outside forces. The phone went dead, just like her mom is dead, maybe, just like a memory is dead. She thinks she might have hung it up. In a session I would clearly suggest to the dreamer that they were not ready to hear the information yet. Screaming and being awakened is also another way of taking control not to hear the info coming through the dream symbols. There is no judgement or criticism with that, it is merely that it would be too much to handle right now, and some part of the dreamer might need to die to a long-held belief that they are not ready to part with, or remember at this time. It will come in other dreams and in other flashes or insights, we do not need to rush revelations.

Later that evening, I had another dream which I cannot remember, however, I was again, screaming and felt in danger.  Again, my friend woke me.

One of the interesting things about this is for at least 30 years I had dreams in which I would be screaming, and no sound would ever come.

When something repeats itself, it is our subconscious trying to plant something for a future time. I feel that something from the past is trying to surface, to come into memory. But as with all decoding, this would need to resonate with the dreamer too. Feeling in danger could literally be about having been in a dangerous situation, not yet remembered, or that the situation is dangerous to one’s current understanding to remember right now. It’s all in the timing.

Nightmares are not meant to be bad. They are meant to get our attention about something or someone we may have long suppressed.  It is now time to face it, whatever “it” is. Again, this isolated wooded overnight home set the stage for this dream while she was awake. BY that I mean bodily knowing something without fully knowing what it was. The island and phone call also suggests her feelings of isolation and being ready to hear something unexpected. Given mom’s pictures it suggests something about her early family of origin.

Again, we have the number 30, a significant and repeated timeline. And screaming but no sound coming out could suggest two possibilities. One, that she might not have had a voice as a child, despite being very astute of her situation. Or secondly, not being able to talk about a situation that thus needed to be buried or just wasn’t spoken of. Either way, something is preparing to make itself known for resolution and healing an aspect of the Self.

Thank you, dreamer, for sharing.

Sleep experts and neuroscience don’t have a full explanation of why we have nightmares, but they do feel it is the body’s way of processing emotions or a memory of something that can now be released. There are levels of what are considered ‘bad’ dreams. These can be brought on by stress, fears (both common or imagined), trauma, or unresolved past/current issues.

Nightmares can feel vivid and often are associated with uncomfortable feelings. Often we are jolted awake or experience a rapid heartbeat once awake, although the dream stays clear in one’s mind. Science has shown that they normally arise in the second half of REM sleep.  Night terrors on the other hand are less frequent and happen during the first half of dreaming in what is considered non-REM sleep. One usually doesn’t wake up from them and is often observed thrashing, moaning, or having only a vague feeling of the dream once awake.

Though both men and women experience nightmares, sleep monitors have shown that they are more prevalent in women. This could be attributed to societal reasons, or even hormonal reasons, as they become more prevalent from adolescents through mid-life. This is not a hard and fast rule.

They are very prevalent for children between the ages of 3-6, but my indigenous teachers often shared it was because children might be remembering a recent past life. They also suggested to me that nightmares are the psyche’s way of getting our attention about something that needs to be addressed. At those times, they suggested that I go back into the dream, almost like moving into a meditation and then ask that which I found scary or frightening (a snake, a monster, another person, etc.) what they were trying to impart. Again, they saw everything in the dream as what it symbolized, as well as an aspect of one’s Self.

[I have not published for two months as I am lacking dreams.]

DREAM:

I was walking down the corridor, and I could feel a man approaching from behind. He was moving much faster than I was…..This is always irritating for me in real life! I moved out of the way to let him pass. I either said something to him, or just energetically conveyed that I didn’t like his energy. And then he turned around to face me and pulled out a knife. He threatened me. I can’t remember what he said. But I definitely felt threatened. I’m not entirely sure I remember what happened after that… I believe I decided to wake myself up so I could end the dream.
That’s it!
It stands out to me because I never seem to have threatening or scary or “bad” dreams. So, this is strange.

Decoding:

I was walking down the corridor, and I could feel a man approaching from behind.

Corridors have multiple meanings; they can suggest you are coming to the end of a path that has become stagnant and/or in need of a change. They can suggest you are going through a transitional time but don’t quite know the “next room to walk into.” Likewise, they can suggest a change to one’s self-image so that you become something closer to how you imagine yourself to authentically be. It depends on the shape, color, or length of the corridor as well, so the dreamer should try and remember those features.

He was moving much faster than I was…..This is always irritating for me in real life!

The psyche has two sides, the left brain, and the right brain. The left brain is more focused directed, logical, action oriented. The right brain is more visual, intuitive, emotional, and creative. Both men and women have these impulses and arenas two work with. The dreamer perhaps is feeling pushed to change, and the change might be occurring at a pace not comfortable for her to orient herself comfortably. Change often isn’t comfortable.

If we take this only externally, as the dreamer states, this irritates her in real life. But what’s the reason? The person might be in a hurry, or just a brisk walker. But in the dreamtime, this triggers an emotion. Maybe “real life” or her waking state, is being challenged by someone outside of herself to make a change; or perhaps challenged by her ‘action-oriented self’ to figure something out sooner than later. Keep in mind the dream started out with the need for change, without quite knowing what that change would or should look like.

On a completely different tack, this could explain some fear or unresolved issue with a man from her past, that is ready to be let go as it nolonger has relevance in her current life. He’s moving fast, which could also indicate there is a time element here to make the change’s she needs. When one feels they are being followed or chased in the dreamtime, the suggestion is that the body is feeling anxiety around something not being dealt with in the waking state.

I moved out of the way to let him pass. I either said something to him, or just energetically conveyed that I didn’t like his energy.

By stepping out of the way, it suggests that she is clearly not ready or willing to make the change in the immediate. She engages him (consciously or silently), which also is a direct challenge. By doing this she is actually challenging herself to find the needed answer, which up until now has possibly only been a thought or conversation, but which now needs more immediate action. The dreaming unconscious self is making this realization uncomfortable for the soon to be awake self.

And then he turned around to face me and pulled out a knife. He threatened me. I can’t remember what he said. But I definitely felt threatened.

What kind of knife? Knives can be functional or a weapon. By pulling out the knife, this aspect of herself feels threatened. What does he say? Is he looking at her in a menacing way? She can’t remember what was said, it is here I would go back into the dream and dialogue with the man. He is merely another aspect of the Self. The knife is actually not to hurt you, but to motivate you to feel uncomfortable. Discomfort can be a motivator.

Is there internal or external pressure to have a ready answer to the change needed. Does she feel threatened that she is being asked to move too fast to find a solution to said change? Knives can purposefully or symbolically help us to cut away or remove something-whether that is with food, in gardening, to address stagnation, or remove a lack of clarity. They can feel threatening if we are not ready or have lingered too long to intuit or create another course of action. The aggression you feel is your unconscious mind trying to warn your waking state to be proactive.

It stands out to me because I never seem to have threatening or scary or “bad” dreams. So, this is strange.

This is actually a powerful realization, not a negative one to be written off as a bad dream. The dreaming self knows that you generally do not experience these types of ‘feelings” during your dreams. Hence, in offering a dream that is uncomfortable, it is asking you to consider what needs to be considered in the immediate to commit to a change needed in some aspect of your life that might bring more joy, satisfaction, or renewal, rather than to not confront where change is needed and action taken. The dream is an important catalyst and gift from Your Self to yourself.

Thank you, dreamer for sharing. P.S. Readers I could sure use some new dreams. Thanks all.

For Pythagoras 4 was the perfect number, as it signified order in the universe—the four elements; the four seasons; the four points of the compass; the four phases of the Moon. In numerology when someone has #4 as a life path, it can suggest that they are systematic, stable, pragmatic, loyal, and confident. In sacred geometry it represents the solidity of the square.

In the tarot, the 4 in the major arcana is the Emperor—in its positive aspect it represents physicality and the structure of leadership, responsibility and optimally, the courage to act with dignity and personal power. In many spiritual traditions the number 4 is rooted in a sense of mental stability and order. It is the 4^th sign of the zodiac, Cancer, the crab, one wishing to create a solid home, a good nurturer, and sometimes needing to pull into its shell when feeling too sensitive, shy, or vulnerable.

I never got to write a blog for March, so here we are in the 4^th month of April, and I am finally getting to it. Thank you for your patience. The world is spinning very fast right now. It seems we are passing through timelines both during our waking state and during our dreamtime that take us through patterns that need correction or deeper awareness. Many are telling me they are dreaming of people from the past, or past lives.

Although this dreamer mentions quintuplets (which are 5 children born at the same time to the same mother) she states there were 4, and that they were about 5 years old, so I am assuming she meant quadruplets, especially because of the picture she attached with this dream.

The Dream

I had a dream that’s bugging me. I think it’s either recurring, or, it was on a loop, but I kept dreaming about 4 girl quintuplets. They were about 5 or so, wearing old fashioned bonnets and sitting in a row, backs to me, at a picnic table. Then, I had a dream that my old employer, with the two boys, brought quintuplet girls home from the hospital. I kept losing them all over the house.

Then, I just woke up and was looking for something when I came across this picture of my mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and great-great grandmother. Bizzaro!!!!!

The Decoding:

I had a dream that’s bugging me. I think it’s either recurring, or, it was on a loop, but I kept dreaming about 4 girl quintuplets,

(I believe she means quadruplets)

I always pay attention when the dreamer gives me an emotion that is attributed to their dream. In this case the dream was “bugging her.” This implies she was either confused by some of what was happening (recurring or looping), or potentially there is something in her daily life that needs more stability or patience. It might also imply that she wants more structure around something she is dealing with.

To dream of 4 girls suggests she wants to bring more balance into her life. This is not just balancing a check book, it is about body, mind, emotion, and spirit growth. My sense is there are four parts of her yearning to experience something more, but they are all connected. Or, perhaps four levels of patterning that needs to be removed.

They were about 5 or so, wearing old fashioned bonnets and sitting in a row, backs to me, at a picnic table.

These girls didn’t purposefully turn their backs on her, which would imply she was feeling rejected by someone or something. Rather, they are already sitting at a picnic table, and she is behind them, implying she doesn’t know enough about these parts of herself yet, or possibly that she is wanting to know more. They are in a row, signifying they are all connected (like body, mind, emotion, and spiritual growth).

Picnic tables represent a foundation, a place to gather, relax and have fun. That is the foundation she should be following in her exploration of self. They are all wearing old-fashioned bonnets. Hats in general represent something covering our crown chakra. To me, this suggests that she has some old-fashioned ways of looking at things in her world or believe system that may need to be addressed or explored. Learning to think ‘outside the box’ (#4) so that her higher consciousness or self-knowing can be released.

They appear to be about 5 years old. Five-year-old’s are ripe with imagination and inquisitiveness, which is inviting her to explore and be curious about what this dream is bringing up. Five on the Wisdom Wheels, that I talk about so frequently in these posts, is about learning to listen to yourself.

Then, I had a dream that my old employer, with the two boys, brought quintuplet girls home from the hospital. I kept losing them all over the house.

When symbolism in dreams repeats, it is our inner self trying to reiterate the issue, emotion, or the suggestion so we will really get it.

What does her old employer represent beyond the fact that employers often have control over us in the workplace. So something ‘old’ has some level of control over her thinking patterns. I would have asked her to give me one word that her employer represents, as that would have told me more about something she should review within herself. But again, like old fashioned bonnets, it implies something from the past that she can release.

Are these boys her ex-employer’s sons, or is she being shown something else? Two on the Wisdom Wheel is about assessing where one may not be honoring what they need in lieu of someone or something else. And it also asks that one assess their current truths around a certain belief that may have the potential to liberate them.

Again, we have the quadruplet girls showing up, but they are being brought home from the hospital. Hospitals are mainly where babies are born. So, is it time to birth something new in herself or for herself? Counter intuitively, hospitals are also places where people go to fix a wound. This may be a time to address an old wound. Or possibly a time to create more stability or empowerment around a personal belief (attributes of #4 again).

She’s losing them all over the house. The house as a dream symbol represents the physical, where we ‘house’ our thoughts, awareness, understanding. Each room signifies something different in our path towards self-awareness. Here I might ask her what room did she finally locate them in?

Then, I just woke up and was looking for something when I came across this picture of my mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and great-great grandmother. Bizzaro!!!!!

Finding something in the waking state after a dream, that resonates with the dream symbolism is a further sign that can enlighten us about the flavor the dream was hoping to impart. In this case it is the female side of her lineage. I would suggest that the issue she is dealing with, consciously or unconsciously, is also family of origin pattern, going back on her mom’s side. Maybe she is here to become aware of her own empowerment, and thus correcting it for future generations of women in her family, as well as a release or healing for those from the past.

Knowledge of something is different than the activation of a concept. One is information, the other stimulates a deep knowing, it is a resonance. My suggestion for the dreamer to get to the root of what she wants to change or build a stronger foundation around, and then activate it by doing something that will bring in a difference for her moving forward.

Thank you dreamer for sharing.

I am going to give most of the dreamer’s context on this particular dream. The dreamer is from Cape Town and was quite detailed in her dream memory. My preference would have been to have a private session so I could go into more personal details with her. This dream and context were quite long, and not the length I usually use for the blog. (Please do not submit epic dreams, those are best for a private paid session.) However, we weren’t able to make a connection to speak about this in greater detail, so I am offering it as the February blog post, so she has something to review.

Although this February was not the time frame in which she had her dream, it is the time frame in which I am decoding it, so astrologically that has an influence on the information that emerges. On February 20^th (in Tropical astrology not Vedic), we have a new moon in Pisces. Neptune and the Sun are likewise both in Pisces. Neptune is right at home in Pisces and indicates the ability to tap into one’s imagination, dreamtime, and spiritualism as well as fear, illusions, and fantasy. The Sun is currently also in the sign of Pisces passing through the last sign of the zodiac and its energies can also blur boundaries between insights and escapism. Adding the flavor of the new moon in Pisces can bring up empathy or emotional idealism.

I believe the content of this dream asks the dreamer to qualify her choices not with either or thinking, but because Pisces can bring transcendence, it asks that she, as well as all of us,  develop more clarity and I believe create stronger boundaries between desire and purpose, between wishful thinking and a fruitful vision. To stay open and not so certain of an end result being good/bad—but rather the integration of what we’ve learned about ourselves and others to make choices that serve us better.

THE DREAM & the Dreamer’s context: (what’s in italics are her comments)

Context: I started a new job in November 2021 and knew from the start that it was inappropriate for me: very long hours, toxic culture, toxic masculinity – few women hired. I then started searching for a new job, which emerged in May 2022, but conversations earnestly started in September 2022. Something in me sensed that the hiring manager, who is also the most senior partner, could have been attracted to me beyond work, but he is married, lives in another country and I have no way of knowing whether this is my own lack of partner issues projected to work. I am a 44-year old woman, not married, no children although I have been praying for both for a very long time. My professional life is the area of much action in my life, and very little on the intimate relationship side. 

The Manager offered me a contract I am due to sign in the coming week. (This dreamer came to me in late December 2022). This against a hostile climate with my three Managers who are taking time to release me from my contract, and this has escalated into “an ugly” legal battle. Certain words in the dream are not misspells, rather how countries once under British occupation spell: example- realisation vs. realization or favourite vs. favorite.

DREAM: On Friday evening, I had what I consider to be a disturbing dream. Firstly, an old colleague unrelated to this matter, who was senior to me in my old job, showed up as working for this fund and was having a horrible time. I got to understand in the dream that other people were having their own challenges with the culture and generally had an unpleasant / unhappy/ dim experience; which was evident in their postures but not vocalised. I was however not having these challenges but it also seemed in the dream that I was the preferred/favourite of the Managing Partner. Soon after this realisation, in the same dream, I am walking hand-in-hand with the Manager in California (I live in South Africa and he lives in Morocco, so location is strange); we are laughing, running in the wind, wearing casual clothes, having fun and looking like lovers. I am wearing my favourite leopard printed long flowing chiffon dress that I mainly wear for shammanic ceremonies and when I visit places of power for energy work; he is wearing a bright light-weight linen shirt and chinos, looking relaxed. FYI – I am African and he is French, we met in early December in Cape Town before he made the job offer, even then I felt the deep attraction between us, he made the offer the same day. We then reached a covered area, during which he suggested that we stretch since we had walked a long distance and needed a rest. I was not comfortable to do so, but felt obliged and followed suit. As we were stretching our legs, I got shocked and worried as we were both not wearing underwear. PS – I generally do not wear one when wearing this dress etc. Dream ended and I woke up with a vivid recollection of events. 

DECODING:

On Friday evening, I had what I consider to be a disturbing dream. Firstly, an old colleague unrelated to this matter, who was senior to me in my old job, showed up as working for this fund and was having a horrible time.

Those literally born on a Friday (and this dream was ‘born’ on a Friday), are often associated with the planet Venus-so love, beauty, partnership, finances, and luxuries. These will be themes of the dream. To dream of old co-workers often suggests that you are struggling with something in your work, or have unfinished business with how you are seen at work. This plays out in what she revealed about her current work situation.

He was senior, representing that she often feels that those at work are positioned above her and that likewise makes her feel like she is having a horrible time (like him) at her position. As I have indicated before, everyone in our dream is who they are in waking life and an aspect of ourselves trying to bring forth information from our unconscious into our waking state.

I got to understand in the dream that other people were having their own challenges with the culture and generally had an unpleasant / unhappy/ dim experience; which was evident in their postures but not vocalised. I was however not having these challenges but it also seemed in the dream that I was the preferred/favourite of the Managing Partner.

Here the dreamer voices two things. First through the representation of the old colleague she can identify her own current unhappiness and unpleasant work conditions through theirs. Secondly, she now voices what she wishes to actually feel in her job, as she imagines that she is the favorite of the Managing partner— indicating her wish for a more cohesive workplace that recognizes her skillset.

Soon after this realisation, in the same dream, I am walking hand-in-hand with the Manager in California (I live in South Africa and he lives in Morocco, so location is strange); we are laughing, running in the wind, wearing casual clothes, having fun and looking like lovers.

This part of the dream can mean many things. It can be a romantic fantasy she is feeling as she is attracted to her future Manger. Counter intuitively, it can also mean she is feeling her own professional abilities or emerging power in the thought of repositioning herself in a new work environment.

To be walking hand in hand could mean wanting to be represented on equal footing. Laughing and running in the wind (wind represents the currents of change and the mental body), can also indicate a new freedom, but the phrase, “like lovers” can start to blur the work agreement with emotional desires.

California is a melting pot for people from all over the world with a diverse population and topography. It is also a state steeped in fantasy & wishes—think movies, music, etc., where folks go to make their dreams come alive, though most don’t.  In the dream it suggests a freedom and ease of life she is looking for, but also the possibility of a fantasy that reveals desires she wishes to express. South Africa is known as ‘the rainbow nation.’ Here there is also great diversity and a variety of topographical landscapes. This suggests she doesn’t need to wander far from her country to feel the freedoms (running in the wind) and the many choices (rainbow colors), that she is searching for.

Moroccans are very loyal, very warm, but a very private culture, as family and religious honor are important factors in their lives. This is also, like the other two a gross exaggeration as all of us, despite race, creed or gender have our individual personalities. All three countries border oceans, and oceans indicate both emotions and boundaries; something we all need to develop in a balanced work space.  

I am wearing my favourite leopard printed long flowing chiffon dress that I mainly wear for shamanic ceremonies and when I visit places of power for energy work; he is wearing a bright light-weight linen shirt and chinos, looking relaxed.  FYI – I am African and he is French, we met in early December in Cape Town before he made the job offer, even then I felt the deep attraction between us, he made the offer the same day. 

Clothing in a dream is symbolic of how we represent ourselves in public. Sometimes how we cover our vulnerabilities or feelings of lack and limitation. It is often a nonverbal clue of how we feel about ourselves, our empowered state, our status, or our mood.

The dreamer is wearing a leopard print long flowy dress. A leopard dress can indicate independence, sexuality, or nonconformity. It can indicate emotional attraction as well as a feeling of guilt for those attractions. Leopards bring to mind strength, power, and to pay attention to your surroundings. Likewise they can symbolize the need to trust your gut, not jump too fast into a situation without thinking it through, and the importance of being solitary as a protection.

The dreamer states she often wears this dress in her shamanic ceremonies or when she visits places of power. This tells me a number of things and begs the questions: Is she standing in her power (shamanic) or in her desires (what he brings up for her, both in the dream and in the physical encounter) sexually? Is she fantasizing about this man or is she taking the job because she feels her skills are ‘seen’ by him? Does she subconsciously feel desirous of something more romantic or sexual occurring? Does he?— we all read energetic signs, especially as she already states she does shamanic work. Is this a warning for her to be aware of potential future advances that may be offered, and that could derail her personal or her work situation?

For his part he is relaxed in his demeanor and dress. White linen shirt and tan chinos can symbolize he is very comfortable in how he views his role. It can also suggest he is not good with boundaries (white) and very adept at having a magnetic personality. And he wears ‘the pants’ as having the control in this situation.

I am going out on a limb here to suggest that it feels somewhat dangerous for the dreamer, at least initially in taking this job unless she has clear boundaries and expectations. Why? Because she wants out of where she is badly and has experienced an emotional charge from the beginning. And secondarily as she admitted, he put out an emotional feeler, she absorbed it, and this could prove an unworthy complication down the road.

We then reached a covered area, during which he suggested that we stretch since we had walked a long distance and needed a rest. I was not comfortable to do so but felt obliged and followed suit. As we were stretching our legs, I got shocked and worried as we were both not wearing underwear. PS – I generally do not wear one when wearing this dress etc. Dream ended and I woke up with a vivid recollection of events. 

He is suggesting that they stretch, which often means loosening up. It is after a long distance, indicating a timing issue where he may/may not make moves down the road. She doesn’t feel comfortable, but she obliges. Women often err on that side without advancing their own power. This is neither a criticism nor a judgement, it is a caution.

How does she know they are both not wearing underwear? I see how she would know for herself, but what gave that away for him? It might reveal that she already knows his intent consciously or subconsciously (if indeed he has one). It is also about exposure of our most intimate parts, and the vulnerability that comes with that. Dream teachings would suggest that no underwear can mean a loss of respect or conversely, that you have nothing to hide.

Before I end, I wish to point out something to this dreamer because she is 44-years old and that is a significant time astrologically (given that’s where I started). Around 40-42 we have a Uranus opposition to our natal Uranus, so she is coming out of a time, simply put, of experiencing feelings of restlessness that often motivate us to change careers or partnerships. Between 43-44 we have a Saturn opposition, often called a mid-life crisis, this is a reality check between what you fantasized life would be and what you have created. Around the timeframe of approximately 37-43 we have a Pluto square, a time to re-examine our fears, mistakes we feel we have made, and to recoup our unclaimed power. And final around this same time period we hit a Neptune Square—where we need to separate fact from fiction but often where illusions run high. Going back to the beginning of this blog, this is a time frame with the current astrological placements for all of us to consider in our quests and desires.

So, bringing it all together. I will put on my therapy hat for a moment and suggest to this dreamer, that a new job might be in order, and this one might be perfect. But, given the emotional interchange with the new Manager (someone who will have domain over she and the job), giving a signal right off the bat in their first meeting, and within what she has expressed in this dream content, I would suggest caution, check your sexual desires at the door, and stand in your autonomy should anything arise down the road.

Thank you, dreamer for sharing all of this.

As we start to move away from the darkness of winter and the light begins to increase (tomorrow is Imbolg in the Celtic tradition and Candlemas in the Christian tradition-a time for lighting new fires and preparing seeds), it reminds me how much one’s dreams can bring ‘enlightened seeds’ that can foster new levels of awareness for the dreamer to cultivate.

We have likewise moved into a time period where all the planets in our solar system have turned direct, offering us a meditative time to ‘seed our purpose’ moving forward. As we move towards the light, and the spring equinox, it is time to think about the new seeds we will plant for our conscious growth and a new season in our life. For those who have studied with me in the South-Central Andean Tradition, the cultivation of our ‘Inca Seed’, like the rituals surrounding Imbolg, and the energy of the forward moving planets, provides a time to ‘irrigate’ what we wish to grow.

Dreams enhance our perceptions. Our truths are formulated by our perceptions. To advance our truths we need to understand that our perceptions cannot stay static, like the seasons, and the planets life in general needs to move forward. I chose this dream because it teaches something about allowing oneself to go with the flow, even when things feel out of control and yet those times of feeling out of control can also lead to new kernels of truth.

THE DREAM

I was looking out at a lake from the shore, and it was so beautiful, and it looked Ike glass.  Nothing moving Not a thing. 2 people came over I think they were from work, and I was talking to them about how beautiful it looked, and I started walking on it and fell in! I couldn’t believe it wasn’t frozen and more so that I did that. I started sliding down into some logs with the rapids and the teachers couldn’t hear me yelling for them. 

I died but not sure if I died after I woke up or right before I did. Nobody saved me. I was stuck I couldn’t lift my body up and I couldn’t get loose from the log. Oddly I felt great when I woke up for the day today. 

THE DECODING

I was looking out at a lake from the shore, and it was so beautiful, and it looked Ike glass.  Nothing moving Not a thing.

Lakes have to do with water, and water often symbolizes emotions. The dreamer is looking at the water from the shore, indicating the need to stabilize or ground before moving forward.

It looks like glass, is beautiful, but nothing is moving. This suggests to me that the dreamer has a desire or an idea that feels like it might be rewarding, but has put the actions to attain it on pause. There’s no movement, just the potential for beauty in the concept, but action is always needed to concretize the vision.

2 people came over I think they were from work, and I was talking to them about how beautiful it looked, and I started walking on it and fell in!

I have spoken many times in these dream blogs about the teachings of my primary mentor Grandmother Twylah Nitsch. On the Wisdom Wheels of Truth, the number two placement stands for how we need to assess and appraise our truth. It also asks us to consider if we are honoring ourselves in the process.

Here the dreamer is seeking a response from those she works with. This could indicate that she needs some sort of outside validation to find what she is seeking. The symbolism of the lake-is her desire to have things be emotionally calm and rewarding. She wants clarity around some aspect of her life’s purpose. Work is where we are paid for our energetic exchange, and sometimes dreaming of a lake can symbolize something you have to consider carefully for further financial success or stability.

She leaves the perceived stability of the shore to walk forward and assess the beauty of her new idea, but falls in. There is fear in moving forward, possibly with taking a risk for a new desire, a new job, or a new way to birth herself more fully into this Earthwalk.

I couldn’t believe it wasn’t frozen and more so that I did that. I started sliding down into some logs with the rapids and the teachers couldn’t hear me yelling for them. 

Logs are not trees, they represent deadwood, so old patterns, concerns, or limiting opinions that she is trying to cling to, to stabilize what she needs to change. She states that she cannot believe she did that….she cannot believe she trusted that she could move forward into the beauty she perceives could be hers. But how could she when she thought it was ice-ice is rigid and signifies a mental block of an emotional belief.

The water now has turned to rapids, meaning there is a sense of feeling out of control. She has renamed the co-workers as teachers-an entirely different energy. She is looking for instruction and this may suggest that she doesn’t have faith in her ‘inner guidance’, her inner teachers. My sense is that she may have tried to change before, but felt swept away by a different outcome than she had expected or desired.

The lake is not beautiful now, it is frightening. The water is not like glass now (contained and clear); it has become a moving river, rapids (out of control). She is yelling for help but no one hears her which suggest that she feels unsupported, I would suspect she feels no clarity or support in both her inner and outer world.

I died but not sure if I died after I woke up or right before I did. Nobody saved me. I was stuck I couldn’t lift my body up and I couldn’t get loose from the log. 

Oddly I felt great when I woke up for the day today. 

This is the most important section of the whole dream, and something her inner guides, teachers, spirit helpers want her to assess. It’s often the last part of a dream that shocks us, amuses us, or confuses us into carrying the memory of the dream into our waking awareness to review.

It is true, to follow our dreams, our purpose, our individual desires for a richer life experience, we sometimes have to die to what was. Death is about transformation and renewal, it is not the end of something, infact some spiritual teachers would suggest it is the beginning of something much greater.

I find her wording interesting: “I was not sure if I died after I woke up or right before I did.” I think she wants to ‘wake up’ to some part of her life that is simply not working for her. That is not a death wish, it is an awakening wish. And like she said: “No one came to help me,” because this is the  inner work we all must do on our own.

Here’s the crux though, she couldn’t get loose from the log. She hasn’t been able to let go of old patterns or self-judgments that limit and define. The clarity she truly seeks is to have her emotions (the lake), be supported, clear, and safe to be able to fully honor what she needs from her waking life. Though that would be ideal, the trials we encounter to grow, become the strength we can use to keep going, if we look at them not as failures but as stepping stones. Even the seeds I spoke about at the beginning need to weather the hot sun, the torrential downpours, and high winds to stabilize and bloom.

Thank you, dreamer for your dream, it is a good reminder that we only limit ourselves out of fear, but there is a risk that comes with not trying. And dying to the old ways of doing things can bring new life, just as winter passes into spring, and night moves into the light of day.

I am reminded of Marianne Williamson’s quote, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.”

We are coming into the season of Winter Solstice here in the Northern Hemisphere (Southern Hemisphere is starting Summer Solstice), as well as a wealth of holiday celebrations. Winter Solstice marks the shortest day and the longest night. It is a time to go within, to review the year’s passing, and find renewal and peace.

Solstice literally means, “stand still of the sun.” There is usually a 3-day period where the sun seems to set into the same place on the horizon. These 3-days mark a period of time where many cultural and religious traditions, past and current, celebrate the Light. The number of traditions and their celebrations are too plentiful to discuss at length, but fires or candles are lit, lanterns made, trees decorated with food for animals and birds, stories shared, dances initiated, and new intentions made.

The dark is also part of the dreamtime. In some cultures, both Solstice and the dreamtime are referred to as “time out of time.” It is in the dark night of Solstice, in the dreamtime, and in the void that things are brought into existence. The old to review and release, the new to intend and manifest.

I chose this dream because to me, it speaks of going into one’s dark places for renewal and remembering the Light of who one really is.

THE DREAM:

I am driving in the dark. It is pitch black. I cannot see where I am going. I try to put the lights on full beam, but it doesn’t seem to work. I am grateful when I see the orange glow of streetlights up ahead that enable me to see the road.

I arrive at a house the place to park is precarious and rocky, the ground is broken with holes and ruts. It is difficult to park without damaging my car or going over the edge.

I go into the house I think I am visiting these people. There is a man and a woman, their child is playing with something. I can’t remember but think one of them is depressed and that’s why I am visiting.

Other people come? Kids party?

Offered something to eat by the man. 

Told at the end the dinner I was given it had fish in it. I say it is lucky that I do not have the same reaction to fish that I do to meat.

Next morning when I am getting ready to leave, I am taking half an orange from the fridge that I didn’t eat, for my journey. 

The Decoding:

I am driving in the dark. It is pitch black. I cannot see where I am going. I try to put the lights on full beam, but it doesn’t seem to work.

When you are driving, it suggests that you are in control of your life, and you know which direction to go in next. Cars sometimes also represent the physical body. In this case the dreamer cannot see where they are going. It is pitch black, even when they turn on their “inner light”, they don’t seem to have access to clarity. The black of night also evokes sadness and sometimes fear or anger. The blackness (like its reflection on the color spectrum), is the absences of light. Delving into it also offers power, magic, and wisdom but it can be scary to get there.

I am grateful when I see the orange glow of streetlights up ahead that enable me to see the road.

This sentence shows that there is light she can count on. And that her gratitude for life has been a saving grace.  It is outside of her but guiding her forward. She has gratitude because she has learned something in navigating the darkness. The street ahead of her is lit, there is a clear direction now that she can follow.

Lanterns in dreams suggests we will be shown the way. Sometimes they shine light on things we must work with, so they can bring up emotions as they highlight where there may be danger.  Orange on the Wisdom Wheels, taught by my Seneca mentor, Gram Twylah, represent learning, perseverance, memory-recall, and lessons that come through the sense of touch (keeping in mind touch is not always welcome).

I arrive at a house the place to park is precarious and rocky, the ground is broken with holes and ruts. It is difficult to park without damaging my car or going over the edge.

I go into the house I think I am visiting these people. There is a man and a woman, their child is playing with something. I can’t remember but think one of them is depressed and that’s why I am visiting.

A house can represent different components of ourselves. Each room saying something about our mind set or offering a way to examine a part of our life. For example, a kitchen can represent how we nurture ourselves, or weren’t nurtured. A bathroom, how we have to cleanse something or release something we’ve been holding on to. A living room, as a place where we might find comfort and safety, perhaps.

In this case, to bring herself to this place feels precarious, she is on rocky ground visiting these parts of herself, this inner dreamscape. Possibly her memory has “holes” or ‘ruts’ where she gets stuck in the past, not because she hasn’t done her work, but what’s back isn’t fully remembered or is better left in the past. This is because dwelling there too long, could put her “over the edge.”

A man and woman and child speak to me of a family. I would ask the dreamer here, what was her early family life like. Was one of her parents depressed when she was young? Or was she? A big piece (because this is the most important paragraph in the dream), is what was the child playing with. It tells me she needed a distraction. If the little girl represents the dreamer, then I would suggest that what ever she was playing with, was important for her to remember, as a release, an emotional addition, or an important representation of something she took away from her childhood or left behind in that childhood. I feel this little girl aspect of the dreamer has called her back through the dreamtime to show her something important for her to remember at her current age/stage.

Because everything in the dream is what it is and an aspect of us as well, the man and woman could represent her inner parents, not necessarily her outer parents. The man within, her divine masculine protector, and the woman within, her divine feminine nurturer-what she has had to learn on her own in some fashion.

Other people come? Kids party?

Offered something to eat by the man. 

Told at the end the dinner I was given it had fish in it. I say it is lucky that I do not have the same reaction to fish that I do to meat.

This is interesting as on the one hand she is drawn to this house and into this dream because someone is depressed and on the other, she is questioning if it is a ‘kid’s party.’ Perhaps a new way of playing with something in the past that can bring a surprise. The two don’t go together, and lots of people again represent a distraction.

She is offered something to eat at dinner. Eating dinner in a dream symbolizes that she is hungry for something. And although a need is being met through food, it is merely a basic need. She is told it is fish at the end. Another question I would ask is how she didn’t know what it was while eating. Was she fed a belief as a child that wasn’t her own or isn’t hers as an adult?

Fish in dreams often symbolize self-value, feelings of needing more emotional abundance. In work related matters it can mean you are deserving of a change, whose time has come. In personal matters it can suggest you need more passion, and yet fish are cold-blooded creatures, so the dreamer might be lacking that passionate energy in her private world.

In Christian belief, the fish represents Christ (and we all know the story of the fish and the loafs-creating abundance from nothing). In astrology the fish represents the sign of Pisces-highly sensitive, attuned to others, empathetic, but needing to build boundaries so they have some safety from others neediness or requests.

Next morning when I am getting ready to leave, I am taking half an orange from the fridge that I didn’t eat, for my journey. 

It is now a new day. She is reminded again of the color orange-this is important symbolically because it is mentioned twice. This time she is taking it from the fridge, where it again is shut in the dark (that’s what fridges do), and when we open them, the light turns on. Just like Solstice, just like the info coming to us from our dreamtime, just like uncovering something from the past so we can digest it and move further into our personal journey with more autonomy or empowerment. This is a brilliant ending her dreaming self has giving her as a memory upon waking.

Thank you, dreamer for sharing so deeply of yourself. Blessings in the light of renewal during this Solstice season.

The dreamer titled this dream Shape Shifting. What is shape shifting? In some cultures, stories, and folklore, shape shifters were those who could take on the shape and qualities of of another person or animal, living or dead. They would be able to mimic everything about the person or creature to either fool, confound, redirect, discover information, or frighten an individual, a village, a tribe, etc. Not always supernatural, it is a term used to imply someone who has learned to fit in or camouflage themselves to be accepted, no matter the circumstances.

In mythology, Homer’s Iliad, Proteus was a sea-god, considered an oracle who was prophetic in his abilities. He protected seas and rivers. Seas and rivers-water- constitute emotions and dreams are a sea of symbols that try and impart emotions and teachings through the dreamscapes we are offered when we go into the void-sleep-nightly. He was considered mercurial, like our emotions and held untold knowledge, like our dreams. The word protean is derived from the Greek Proteus and one of its meanings is changeable in shape and form.

I thought this was the perfect title that this dreamer gave the dream, for it speaks of the desire for inner transformation and change, of which we are all capable if we choose. To make that change requires us to dream something new into existence.

Shape Shifting

I am in a darkened hallway with an older wise woman and a young girl. There is something odd about the girl, almost feral like. She is short, dark native skin, and has an odd look to her eyes. I am supposed to take the girl to this place-it is like a foundation with no house on it. This seems to be a silent directive to me from the wise woman. Suddenly the girl jumps down, and I can’t figure out how I am going to get her back up. I let myself down gently to help her, but she shifts into a huge brown hummingbird and flies out right past me. I go back to the house, open the door so she can fly in, but she won’t. I go back into the darkened hallway where the older wise woman is waiting, when suddenly the girl bursts through the door as this black cat-like thing. The old women turns to me and says, “She does that.”

The Decoding

I am in a darkened hallway with an older wise woman and a young girl. There is something odd about the girl, almost feral like.

A hallway indicates that you are deciding which direction to go in, but you haven’t committed yet as to which “room” you will enter. It is dark which suggests you are unclear or unsure about how to proceed. There are two aspects (possibly of yourself) someone who is wise and knows what to do, and a young girl who you say is feral-like. She might be unsure of herself, or in need of teaching/taming/training, or a wild or unknown aspect of yourself that you have not unleashed.

It is interesting that they show up together because both have something to teach you in the dream. The part of you that is patient and needs to make a wise choice, and the part that hasn’t been developed fully yet.

She is short, dark native skin, and has an odd look to her eyes. I am supposed to take the girl to this place-it is like a foundation with no house on it. This seems to be a silent directive to me from the wise woman.

In describing the girl further, you state she is ‘native’— I am assuming you mean indigenous, and as such something you have not necessarily been schooled/trained in but may be curious about or she would potentially have showed herself differently. The way images show themselves in a dream are always trying to tell us something. The eyes are the windows to the soul, so in stating she had an odd look in her eyes, again implies this is something you, as yet, do not know or understand, either externally or internally. And yet the wise woman part of you is the one directing this next step.

You are directed to take her to a place where there is a foundation, but no house atop the foundation. Again, there is something foundational you are needing to discover or learn about. Once you do that, you can build the ‘house.’ It is about building something for the future that you can feel safe with using or sharing. She, that part of you that she represents, (I’ve often said in these blogs, everything in the dream is what it is, and also something about the ‘self’), will help you to build that change or knowledge for your future.

Suddenly the girl jumps down, and I can’t figure out how I am going to get her back up. I let myself down gently to help her, but she shifts into a huge brown hummingbird and flies out right past me.

Jumping into the foundation shows she is not afraid to get started; you thinking you need to find a way to get her out, suggests you are still in need of defining the foundation on which you wish to build something new or different moving forward. You ease into the foundation though, showing you are ready,

You say the hummingbird she shifted into was huge, where most hummers are small. The size is trying to get your attention. It is brown, which on the Wisdom Wheels is literally about building a foundation to share your truth. Brown also signifies the color of soil/the earth, which is what fertile things grow from. It is a stabilizing color.

Hummingbirds signify the ability to move in any direction, this implies to me that the new direction you are being guided to consider can take any direction you want. Hummingbirds relate to joy, exuberance, messages from the Spirit world and in some shamanic traditions their feathers are used in love potions. These are all good qualities to build your foundation on.

I go back to the house, open the door so she can fly in, but she won’t. I go back into the darkened hallway where the older wise woman is waiting, when suddenly the girl bursts through the door as this black cat-like thing. The old women turns to me and says, “She does that.”

You take that ‘desire’ back to the current ‘house’ representing the foundation you are currently working within (not the one yet to be built). In other words you go back to where you started to assess and ‘open the door’ so she will fly in. Opening a door means you are open to new opportunities and explorations.

She won’t fly in, which suggests that you still need to work on organizing and solidifying what your Higher Self or Spirit self is trying to guide you towards to feel more joy and love. You go back into the darkened hall where the wise woman is waiting for you. Our wisdom lies within the ‘not knowing’, for it is there that we are led to self-discovery,

Suddenly this as yet unknown part of you bursts through the opening you have created as “this black cat-like thing”. This is the most important sentence in the dream for a number of reasons. First, she is shape shifting again to get your attention. Secondly it is not clear she is a cat, but something cat-like, again your need to discover what it is that is still unclear. Third she comes through the door—you’ve left an opening for her teachings. And fourth, cats represent intuition, independence, and curiosity— all the things you will need to tap within yourself for self-discovery and new construction moving forward.

Black on the Wisdom Wheel is about listening to our inner truth. It also represents the Void from which things are created. Black signifies reflection, introspection, and mystery. As an outfit on a person, it can connote authority, elegance, and sophistication. It is also worn by those in morning. I see this as indicating that something has to die, for something new and empowered within you to be born. You are the creator of the future creation.

Through going into the void of yourself and reflecting on what needs to change, it will guide you to develop something elegant where you will have the personal authority to move out of the dark hallway towards living more of your own wise women self, feeling more joy and self-love. She (the wise woman part of yourself) was, after all, waiting for you. And her final words, “She does that” indicates you can shape shift in your waking life too.

Thank you, dreamer, for sharing.  

Well life during this past Mercury retrograde, (with 6 other planets is retrograde motion), certainly put a few road blocks in the way of getting my September blog post out. During part of that time I was also involved in a plant immersion with the Artemisia family and dear friend conducting the plant teachings-Davyd Farrell. I have never done more than 1 dream per blog, but 4 of the immersion participants because of a dream/plant podcast done by Davyd and I, sent in their dreams to be decoded. Hence the title four dreams for two months (September/October).

I want to always stress, the dreamer knows best as too whether anything I share in the decoding’s resonates, or not. The dreamer is the one to decide if anything I share helps them to go deeper into their own understanding of what their dream self is trying to impart.

I usually give a brief teaching before decoding, but given the amount of dreams I won’t do that this time. I am struck however, that if we are all dreaming in a collective soup, for those reading the dream interpretations to note a common thread within the 4 dreams. And further if the 4 people who were involved in the Artemisia immersion and summitted these dreams, can see how the dream lines might be speaking to each of them individually, but also reveals a theme for the group, given what the artemisia’s taught.

The dreams and their decoding:

Dream #1

I dreamt that I was travelling in space and selected our next-door neighbour for some healing. During the dream I felt strong heart energy and unconditional love and the feelings were directed at this person. Despite others bobbing up and trying to jump in front of me I remained focused on this person.

Dreaming of traveling in space suggests that you are expanding information or knowledge. Selecting your neighbor for healing is a compassionate act, but my question would be, “What is one word you would use to describe this person?” Folks in the dream represent who they are in your life, but they also represent an aspect of your self. Whatever word you would use to describe the neighbor, is something that you may need to address in yourself. This dream suggests you need to direct more unconditional love and heart centered energy to YOU, and not get distracted by all the other situations or people around you that pull on your attention.

I was able to ask this dreamer to tell me a bit more about her neighbor and any colors or feelings this short dream elicited. This was her response. In reviewing the dream she was able to link the trauma of her neighbor with the trauma of her father. Ironically the name Roger means warrior, so she was turning her love and compassion to not only her ‘warrior’ neighbor, but across time to her ‘warrior’ father. The color gray means assessing where one is not honoring themselves. That would possibly apply to Roger (the neighbor), her father, and ultimately to herself.

My neigbour one word ‘ traumatised’ . A few weeks ago I did some spiritual healing with a shamanic healer. In that session I apparently healed a whole lineage of connected people, including my father, who had experienced lifetimes of war and violence. I just remembered Roger, my next door neighbour, is a retired army nurse and psychologist. Not sure if that is the connection.

No colours apart from grey. Feelings I felt outpourings of heart energy and enormous love coming from my heart being directed at that person like an intense beacon.

Dream #2

I was harvesting leaves / stems from a plant and Davyd was guiding me (not there in person but his voice came through) and he told me that I have to remove specific parts of the plant when I had finished otherwise someone could come along and take these parts and do ‘dark magic’ on whoever had harvested from it. He actually used the word “voodoo”.

The fact that you are harvesting leaves and stems indicates that you still have some learning to do to expand your skill set. Davyd is your teacher, so in the dream this represents a part of yourself that would eventually like to strive to teach some of this information you are learning now with the plants.

When you are told that you have to “remove specific parts of the plants” because someone could do ‘dark magic’ on you (as the harvester), it is instructing you that everything is just energy, but it can be used for good or in more salacious ways. To me it suggests that you need to take care with the energy you use around plants, how you offer the knowledge of the plants the others, and what you actually do with the plants as energetic beings.

Voodoo is the word you say your teacher used. Voodoo in its most refined form is actually an ancient healing practice used for curing things like anxiety, depression, or loneliness. It is only in the use of the abhorrent energy that it becomes misused. I would ask you if there is any anxiety or depression in your world, as the plants can be a cure or at the very least a balm to your spirit. I have also included the next paragraph that you offered as an aside to your dream space, because I feel it offers more on the inner planes for you to consider for yourself.

I’m not sure of the type of plant (likely an Artemisia, who knows) but it was a shrub like plant around 5ft tall against a grey brick wall. I feel Davyd was talking about removing the growing parts of the plant to stop the dark magic although there were no flowers on it. I didn’t feel alarmed at all, but more supported in being taught something about this plant, magic and being mentored.

You were in the artemisia immersion, so this would be likely. Plants in general are about healthy, healing energies, but literally dreaming of shrubs symbolizes that there are hidden or buried emotions you are wanting to release. The #5 tells me two things, first you need to listen to yourself and trust yourself more. Secondly, that you need to stretch and bring what you know, into outer consciousness/discussions/sharing. A gray brick wall is indicative that you are not honoring yourself when you hide what you know or stop yourself from sharing what you know with others.

Davyd represents your inner teaching self. Removing parts of the plant are where you may repress your gifts, or possibly where you allow things in your world to get in your way from your personal expression/knowledge when sharing with others. Without removing the inner obstacles, you may place upon yourself, you cannot fully feel the joy & the light you truly are and/or wish to experience externally, as the plants had no flowers, which signifies no blossoming or joy. Feeling no anxiety and realizing you had mentoring and magic with this group, tells me that being supported (heard & seen) in groups such as this plant immersion, will open you to the wisdom, magic and gifts that are truly Yours to share.

Dream #3

I have been “Coasting” recently waiting for my encore career to unfold.  I have a background in holistic medicine/TCM and have grown tired of the perception people hold of being broken and needing to be fixed. I feel something will open up for me that is new in some way but I’m clueless as to what that will be.

As an aside dreamer, I am so with you on this one. I just gave up my integrative therapy practice because although it is true people need help and direction, it is also true that many people simply aren’t willing to do the self-work to perceive themselves in different ways. We are in new timelines and have the power to make choices and changes that can help redefine ourselves. As my website says, ‘If you wish to change your story, you must be willing to change your script’. And that goes for me too, LOL.

I dreamed that I had opened an office in a building that wasn’t currently leased to anyone. It was on land adjacent to where I was living, and I suddenly knew in my heart I needed to move into the space. I did not seek out the owner or agent, I just moved in.

This suggests that you already know what is and isn’t working moving forward in your work. The fact that the building wasn’t currently leased, suggests you can put a new and possibly unusual spin on your current skill set. And because the land, (which signifies support) is adjacent to where you are living, it could indicate that you need only make small tweaks to what you wish to offer/teach and ‘not throw the baby our with the bath water.

I moved in and had a group of people there for the first day. We were sitting at a round wooden table when I saw thru a side window (so specific in the dream-a long skinny window next to the front door. I excused myself and went out to greet her and tell her who I was and what I was doing.  Somehow, I knew she would be happy to have such a business in her space and accepted my presence.

I have no idea what the business was!

From day one, your reconfigured practice will be noticed and attract clients. A round wooden table suggests you would like more community as a foundational piece that expands camaraderie in your practice…like a healing arts center where there are other therapists who bring their skills into the space too.

Windows are doorways to the soul, so this is something your soul is longing to create/manifest, but you only have a slice of information as to how to create what you wish for at this time. But the window is long and skinny, this tells me you need to remove something from your practice and add something new that inspires you to revive things an go the distance now. That said you are opening the front door, which says you will welcome the new experience or addition. The owner represents one of your inner pantheon of guides, she knows how to take ownership so you can redirect how you wish to be perceived and how to change up your work a bit-I would call her in as an advisor and meditate with her, she may well surprise you with the direction she offers.  

She has blonde hair. On the Wisdom Wheels my First Nations teachers instructed me to learn for dream decoding, this is an aspect of yourself that needs to overcome the obstacles that stand in the way of loving yourself and believing in yourself. I would look to injustices you may have experienced in younger years that denied or waived aside the wealth of info you carry. In greeting her you took the first step to learning what you need to do to be happier and accept you have the potential to create something exciting and different, while still using your skills. And you can, and you will, and it will be a reality you will experience with more joy because you have everything within you to manifest the changes you wish for, given what actions you allow yourself to take.
It is true you do not know as yet what the business you will recreate will be, but you will if you continue to dream it into form. 😊

Dream #4

I was at a gas station at night, waiting. My brother and mother were there. Fluorescent lights flickered.

As I suggested to another dreamer further up, what is one word you would use to describe both your brother and your mother? They will tell you something about yourself. The lights flickered, because the dream guides were trying to get your attention. This could well be a trust issue you have with your family. The gas station suggests you need to find a way to have more energy or feel more fulfilled, and it being night could suggest you don’t feel everything around you is as clear as you would like it to be.

Then I was at a table, and my mother-in-law had to leave early so it was just my brother and I at the table. It was a white house and a white table. Conversation came up that I was adopted. My mom had given me up after birth and I was mad about it. 

My question would be are you adopted in your waking life? The table is about needing a firmer foundation in your family, And your mother-in-law leaving suggests there is a way she sees you or possibly you misunderstand her, that needs to be reconciled. If you were actually adopted, are you still needing to look at what that brings up in you? And if you are actually not adopted, what is it about your family situation where you may need to establish stronger boundaries?

White indicates boundaries on the Wisdom Wheels, not unmovable walls, but magnetizing to yourself the people, places or things you need to grow and releasing the people, places and things that no longer add to your growth. This can feel either liberating or painful depending on how clear you are of what you need to establish to feel “at home” within either yourself or your family, as symbolized by both the white house and the white table.

Then my mother appeared and announced that she had adopted two black teenagers and sent them to school on the bus in a small white town. I was worried for their experience. 

Then my ex-girlfriend, who is also black, was there and I had a vivid image of buttering sliced toast and putting four slices into a small white oven. 

There is a lot of white in your dream. Clearly there are boundaries that you have not or cannot establish for your own self autonomy given some family situation. Also white is no color and black contains all colors, what does that bring up for you? On the Wisdom Wheels, black and white fall opposite each other, this means you must listen to your inner self to know your truth and then be willing to extend that knowing to others without fear of rejection.

Now mom is back and has adopted two black teenagers. Adopted means not feeling part of something organically, two represents not assessing how to honor yourself, black means you are not listening to what it will take to claim your needs, and teenagers means you still need to grow into learning how to do what needs to be done. The school signifies needing to learn and the bus signifies the forward movement to establish that learning. And again, white, this time a white town, so this could be something you learn about yourself through community.

Your ex-girlfriend (what one word would you use for her and apply that to yourself). She was black-again the need to listen to what your inner self wants to consciously bring forward. Buttering toast is trying to soften something that has gotten hardened, to make it more palatable. Four slices suggest there are four ways available to build a stronger foundation and the need to self motivate the changes you wish to experience. And a small white oven suggests needing to feel loved. So, boundaries are imperative to ‘cook up’ how you wish to enlighten yourself (going back to the flickering lights that were trying to get your attention at the onset of the dream) while needing to be part of something to feel love authentically in your world.

Thank you to all the dreamers for their contributions.

As always, the feelings that the dream’s images evoke in the dreamer become the most important information for the dreamer to assess. Short dreams have nothing to do with impactful or important dreams. Sometimes the dream’s brevity is way to inform a dreamer using clear symbolic associations to awaken them to information they’ve compartmentalized or simply forgotten.

I have chosen this dream to use it more as a lesson of the import of what brevity can impart, and  what childhood suggestions bubbling up, can illicit.

Dreams can be influenced by many things. Did you eat before you went to bed? Did you have a fight with someone? Are you stressed out? Did you watch something on television that is influence the dreams symbols? Is there unfinished business at work, with family, with partners? Have you been sleeping or not sleeping well lately? Are you ill? Did you take something to help you sleep? Etc.

In this dream it appears that there is a childhood memory trying to come to the surface that may be repeating in some fashion or another for the dreamer to associate in their current life experience. It doesn’t have to be bad, good, or indifferent. It can merely be information from the unconscious or super conscious to help resolve an issue one is re-experiencing.

Because this is a short dream, I am always curious about scent, colors, numbers, and expressions, as signposts to decode.

It’s interesting this dream was noted by the dreamer as happening on August 1, 2022. That was a huge astrological mashup between Mars (action/fiery/determined to move energy), Uranus (out of the blue/spontaneous/not planned realizations)) and the north node (a karmic push to grow/evolve/empower). Let’s see how this unfolds.

Dream: August 1, 2022

This is a very short dream without a lot of details, so I don’t know what you can make out of it. I remember two feelings. First, I knew I was little in the dream, but I was also watching it as the adult me. Second my dad has been dead for 33 years.

I am sitting on a couch, or maybe sitting up on my bed. I sense it is me, but when I was very young. I can’t see me in the dream, but I can just feel it’s me. There is a cupboard across the room, and as I look up, a rat and a mouse come out from under it. They are both brownish gray in color. The rat is eating something, maybe bread or cheese, but the mouse isn’t. The rat isn’t as big as a city rat, and in my mind, I know ‘they’ bred it or cloned it with the mouse to be that size. I don’t know who ‘they’ are. I am screaming for my dad to come help, that there is a rat and a mouse in the house.

The Decoding:

I am sitting on a couch, or maybe sitting up on my bed. I sense it is me, but when I was very young. I can’t see me in the dream, but I can just feel it’s me.

Sitting on a couch or bed is reminiscent of family, comfort and sometimes trust. Not all family situations obviously illicit trust, but normally a couch or bed symbolize the ability to relax.

The dreamer already recognizes this is something from childhood. She senses she is both the observer and the observed. The most important thing here is that the dreamer is aware of her younger self, meaning the younger self is trying to show her something. She can feel it.

This becomes some symbolic memory from her past that is trying to bring to the surface, possibly to help her in a current life situation or possibly to release an emotion that she has suppressed and now needs to deal with due to a current life situation.

There is a cupboard across the room, and as I look up, a rat and a mouse come out from under it.

A cupboard is a place of storage. It could be a place the dreamer has stored her good memories or things she never wanted to address. Cupboards are also places where many things are placed-plates, napkins, utensils, a buried family problem, things stored away until you can better deal with them or, or skill sets you can’t embrace until later in life. But essentially cupboards are old, not something used today, so signifying things from the past.

A rat and a mouse come out from underneath. Underneath suggests the unconscious. Rats are a loaded symbol. They can mean dirty, scary, jealousy, greedy, a warning, intrusive, debris, caution, unworthiness, deception, inner fears, etc.

According to Gram Twylah (who I often quote because she was such a strong mentor for me for so many years), mice also represent many things-scrutiny, inventiveness, family, security, instincts, curiosity, bravery, and adaptability.

They are both brownish gray in color. The rat is eating something, maybe bread or cheese, but the mouse isn’t.

Both symbols however point to two concepts or truths, one needs to assess or consider. On the Cycles of Truth, again something I often speak about, brown stands for organizing one’s truth and gray stands for assessing where one isn’t honoring oneself. Taken from another perspective, brown symbolizes the earth, something that is solid, dependable, and secure, Gray can be neutral, undefined, even under nourished in need of life force energy.

The rat is eating but the mouse is not. One is being sustained, the other is not. Did something in the family make this dreamer unsure of herself and her worth? Were there jealousies or deceptions in the family that were hidden to their outer appearance in the community? Did that make her feel secure, or undernourished; a need to be brave in the family situation or perhaps adapt to survive? These are questions I cannot ask the dreamer in the decoding process; I can only pose them for the dreamer to consider.

Ironically cheese symbolizes something that can make us sleep better (tryptophan) or can indicate happiness, and bread symbolizes something that is nurturing and satiates hunger. The mouse isn’t getting nourished, nurtured, and thus needs to adapt to survive.

The rat isn’t as big as a city rat, and in my mind, I know ‘they’ bred it or cloned it with the mouse to be that size. I don’t know who ‘they’ are.

This is an interesting part of the dream. The dreamer (both the child and the adult observer), know that in the family they are expected (bred) to be part of the family even though they don’t understand the circumstances of why things are like they are, nor in all likelihood the expectations imposed upon them.

This could indicate that they are going through a current situation where they do not know why things are happening the way they are, but feel compelled to be part of the family, group, job, friend group to feel safe. But are they? Are they being nurtured, or are they following a familiar role to be safe and not scrutinized?

They are unclear of this knowing about they action/reactions, like they are unclear of the ‘they’, but should they follow the known model or rebel against it? What do they gain and what do they lose?

I am screaming for my dad to come help, that there is a rat and a mouse in the house.

Dads are often seen as protectors. She is in distress and looking for a protector to take the rat and mouse away, but we never see the dad come to her rescue, or atleast she wakes up before he might have entered the scene. As an adult she is her own protector now. Whatever is happening in her outer world where she feels she needs protection, that is not coming externally, it must be cultivated internally.

What is happening in her current set of circumstances where she may need to assess a deception or perhaps learn to nurture herself by adapting something she is experiencing in her life to feel more self-respect (gray) and more grounded ness (brown)? Brave sometimes means jumping into the void with no net, until we land and realize it was a false childhood belief that kept us from leaping.

Security cannot arise if we do not acknowledge our childhood vulnerabilities or continue to store them in a ‘cupboard.’ Opportunities arise when we scrutinize where we deceive ourselves and develop a healthier way to ground and honor our needs, then that becomes our internal protection and not an external cry for help.

Thank you, dreamer for sharing,