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.