I hope this dream decoding, in some fashion, helps families/parents/individuals out there who are dealing with drug abuse involving their children or a loved one. Not because the decoding offers any answers, but because I believe the dream offers this dreamer an opportunity to turn towards her own needs. When we forgo our own needs, we forgo the mirror we are hoping to teach those with an addiction-Self Care.  

I know the devastating effects rendered on a family, as I have experienced it in my own extended family, as well as seen the harsh results in my therapy practice. I have had friends and colleagues who have dealt with this in their families, some with good results and many unfortunately with devastating outcomes.  Throughout it all, I have seen people loose their own sense of self, while trying to assist those they love, at the detriment of their other children, their marriage, and/or themselves,

I am not making a statement on all recreational or ceremonial drugs. In the right context and with the right teachers/ceremonialist these have a place. Nor am I judging where people are led in the desire to reduce their pain, or subvert their painfully reality. Nor am I saying families don’t try their best with a difficult situation out of both love and fear of the end result where heroin and opioids are concerned. There is no criticism or judgment here. 

How/What does this topic of opioids/heroin have to do with a dream blog? Unless lucid dreaming (and even then), escape into the dream world can be as unpredictable as escape into a world suppressed or enhanced with opioids and heroin. Only you wake up from one, and sometimes you are not that lucky with the other.

In a world that deals with so many tragedies and temptations; a world that has so many conflicting agendas and definitions; and a world where the boundaries of the real and unreal have become so entangled, there are a couple of awkward similarities and any number of profound dissimilarities between dreams and the abuse of drugs. 

Qualifiers. Both take us outside our known ‘real’ day to day. Both set up emotional reactions or enhance emotional reactions. Both tempt us with alternative possibilities. Both can take us to ‘otherworldly’ dimensions. But that is where the similarities end, and that is where the detriment of the dissimilarities begins.

The dreamtime might appear scary or out of control—like we are being tempted or presented with a conflict to our reality—but it does not endanger us. As much as we might find pleasure in dreaming and assessing our dream state symbology, we are not addicted to dreams. We may awake with more awareness, not with less knowing of what “just happened.” 

In the dreamtime,…..“The dorsal lateral pre-frontal cortex becomes de-activated. This is the part of the brain responsible for decisions or volition; this provides alternatives from how we might maneuver the world in our waking state. This is also the rational part of the brain that gets de-activated, however there are other areas of the brain that deal with rationality, so we don’t lose all rational thinking when we dream.” In fact in the dream state, we fire the antennae of certain neurotransmitters, strengthening out connections with higher states of consciousness.

Opioids and heroin are the complete opposite. Although it is true people often experiment with drugs to achieve an alternative view of their reality; deal with their unexpressed pain; or use it in their need to escape, these drugs do affect one’s consciousness. Unlike dreams, drugs like heroin affect the neurotransmitters needing more and more of the drug to experience the same effect, and thus deteriorate our connections to higher states of consciousness.  This class of drugs affects the prefrontal cortex (executive function), temporal lobe, the cerebellum (coordination) and the pleasure centers of your brain, not to mention the physical side effects. So drugs ‘recode’ the brain, causing imbalances in neuronal and hormonal systems that are not easily reversed. This doesn’t occur within the dreamtime.

There is one more observation with this dream. This dreamer’s innate ‘knowing’ is trying to bring into her consciousness awareness something about her son, and her own conflicts around her own needs. Her need to nurture herself is a priority to her health. Let’s look at the dream.

The Dream:

I was walking down the street in an unfamiliar neighborhood and stopped in front of a house when I felt this was “the one.” It was fairly new construction with dirt for a yard – no grass or plantings yet.  I let myself in through the front door and went into the kitchen (the family that lived there was home … the mom and 3 kids were upstairs and the dad was in the garage). I wanted cinnamon rolls with white icing, so I opened a refrigerated can and they were magically ready to eat. I grabbed a plate and put a cinnamon roll on it and also helped myself to eggs and bacon that were already made and left out on the counter [in my waking life I don’t eat any of these things – I’m vegan and GF]. As I ate my plate of food, I walked around on the main floor and every time I walked past the front door there was a different group/flock of young children standing on the porch. I saw them through the sidelights. They stood like kids do at Halloween, but it wasn’t Halloween and they were not wearing costumes. There was something eerie about them … almost as if they weren’t of this world. They were very solemn and stood straight and still. I ignored them. Eventually the wife/mom came into the kitchen and saw me. She was startled and upset, though she remained polite. I was unperturbed and kept eating. She didn’t say anything to me, just followed me around as I roamed the main level eating my plate of food. Then the husband/dad showed up. He was angry that I was in their house uninvited. We made small talk but I could tell he was very angry, and I knew I had to leave. As I walked through the kitchen toward the garage, I asked them if this house was on San-Dell Way [in my waking life, my husband and I built a house on San-Dell Way and lived in it for 11 years; we sold it 14 years ago]. He said no, San-Dell Way was 2 blocks east. I looked east out the kitchen window and saw dirt hills and houses in various stages of completion and knew that San-Dell Way was east of where I stood.

I went out through the door that lead to the attached garage, and as I stood in the middle of the garage I turned back to find both the mom and dad standing in the door and all 3 young children gathered at their legs. I said, “Be careful with the drugs. When heroin comes into the picture, don’t mess around. Call me if you need help.” And I walked down the driveway and left.

[In my waking life I have 3 children, and my youngest child is a recovering heroin addict. It has been a very difficult journey for/with him….he used various drugs for 10 years, heroin the last 6 years. He’s had numerous relapses and been to rehab 5 times. Today, he is 11 months sober – the longest he’s ever made it. He is 27 years old.]

Dream decoding: as always if this doesn’t resonate with the dreamer please discard.

I was walking down the street in an unfamiliar neighborhood and stopped in front of a house when I felt this was “the one.” It was fairly new construction with dirt for a yard – no grass or plantings yet.

Houses are symbolic representations of a person’s sense of personal identity. In some dreams each room of the house could mean something different about the person or their state of affairs. There is a new sense of self developing (new construction), around emerging from a difficult period (dirt) and waiting for new growth to emerge (grass to grow in the yard). Dirt can also mean problems or issues that will still need to be dealt with prior to the growth occurring.

I let myself in through the front door and went into the kitchen (the family that lived there was home….the mom and 3 kids were upstairs and the dad was in the garage).

Doors and doorways can mean many things in a dream. Walking through the front door suggests that you feel ready to confront something, and possibly that the dream is trying to help you get “in front” of an upcoming issue. You walk into the kitchen, which is a place of nurturing and ‘feeding’ the self.

Your “inner family” (everyone in the dream represents an aspect your inner self), as well as what they represent in your outer world. You stated at the end of the dream that you have 3 children. I would ask you what each one of them represents within you?

Three is the number of change. They are upstairs, meaning these inner parts of yourself are trying to give you information from a ‘higher level of knowing’ or possibly some form of conscious recognition by bringing your awareness to another perspective. The dad in the garage represents the divine masculine part of you, the protector and disciplinarian within you who has had to ‘separate’ from nurturing yourself to address or develop a sense of your self as you deal with family issues. It could also imply that your husband has removed himself a bit from the issue at hand, as the garage can be a ‘hideout’ too.

I wanted cinnamon rolls with white icing, so I opened a refrigerated can and they were magically ready to eat. I grabbed a plate and put a cinnamon roll on it and also helped myself to eggs and bacon that were already made and left out on the counter [in my waking life I don’t eat any of these things – I’m vegan and GF].

Symbolically cinnamon is about stability and soothing or feelings of warmth. You wish this would magically appear in your life, as it does in the dream. It is also an aphrodisiac, a stimulus (albeit a safe one). Have you denied your own Aphrodite? Using this as a play on words, she brought love, passion, beauty and pleasure (not addiction), are you lacking these in your world? 

The white of the icing refers to ‘boundaries’ on the Wisdom Wheels, but icing can also imply covering something up because it is hard or too conflicting to look at. You put it on a plate, symbolizing you wish to stabilize or have a platform for these soothing feelings you wish to experience. You are vegan & GF in life, strict with yourself (again no judgment and a certainly a life choice) but spartan.

Eggs and bacon can be seen by many as comfort food, again your need to be comforted and fed in these times you find yourself. Possibly even a false assumption on your part that if you indulge in what you need, that somehow that is a self-fish act within the family picture or current dynamics surrounding your family. It is not.

As I ate my plate of food, I walked around on the main floor and every time I walked past the front door there was a different group/flock of young children standing on the porch. I saw them through the sidelights. They stood like kids do at Halloween, but it wasn’t Halloween and they were not wearing costumes. There was something eerie about them … almost as if they weren’t of this world. They were very solemn and stood straight and still. I ignored them.

As you try and find what nurtures you, ‘walking the main floor’, seeking common ground for yourself, you are drawn to the front door. What is in front of you are children who come and go in different groups or clusters, without costumes-raw in the fact of who they are, unmasked (unlike Halloween). I am going way out on a limb here and suggest that all those “eerie children” that you saw on the front porch not wearing costumes, are all the children in society, who are likewise impacted in the same or similar ways which you have experienced with your son. You are given a look into the “bigger picture” enhanced by the side lights and brought about by the dream state where we are outside time/space. In the light of awareness you know how deep and wide this addiction of our children runs in this world. And when drugged out, they certainly are not of this world. Said gently.

You ignore them, not because you do not care about their needs or worth, but because at some point we need to put attention to ourselves, otherwise the cycle is perpetuated (despite the love and pain we feel), with our inability to change their reality and as such likewise stay stuck in our own.

Eventually the wife/mom came into the kitchen and saw me. She was startled and upset, though she remained polite. I was unperturbed and kept eating. She didn’t say anything to me, just followed me around as I roamed the main level eating my plate of food. Then the husband/dad showed up. He was angry that I was in their house uninvited. We made small talk but I could tell he was very angry, and I knew I had to leave.

There is a conflict within you about this situation. On the one hand, the wife/mom (your divine feminine) startles you into realizing that although you have the capacity to want to love and nurture your son, you have ignored important self needs. On the other hand the divine masculine in you, the protector and disciplinarian (dad/husband) is angry with the situation; you didn’t invite this into your world.  Upset and angry, how have you dealt with these within yourself?

You decide to walk through the kitchen to go toward the garage. To nurture yourself by distancing temporarily from the emotions this continues to bring up for you. Not because you haven’t faced those emotions, or dealt with them as best you could, but because you need the distance to gain a new perspective. And you need to make your needs part of the equation.

As I walked through the kitchen toward the garage, I asked them if this house was on San-Dell Way [in my waking life, my husband and I built a house on San-Dell Way and lived in it for 11 years; we sold it 14 years ago]. He said no, San-Dell Way was 2 blocks east. I looked east out the kitchen window and saw dirt hills and houses in various stages of completion and knew that San-Dell Way was east of where I stood.

Interesting that you started in this dream in ‘new construction’ and you lived in that San Dell house for 11 years (exactly how long your son has had an addiction and you, and he, have lived with that pain). Again entering the new construction of this dream (hoping his new sobriety lasts) and “knowing this house was the one” you were to enter, shows further hope that he can move forward and by definition so can you.

In numerology the #11 can represent either a high vibration number, or its downside is represented by a ‘clenched hand’/difficulties. In the tarot it is the Lust card, strength, vital energy, creativity potential, something you may wish for yourself, and for renewal for him. And the #14 (move happening 14 years ago) represents the Art card, balance, inner change, alchemy, preparation for something new. Something you may desire for your family, especially your son as time moves forward.

He says, no that location/house is two blocks East.

East represents the new day, new hope, new beginnings. And 2 on the Wisdom Wheel represents how one reassesses how they need to honor themselves in any given situation as we walk forward in our truth. You still see dirt hills, not alot of growth “yet,” and other houses in various stages of construction, new beginnings. I would imagine everyone in your family is going through their own inner reconstruction process with the hopes that your son’s sobriety lasts.

I went out through the door that lead to the attached garage, and as I stood in the middle of the garage I turned back to find both the mom and dad standing in the door and all 3 young children gathered at their legs. I said, “Be careful with the drugs. When heroin comes into the picture, don’t mess around. Call me if you need help.” And I walked down the driveway and left.

Going out the backdoor shows you are still aware of the fragility of the issue at hand. The problems that you have been living with these past many years as your son struggles, are still palpable for you. You see the whole family standing there-representing your inner dream pantheon and your true current family. The children are clinging to the legs, they need stability and desire to move forward, though hesitant. But you offer a warning….that heroin is something everyone in the family needs help with to understand, cope and deal with, exactly like the influences that drug and your son’s addiction brought into your home. You tell them, and yourself, not to be afraid to call on help. Walking down the driveway represents an end to your journey and/or this dream segue. The information you imparted through its symbols is meant for yourself to act on as you awake.

Many prayers and blessings for your son and your family. Thank you for sharing this dream.

As many of you have noticed, I ghosted my dream blog for these past two months. That doesn’t mean I haven’t been dreaming, but I have been dreaming new starts and old finishes as we are about to enter a new year in just a few months.

That coupled with two big international journeys and some family issues suggested that I take a short hiatus in my dream decoding work. Understanding that much like the dreamtime, that daily time is not linear, it is in fact circular—I’ve circled back.

I chose this particular dream because it appears so uplifting. Given how stressful the last year has been for many people that I know, and many folks that I don’t, I thought uplifting would be a nice re-entry point.

Where everything in the dream is both the dreamer and what it resembles in one’s outer life, this could speak to the sacred marriage of the Self, that Christos-Shekinah energy of personal merging; or a literal marriage or deepening union between two souls. Knowing a bit about this dreamer’s history, I believe it speaks to a deeper outer relationship that needs more formalizing.

The Dream:

Last night I had this dream where I was likely in a church sitting and waiting for an event to start. There were also other people there. I was sitting in one corner with people I don’t know. Then I started to play a recording sent by [XXXX] through a stereo system on my side. He was talking about how I have changed his life since we met and his feelings about me, etc. I was touched. Then he showed up and told me that people around me could hear what he said to me. I turned around and saw a woman in tears because she was touched by it too. Then he showed me a beautiful gown that he prepared for me. I put in on and looked so beautiful. He wore a suit. Then we got married. The end.

Decoding:

Last night I had this dream where I was likely in a church sitting and waiting for an event to start.

Sitting in “a church” setting doesn’t necessarily mean a spiritual event. It can be symbolic of something you really believe or have faith in or deeply desire and haven’t even admitted it to yourself yet. Or perhaps, you have been questioning that belief and need to quiet your mind and contemplate or reflect on what it is you truly do desire.

You are ‘waiting’ for an event to occur. But, what action are you willing to take to make that desire or event become manifest?

There were also other people there. I was sitting in one corner with people I don’t know.

The people represent aspects of yourself. You are in a corner, separate from those parts of yourself that hold more ‘awareness and perspective.” They are present to offer you another perspective if you are willing to listen. It concerns something that you need to reflect on for greater understanding, personal knowledge.

Then I started to play a recording sent by [XXXX-name withheld but it means “God is gracious”] through a stereo system on my side. He was talking about how I have changed his life since we met and his feelings about me, etc. I was touched.

So here the dreamer sits in a contemplative place, and a recording from that person [whose name means “a message or gift from God” comes through to you in stereo. It’s on your side, so metaphorically it might mean this person wants to stand by your side.

Through this communication/the stereo, he tells you feelings he normally has difficulty expressing in his waking state. In the dreamstate it is often a fact that one person can communicate freely to another through their dream connection sequences, to make their feelings known.

You are touched by that this information because you know it is sincere. It could also indicate you have wanted to hear this for some time. That it is in stereo suggests that his feelings are all around you, and possibly you are not picking up on them or even responding in ways that discourage him from being more openly verbal about what he feels.

Then he showed up and told me that people around me could hear what he said to me. I turned around and saw a woman in tears because she was touched by it too.

Then he manifests in front of you further indicating that he is ready to have this discussion in the flesh. Are you? He comes to you, suggesting he is ready to be more committed. Or perhaps he is waiting for you to be open to him having this discussion with you. He wants to announce it to others, as he says “that other people can hear what he said.” Possibly in the waking world others can definitely ‘see how he feels’ about you.

The woman behind you in tears is an aspect of yourself that you keep out of reach, silent, or possibly you too are not fully comfortable expressing your deeper feelings, in the same way he can’t. That part of you is sad because it is likewise having a difficult time openly committing to being more seen in your outer worlds.

Then he showed me a beautiful gown that he prepared for me. I put in on and looked so beautiful. He wore a suit. Then we got married. The end.

When a man and woman come together in love they create a “garment of light” around themselves. He is preparing to share that love with you in ways that are more obvious.

When one dreams of putting on a beautiful gown, or dress, that makes them feel happy, it indicates they are walking down the right path in life. They are willing to cloth themselves in joy and risk loving and being loved.

He does the same by donning a suit. When someone puts on a suit they are defining a different role they wish to take in life. You need to pay attention to the color and structure of the garment. Is it a wedding suit, a business suit, a jumpsuit?

You indicate what it is by what comes next-you two get married. My sense is that you are in a relationship where it is time for the two of you take things to the next level. The hesitation is within both of you, as neither has fully committed in the waking state. What finally needs to be said aloud? And yet it would seem you are both ready as the dream sequence ends in marriage. Marriage takes many forms but a deeper union is ready to be experienced, and to be seen and acknowledged in your day-to-day worlds.

Thank you dreamer for sharing this uplifting dream.
I am in need of fresh dreams as we approach the end of 2019. Should any of you wish to share one you might have, please send them to me via email: sandy@starwalkervisions.com.

Always there are various factors that you need to consider when offering a dream interpretation. As I have indicated in past posts, the most important interpreter is the dreamer him/her self. My goal for decoding someone’s dream is to pose alternative perspectives for the dreamer to consider, as dreams are always multi-layered. A dream might mean something very unique when reading it one day, and offer new signals, signs, awareness or direction when reading it another day. To me, dreams, like consciousness, cross the boundaries of time, space and breadth.

Because of the strong presence of snakes in this dream, I will concentrate on their symbology in my intro as they arise across many traditions and thus have many interpretations.

Snake in some religious contexts can be seen as having evil or devious energy (which I wholeheartedly disagree with), as portrayed in the Garden of Eden. But, as in that same myth, snake also signifies the exchange of wisdom. In Gram Twylah’s teachings (my long-time Seneca mentor for those of you who are new to this blog), snake’s contribution is transformation and as such its appearance announces change, shedding of the past, and rebirth, as well as the transmutation from within, that arises through guidance from without.

In Hindi, snake represents the kundalini energy, condensed primal force energy. Kundalini is a dormant energy in all of us that rests coiled three and half times around the first chakra at the base of the spine. Her name is Kundalini Shakti, and represents the unfolding of the divine energy potential in each of us, that when raised, can inform and enliven higher consciousness.

In the Egyptian neteru she is Wadjet, the protector deity of kings/queens and women in childbirth. She can be seen facing out on the diadem of the pharaohs, representing the power of sovereignty. The Snake Goddess in Minoan history protects the household and holds two snakes in her out stretched hands. I believe, like the snake symbol of the caduceus, that they represent the two strands of DNA and healing, as these goddesses were healers.

Snakes are guardians of the Underworld and act as messengers between the upper and lower worlds. Druids and bards in Celtic lore saw snakes as primal energy. They carried Adder eggs as magical charms for traveling to the ‘other worlds’ and to tap alchemical insights. In the Mayan traditions the power of snake symbolized the serpent Ixchel, whose energy can transform body, mind, and spirit similar to the rising of kundalini energy.

And in the Andean Cosmo-vision they guard the Ukhu Pacha, the lower world (our subconscious from a Jungian perspective) represented by the Amaru, the anaconda. However in the teachings of the left side of the Andean work, the goal is to raise the amaru energies or frequencies, as a representation of our personal power. Mimicking I believe, the same awareness that the rising of the kundalini life force offers. In the Chinese system, they are often linked as the little brothers/sisters of dragon energy, which I won’t go into here.

One other thing to consider. This dream came in-between the Capricorn/Cancer eclipses, during Mercury retrograde, while most of the outer planets are also in retrograde. These opposing signs share contrasting themes of ‘self parenting’ and ‘belief questioning.’ Emotional security and nurturing (Cancer) and the values of discipline and self-sufficiency (Capricorn). We need both to create balance. Retrograde planets are times to reassess and restructure. I see this dream as the perfect balance of these energies.

To the dream.

Thank you for looking into this quite puzzling dream. I have been on a small (4 persons) brother retreat in the Norwegian woods the last three days. Even then as I was doing nature meditation there, this dream would not let go of my attention. And had it not been for the unusually dark, nearly black snake, spotted the afternoon after that night’s dream I may not have given it much thought. The snakes in Norway can appear quite dark brown, but this one was by far the darkest color I had ever spotted, and it was probably just a couple of feet away from me when I spotted it. I saw the body quite clearly, but not the head.

I can unfortunately not recall much of the dream leading up to stair case although I feel something significant happened before that part as well.

The DREAM:
My recall starts at about 2-3 meters before the staircase began appearing in front of me and upon seeing it I remembered what had been said about it and the snakes appearing on it as the first step was set down on. I was walking towards the staircase having been warned that the whole stone staircase leading down to the beautiful park below was filled with snakes, but they were unseen until one took the first step down it and then they would manifest in front of your very eyes and you had to tread most carefully not to be bitten.

The staircase was a stony staircase and the snakes came from around the immediate surroundings. As I walked down the staircase there was a fairly high wall on the left (of the same stones as the stairs and equally well fitted), it supported the hill so it would not have rocks and earth fall onto the stairs. On the right side was a much lower wall. The rocks/stones were of cream/beige and grey colors, with fairly smooth surfaces, but not polished.

I think I can recall a great lake or the ocean in the distance. The staircase was linking two pathways, leading towards a beautiful garden I was heading towards. I think (not sure) that I had been told or asked or requested to go there by somebody.

I was not at all feeling scared as I was walking down the staircase. I was just very alert and trying not to upset these snakes as I was walking down. Also I did not know if they were venomous or not, I just did not want to risk finding out so I walked carefully and fairly slowly down.

I was in a way obliged to walk down the stairs, even after being told of these snakes and that they possibly could bite you. I did not have any other choice but to walk on and dare the snakes. Thankfully I am not scared of snakes as such, although being bitten by venomous snakes for sure was not something I would fancy at the best or worst of times. Hence I approached the staircase a bit apprehensively, even more so as I set foot on the very first step.

Immediately as my left foot touched it several dark snakes appeared in front of me making their way around the staircase slithering in and out between the crevices in the stone masonry of the stairs as well as crevices in the left wall supporting it. I walked gingerly down each step and was very careful not to step on any of them or give them cause for alarm.

Then as I was about halfway down they all suddenly slithered away, all but one at the second lowest step, a most handsome long black snake. It eyed me keenly and intelligently as I approached it, and then without warning it suddenly fled into the air heading straight for my neck. As it reached it at an unbelievable speed it twirled around my neck and dug deep into the back of my neck and bored its way into my spine, its head towards my crown and its tail down my spine.

I woke up with a jolt, wondering what it all meant. The next day I went outside to cut some tall grass on a hill below my house and less than a meter away I spotted a beautiful long black snake moving away from me in the grass. And in Norway there are no black snakes.

Decoding:

My recall starts at about 2-3 meters before the staircase began appearing in front of me and upon seeing it I remembered what had been said about it and the snakes appearing on it as the first step was set down on. I was walking towards the staircase having been warned that the whole stone staircase leading down to the beautiful park below was filled with snakes, but they were unseen until one took the first step down it and then they would manifest in front of your very eyes and you had to tread most carefully not to be bitten. 

The dreamer has been told how to approach these stairs. I am sensing the message came from his Higher Self, possible an outer guide, or spirit helper. From his explanation, I feel that the staircase represents a path or a transition for the dreamer. He has been warned. I do not take this as a negative, as much as an omen of change that will occur should he follow the stairs. Taking this descent into himself may activate new emotions or new inner knowing. It may bring up things from his past that he still needs to balance. The stairs descending could also indicate a challenge coming. It’s the unknown that he is being warned will come up as he explores by going deeper into himself. The stairs are going down, into the subconscious, the unexplored, the unknown, the as yet unmanifested. 

The stairs are made of stone suggesting there is solidity or a good foundation that will support his exploration. The beautiful park below suggests that the dreamer sees good things ahead by taking this path; a sense of a reward or beauty at the end of the process. But there is something ‘unseen’, something that could occur or impact his process, so he must tread lightly, cautiously, purposefully.

The staircase was a stony staircase and the snakes came from around the immediate surroundings. As I walked down the staircase there was a fairly high wall on the left (of the same stones as the stairs and equally well fitted), it supported the hill so it would not have rocks and earth fall onto the stairs. On the right side was a much lower wall. The rocks/stones were of cream/beige and grey colors, with fairly smooth surfaces, but not polished.

There could be deceit or there could be transformation under the foundation he relies on, he does not know at this point. But he is willing to suss out those possibilities as he takes that first step onto the staircase. Immediately the snakes appear. Is this a new earned wisdom as he descends or an old wound that needs to be met and healed? Is there an untamed part of himself that he needs to feel free to express or a deep emotion that will arise and transform how he sees himself?

There is a high wall on his left, and the stones are well fitted. It indicates this could be a block that has been there for a long time. Well fitted could mean he has accepted this as fitting some perception of himself, has it been there for ‘a long time.’ I would ask the dreamer what his relationship with his father was like that he might need to work through? Or perhaps, where may he have blocked his own feelings and emotions around his own Divine Feminine. The wall of stones supports the ‘hill’ so the earth won’t come tumbling down. To me this is a metaphor that it is not a ‘mountain’ of an issue, but there is still something in his past relationship with himself that he is protecting or is as yet flushed out.

The rocks are smooth, indicating emotions, like water over river stones, have soothed the trouble, confusion, pain or lack of support he might once have felt, but which still needs to be dealt with. They are gray and cream; gray indicating it is time to honor himself and his own chosen path/cream seeing something or self in its most unbiased form. These two ways of proceeding are needed in any authentic search within ourselves.

I think I can recall a great lake or the ocean in the distance. The staircase was linking two pathways, leading towards a beautiful garden I was heading towards. I think (not sure) that I had been told or asked or requested to go there by somebody. 

There is a lake or ocean in the distance, water is about emotions and how fluid, serene, calm or agitated the waters are, reflects our inner emotions. The passage he is challenging himself to take will link two paths, two ways of learning, possibly two ways of being. Again, the beautiful garden comes up, enticing him to keep moving, possibly promising something beautiful and nourishing at the end. His ‘Self’ is the one requesting he goes there.

I was not at all feeling scared as I was walking down the staircase. I was just very alert and trying not to upset these snakes as I was walking down. Also I did not know if they were venomous or not, I just did not want to risk finding out so I walked carefully and fairly slowly down.

In any shamanic experience, [and I see this as a shamanic dream], we are asked to be alert to the energies and to use caution, to not rush into anything without preparation. The dreamer is not scared, showing he has a strong sense of trust and intentionality to deal with whatever the situation may bring. He’s done his self work. Venomous snakes like cobras, rattlesnakes, asps and adders can kill, and a wise man would and should be cautious around them.

That said venomous snakes can be charmed, and their aggressions slowed with the right knowledge. The venom from certain venomous snakes, dosed in the right way is also being used now in medical circles for healing. The cobra in ancient Egyptian images showed the raised ‘uraeus’ on the Pharaohs crown symbolizing power and resurrection. Buddhist and Hindus see the cobra as power over the destruction of nature and Buddha in his enlightenment had 9 cobras above his head. Hopi Snake dancers use rattle snakes to bring their prayers for rain to the underworld. Celts used the adder to enter the ‘other worlds’ and a small amount of the asp bite sent people into an oracular trance. 

In other words when we are on a deep shamanic exploration into the Self, the outcome can be one of self destruction or self enlightenment. Taming the unbridled self to become the passionate aware Self. However when we do not release our personal poisonous thoughts about ourselves they can destroy us; and yet when we face them, the can transform us. That takes personal courage.

Immediately as my left foot touched it several dark snakes appeared in front of me making their way around the staircase slithering in and out between the crevices in the stone masonry of the stairs as well as crevices in the left wall supporting it. I walked gingerly down each step and was very careful not to step on any of them or give them cause for alarm.

This paragraph shows the work this dreamer has done on himself. The left foot forward touched the stairs. The left foot is on the heart side. Many statues of Egyptian pharaohs show them with the left foot forward, symbolizing leading their people from a heart centered place, but also demanding the respect their service requires. This dreamer proceeds in a heart centered way.

Still the snakes come from everywhere, slithering between the foundation, making themselves known from the depths of the masonry. The dreamer must deal with all these aspects of himself that have, or will, transform who he is becoming. There is no need to be alarmed, as he still has control of his pace. The gift in facing those parts of our self that are ready to give voice, are ready to give back to us the personal power we have worked hard to transform.

Then as I was about halfway down they all suddenly slithered away, all but one at the second lowest step, a most handsome long black snake. It eyed me keenly and intelligently as I approached it, and then without warning it suddenly fled into the air heading straight for my neck. As it reached it at an unbelievable speed it twirled around my neck and dug deep into the back of my neck and bored its way into my spine, its head towards my crown and its tail down my spine.

All the issues (the many snakes) he has learned to deal with, retreat. But one snake/issue remains to be faced. It’s on the 2nd step. Again, like the color gray, 2 on the Wisdom Wheels that Gram Twy taught me, represent assessing where we have to honor and give voice to something within our self. Black on the Wisdom Wheels is about listening to the Self to find our truth, ‘our personal truth’, and isn’t that one of the ways we honor our self.

This intelligent snake knows that wisdom and healing is about uniting love and will; head and heart; bringing the unconscious into consciousness. It wraps around the dreamer’s neck, digs deep into the back of his head and bores itself between spine and crown. is there any better explanation of the raising in the kundalini energy? Lord Shiva has a snake curled three times around His neck representing birth, death, rebirth. When the snake sheds its skin, it transmutes the old into something new. Shamanic deaths are always about rebirthing.

I woke up with a jolt, wondering what it all meant. The next day I went outside to cut some tall grass on a hill below my house and less than a meter away I spotted a beautiful long black snake moving away from me in the grass. And in Norway there are no black snakes.

There is a new awareness stalking this dreamer. The fact that he saw a black snake the following day on his walk, (in a country that doesn’t have black snakes), is confirmation from the spirit world, from Nature herself, that something is being birthed into his consciousness. He couldn’t see the head, maybe this indicates he must stay in his heart when this becomes clearer, because it won’t be supported by a logical explanation, rather it will be an experiential one. And we never know when or how those experiences will fully show themselves.

Thank you dreamer for sharing; I appreciate your wisdom.

 

This dreamer has been a lucid dreamer since he was young. Basically, lucid dreaming is the ability to be conscious within the dream, that you are dreaming, and have the capacity to learn how to control, question or navigate the dream state you are experiencing. Some lucid dreamers have more control, lucidity varies, and many if not all of us at one time or another in our dream states have had a lucid dream, whether we remember or not.

String theorists have surmised that we have a ten dimensions in our Universe: the 4 we know are length, height, depth and time. Bosonic string theorists say there are 26. All these dimensions reside on a plane. The Bible suggests there are 3 x 3 dimensions in the matrix with the 10th being where we exist in its summary. And neuroscientists say our brains have 11 dimensions: https://www.sciencealert.com/science-discovers-human-brain-works-up-to-11-dimensions.

The different planes of existence in the consciousness realms for the human being are considered 7: the physical, the etheric, the astral, the Buddhic (mental), the Atmic (spiritual), and two more planes outside the nonphysical plane. The following is the best article I have read on an explanation of these planes should you wish to read it: http://www.delightfulknowledge.com/different-planes-existence-universe.

The one constant is that we really do not know. These are only what we have “discovered” and like every other aspect of our world there is still much we do not know.

Why am I referring to so many planes of existence? Because in the dreamtime we are more apt to visit these dimensions because our consciousness is not tethered to our bodies/waking self. So dreaming allows the exploration of these planes of existence that simultaneously occur within and outside of ourselves, due in part to conscious awareness. Thus in the dream state we are able to travel, encounter, change, perceive, design, and confront what we assume is our daily reality, and what lies beyond those constraints.

Dreaming in general, and lucid dreaming in particular, allows us the freedom of exploration of our multi-dimensional Universes’; it allows us to deeply question our reality; and it connects one to the power of our brains as we communicate and question the planes we encounter in our dream time, to become more aware of potentiality in our waking state.

So onto the dream. I did get to ask this dreamer one question about his dreamscape. This will be revealed as I decode.

The Dream:
I found myself on a strange plain/plane where I knew I didn’t belong, as I was not fully prepared to be there. I was vulnerable to the spirits/beings that lived there, but it was a desolate portion, so I knew if I stayed hidden I would be fine. I found myself drawn to a sector that was urban based, but more like the memory of urban. I found myself steeling my will for conflict, and entered a room. In the room was two metal crests. One, a woman with long dark hair, the other was either a crow or a magpie, I lean towards magpie because of the long tail feathers almost reminiscent of a peacock, in that they were not black, but a luminescent blue. I tried combining these crests because I knew they fit together somehow, but I wasn’t puzzling it together correctly. A female voice spoke to me, (or inferred to me or whatever, because dreams are fucking weird) and I combined the crests correctly. The guardian of the room rose up, and I found myself fighting for control of the dream. I knew I was not asleep completely, but I also knew it wasn’t entirely my dream. I literally FELT, every nerve ending from my toes to the top of my head light up not once, not twice, but three times, each more intense than the last, as I fought for control. In the end I was overwhelmed and my vision exploded with symbols that passed through my vision quicker than I could capture, starting not only in shape, and evolving in a logical sequence, but also in a color wave, evolving from infrared, to ultra violet in sequence. As I was forced from the dream (with no external cause, no sounds/influence from the waking world) I found myself gripping onto the imagery of this woman/bird and knowing I had to ask about it, (and I know this sounds dumb) but the specific wavelength of light being on the edge of blue before it turns to violet.

I asked the dreamer for clarity if the “female voice” that spoke to him, was a voice outside himself, or the dark haired woman? 

The voice/intention that gave me the intuitive leap was a separate thing than the crest. I couldn’t tell if it was an inner or outer voice though, it could’ve been a guide, or it may have been my perfect-self speaking, not sure.
The “guardian” was formless, but existed as an intention or will that existed somewhere on the electromagnetic spectrum. For whatever reason the weakness, or maybe the “key” to the lock was that specific dark blue. The same color as a magpies blue/black, and it was a battle of will power to move the light on the spectrum to that wavelength.

The decoding:

I found myself on a strange plain/plane where I knew I didn’t belong, as I was not fully prepared to be there. I was vulnerable to the spirits/beings that lived there, but it was a desolate portion, so I knew if I stayed hidden I would be fine. I found myself drawn to a sector that was urban based, but more like the memory of urban.

When we are in the dreamtime we are in nonphysical space/time where all possibilities exist. This dreamer is already aware that he is vulnerable about something on the planes he is experiencing. This is an alert to his lucid self that there is a vulnerability in his waking life. Something about his waking world feels ‘desolate’ or perhaps lonely. And, he continues to ‘hid’ that fact from himself to exist in the world in which he lives.

He thinks if he hides this vulnerability he will be o.k. But he is drawn deeper into the “spirits that life within” at least in the dream state. The environment in which the dream takes place defines the ‘environment’ that the dreamer is experiencing in the waking world. In this case urban means there may be lots of confusion, family or community issues, or the activity of chaos in his waking state that makes him vulnerable to needs other than his own.

I found myself steeling my will for conflict, and entered a room. In the room was two metal crests. One, a woman with long dark hair, the other was either a crow or a magpie, I lean towards magpie because of the long tail feathers almost reminiscent of a peacock, in that they were not black, but a luminescent blue. I tried combining these crests because I knew they fit together somehow, but I wasn’t puzzling it together correctly.

The dreamer is aware that there is conflict in his life. He enters a room, indicating he is feeling alone. In the room are two metal crests. Metal is tough, but malleable, indicating when these two parts are brought together, you can learn to be more flexible. Two on the Wisdom Wheels asks us, “How are we honoring our Self?” What do we need to assess to create a more positive change so things don’t feel so chaotic?

One of the things causing the chaos is a dark haired women. Often images/people in the dream reflect people in our outer world, suggesting this woman is secretive or manipulative. But people in the dream also mirror something in our self. So, a dark-haired women in the dream can suggest there is something being hidden from you; something that is not in your best interest. And secondly, what it suggests about the dreamer is that he is not listening to himself, that his higher self is trying to guide him to recognize or take care of an issue where he might be lying to himself about a reality he needs to change.

I will stick with the symbolism of magpie, because that is where the dreamer seems to have landed. Magpies are intelligent, risk-takers, and cunning; they are a symbol of sacred balance and in Chinese symbolism they are seen as a birds of happiness. They suggest that you can resolve something that has been making you unhappy or confused for a long time.

That blue/black color is a suggestion that once you learn not to be in servitude to something that makes you unhappy, and find the sacred path that you wish to be in service to within yourself, that then you will be listening to your Higher Self. No one can make us unhappy, we are unhappy because we are not centered in our authenticity. But if we deny, ignore or project that unhappiness onto to someone, or something else, then we are vulnerable to that ‘other.’ The fact that the color was luminous, was a suggestion that the dreamer might need to do more to develop and trust his intuition.

He is puzzling, because in his outer reality, he is trying to figure out how to bring together all the seemingly disparate pieces of his life to be more of his luminous self. No one can teach you that, though mentors might be able to guide you, you are your own best moderator of your balance, needs, and abilities. 

A female voice spoke to me, (or inferred to me or whatever, because dreams are fucking weird) and I combined the crests correctly. The guardian of the room rose up, and I found myself fighting for control of the dream. I knew I was not asleep completely, but I also knew it wasn’t entirely my dream. I literally FELT, every nerve ending from my toes to the top of my head light up not once, not twice, but three times, each more intense than the last, as I fought for control.

So the female voice (your Divine Feminine, which we all have and is not gender differentiated), is your intuitive, creative self. It is both your guide and your perfect-self, we are more than just these physical bodies.

When we combine our Divine Masculine (purpose, logic, discipline), with our Divine Feminine (intuition/instinct, passion, creativity), we are able to find balance. In the dream, the Guardian rose up. In bringing these two aspects of your awareness [at least into the dream play together], the “issue” rises up and you feel like you are fighting for control. And those parts of our self are formless until we give them form.

It doesn’t feel in part like your dream, because you do not fully know, trust or have communicated fully with this DF part of yourself. And it is a personal ‘battle of will’ to feel less vulnerable in combining all aspects of your true self, despite what the outer world tells you. ‘Right will’ only battles ‘willfulness.’

Maybe you have only sought to recognize that from without, with women in your life that either don’t allow, or don’t see your softer side. Soft doesn’t mean weak. Have they created chaos or balance for you, or within you? Can you find the balance in yourself, to experience more balance without with them? This feels like a outer conflict from the dream scenario.

I am going out on a limb here, and saying that the 3 passes of electricity is your kundalini energy. According to Buddhic dream practitioners, kundalini energy is the snake that rises through the body. It is the feminine energy that resides at the base of the spine and lies dormant until it is awakened. I see this as a great gift you gave yourself in the dreamtime, and to be aware enough to notice it through your lucidity. Three is also the number of the feminine and the number for magic.

I fought for control. In the end I was overwhelmed and my vision exploded with symbols that passed through my vision quicker than I could capture, starting not only in shape, and evolving in a logical sequence, but also in a color wave, evolving from infrared, to ultra violet in sequence. As I was forced from the dream (with no external cause, no sounds/influence from the waking world) I found myself gripping onto the imagery of this woman/bird and knowing I had to ask about it, (and I know this sounds dumb) but the specific wavelength of light being on the edge of blue before it turns to violet.

Maybe instead of fighting for control, if you surrender (which is not giving into or giving up, but rather giving over to a higher knowing), you will not be in such inner turmoil.

The exploding symbols could be what comes in a hypnogogic dream state as we are falling to sleep or awakening, yet they could have also been clues for you as to how to modulate your world with your needs? Starting in shapes (the most basic form of communication) and proceeding in a logical sequence, was merely your consciousness trying to download as much as it could, as fast as it could.

Infrared versus ultra violet light. A couple of things, red to violet is the spectrum of the chakras (which become awakened through experiences like the kundalini charge); our chakras our spiritual centers within our self, and each teach and represent something different. Infrared and ultra violet are frequencies or wavelengths that work within the spectrum of what is seen and not seen. One the Wisdom Wheels violet/purples signifies healing, the awareness that comes with gratitude, and the dreamtime.

Gripping onto the birdwoman, and knowing you have to ask about it, is your next level of self research and you bring your inner world, and by nature of that, your outer world into balance.

Thank you dreamer, this is an awesome dream, with lots more symbology to it than we have room for here. I am sure others will see some of themselves in this dreamscape too, as dreams are both personal, and within the hologram of the All That Is, there for all of us to learn from.

Horse is a dominant figure in this dreamer’s story. Humanity made a huge leap forward when horses were tamed. Many cultures see the domestication of the horse as instrumental and important as fire. In shamanic practices throughout the world, horses stood for the dreamtime, releasing heavy burdens, power, freedom, stamina and adaptability.

The horse ‘figure’ in astrology is Sagittarius: the centaur, half man half horse. Briefly the sign represents the pursuit of freedom, philosophical ideas, adventure, friendliness and travel. In Chinese astrology horse is likewise designated (within its positive attributes), as being witty, loving travel, honest and good with money. But with both signs the challenge is to unravel their own psyche to find what nourishes and sustains them, for they each long for intimacy but also find it fetters them.

Native Americans speak of shamans on flying horses that could access information in the heavens. They were often referred to as ‘god dogs’ and for them, the horse embodied power, freedom and authority. According to one of my personal teachers, the horse carries the “decree of responsibility.” The tribes that possessed horses were better prepared for battle. (Aside: in this dream you will see how horse represents the battle one wages within the Self.)

The Celts linked horses to Epona and Rhiannon, harbingers of good luck and protectors of the earth and fertility. For the Greeks and Romans, horses represented wealth and status and the gods and goddesses that created the horse connected those who owned them with those divine and special powers. And then there is Pegasus, the mythical winged horse that could fly to the sky realms and the Trojan Horse, who could hide our own demise.

In the Hindu culture the Sun God traveled across the sky on seven horses and was regarded as Lord Vishnu’s last incarnation. Although the horse arrived too late to ancient Egypt to become part of its pantheon, it signified wealth, status and speed. The horse was seen as precious by the Pharaohs and used cautiously in battle as they liberated fighters with the chariot.

So the overarching symbol in this dream for the dreamer to consider, is how one seeks freedom from self-imposed burdens, by illuminating and liberating, the personal battle that holds one from emotional intimacy. 

The Dream:
I am traveling with a group of people. We are on horses. We have stopped for a break. I am on a palomino tan horse. I am thanking my horse and trying to get him some water but the horse doesn’t want to stay with the other horses. I direct my horse to another place and I am petting him and thanking him. A few minutes later a train comes through and kills the other horses. The bodies of the dead horses are laying there. I feel frightened and grateful that my horse had taken me to another place.

I am traveling with a group of people. We are on horses.
The group of people you are traveling with, can be people who influenced you or were related to you in your earlier life. Or they can represent aspects of the Self that have traveled with you as you’ve developed over the years as the voice of your ‘inner pantheon’, be they helpers, distractors and/or nurturers.

We have stopped for a break. I am on a palomino tan horse.

You are on a Palomino horse. Palominos are pale yellow tan in color. As such they combine the influences of the Wisdom Wheels, which include how you need to organize and focus on knowing your personal truth, while working in tandem with overcoming the obstacles that stand in the way of you loving yourself.

In some explanations Palomino horses are seen to represent spiritual awareness and warmth (due to their golden color). In Native stories, they represent the Eastgate, where one goes to seek illumination and practices the discipline it takes to find it. Do you have the discipline and trust within yourself to reach new goals and replace old beliefs? Can you allow yourself the freedom to love yourself, when you feel others didn’t, or that their actions betrayed you?

One of the attributes of horses, as I shared above, is that they are known as ‘the burden carriers’, but they also stand for responsibility. The personal responsibility we each have to release whatever isn’t bringing strength to our authentic self. To accomplish this, you may need to stop and assess how you have, or have not, been addressing how your old stories continue to hold you back.

I am thanking my horse and trying to get him some water but the horse doesn’t want to stay with the other horses. I direct my horse to another place and I am petting him and thanking him.

I see part of what you need to focus on is nurturing yourself and finding gratitude (maybe despite the past difficulties) to know you have adapted to come this far. As well as reminding yourself (thanking the horse) for all the ways you have already taken responsibility for yourself over the years, with the awareness that you have developed about yourself within that process.

You are trying to get the horse some water; water represents emotions and in dreams suggests cleansing and renewal. We cannot live without renewal, any more than we can live life fully without nurturing our changing needs. To do that, you cannot stay the way you have been, the horse doesn’t want to stay with the other ‘horses.’ It is only your ‘direction’ that can take you to another, new, more gratifying place. It is one thing to acknowledge our past stories, it is another to shift their impact.

A few minutes later a train comes through and kills the other horses. The bodies of the dead horses are laying there. I feel frightened and grateful that my horse had taken me to another place.

Trains can have many meanings in the dreamtime, and you need to assess the context in which they appear. You are not on the train; the train is not driven by you; it does not crash, although it hits all the other horses. This indicates that you may feel events in your life are out of control, especially your emotional freedom. But are you using your emotional past in ways that don’t empower you to fully move forward and create a new storyline for yourself. Awareness can become an excuse as easily as it can liberate us. Given that your horse left the group, it might imply that you are ready to let the past way of doing, feeling, emoting, and judging yourself, die to itself, so it no longer controls your emotional response to things.

Trains can also mean standing in your own power. It is only you who has the power to release the past (the other group on the horses) and find what defines your personal power moving forward. It may feel frightening sometimes to commit to that, yet you have the momentum given you are still on your horse.

The death of the other horses in your dream indicates it is time to give up the power or strength you allotted others in your life. Are there old ‘stories’ that you still need to let go of? True wisdom is found when we remember and honor our entire journey but don’t use that script to define us. Motivation is your key. Self-nurturing is your need. Freedom from the emotional past is your gift.

Sneaking this dream blog in on the final day of this month. Anyone else notice how many things need to be addressed on any given day, and how incredibly fast the months get torn off the calendar? That’s why I love dreaming. It’s my time exclusively just for me.

My teachers shared that when we dream of people, especially people who have crossed-over, that it doesn’t necessarily mean that we are being visited by them. There is a good possibility that they are being remembered as a representation of  ‘that personality’ to impart some information to us, that our Higher self is trying to get through to our waking self. Seeing someone who has passed over is not to instill fear. It does not mean someone  close to us is going to die; it is to bring awareness of something coming. When we are prepared with awareness, we can make alternative choices.

There is an interconnectedness within the Universe, whether we are on this side or in another dimension, whether we are in body or in spirit; and whether we are awake or dreaming. The mystical connection that ties it all together is the essences that we are One. But that’s a much bigger discussion.

It is true, and many will tell you, that there can be communication from someone who is no longer in the physical world.  They can come through into our dreamtime, and many mediums will tell you, that they can come through to speak if needed. But that said, in this person’s dream, this is not someone that she was actually attached to in any detailed way, like a family member, best friend, or lover.  It is more likely that his presence represents a different aspect or alternative way to create a change in this dreamer’s thinking around something as yet defined.

The Dream:
In my dream, the younger son of my neighbor when I was young, Michael, appeared looking quite healthy and tanned (his mother was Italian so he always was a little darker skinned). Michael passed from a heart attack 5 years ago at the age of 54 years.
Though facially it was not exactly how I remembered him, in my dream it was him. He said he was here for a visit. But he had a large gash on his head that at first he was stitching himself but then one of my daughters (can’t remember which one, and in this dream they were younger) began stitching his wound. I asked him how long he was going to visit and he said he didn’t know. End of dream.

I asked the dreamer what was one word she would use to describe Michael (cute) and the name of her two daughters: Allyson and Christina

In my dream, the younger son of my neighbor when I was young, Michael, appeared looking quite healthy and tanned (his mother was Italian so he always was a little darker skinned). 

The dreamer defines this presence as the ‘younger son’, of her neighbor, which could suggest that there is information that the dreamer needs to assess, that she has held since childhood.  He is ‘cute’ which means this idea or event will be gentle with her, as it comes into her consciousness. However, this information is currently outside her day-to-day thought process, implied by being a neighbor. Possibly this dream is trying to show her something from her younger years that needs to morph or change for a greater understanding of something coming (be that a belief, solving a personal conflict, or deeper awareness of an imminent  change.)

The young boy from her youth is called Michael.  Michael means “he of God” and is also the Archangel of Protection. He appears healthy and darker skinned, implying he is separate or different from her. With respect, what questions does this dreamer have around God? What might challenge her belief in her God? Has she relied on a certain belief of God for protection; a younger belief (not a naïve belief) that protects her. She will be protected, even if these ruminations challenge her and make her experience “a change of heart” or feel like an ‘attack’ to her beliefs.

Counter intuitively he looks healthy, and yet in the next segment of her dream, he is not. Is something she perceived as healthy for her or in order, about to change?

Michael passed from a heart attack 5 years ago at the age of 54 years.

Looking at numbers in dreams are always important. The number 5 on the Wisdom Wheels signifies needing to listen to oneself and allows for a more defined ‘truth’ around an issue or belief,  that can take you to new levels of understanding around an upcoming event. Couple that with Michael passing at 54. Around the age of 54 we hit our Uranus return, astrologically this is seen as the time we call “the mid-life” crisis. So this new awareness or event might feel critical at first, and it certainly will point the dreamer in a new direction, but that doesn’t have to suggest something bad. Plus if you add 5+4, the resulting number is 9. Nine’s are endings of the old, but not as a death, more as a preparation for a new beginning, without forgetting all we’ve learned from our past, as we evolve on our personal time line.

Though facially it was not exactly how I remembered him, in my dream it was him.

What ever awareness is coming, will not on the face of it be obvious, but down the line, the dreamer will realize it was the catalyst.

He said he was here for a visit. But he had a large gash on his head that at first he was stitching himself but then one of my daughters (can’t remember which one, and in this dream they were younger) began stitching his wound. 

A visit is a gentle reminder that something is coming into your awareness. Again please do not hear that this is negative or detrimental, it merely means awareness or change is coming.

There is a large gash on his head, which indicates the dreamer might fear she will fail at something when the time comes for her to think about it, or rethink her feelings about it. Wounds generally indicate suffering a disappointment; someone coming at us or our thought processes (because it’s on the head) aggressively; or an injustice, perceived or real.

He is stitching (trying to pull the information together) the gash himself, meaning you will need to deal with this on your own. But then one of your daughters helps him (maybe could help you) with this. Allyson in old German and French means ‘noble sort,’ and Christina from the Greek means “follower of Christ” or “Christian.” My sense is that which will pull you through this challenge, event, or new awareness will be your faith. That your faith, your belief in the God that you have held sense you were young, even if what occurs challenges you to broaden, widen, or change that belief, will somehow upgrade what initially appears as a wound into a personal evolution.  

I asked him how long he was going to visit and he said he didn’t know. End of Dream.

When will this happen? How long will it take? This you do not yet know, it depends on something that hasn’t presented itself as yet.  I want to stress, I do not see this as necessarily a difficult or harmful thing that happens to you. I think it is more a challenge to a way of thinking, or changing a repetitive pattern, that will be happening “for you.”

Thank you dreamer for sharing.

Happy Imbolc everyone. I meant to post this dream last night, and well…that didn’t happen. Imbolc is a wonderful Gaelic holiday which is a renewal celebration of lights, and occurs at the mid-point between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox. It is a time in Ireland and Scotland of yore, when food was becoming scarce and seeds were being germinated for the coming spring to be put into the ground. It embraces the Goddess Brigid, she of new beginnings, birth and fire. Candles are lit and food is left to feed the Fae, the magical fairy folk.  

This dreamer offered two very similar dreams, both revolved around volcanoes and the same family members were present in both dreams. She indicated in her email, that there have been difficulties with these family members of late. Repeat dreams are often a warning or harbinger of things to come or emotions that need to be released. They ask the dreamer to pay attention to both the content and the emotions elicited by the dream’s symbols. These types of emotional ‘triggering’ dreams often reveal our fears or self-limiting belief patterns, so we can understand and restore balance in our world.

Where Imbolc is the mid-point between coming to the end of one season, the desolate winter and the beginning of another season, the birth of spring it maintains a balance through the cycling of the year. Where volcanoes bring destruction yet ironically their ash brings new life, there is again a balance of death and life, rage and restoration. Both the lighting of fires or candles during Imbolc celebrations and volcanoes bringing the fire from within Mother Earth to the surface, are fires of transformation. I chose this dream because the dreamer needs to restore balance within herself m through the transformation of the emotions she is dealing with. 

Dream One
I was in a resort town in the mountains and I was searching for my brother, Daniel. As I was going from place to place looking for him, the biggest mountain erupted, spewing lava and ash into the air. I didn’t know it was a volcano and I was surprised. I kept asking people: “Have you seen Daniel?” I was in such a panic to find him. Eventually I went into a restaurant and a man told me he’d seen my brother walking towards the hotel at the base of the mountain. I ran up there and now the whole place is shaking with tremors and I’m coughing from fumes and can hardly see for ash. I get into the hotel and it’s now apocalyptic outside. I find not only my brother, but his wife, and my parents. We run to the multi-story carpark and my brother is insisting he can drive us out of there. But I know it’s useless. The tires are literally melting in the heat. While in the car, molten lava starts to rain down on the roof dripping through the roof in places and dropping onto our skin. It’s excruciating and we know we’re going to all die. I wake up.

_______________________________________________________

Interpretation:

I was in a resort town in the mountains and I was searching for my brother, Daniel. As I was going from place to place looking for him, the biggest mountain erupted, spewing lava and ash into the air.

A resort town in the mountains suggests the dreamer needs to find some relief. Mountains can signify obstacles one must overcome or pressing matters one needs to address. Mountains can also suggest that the dreamer needs to go to a higher level of understanding to review the underlying conditions or situation.

She is looking for her brother Daniel. Daniel in Gaelic means ‘attractive’, but in Hebrew means, “God is my judge.” And let us not forget Daniel in the lion’s den. Daniel was raised to a high degree by his master, but jealous rivals tricked his master and the king was forced to throw him into the lion’s den. At dawn the king went back hoping God had spared his friend. Daniel was alive, he said the angels had shut the jaws of the lions because “he was found to be blameless” and because Daniel had also removed a thorn (a wounding issue) from a lion’s paw, that lion protected him. What is the take away for the dreamer…those who may be jealous of her and ‘thrown her to the lions’ do not stand true before the eyes of God, because she is blameless. To remove the wound she is feeling, she must ‘learn how to tame the beast’ and speak from a place of the heart. A powerful lesson to acquire during these times of conflict.

To do that she may need to directly deal with the biggest cause of this situation in which she finds herself, (the biggest mountain erupts spewing lava and ash). There is an instigator in this story that has made a big mountain-issue out of something. The dreamer needs to find a way to handle this to rebalance her own emotions. Sometimes controlled anger is justified, should one go into it without spewing  their own rage and accusations. The lava and ash is the fallout this significant agitator has caused.

I didn’t know it was a volcano and I was surprised. I kept asking people: “Have you seen Daniel?” I was in such a panic to find him.

This suggests the dreamer was taken off guard by this person or obstacle. She did not anticipate this reaction, and she is desperate to maintain some sort of balance with her brother. She doesn’t want him to judge her.

Eventually I went into a restaurant and a man told me he’d seen my brother walking towards the hotel at the base of the mountain. I ran up there and now the whole place is shaking with tremors and I’m coughing from fumes and can hardly see for ash.

It would appear that the dreamer needs to be nurtured in some way, by her brother or others-signified by going to the restaurant. Restaurants are about receiving nourishment. The man says he saw her brother walking to a hotel; in a dream a hotel signifies a temporary situation. It is at the base of a mountain suggesting she needs to get to some level of understanding with her brother, to get to the base or bottom of this. 

Timing is important before approaching him. Shaking with tremors and coughing from fumes can suggest two things. She is not ready yet to emotionally deal with this from a centered place, because the fumes are choking her ‘voice’ and the ash is ‘not having her see clearly.’ 

I get into the hotel and it’s now apocalyptic outside. I find not only my brother, but his wife, and my parents.

Now we see all the players in the dreamscape and potentially her disturbing waking life situation. It feels ‘apocalyptic outside’, like everything outside herself is coming to an end; that there is deep change; that it is uncomfortable, frightening and a huge loss. Her brother, his wife, and her parents are all involved in this deep emotional turmoil.

I would ask the dreamer to give one word for each of those players. That is because as I have often said, everyone in the dream is themselves as well as an aspect of oneself.  In any tumultuous situation we need to see our part as well, and those words would apply to something the dreamer may need to review within herself. 

We run to the multi-story carpark and my brother is insisting he can drive us out of there. But I know it’s useless. The tires are literally melting in the heat. While in the car, molten lava starts to rain down on the roof dripping through the roof in places and dropping onto our skin. It’s excruciating and we know we’re going to all die. I wake up.

Volcanic eruptions denote tempers and significant emotional confrontations have occurred. It also has shown up in this person’s dreamscape twice now (in the other dream  she sent too), which means she is feeling significant anger. With the other players, it could mean you are wrong or have been wronged and the emotions under the surface that you are harboring need to be released. Internalized anger is never good to carry around, it impacts the balance of the heart and impairs the adrenals.

A multi-story car park signifies that everyone has their own interpretation that continues to bind them all together to different interpretations of the event. They are all in the car park, the situation is going no where, it is stationary and confined. Cars often symbolize the physical body, individuality, and moving forward, but they are all in the same car which implies that no one is taking the initiative to change this situation. 

Now the lava, the anger, resentment, emotional turmoil is impacting all of them. It is raining down on them, suggesting it has gotten out of control. Dropping on their skin, and becoming excruciating, it is affecting their out worlds (skin is our largest outer organ), and it is painful for each of them. They each know this will cause something to die, be that their love for each other, their family dynamics, or their balanced emotional actions/reactions to and with each other.

She wakes up. It is significant for her to find resolution or offer forgiveness, that is the greatest gift we can give any circumstance. But who will make that first move?  

You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them– Maya Angelou 

Thank you dreamer for sharing.

Hello Dreamers,

I will be decoding a number of dreams during the month of January, as I will be away teaching next month and will not have time to add to the blog. The other dream (which is a two for one) will be posted by end month.

The dream I will decode today has to do with eclipses. We just had one last weekend and we will be having a lunar eclipse at zero degrees of Leo on Monday, January 21st. This is noted as a blood moon.  It’s called a blood moon when the moon is totally eclipsed and takes on a reddish hue from the refraction of light in the earth’s atmosphere. 

As many of you who are astrologers know, this lunar eclipse will have the potential to cause some tension because of the square it makes to Uranus (the planet that has no qualms about spontaneously pulling the rug out from under you), and Mars in retrograde, (which has a speedy determination to do things its way). That said this is a time to wait, watch, and listen as a stance of preparation before concretizing those new plans; impulsive actions and reactions will not go over well. This dream suggests the same to the dreamer who offered it.

I love this astrologer and find her info well worth a listen:                                                         https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ml9PX0Q1dNA

And this astrologer’s blog is always fascinating: https://www.instagram.com/neongeometryastrology/

The Dream:                                                                                                                                             In the dream, I am on the beach viewing multiple Lunar Eclipses all at once. One moon is large, one smaller (or further away). They seem to be eclipsing at the same time. There was another one that could only be viewed from certain angles but was just the corona of the moon.
It was unclear whether two of the Moons were real or refractions of the large Moon. Per usual; I was trying to photograph all of them, and per usual, my pictures weren’t turning out. (I try to “preserve” stuff a lot in my dreams, either taking photographs or putting things where I can “find” them later).                                                                                                I remember though that when the sun rose (which was weird because I guess that meant there were more than 3 suns eclipsing infront of the moons….all the Moons phased out like stars and that part of the dream felt over.                                                                               I drove up the coast and some people were on the side of the road also trying to take pictures. I was in my same car, a blue Corolla. The beach was calm, scenic. The Moons were red, as they usually are while eclipsing.
This was part of a larger dream montage but it was one of the more vivid parts. Later on in the dream a bunch of coworkers turned up. But by then I was in London trying to catch a train in the underground. 

In the dream, I am on the beach viewing multiple Lunar Eclipses all at once. One moon is large, one smaller (or further away). They seem to be eclipsing at the same time. There was another one that could only be viewed from certain angles but was just the corona of the moon.

You are on the beach. Beaches and oceans signify a merging between the unconscious and the conscious. The moon suggests changes are afoot, because the moon moves in phases. In most cultures the moon is associated with intuition, moods, emotions, the feminine, and bringing to light certain aspects of ones self. Thus right off the bat between the beach symbology and the moon symbology your dreamscape has doubled a piece of information that you are to pay attention to.  New awareness from the unconscious into conscious state to be worked with is happening within you at this time, which may create changes in certain aspects of your life.

Eclipse dreams signify that things are changing but possibly ‘hidden’ from ones awareness. Possibly everything is not clear right now because the information you need hasn’t manifested in full light yet. Because the Moon deals with emotions and intuitions, it may imply that you are either ignoring an intuitive hit that you have had but might not wish to acknowledge, or perhaps you could be burying some deeper emotions that you need to express or explore.

Because one of the Moons is a ‘big one’, it suggests that there is an important issue that is up for you right now. This issue can’t be eclipsed or tucked away. You need to clearly look at what needs to change to bring more emotional security into your world. Where the other one is ‘smaller or further away’, it suggests that you have time to uncover what it is you need to do about a different situation. You may feel overwhelmed right now because you think you need to deal with all of these things at the same time. The caution is to prioritize. The distance from the ‘moon’ signifies how much you are in touch with having the full information you need to make a good decision.

The third one could only be viewed from certain angles, implying you need more perspective on whatever that situation is. You can only see the corona, which indicates you should not ignore your intuition right now. Trust your gut and do not let your feminine side be overshadowed.

It was unclear whether two of the Moons were real or refractions of the large Moon. Per usual; I was trying to photograph all of them, and per usual, my pictures weren’t turning out. (I try to “preserve” stuff a lot in my dreams, either taking photographs or putting things where I can “find” them later).

Again there may be confusion on your part as to whether this is one connected issue, or reflections of similar thoughts/feelings that are generating similar emotions. Again you may be inadvertently combining situations that need to be separated to fully understand which directions you should take. 

To be taking a picture in the dream suggests you need to focus more on what it is you want. To put “them where I can find them later” suggests you are bringing them into your waking state to work on gaining clarity, perspective, and direction.

I remember though that when the sun rose (which was weird because I guess that meant there were more than 3 suns eclipsing infront of the moons….all the Moons phased out like stars and that part of the dream felt over.

Again your dream self is cautioning you to separate the issues and deal with them individually. When all the moons phase out like stars it is a sign of good luck that you will accomplish what it is you are working on. 

I drove up the coast and some people were on the side of the road also trying to take pictures. I was in my same car, a blue Corolla. The beach was calm, scenic. The Moons were red, as they usually are while eclipsing.

This is a further message from your dreamscape that you have a path you are on and should stay dedicated to it. On that path you will meet other people likewise trying to gain clarity and focus. You are in your car, which represents that you are in control of your own destiny.

The car is blue, (which on the Wisdom Wheels discussed many times throughout the blog listings as having been taught to me by Grandmother Twylah) signifies intuition, teaching, and making sure you are in service to yourself and not in servitude to someone else’s needs, desires or story. Likewise if we use word play with Corolla, it suggests listening to your ‘core’ essence when choosing how to move forward.

The beach is calm, indicating that your emotions when coming from your core, will be fulfilling and serene. And the red of the moon suggests (once again using the Wisdom Wheels), that you need to trust yourself and have faith in your process. Red also suggests that you know you are on the right path, when you feel both passion and renewal in your decisions. It is in the experience and not necessarily in the realms of logic that you will feel complete.

This was part of a larger dream montage but it was one of the more vivid parts. Later on in the dream a bunch of coworkers turned up. But by then I was in London trying to catch a train in the underground.

When a dream shifts, it may not be as profound as the previous parts, but it is still worthwhile information. To see co-workers in a dream can imply a few different things, that you as the dreamer would need to decide. It can suggest a level of competitiveness; it can suggest needing to work out something with a current co-worker to have more clarity; it might also suggest part of your inner pantheon of ‘dream players’ all have information to share with you.

You move off to London to catch an underground train. Ironically your dream ends as it started. The eclipses showed you that you need to find clarity around issues by bringing them to light or into full conscious play, and the underground train suggests that you should not bury emotions that need expression as you gain clarity.

Where London is a major city it suggests that you need more socialization instead of  possibly isolating your self (in an underground train), trying to figure everything out on your own. Although finding your answers will take mediation and personal decision making, we cannot establish balance in our world if life is all work and contemplation. The train signifies rushing to have all the answers in life met now. However, this last remembered part of the dream reminds you to stop along the way to digest what you are exploring to see if it fits for you, and to go out and have fun. Fun within life is as important in your decision making as personal reflection.

Thank you dreamer for sharing.

I am posting this dream on the New Moon (December 6/7, 2018) in Sagittarius, as the planet Mercury goes direct. Why? Because when Mercury stations direct we have the capacity to have our communications be more fluid and clearer, whether that is within our Self, or with others.

The new moon is a wonderful time to plant new seeds of awareness and purpose. This new moon in the mutable fire sign of Sag has the potential to bring freedom, lightness of being, and spiritual forces that can renew our faith. The moon in Sag has stationed next to the planet Jupiter, its planetary ruler. Jupiter encourages us to forge ahead and make what we thought impossible, possible.

Isn’t that what this time of celebration, light, and giving is all about? Whether you celebrate Solstice, Chanukah, Christmas, Kwanza or any other festivity of community, this is a time of renewal, gratitude, and finding peace.

I chose this dream during this holiday timeframe because it reflects the light this dreamer holds within herself and the renewal she is searching for. Something I know we all desire, and often discount as our birthright when hard times, frustration, betrayal or loss is encountered. Although I do not know this dreamer well, I do know her public persona. What I imagine to be one of her strongest guides shows up in an alternative form in this dreamscape, enforcing and reminding the dreamer that She is always present with Her love, loyalty and encouragement.

The dream:

Ok dog lovers, I had a dream last night that I just had to share. I believe this is a message for everyone who loves their pets, but it was definitely inspired by one of my soul sisters losing her best buddy this week.  

In the dream I was in a house, not my current house necessarily, but rather the whole environment felt very much like a fairytale – like I was in a cottage in the middle of a forest somewhere. I looked out the window and I could see a very old woman, very much a fairytale crone kind of hag character, walking slowly up the path to the front door. She was slow not only because of her age, but because she was very carefully carrying an ornate wooden box. I could tell by the way that she was carrying it that it was either very heavy, contained something incredibly fragile, or both.

She was not scary in any way. She appeared very deliberate in her movements and I knew that she was wise and had something important to tell me. I opened the door and I waited for her. When she arrived on the doorstep, she nodded to the box and said, “Open it. Look inside.”

I stepped forward and carefully opened the box. Inside it held a stunning, perfect crystal ball set within folds of midnight blue satin. This incredible dark blue color was important in the dream, because the fabric moved a bit, undulated, and it gave the feeling that the crystal ball was floating in the cosmos.

The crystal began to flicker and then an image came into it: it was my first pug, Magda. (My son Conor named her when he was ten). She was the canine love of my life who was lost in a truly horrible and tragic way about ten years ago. In the crystal, Magda was barking and happy and jumping around and it made me so happy to see her.

I looked up and the crone was smiling at me. She said, “I just wanted you to know that all of the pets you have ever loved go to a place of great joy and celebration. They are perfect spirits, guardian angels, and they live on in bliss.”

I did not have a chance to ask her anything as the dream ended right after that. But I had the sense that she really wanted me to share this message with my friends. And so, there it is. I think it is beautiful message for all of us who have lost our special friends. And I want to dedicate this story to XXXXX and her little buddy XXXX, because I believe they inspired the dream message.

__________________________________________________________________________

Ok dog lovers, I had a dream last night that I just had to share. I believe this is a message for everyone who loves their pets, but it was definitely inspired by one of my soul sisters losing her best buddy this week.

This explanation was in part how the dreamer interpreted the impact of this dream. Although on one level this assessment is totally accurate, as you all know dreams are always multi-dimensional and richly layered in their content and meaning. Our dreamscapes bring forth underlying information from the subconscious that the Higher Self wants to impart to the waking conscious mind for self reflection. Let’s look deeper into the symbolism of this very powerful dream.

In the dream I was in a house, not my current house necessarily, but rather the whole environment felt very much like a fairytale – like I was in a cottage in the middle of a forest somewhere.

To dream of a type of house and being within it, represents our body and aspects of the self. Specific rooms in a house define certain characteristics, emotions, or attitudes concerning what the dreamer is feeling consciously, or subconsciously. In this case, she is not in her house, but a small cottage in the woods, which is very much like a fairytale. This could suggest she doesn’t feel totally at home where she is living, or even perhaps in her body. Perhaps she would like to go back to a time when she lived a sweeter existence in another setting.

Notice that the dreamer is not in the forest, but that she is in the cottage. If she were in the forest it could indicate she is searching for a better understanding of herself, but being in the cottage suggests she may feel weighted down by obligations in life, and looking for a simpler way to live her life. Because the cottage is ‘fairytale like’ she may be pining for times when her outer world was what she had always dreamed it could be.

The woods the cottage is in on the other hand, represents a need for rejuvenation, renewal, growth and/or a change of affairs from her weighted down feelings. The cottage also suggests a need for comfort, peace and serenity but the fairytale quality cautions that although one has a tender heart, they cannot romanticize a situation, a need, or even that someone will come and rescue them.

Like a fairytale, the Self is pushing limits, helping the dreamer to awaken to her infinite potential. A fairytale demands we have faith and persistence, which is not always easy when a confrontation to our faith occurs, as many fairy tales often reveal.

I looked out the window and I could see a very old woman, very much a fairytale crone kind of hag character, walking slowly up the path to the front door. She was slow not only because of her age, but because she was very carefully carrying an ornate wooden box. I could tell by the way that she was carrying it that it was either very heavy, contained something incredibly fragile, or both.

The dreamer looks out the window. Windows are doorways to the soul, and in this case represents the dreamer being open to new experiences. She sees an old woman, like a fairytale crone. As I have shared many times, everyone in the dream is what ‘they’ represent as a character in the dream story, but they also symbolize something about our self.

There is still this ‘fairytale quality’ about the dream, suggesting the dreamer would like things to be lighter, an easier tale born of yesteryear, than what she may now be experiencing. She sees the path clearly leading to her door; she is clear that she must continue to ‘follow the path her soul has laid out.’ 

She was slow not only because of her age, but because she was very carefully carrying an ornate wooden box. I could tell by the way that she was carrying it that it was either very heavy, contained something incredibly fragile, or both.

The crone wise woman is also the dreamer herself. She represents that intrinsically wise, inner voice that asks her to pay more attention to her feelings, intuitions, wisdom, and cycles of change so she can navigate life’s vagaries with more peace in her heart. The ‘hag’ quality also implies that the dreamer may be tired, that life has had its burdens and the weariness she may feel has taken her sense of youthfulness and joy.

This old crone (her past) wise (learned and intuitive) woman aspect of the dreamer has this ornate wooden box that is either heavy or fragile or both.

An ornate box could suggest that something from the past, perhaps something we have built an elaborate story around, now needs to be fully released to reshape our life moving forward. That it is wood, suggests something has atrophied. We use boxes to ‘pack things’ away, metaphorically that also means emotions. Packing emotions away can leave things feeling unresolved, in need of being protected, and/or suggests a sense of vulnerability. This can make life feel heavy or fragile or both as we try to fully face life anew.

She was not scary in any way. She appeared very deliberate in her movements and I knew that she was wise and had something important to tell me. I opened the door and I waited for her. When she arrived on the doorstep, she nodded to the box and said, “Open it. Look inside.” 

This wisdom keeper part of the dreamer is not scared, she is deliberate and this gift she is actually giving to herself, is important. The dreamer is not afraid of this new opportunity that she must now step forward into. The dreamer has all the answers within herself and possibly what she has buried deeply needs to be looked at with fresh eyes to be able to soar again.

She is in need of being deliberate when taking the actions she must use to unleash and convey the wisdom she contains, in new and inspiring ways. The dreamer is already waiting at the ‘opened front door,’ indicating she is ready to meet head on what is coming into her life. What is coming is in the box, suggesting she has tucked something of herself away.

Her wise self encourages the dreamer to open it, unpack it, and take a risk to have faith that she is ready to handle what is inside. Her Wise Woman Self would not encourage her to do that if she wasn’t ready.

I stepped forward and carefully opened the box. Inside it held a stunning, perfect crystal ball set within folds of midnight blue satin. This incredible dark blue color was important in the dream, because the fabric moved a bit, undulated, and it gave the feeling that the crystal ball was floating in the cosmos.

By taking the box, she accepts the invitation of the Higher Wise Woman part of herself. This box contains the beauty and the clarity held within this dreamer. A crystal ball denotes intuition, prophecy, and clarity. It symbolizes future hopes and plans, and the reunification of the inner and outer self, as well as drawing from the upper transpersonal chakras.

Blue is significant on many levels. It is not only the color of the throat chakra (indicating the possibility of reaching a wider audience with her words), but midnight blue is the color of the pineal gland when meditating, and is an ancient symbolic energetic gateway to the above and beyond.

Blue is also associated as being a calming color, a spiritual color in many cultures, and a power color (hence corporate power blue suits, police uniforms, etc.). On the Wisdom Wheel, one of the main questions the placement of blue asks is, “Are you in service or servitude to a person, ideal, or situation.” It is the highest placement of teaching and intuition when we authentically honor ourselves. 

The material is satin. Although satin is a complex weave where weft and warp catch and twist each other (like life), it is also very smooth and rich in hue, indicating life can take a positive turn and go more smoothly now. The ‘fabric’ of her life, like the fabric of the ‘cosmos’ that we all are floating in, is a rich hue of moving and undulating energies, ups and downs, signifying that life force energy is ever cycling and changing.

The crystal began to flicker and then an image came into it: it was my first pug, Magda. (My son Conor named her when he was ten). She was the canine love of my life who was lost in a truly horrible and tragic way about ten years ago. In the crystal, Magda was barking and happy and jumping around and it made me so happy to see her.

This is the most significant section of this dream. It represents layers for the dreamer to consider. The flickering crystal is like a neon sign, it is meant to get the dreamer’s attention, to bring lucidity into the dreamscape so she will remember this part. The image is of her pug, Magda, who was named by her son Conor when he was ten and was ‘the love of her life,’ passing ten years ago. Metaphorically, this is the crux of this dream.

Pugs are dogs, and according to one of my indigenous mentors, the late Gram Twylah Nitsch, dogs represent loyalty to the self, trust, and the need for camaraderie. Dogs are wonderful companions, but the down side of this symbol is they may be needy. I would ask the dreamer, “where she needs to be loyal to her self, and not necessarily rely on the loyalty of others?” This doesn’t imply that friends aren’t loyal. It could suggest because of the fairy tale quality the dream started with, that the clarity reflected within the crystal ball indicates she may need to shift her needs, and thus the type of people she may have relied on to change her life when she was in need, so she will no-longer feel alone in the forest.

Magda is short for Magdalene, signifying Mary of Magda is always there for this dreamer. This I know is one of her strongest and most elegant guides. The name came from her son Conor, an old Irish name meaning ‘lover of wolves’ and ‘having high desires.’ Her son represents ancestry, some thing in her blood and bones, the higher desire she has in this life. Wolves are both communal teachers, wise and wild but also need time alone to rejuvenate. The ‘dog’ is happy and barking, pugs don’t necessarily bark, so this is a further indication of her Higher Self trying to get her attention.

Conor was ten when he named the pug, and her pet passed ten years ago. It is important when a number is repeated in the dream. Numbers, like colors are frequencies, and those vibrations impart information. The number ten in numerology covers the numerical vibrations that take us from 1-9, (which equals 10).

Ten has two significant implications in the dream. It suggests that life has felt like ‘walking the razors edge’ for the past ten years, because it contains all the numbers/vibrations/frequencies. But, the number ten is also a number of renewal or rebooting, having learned from the past what not to repeat in the future, indicating a new cycle.

In the Bible the number ten indicates something that has been completed in Divine order and a return to harmony. On the Wisdom Wheel it signifies new insights and foresights. [And because dreams always play on words, may I suggest with my Boston accent, that playing off the word ‘Conor’, suggests that she has the ability now to turn a new ‘corner.’]

This significant part of her life, her dog Magda, died in a horrible and tragic way. This represents many things that have tragically died, emotionally, physically and trust-wise to her these past ten years. She has been handed a lot, like the Magdalene, but now she has to go forth with renewed life force energy, faith, and uncover a sense of happiness again. None of those images that she loved from her past want her to live without a renewed sense of life. Like Magda in the dream, they all want her to feel happiness and a level of bliss again.

I looked up and the crone was smiling at me. She said, “I just wanted you to know that all of the pets you have ever loved go to a place of great joy and celebration. They are perfect spirits, guardian angels, and they live on in bliss.”

All pets, people, lovers, ideas and opportunities come and go throughout our lives. Some break our hearts; some provide an experience that is merely a momentary cycle on our  time line; for some others, it simply was never meant to be. The cosmos has a plan we are not privy to, and only faith helps us stay the course.

Faith is not something we can learn or earn, you either have it or you don’t, as another mentor, Maya Perez once cautioned me. But those who have crossed, as well as the angels that guide and protect us, and the spirit helpers that whisper to us, want us to touch bliss in all the many ways possible, even if it is temporary.

Rumi suggested that, “Spirit asks all from us,” but it is “when we ask all of ourselves” that we bring light and renewal back into this Earthwalk.

I did not have a chance to ask her anything as the dream ended right after that. But I had the sense that she really wanted me to share this message with my friends. And so, there it is. I think it is beautiful message for all of us who have lost our special friends. And I want to dedicate this story to XXXXXXXX and her little buddy XXXXX, because I believe they inspired the dream message.

I crossed out the personal names as I only had the dreamer’s permission to post and not theirs, but the dream passage prior to this is where the power of this dream truly lies, and that’s why it ended here, as there was nothing more her Higher Self needed to show or say.

In this season of light, may you all come to realize that the light you each carry within, when you allow it to burn brightly, fans the flames of the All That Is, and the All That You Are. 

Thank you dreamer for sharing.

I wanted to review for new readers how I have come to my dream decoding. I have worked with a wide variety of indigenous elders and mentors over these last 30+ years, all of whom have contributed to the symbology and mythology of my dream interpretations.

I am also a therapist, so Jung and his archetypes have played heavily into the work I do. One of the most profound teachers I have had in this regard was the late Grandmother Twylah Hurd Nitsch, Seneca elder and the one who shared her vast body of knowledge with me for over 12 years. It was Gram who imparted that part of my mission was to be a dream decoder to help others understand the significance and power of their dreamstate as being doorways to their natural innate wisdom. She used the Wisdom Wheels, or medicine wheels, to impart the knowledge and philosophy of her People. Each place on the wheel corresponds to a color, number, truth, series of teachings, and energetic portals that can support and deepen our understanding of what she called ‘this Earthwalk.’

Three things she always instructed for me to remember when I helped others to decode their nighttime musings:
• Dreams come from a place of the collective as well as one’s personal subconscious. They are not bound by space, time or dimensionality; and as such, they release us from the constraints of our daily world and the limitations we occupy within our self.
• The ‘feeling’ of the dream is ultimately where its guidance and gifts lay. So you must redirect the dreamer to how the interpretation makes them feel, be that comfortable or uncomfortable, therein lies a lesson for them.
• She believed that Great Mystery offered every type of dream as a gift, and as such it offers us choices in our outer waking world, that prepares us for awareness and ultimately our death. Buddhism suggests this as well.

The Dream:
Trying to piece together last night’s dreams. I was at a place similar to the Hotel Evéché, except it was all spread out like a campus. Maybe this was Kathleen’s dream community? Seems like I felt her presence in the dream. Anyway, I was feeling a bit sad because I was getting ready to leave. I had several bags of groceries gathered up and was getting ready to give a little speech before I left. Isobel was helping me prepare, and she also helped me slip on a lovely pink vestment. We were both laughing as it went on. There is a whole lot of symbolism in this dream. I hope I am worthy of it.
Dreamer’s later aside: The groceries included a bag of clementines, a jug of rich looking juice, maybe apricot or something of that nature, and a baguette.

Interpretation:
Trying to piece together last night’s dreams. I was at a place similar to the Hotel Evéché, except it was all spread out like a campus.

The Hotel Evéché was not only the base that housed the group for the Magdalene work with Kathleen, it was also right next to the Abbey, which although dedicated to Mary, the architecture suggests something earlier. It is a hexagonal shape, which is a sign of a Temple to Isis. So the Divine Feminine in you is over seeing your next move. Isis is the Egyptian goddess of love, magic, fertility and rebirth (as she helped to rebirth Osiris). It’s right on the River Aude, and rivers stand for the ‘flow of life.’ One interpretation may be that the woman that you are needs something more fulfilling in life now, an opportunity or awareness that brings together something new and fertile for you to move forward.

It feels similar to a campus, so perhaps this is something you need to teach yourself, or learn about yourself that you have put aside, as campus’s are places of learning. I know you teach, so maybe something at your place of work needs to change for you to feel more magic and rebirth in your life.

Maybe this was Kathleen’s dream community? Seems like I felt her presence in the dream. Anyway, I was feeling a bit sad because I was getting ready to leave.

You always look at the interpretations or the symbolic significance of names, as well as what that person represents to you in your waking life as it indicates a part of yourself as well.

A dream community is actually a symbol of all the inner parts of yourself, all those aspects that would like to give voice and bring awareness about your inner world that have been ignored, suppressed, denied or need new life force energy.

Kathleen means “pure,” the pure part of yourself. She is also a teacher that you admire─ teaching you the mysteries of the feminine, so this would suggest that there is a pure part of yourself that wishes to share or teach you something about your own feminine nature.

You are feeling a bit sad because you are leaving, which implies changing. It is not that changing is sad, but the fact that we might have to leave something behind that we have leaned on and found safety in.

What do you feel you are leaving behind of yourself, or perhaps have left un-attended for yourself either on a daily basis, or as you move forward in life. If we were sitting together, I would ask you, “What might you need to leave at this age and stage to have a fuller or richer life?” Or, “What makes you sad about the life you are experiencing in this moment?” Or, “What are you missing in terms of relationship either within yourself or with another?

I had several bags of groceries gathered up and was getting ready to give a little speech before I left. Dreamer’s later aside: The groceries included a bag of clementines, a jug of rich looking juice, maybe apricot or something of that nature, and a baguette.

You have several bags of groceries (groceries are about nurturing yourself but bags are about keeping it hidden). This suggests that you have several ways you need to consider in terms of nurturing yourself as you move forward in this life, and to do that you must expose something that might currently feel vulnerable for you. And you are carrying the bags, so that indicates you are trying to be accountable in doing that.

To give a speech, means you need to express your inner feelings more openly, and the dream is showing that you are preparing for that. The items in your grocery bag: clementine’s, a bottle of rich juice, (maybe apricot you stated), and a baguette.

Clementines are hybrids, which means in this “bag” or this collection of items there are things that need to be brought together that may help you identify how to express yourself. But this means you are in need of bringing more than one thing into your waking awareness. Because it is a hybrid, it suggests that you need to bring at least two parts of yourself together to birth this new aspect. And because clementines actually go through a process of uniting 3 things to get to the end result, it could be 3 things you need to assess, or possibly even could refer to the Triple Goddess energies. Fruit represents health and life.

Orange on the Wisdom Wheel is about learning to organize yourself to accomplish a new goal, one that brings aspiration and truth (and possibly competition). Juice is asking you to bring more richness back onto your life, something new that nourishes and enriches you. The Chinese specifically associated apricots with beauty and sexuality. So I might suggest that what you are trying to open up to in your life moving forward is how to balance both work, your spiritual comfort, and finding relationship.

A baguette is a type of bread, signifying you need some basic needs met, and consciously or unconsciously, you are hungry for that to happen. That can be a relationship, a new creative project, or something that sustains your spiritual wellbeing. Ironically a baguette can mean that someone you have a crush on, likes you back.

Isobel was helping me prepare, and she also helped me slip on a lovely pink vestment. We were both laughing as it went on.

Isobel means devoted to God/Goddess, so that part of yourself that is helping you to prepare to uncover this pure mystery of yourself is your essence which is connected to the Godhead.

Gram told me that this inner-knowing was common knowledge for the People. This knowledge became hidden in the Fourth World, and placed outside the Self as ‘the god without’, instead of the ‘God within’. We have done enough work as we now occupy the burgeoning Fifth World, to embrace that we are not separated from our inner truth, the God/Goddess within, and being aware of our dreamtime conversations and images is one of the primary ways to uncover that knowing.

You are putting on a vestment, that is an interesting symbol. Putting something on, means you are trying to get closer to something in your life, be that knowledge, awareness, another person, a creative project. A vestment, in the latter days, was a part of the liturgy, and each garment was put on with a prayer, which is an earnest wish or request. Pink on the Wisdom Wheel, as Gram taught it, is about trusting your insights (which are revelations) and foresights (which are opportunities) as you blend career/work and creativity/relationship.

And, you were both laughing. Bringing to light what you know you wish to experience now needs to be done with joy and lightness of being, that is the value of You.

Thank you dreamer for your sharing, I hope I have given you some clues to think about what feels right for you. Though each dream is personal for the dreamer, it is also something for the collective, as we all dreamers in the same dream. As the late, great John Lennon said: “A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality.”

Respectfully, my take away for this dreamer, is that she is at a cross roads of discovering a change that will enrich her life in ways that she has possibly, or purposefully held back from, up until this point. Those deep inner spiritual forces that reside within her are inviting her to experience a renewed sense of the pure magic and divine mysteries she wishes to explore, even if it feels vulnerable, within this life. And isn’t this what we all face as we learn to grow and explore other parts of ourselves so we don’t stay stagnate in our old stories, and continue to create new ones that feed the soul?