Two Meanings from One Dream

I want to use a short dream to illustrate how important it is for all dreamers to participate in the interpretation process of their own dreams. When a dream is interpreted, one message often stands out as being the most likely dream communication. In this case, there are two plausible possibilities. The only person who can clarify which meaning is the intended one is the dreamer.

This dreamer is a woman. Normally, that information would be secondary, but here, gender plays a role. The dream:

A dream about burying men in the sand

In my dream I am sitting on a plank that I have placed so that it straddles a large hole I have dug in the sand. I am in the process of burying men in the sand. I know that they will probably die, but I don’t mind because they are bad men.

Interpreting the dream

As always, one of the first tasks of the interpretation process is to isolate the important dream symbols. They are the metaphors that will act as the language of the dream message. In this case, we also have the prominent role of gender: a woman is dreaming about burying “bad men.”

Gender in dreams

Often, feminine in dreams suggests intuitive understanding, and masculine has to do with building and manifesting. To illustrate, I like to use the following image. The feminine in us begins by dreaming the dream of a new concept or idea. Essentially, the feminine in us comes up with a blueprint which it hands to the masculine in us. It is then up to masculine to make feminine’s idea a reality—to manifest it.

The dream symbols

With that understanding in mind, here are the important symbols in this dream: Plank, straddle, large hole, sand, burying men, dying, don’t mind, bad men.

Understanding the metaphoric meanings of the symbols

This is the “Tell me about it!” part where I ask the dreamer a neutral question about each symbol. Here are her responses.

Tell me about…

Plank:  It’s really a kind of scaffolding I’m using to keep me from falling into the hole.

Straddle:  That’s how I’m able to stay above the hole.

Large hole:  Well, I guess I’ve basically dug a grave.

Sand:  Lifeless—nothing will grow in it. Unstable—it blows around all over.

Burying men:  Getting rid of them so they won’t bother me anymore and will just disappear.

Dying:  Losing life, ceasing to exist.

Don’t mind:  I’m untroubled. I have no qualms.

Bad men:  I don’t really know what these guys have done to me; I just know they’re not good for me. 

To be continued

In my next post, I’ll put this dream back together using the explanations the dreamer, herself, supplied. I’ll also address the issue of masculine and feminine in this dream.

In the meantime, if you like, why don’t you try reassembling the dream yourself, and see what you come up with. I’d love to hear what you have to suggest.

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