posted November 24, 2010 02:37 PM            

Some background:

I always remember my dreams upon awakenening, and I can dream lucidly. I have had past life recalls while sleeping, and also visitations from deceased relatives, etc. The state of sleep is a highly spiritual state of consciousness for me but I don't do anything special. No meditation, no music, no nothing. In fact, I am under-rested. I stay up late and get up early and probably do not get enough REM sleep. I also have multiple dreams per night.

Within the past month I have had 3/4 animal dreams:

Cats
Deer
Wolves
Horses

Cat

This was one of the most memorable and life changing dreams I've ever had. It was a dream about the Egyptian goddess Bast(et). And one of the only dreams I've had in which I WAS the animal. I dreamt of being in an ancient Egyptian temple dedicated to the goddess Bast, and the guardian of a sacred treasure. My particular area of assignment was a room in which there was a jeweled sculpture/statue of the goddess. Moving the sculpture in a certain way provided access to a secret door. I was a Black cat in this dream.

In the dream, I had to protect the secrets of this room from a nemesis, who happened to be a white cat.

What I found interesting about this dream is the reverse in traditional archetypes. Usually black is wicked, white is good. I feel this dream was definitely another confirmation of a past life in ancient Egypt.

Notable takeaways of Cat dream: ancient Egypt, temple, Bast, treasure, secret, guardian, enemy

Deer

The appearance of deer in a dream was part of a nightmare in which I witnessed an invasion of my community (aliens?) and had to escape into the woods. The deer were very alarmed, frightened, and engaging in strange behavior...bucking, thrashing and throwing their bodies against trees, etc.

Notable takeaways from Deer dream: Invasion, panic, uncharacteristic behavior

Wolf

The wolves were in the same dream referenced above. The Wolf is one of my favorite animals and one I certainly consider benign. In this dream however, it was a menace. Two grey wolves were stalking me and chased me through the woods, resulting in me climbing a tree to get away from them. They had yellow eyes. They barked, snarled, and snapped at me as they climbed the tree after me and I had to kick at them as I climbed higher up the tree. I was terrified and knew I was going to die. I finally managed to kick one in the head and it fell several feet and yelped as it the ground. Its packmate/mate immediately desisted its pursuit of me and followed its injured companion into the woods.

Notable takeaways from Wolf dream Fright, yellow eyes, Killed wolf

Horse

Last night I dreamt of a running black stallion with arcane symbols branded onto his hindquarters.

Notable takeaways from horse dream: I have no idea LOL. This is really the dream I am struggling to interpret.

There is a consistent occult theme that runs through these dreams though.

posted November 27, 2010 10:28 PM            

Cats are 'traditonally' seen as a sign of ill fortune, most dream books concur with that, but it's so depressing, so I found this...

Dreams Site
Deanna Joseph
BellaOnline's Dreams Editor

Cat, Cats - Dream Symbols
Guest Author - Aisling Ireland

Cats have a long, complicated history in culture. The ancient Egyptians put them on pedestals, regarding them as royalty. Yet in Puritan times, they were associated with dark, demonic forces, hailed as familiars to people who had sold their soul to the 'Devil'. Today, we still see people crossing themselves or taking an alternate route when a black cat crosses their path.

Many people have strong feelings about cats, either loving them or hating them, the same way many people love or hate dogs. People often describe themselves as being a 'cat person'. This description may be quite appropriate as a cat may actually represents you or an aspect of yourself. Animals in dreams, cats included, usually appear as parts of ourselves, so your association with cats is key to understanding your dream and yourself.

Mysterious Ways

Cats are still associated with mystery, perhaps because their behavior is so aloof and difficult to interpret. As mysterious, aloof creatures, cats symbolize the intuition, and when they appear in dreams they may be asking us to use our intuition more, to rely on our gut feelings and instinct.

Sexy Beast

Cats are often associated with women and sexuality. In a woman's dream, a cat may indicate feelings of sexual prowess, of feeling in charge of her sexuality. She may feel like going out on the prowl and may feel confident doing so!

However, cats in the dreams of men are a little more complex. They may symbolize the anima, or the feminine side of a man's psyche. Anima dreams, like cats, are complex symbols. The anima may be positive or negative depending on the level of individuation. In its negative form, the anima may be a force of domination or self-sabotage. If a man dreams of a cat climbing all over him or dreams he is unable to escape from a cat that is stalking him, this may indicate a negative association with the anima. Alternatively, if a man dreams of feeding a cat, this might symbolize a more positive relationship with the anima. The sexual symbolism of the cat in a man's dream cannot be ignored and a well-fed cat in a dream may also symbolize sexual satisfaction and fulfillment. Similarly, if a man dreams of a cat is licking him or behaving in a kind manner, this may indicate that he finds himself attractive to the opposite sex.

Cat Got Your Tongue?

Cats may also appear as word play associations. Dreams take advantage of all forms of communication and using common phrases, puns, and word play are included in dreamspeak. 'Catty' women, 'cat' fights, 'more than one way to skin a cat' are all phrases this culture uses to indicate forms of behaviour. As such, dreams may also use these phrases as indicators of feelings ranging from hostility to ingenuity.

Black Cat, Not Bad Cat

posted November 27, 2010 10:36 PM            

read this, I found it interesting, Let me know what you think. http://www.dreamtherapynow.com/id7.html

I was going to mention totem animals. Do you feel a kinship to one more over the other? Animals come into our waking and dreaming lives all the time. But usually it is one animals message that we take with us for our whole life long.
Not to say we shouldn't take heed of the message of the others.
OH, and if you don't have affinity with any of those that you dream of, think of which animal 'speaks' to you, your insides.

posted November 27, 2010 10:42 PM            

Here is an interesting take on wolves. I can't copy/paste or I would have. http://www.dreamsleep.net/wolf_dream_meaning.html

posted November 28, 2010 02:26 PM            

Thanks!

In waking life, I don't view black cats superstitiously, in fact I assign a certain level of magick to them.

So what you said here:

quote:

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Cats are still associated with mystery...As mysterious, aloof creatures, cats symbolize the intuition, and when they appear in dreams they may be asking us to use our intuition more, to rely on our gut feelings and instinct...many people treasure dreams of cats as omens and portents of magic and mystery becoming manifest in waking life...

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rang true. It also occured to me that a more literal interpretation could have been related to rivalry I was feeling with a certain female over a man, as in "catty." Maybe he was the treasure I was guarding? That seemed like pretty complicated imagery just to be a "jealousy" dream though.

The link on the deer symbolism was excellent. In the dream, the deer were panicked, they were trying to warn me of something. That seems pretty consistent with some of the traditional interpretations of deer, as they are a prey animal. There is a lot going on in my life right now, but in the greater scheme of things, the world. I'm going to ponder the deer symbolism a bit more.

quote:

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I was going to mention totem animals. Do you feel a kinship to one more over the other? Animals come into our waking and dreaming lives all the time. But usually it is one animals message that we take with us for our whole life long...which animal do you look at and 'feel' like you are almost with them when they are in flight, or running, or in the water?

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Well, my understanding of totem animals (which was confirmed in some of the links you gave me) is that you can have a lifelong totem and then you can have animals that appear at various times in your life to bring you different messages.

I feel a kinship to most animals, not just one. But if I could be an animal, communicate with one, experience their existence, etc. it's probably dolphins. I've held a lifelong fascination for them. Had I gone down a different path in my education I might have been working with them right now. I wanted to be a marine biologist. I'd say Dolphin/Orca is probably a lifetime totem.

However, in the last two years, Horse has been galloping into my life. I see them everywhere. I've even been collecting pictures and keepsakes of them. I feel a special affinity for them, and I like them and they like me. And as you can see, they've even started appearing in my dreams. So for whatever reason, Horse has something to tell me.

I've also seen two red-tailed Hawks in the wild out of nowhere in the last month, at random moments while I was daydreaming.

I feel kind of like Snow White at the moment! And a little overwhelmed with whatever I'm supposed to be "getting" out of all of this. So I'm not getting anything

As far as Wolf, after reading the article you provided, I'm pretty sure I know why wolf was a menace in that dream. I think it symbolized a recent trouble, and that I will overcome it. Especially since that dream occurred shortly after the trouble appeared. And between the wolf dream and another positive omen, I feel reassured that things will end well. Because although the wolves were scary, I did defeat and escape them.

Thanks again! That was very helpful.

posted November 28, 2010 02:29 PM            

I agree. I've actually been contemplating veganism, for a variety of reasons. I couldn't munch on a piece of bacon while looking at cute piglet pictures. I prefer not to know that my food used to be alive before I ate it. Philosophically, I don't object to the eating of meat though.

posted November 28, 2010 07:21 PM            

As far as horses..
Being a Sagittarian, horses of course (ahaha, I just sang 'A horse is a horse, of course, of course' in my head)
mean alot to me.
And I love them.
Why God chose me to be allergic to them, is just pure irony.

However, I see horses and a sybol of freedom... picture a wild horse running through the woods.. ahh, lovely isn't it?
Also, a horse can be broken, which is so sad. I don't know much about owning horses, but I have a friend who owns them, and she tells me this is necessary in order to tame them. Sad. Breaking the spirit is sad.
I dislike cartoons, but there was a Disney movie about a horse that was broken after many unsuccessful tries. I cried throughout.

What am i saying? Oh yes, so a horse is also a working animal. He has to lug people around and drag heavy things behind him. I wonder what he thinks about that??

Horse is also masculine energy. Horses are very masculine. Even the females. It's just their nature.

A horse can hurt you without meaning to (much like a sagittarian) because even though they are big, strong animals, they can be scared of the little things (like mice) and that to is also Sagittarian. We fear the devil is in the details. We prefer the much broader scope, much like horse prefers to run in a big open field.

So, putting that together, to me, HORSE=
Masculine energy, freedom, sometimes burdens, strength, willfulness, yet a winners spirit. Like a show horse.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=D&q=http://www.mythsdreamssymbols.com/dshorse.html&usg=AFQjCNFJx7GazpbekKQTwuMgQtlgKHSLGQ

posted November 29, 2010 11:03 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by GypseeWind:
Dolphins are my totem too.
We are playful gals, yes?

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Absolutely! I will check out the book this month, I'm stockpiling a nice book list for my winter vacation at the end of the month.

quote:

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However, I see horses and a sybol of freedom... picture a wild horse running through the woods.. ahh, lovely isn't it?

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I see this imagery ALL the time.

quote:

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So, putting that together, to me, HORSE=
Masculine energy, freedom, sometimes burdens, strength, willfulness, yet a winners spirit. Like a show horse.

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Well all of those are themse in my life at the moment in some way. I can definitely relate.

Thanks again