Why are you being reflected by this Isis figure now (or when you had the dream)? How might that be integral to a current path of development, especially one that can be doing major construction on the psyche/soul?
How might she act as an internal resource -- consider this by focusing on her qualities and attributes.
At the time, I did not know it was her. She moved as I did, but did not speak. I figured out later that this was related to the moon tarot card, the unknown path forward into the shadow/imaginal realms. I have been connected to isis for several decades. I have been on a shadow path for myself since starting more heavy mediumship/ancestral healing. In light of this-she was perhaps my shadow reflected as the high priestess traversing the path of the moon card.
Love that. The moon is such a powerful card to connect to those unconscious forces. I think it's possible your dreams could continue to reflect those dynamics and themes further as you continue your work and healing. I always see that card as times of heightened inner material (dreams, intuitions, etc).
I asked for dreams specifically. And they evolved repeated dreams I have to possible resolve them. And one regarding a male/female balance (divine) I am trying to figure out. So it’s certainly active. I am also having one more ancestral session with her on sat (tomorrow) in which I can talke with her new directly. Very interesting right now.
Sounds deep and fruitful. I also find the more that I incubate/cultivate a connection via dreams, the more refined that thread of communication becomes. It's a great practice to keep up with :)
Very insightful read! I'd be curious to hear your thoughts about the comments of literal mirrors encountered in deeper states like lucid dreams or OBEs.
I just realized autocorrect wrote "comments" instead of "contents" which I hope didn't throw the context of my comment off too badly.
I was referring to what one might see reflected back from mirrors within lucid dreams or OB states, and your thoughts on what that might imply if it's not a literal reflection.
My personal experience has been that sometimes wild and fantastical reflections appear, sometimes no reflection, and sometimes the view itself is obstructed by e.g. steam/fog. There is also a strange case where it's semi normal then something novel changes abruptly like my eyes become bright blue discs, I turn into a concrete statue, or just suddenly have a different hairstyle.
Nothing of the above is really outside of normal dream strangeness, it's just the context of the mirror seems novel to me given what it represents as an archetype.
If we follow the idea that the reflective function is part of connecting to the unconscious in the dream (or dream-like state), then a lot of these manifestations would carry symbolic/archetypal significance. The strange quality within dreams is a product of interacting with the "language" of the unconscious, one that seems rooted in the imaginal, in fantasy, the primacy of image and symbol.
What it's reflecting may have deeper meaning for the current moment, what caused the out of body experience, if there was an intention with the lucid dream, or just a product of "opening the gates" to the unconscious. I would consider each of those reflections symbolically (the blue discs, the concrete statue, etc) and contemplate what it may bring up for you personally (how you relate to the image) or what it reminds you of.
Another hugely helpful post, thank you. I appreciated your mention of things beside therapy, because therapy can get thwarted when projection gets in the way e.g. the child with unmet needs perceives the therapist as cold and unavailable, when in reality it is their own mother’s coldness that they are confronted with. It is the work of therapy, however, that prompted a recent dream where I am in a hotel room. A silvery blue almost translucent woman appears on the other side of a window, silver rain falling all around her. She puts her right palm to the window inviting connection. I fear that if I put my palm to my side of the glass something harmful will happen. Having read your post, I am seeing possible connections between the window pane and a mirror. Another resonant point in your post is the description of how the child with unmet needs desires to be seen, to feel real. Again, the therapeutic relationship is difficult when necessary professional boundaries leave the client feeling unreal. Its as if one wants to push the screen aside, peer around it for a moment and say ‘hello, I’m X, I am real’. However, therapy always works with dreams, and I like your mention of how the unconscious itself can have mirroring qualities via dreams and their archetypal images and the idea of the incubation request is really good. I am also looking forward to seeing what other respondents have to say about how to approach establishing an inner mirror. One last thought on the somatic suggestions—I can absolutely see the benefit, but if one has not had fears and nightmares metabolized by a caring mother, when a child, the idea of opening the body to whatever skitters across is very daunting.
The dream does have a mirroring aspect to it. Sometimes an actual mirror does appear, or a symbol that carries similar qualities (e.g. gazing in water and seeing a reflection). It makes me very curious about this silvery woman you saw. What did she seem like, what impression did she leave? Perhaps working with her further in active imagination or even a tarot reading would be fruitful?
Professional boundaries and restraint with disclosure do keep up a wall in a therapeutic setting. However, with a psychodynamic/Jungian approach, therapists of that orientation are generally trying to tap into the transference field which welcomes those dynamics and sees them as a road towards integration and healing. I can understand, though, that it doesn't quite mimic a deeply intimate relationship like one would have with a caretaker/family member, and that can feel like an unmet need.
As for the note on embodiment, I think it's important to go very slowly when reconnecting to the somatic layer of experience. There is often a lot of heaviness and unprocessed energy, which makes the task both daunting and potentially panic inducing. That's why I appreciate the Somatic Experience therapy approach that focuses on slow, incremental awareness and processing. If it feels especially daunting, I think it's okay to put it off for a later time.
thanks for this. The woman in the dream was svelte, Scandinavian-looking with an ethereal quality. I felt an insistence from her that we had known each other a long time ago, yet I'd never seen her before. I did draw a tarot card at the time and drew the five pentacles. In the Rider Waite I noticed immediately its large window that the two bleak figures are walking past. My question had been 'who does this woman represent' so the answer was that she was to do with the spiritual resonances of the anchor in the window. I am left pondering whether she was an anima figure but I have no experiential understanding of such a figure, so 'anima' feels just like a theoretical word.
The idea of the anima can be tricky, I find it to be one of the Jungian concepts that has taken on new form in post-Jungian thought. For example, Hillman expanded on the idea to see anima as a soul-image. When encountered, it connects us to the vibrancy of inner reality, the imaginal realm, the unconscious (with less of a focus on being a contrasexual image). In this way, it acts as psychopomp, guide, muse, initiator, brings forth fantasy and the aliveness of symbol to stir us to see the world mythically and uncover new meaning.
If you recall, Alyssa, in my psychomantium dream where I saw Isis as my reflection. How would we look at this in terms of this mirroring concept?
Here are some thoughts:
Why are you being reflected by this Isis figure now (or when you had the dream)? How might that be integral to a current path of development, especially one that can be doing major construction on the psyche/soul?
How might she act as an internal resource -- consider this by focusing on her qualities and attributes.
At the time, I did not know it was her. She moved as I did, but did not speak. I figured out later that this was related to the moon tarot card, the unknown path forward into the shadow/imaginal realms. I have been connected to isis for several decades. I have been on a shadow path for myself since starting more heavy mediumship/ancestral healing. In light of this-she was perhaps my shadow reflected as the high priestess traversing the path of the moon card.
Love that. The moon is such a powerful card to connect to those unconscious forces. I think it's possible your dreams could continue to reflect those dynamics and themes further as you continue your work and healing. I always see that card as times of heightened inner material (dreams, intuitions, etc).
Yes, many dreams from my ancestor guide of late, all week in fact. I asked her to give me messages and she certainly delivered.
Mostly received in dreams, or other means as well?
I asked for dreams specifically. And they evolved repeated dreams I have to possible resolve them. And one regarding a male/female balance (divine) I am trying to figure out. So it’s certainly active. I am also having one more ancestral session with her on sat (tomorrow) in which I can talke with her new directly. Very interesting right now.
Sounds deep and fruitful. I also find the more that I incubate/cultivate a connection via dreams, the more refined that thread of communication becomes. It's a great practice to keep up with :)
Very insightful read! I'd be curious to hear your thoughts about the comments of literal mirrors encountered in deeper states like lucid dreams or OBEs.
I'm not familiar with mirrors in lucid dreams and OBEs. Can you say more about it?
I just realized autocorrect wrote "comments" instead of "contents" which I hope didn't throw the context of my comment off too badly.
I was referring to what one might see reflected back from mirrors within lucid dreams or OB states, and your thoughts on what that might imply if it's not a literal reflection.
My personal experience has been that sometimes wild and fantastical reflections appear, sometimes no reflection, and sometimes the view itself is obstructed by e.g. steam/fog. There is also a strange case where it's semi normal then something novel changes abruptly like my eyes become bright blue discs, I turn into a concrete statue, or just suddenly have a different hairstyle.
Nothing of the above is really outside of normal dream strangeness, it's just the context of the mirror seems novel to me given what it represents as an archetype.
If we follow the idea that the reflective function is part of connecting to the unconscious in the dream (or dream-like state), then a lot of these manifestations would carry symbolic/archetypal significance. The strange quality within dreams is a product of interacting with the "language" of the unconscious, one that seems rooted in the imaginal, in fantasy, the primacy of image and symbol.
What it's reflecting may have deeper meaning for the current moment, what caused the out of body experience, if there was an intention with the lucid dream, or just a product of "opening the gates" to the unconscious. I would consider each of those reflections symbolically (the blue discs, the concrete statue, etc) and contemplate what it may bring up for you personally (how you relate to the image) or what it reminds you of.
Another hugely helpful post, thank you. I appreciated your mention of things beside therapy, because therapy can get thwarted when projection gets in the way e.g. the child with unmet needs perceives the therapist as cold and unavailable, when in reality it is their own mother’s coldness that they are confronted with. It is the work of therapy, however, that prompted a recent dream where I am in a hotel room. A silvery blue almost translucent woman appears on the other side of a window, silver rain falling all around her. She puts her right palm to the window inviting connection. I fear that if I put my palm to my side of the glass something harmful will happen. Having read your post, I am seeing possible connections between the window pane and a mirror. Another resonant point in your post is the description of how the child with unmet needs desires to be seen, to feel real. Again, the therapeutic relationship is difficult when necessary professional boundaries leave the client feeling unreal. Its as if one wants to push the screen aside, peer around it for a moment and say ‘hello, I’m X, I am real’. However, therapy always works with dreams, and I like your mention of how the unconscious itself can have mirroring qualities via dreams and their archetypal images and the idea of the incubation request is really good. I am also looking forward to seeing what other respondents have to say about how to approach establishing an inner mirror. One last thought on the somatic suggestions—I can absolutely see the benefit, but if one has not had fears and nightmares metabolized by a caring mother, when a child, the idea of opening the body to whatever skitters across is very daunting.
The dream does have a mirroring aspect to it. Sometimes an actual mirror does appear, or a symbol that carries similar qualities (e.g. gazing in water and seeing a reflection). It makes me very curious about this silvery woman you saw. What did she seem like, what impression did she leave? Perhaps working with her further in active imagination or even a tarot reading would be fruitful?
Professional boundaries and restraint with disclosure do keep up a wall in a therapeutic setting. However, with a psychodynamic/Jungian approach, therapists of that orientation are generally trying to tap into the transference field which welcomes those dynamics and sees them as a road towards integration and healing. I can understand, though, that it doesn't quite mimic a deeply intimate relationship like one would have with a caretaker/family member, and that can feel like an unmet need.
As for the note on embodiment, I think it's important to go very slowly when reconnecting to the somatic layer of experience. There is often a lot of heaviness and unprocessed energy, which makes the task both daunting and potentially panic inducing. That's why I appreciate the Somatic Experience therapy approach that focuses on slow, incremental awareness and processing. If it feels especially daunting, I think it's okay to put it off for a later time.
thanks for this. The woman in the dream was svelte, Scandinavian-looking with an ethereal quality. I felt an insistence from her that we had known each other a long time ago, yet I'd never seen her before. I did draw a tarot card at the time and drew the five pentacles. In the Rider Waite I noticed immediately its large window that the two bleak figures are walking past. My question had been 'who does this woman represent' so the answer was that she was to do with the spiritual resonances of the anchor in the window. I am left pondering whether she was an anima figure but I have no experiential understanding of such a figure, so 'anima' feels just like a theoretical word.
The idea of the anima can be tricky, I find it to be one of the Jungian concepts that has taken on new form in post-Jungian thought. For example, Hillman expanded on the idea to see anima as a soul-image. When encountered, it connects us to the vibrancy of inner reality, the imaginal realm, the unconscious (with less of a focus on being a contrasexual image). In this way, it acts as psychopomp, guide, muse, initiator, brings forth fantasy and the aliveness of symbol to stir us to see the world mythically and uncover new meaning.
thank you.