Pursuit and Chase Dreams

On meeting and negotiating with the shadow

Orestes Pursued by the Furies by William-Adolphe Bouguereau

“A persecutory dream always means: this wants to come to me. When you dream of a savage bull, or a lion, or a wolf pursuing you, this means: it wants to come to you. You would like to split it off, you experience it as something alien—but it just becomes all the more dangerous. The urge of what had been split off to unite with you becomes all the stronger. The best stance would be: “Please, come and devour me!”’

- C.G. Jung “Children's Dreams: Notes from the Seminar Given in 1936”

Being chased and pursued are some of the most common ways that shadow material manifests in our dreams. There may be natural resistance to working with these dreams as they are often accompanied with emotional currents of fear, uncertainty, panic and stress. Everything in our body says to stay away, to allow the dream images to slip back into the depths, to clear our mind of what we experienced the night before.

But these dreams are a gold mine for working with our shadow. It allows us to see how the unconscious is presenting to us in symbolic form. Something inwardly wants to be known and so it lurks in the darkness, stalking us with each step we take. It may be an animal, frightful figure, demon, or dark presence that pursues us relentlessly in the dreamscape. We may find ourselves running, attempting to hide or trying to fight back against an overwhelming presence.

In Jungian dreamwork, a typical stance taken is to confront this shadow head-on. To invite it forward, as Jung says, “Please, come and devour me!”. Taken psychologically, this is a statement that begins that dance of shadow integration. Rather than denying the presence of our dark companions, we offer it a seat at the table. Despite our instinctive reaction to feeling threatened by its presence, we build resources and grounding to hold the tension it brings and uncover what it represents.

For many months I had a series of pursuit dreams. Most of the time I was being chased by a bear; sometimes I couldn’t discern what it was at all. One day, I took to my journal to contemplate this recurring theme. I decided I would attempt to confront this shadowy presence. 'Next time I dream of this, I will turn around and see what is chasing me,' I wrote.

About a week later I had this dream:

I’m running away from my house and someone is chasing me. It seems pretty hopeless, like I am being toyed with and I can’t really get away, no matter how much I try. In the midst of the pursuit, I am shot with something and feel my body partially paralyze. Despite this, I continue to run. I turn a corner and suddenly, next to me, are 3 huskies. I was holding one by the collar as we ran, a pure white husky. At a certain point I became somewhat lucid. I realized I shouldn’t run, that I could turn around and ask the being what it wanted. But when I turned around and asked, it didn’t answer. I demanded it to reply, it did not. It only looked at me in silence. I felt exasperated, let down. I called to the dogs and we took off down the road.

I woke up from this dream in surprise - How can the shadow stand in silence, without anything to offer? Doesn’t it want to come to me, to unite in conscious integration? What do I do when the playbook doesn’t go as planned?

Despite my frustration with the dream, I saw it as an opportunity to develop a nuance with shadow work. To honor the image as it appeared, to commune with its current form, rather than holding onto unrealistic expectations.

From this dream, I divined several insights and further ways to work with shadow. I’ll share them below.

Negotiating with the Shadow

Alix apparaissant au masque by Tony Robert Fleury

“Shadow is the very stuff of the soul, the interior darkness that pulls downward out of life and keeps one in relentless connection with the underworld.”

- James Hillman “Dream and the Underworld”

Negotiating with the shadow implies that all parties involved have an equal say in the interactions. As a sovereign, volitional force, our ego (conscious awareness) can approach the psyche, send out intentions, and actively address the patterns that emerge in waking and dreaming life. The unconscious also has its autonomy. It is the greater force of gravity that the ego orbits.

In this sense, we are not in a position to dictate outcomes. We are creating a dialectic with profound parts of our own being whose purpose, desires, and motivations are ultimately mysterious. At times, we must follow its lead, taking note of the subtle information it provides through dream images, symptoms, etc. We must also maintain our sense of self and direct energy when possible. Transformation happens when these forces meet, intermingle, and evolve to something new.

Here are some guidelines to consider for your own shadow pursuit dreams.

I. Pay attention to the form the shadow takes in the dream

The images in our dreams are not random or meaningless. They are symbolic containers of our own psychic material, representing aspects of inner and outer life. They are archetypal presences that are shaping the movement of the psyche. When the shadow takes form in our dreams, we can discern meaning from it. What exactly is chasing you? Is it a spider, your teacher from 5th grade, a menacing figure driving a car? Once you get a clear image, consider:

• What does the dream symbol represent to me?

• How do I relate to it? What does it remind me of?

• Does it have personal, cultural or archetypal significance?

• Does the image change over multiple dreams? (take note of its different forms)

In my case, the figure was human-like without any clear detail or characteristics, as if my actual shadow stepped out from behind me in the dead of night to be confronted. Before this, I was usually being chased by a bear. Now, the pursuer had changed to something more like myself. A trickster shadow that played games, slowed me down, wanted my attention. I believe this indicated a shift in my inner work, getting closer to the shadow essence that wants to unite.

II. What happens leading up to the encounter?

Details of the dream leading up to the encounter can alert us to important dynamics that surround the shadow. It heralds the confrontation. It may speak to emotional struggles in waking life, patterns of behavior you are stuck in, the ways that the shadow trips you up. It may also reveal potential boons and tools that can turn the tides towards integration.

• Take note of the emotional tones in this part of the dream.

• Try to create connections between the symbolic actions in the dream and their waking life counterparts.

Hopelessness pervades my dream ego before meeting the shadow. It is important for me to look for this same sentiment in waking life. This particular thread of inner work is proving frustrating, like I am being toyed with, that my efforts are for naught. Is this the paralysis, the shutting down I sometimes experience in times when I am overwhelmed by shadow? Rather than try to change all of that, I think the better approach is to consider: What wisdom does slowing down have? What feelings, memories, sensations, beliefs arise in these states and how is that applicable to my development?

Further, in this dream, I am offered the gift of a powerful soul symbol - the dogs (I also dream often of wolves). This is an image that has been impactful for me since I was a child. The appearance of the dogs marks a shift. I come to lucidity by holding onto the symbol. Working through hopelessness to a grounded sense of self may be a way to facilitate integration of the shadow.

III. Analyze the encounter

What comes after the encounter (and during) can elucidate the unconscious mysteries of the shadow. Sometimes, this meeting results in a total defeat for the dream ego, where you struggle, fight, and ultimately lose. Other times, it restarts in an endless loop, or the chasing figure changes suddenly and takes on a new form. These experiences provide incredible insight into how our psyche anticipates the meeting with the shadow, what often occurs when we encounter this presence in waking life, and what truly lies behind its threatening form.

• Does the shadow change during the encounter? What do you think this transformation means?

  • A change from a threatening image to a non-threatening one reveals how our fears distort the shadow material.

• Is there any verbal exchange? Take special note if so and write this down upon waking.

• Consider the symbolic and literal significance of the encounter.

  • An endless loop can mean you are stuck in a shadow pattern, unable to break out.

  • A defeat can mean you lack the emotional/mental resources to meet the shadow material.

• Choose a symbol, image, behavior, etc from this encounter to contemplate further.

I was distraught not to receive anything concrete from my encounter. Because I gained some lucidity, I hoped it would allow for an exchange with my shadow figure. Instead, I was met with no response. To honor the dream image as it is, I am left to contemplate the meaning of silence. Am I demanding too much, seeking to exert control over the unconscious that is unwarranted? Maybe the lack of response has more to do with my conscious standpoint, indicating a lack of receptivity.

Perhaps silence is the answer because the presence of the shadow figure is enough. The images and emotions it constellated already tell me so much. The dream ends with me once more running off with the dogs. Does this express the dream ego's discomfort and inability to sit with the tension? Maybe I need to run with the dogs for a while (ground and resource) before I can fully confront and listen to the shadow.

This dream reminded me that this work requires subtlety, flexibility, resilience. Working with the unconscious psyche is rarely straight forward. We can attempt to make connections, create intentions, and make sense of the mysteries. But it will always act in accordance with its own wisdom and telos. Finding resolution means we meet the shadow, the unconscious, as it is, not as we want it.

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Share your thoughts and feedback:

What is your most common pursuit dream? What typically chases you?