I am in a spacious loft with an industrial kind of feel to it. A bird poops on my head. I end up running into this cute girl named Jennifer who goes on to tell me of her trials and tribulations as the daughter of a schizophrenic mother. I listen carefully and offer what little words of consolation I can, and she remarks how compassionate it was of me to listen to her troubles when I just had a bird poop on my head. Most guys wouldn't do that she insists. I find her reasoning questionable at best.
To dream about compassion, indicates that you are lacking this quality in your waking life. You need to be more sympathetic toward others.
Every winged being is symbolic of spiritualization. The bird, according to Jung, is a beneficent animal representing spirits or angels, supernatural
aid (31), thoughts and flights of fancy (32). Hindu tradition has it that birds
represent the higher states of being. To quote a passage from the Upanishads:
Two birds, inseparable companions, inhabit the same tree; the first eats of the
fruit of the tree, the second regards it but does not eat. The first bird is Jivâtmâ,
and the second is Atmâ or pure knowledge, free and unconditioned; and when
they are joined inseparably, then the one is indistinguishable from the other except in an illusory sense’ (26). This interpretation of the bird as symbolic of
the soul is very commonly found in folklore all over the world. There is a Hindu
tale retold by Frazer in which an ogre explains to his daughter where he keeps
his soul: ‘Sixteen miles away from this place’, he says, ‘is a tree. Round the tree
are tigers, and bears, and scorpions, and snakes; on the top of the tree is a very
great fat snake; on his head is a little cage; in the cage is a bird; and my soul is in
that bird’ (21). This was given precise expression in ancient Egyptian symbolism by supplying the bird with a human head; in their system of hieroglyphs it
was a sign corresponding to the determinative Ba (the soul), or the idea that the
soul flies away from the body after death (19). This androcephalous bird appears also in Greek and Romanesque art, and always in this same sense (50).
But the idea of the soul as a bird—the reverse of the symbolic notion—does not
of itself imply that the soul is good. Hence the passage in Revelation (xvii, 2)
describing Babylon as ‘the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean
and hateful bird’. According to Loeffler, the bird, like the fish, was originally a
phallic symbol, endowed however with the power of heightening—suggesting
sublimation and spiritualization. In fairy stories there are many birds which
talk and sing, symbolizing amorous yearning (and cognate with arrows and
breezes). The bird may also stand for the metamorphosis of a lover. Loeffler
adds that birds are universally recognized as intelligent collaborators with man
in myths and folktales, and that they are derived from the great bird-demiurges
of the primitives—bearers of celestial messages and creators of the nether
world; this explains the further significance of birds as messengers (38). The
particular colour of a bird is a factor which determines its secondary symbolisms. The blue bird is regarded by Bachelard (3) as ‘the outcome of aerial
motion’, that is, as a pure association of ideas; but in our view, although this
may well have been its origin, its ultimate aim is something quite different—to
provide a symbol of the impossible (like the blue rose). In alchemy, birds stand
for forces in process of activation; here the precise sense is determined by the
location of the bird: soaring skywards it expresses volatilization or sublimation, and swooping earthwards it expresses precipitation and condensation;
these two symbolic movements joined to form a single figure are expressive of
distillation. Winged beings contrasted with others that are wingless constitute a
symbol of air, of the volatile principle as opposed to the fixed. Nevertheless, as
Diel has pointed out, birds, and particularly flocks of birds—for multiplicity is
ever a sign of the negative—may take on evil implications; for example, swarms
of insects symbolize forces in process of dissolution—forces which are teeming, restless, indeterminate, shattered. Thus, birds, in the Hercules legend, rising up from the lake Stymphalus (which stands for the stagnation of the soul
and the paralysis of the spirit) denote manifold wicked desires (15). The ‘giant
bird’ is always symbolic of a creative deity. The Hindus of Vedic times used to
depict the sun in the form of a huge bird—an eagle or a swan. Germanic tradition
affords further examples of a solar bird (35). It is also symbolic of storms; in
Scandinavian mythology there are references to a gigantic bird called Hraesvelg
(or Hraesveglur), which is supposed to create the wind by beating its wings
(35). In North America, the supreme Being is often equated with the mythic
personification of lightning and thunder as a great bird (17). The bird has a
formidable antagonist in the snake or serpent. According to Zimmer, it is only
in the West that this carries a moral implication; in India, the natural elements
only are contrasted—the solar force as opposed to the fluid energy of the
terrestrial oceans. The name of this solar bird is Garuda, the ‘slayer of the nâgas
or serpents’ (60). Kühn, in The Rock Pictures of Europe, considers a Lascaux
cave picture of a wounded bison, a man stricken to death and a bird on a pole,
and suggests that, by the late Palaeolithic, the bird may have come to symbolize
the soul or a trance-like state.
To see birds in your dream, symbolize your goals, aspirations and hopes. To dream of chirping and/or flying birds, represent joy, harmony, ecstasy, balance, and love. It denotes a sunny outlook in life. You are experiencing spiritual freedom and psychological liberation. It is almost as if a weight has been lifted off your shoulders.
To dream of dead or dying birds, indicates disappointments. You will find yourself worrying over problems that are nagging on your mind.
To see bird eggs in your dream, symbolize money.
To see birds hatching in your dream, symbolize delayed success.
To see a bird nest in your dream, symbolizes independence, refuge and security. You need something to fall back on. Alternatively, it may signify a prosperous endeavor, new opportunities, and fortune.
Dreaming of a chirping and/or flying birds, represents joy, harmony, ecstasy, balance, and love. It indicates a sunny outlook in life. You will experience spiritual freedom and psychological liberation. It is almost as if a weight has been lifted off your shoulders. Dreaming of dead or dying birds, foretells a period of coming disappointments. You will find yourself worrying over problems that are constantly on your mind. Dreaming of bird eggs, symbolizes money. Dreaming of birds hatching, symbolizes delayed success. Dreaming of a bird nest, symbolizes independence, refuge and security. You need something to fall back on. Alternatively, it may signify a prosperous endeavor, new opportunities, and fortune.
In the Zohar, the ‘magic head’ stands for astral light (9); in mediaeval art
it is a symbol for the mind (46) and for the spiritual life, which explains the
frequency with which it appeared in decorative art. On the other hand, Plato in
Timaeus asserts that ‘the human head is the image of the world’. In corroboration
of this, Leblant points out that the skull, the semi-spherical crown of the human
body, signifies the heavens. Clearly, the head-symbol here coalesces with that of
the sphere as a symbol of Oneness. It had the same significance in Egyptian
hieroglyphics (19). The eagle’s head has been used as a solar symbol and an
emblem of the centre-point of emanation—that is, of the cosmic flame and the
spiritual fire of the universe (4). Two, three or four heads shown in juxtaposition
symbolize a corresponding intensification of a given aspect of head-symbolism.
Thus, the Gemini, a symbol of the duality of Nature, or of the integrating (but not
unifying) link between the two principles of creation, are represented by beings
with two heads or two faces, like the Roman Janus for example. Hecate is depicted with three heads—she is called triform for this reason—a symbolism
which may be related to the ‘three levels’ of heaven, earth and hell, as well as to
Diel’s three ‘urges of life’ (15). The juxtaposition of four heads or faces, as in the
image of Brahma the Supreme Lord, stems from the same symbolism as that of
the tetramorph (60). A factor of major importance bearing upon the symbolism of
the head is mentioned by Herbert Kühn, in his L’Ascension de l’humanité (Paris,
1958). He makes the point that the decapitation of corpses in prehistoric times
marked Man’s discovery of the independence of the spiritual principle, residing
in the head, as opposed to the vital principle represented by the body as a whole.
Kühn adds that Neolithic thought was very close to the mediaeval in its conviction that an eternal and invisible essence underlies all appearances (Plate XV).
To see a head in your dream, signifies wisdom, intellect, understanding and rationality. It may also represent your accomplishments, self-image, and perception of the world. The dream may also be metaphor to indicate that you are "ahead" in some situation or that you need to get ahead.
To dream that someone is trying to rip your head off, suggests that you are not seeing a situation or problem clearly. Perhaps you are refusing to see the truth. You have to confront the situation or the person despite the pain and discomfort you might feel in doing so.
To dream that you have two heads, indicate that you need to learn to ask for help and accept assistance. Consider the metaphor "two heads are better than one". Do not try to do everything yourself.
To see a person's head in your dream, and it is well-shaped and prominent, you will meet persons of power and vast influence who will lend you aid in enterprises of importance.
If you dream of your own head, you are threatened with nervous or brain trouble.
To see a head severed from its trunk, and bloody, you will meet sickening disappointments, and the overthrow of your dearest hopes and anticipations.
To see yourself with two or more heads, foretells phenomenal and rapid rise in life, but the probabilities are that the rise will not be stable.
To dream that your head aches, denotes that you will be oppressed with worry.
To dream of a swollen head, you will have more good than bad in your life.
To dream of a child's head, there will be much pleasure ill store for you and signal financial success.
To dream of the head of a beast, denotes that the nature of your desires will run on a low plane, and only material pleasures will concern you.
To wash your head, you will be sought after by prominent people for your judgment and good counsel.
Seeing a head in your dream means wisdom, intellect, understanding and rationality. It may also represent your accomplishments, self-image, and perception of the world. Dreaming that someone is trying to rip your head off, suggests that you are not see a situation or problem clearly. Perhaps you are refusing to see the truth. You have to confront the situation or the person despite the pain and discomfort you might feel in doing so.
A head symbolizes intelligence, logic, wisdom and making decisions. A dream of a head may mean that you are changing your mind about something or are unable to make up your mind. A dream of a headless body may be a warning that you aren't thinking clearly - you're "losing your head."
To dream that you are listening to something, indicates that you need to pay closer attention to what you are being told and what you are seeing. Perhaps your dream is telling you to be more receptive towards the guidance or criticism of others.
Dreaming that you are listening to something indicates that you need to pay more close attention to what you are being told and what you are seeing. Perhaps your dream is telling you to be more receptive towards the guidance/criticism of others.
To see your daughter in your dream, represents your waking relationship with your daughter and the qualities that she projects. If you do not have a daughter, then it symbolizes the feminine aspect within yourself.
To dream of your daughter, signifies that many displeasing incidents will give way to pleasure and harmony. If in the dream, she fails to meet your wishes, through any cause, you will suffer vexation and discontent.
Seeing your daughter in your dream, represents your waking relationship with your daughter and the qualities that she projects. If you do not have a daughter, then it symbolizes the feminine aspect within yourself.
A daughter in a dream can represent your future.
If your daughter disobeys you in your dream, you could be worried about your own future.
In your dream, your daughter can represent yourself. For example, if your daughter is ill, you may be feeling troubled in waking life.
To see random words in your dream, signify some confusion in your thought process. Your mind is too cluttered. Alternatively, the dream may be a pun on how "you have my word", as in a promise to be kept.
Mother-symbols are characterized by an interesting ambivalence:
the mother sometimes appears as the image of nature, and vice-versa; but the
Terrible Mother is a figure signifying death (31). For this reason, Hermetic doctrine held that to ‘return to the mother’ was equivalent to dying. For the Egyptians, the vulture was a mother-symbol, probably because it devours corpses
(19); it also stood for the means whereby Hammamit (the universal soul) was
split up into separate parts to form individual souls (19). For the same reason, the
maternal sentiment has been said to be closely bound up with the nostalgic
longing of the spirit for things material (18), or with the subjection of the spirit to
the unformulated but implacable law of destiny. Jung mentions that in Jean
Thenaud’s Traité de la Cabale (of the 16th century) there is a mother-figure
actually represented in the form of a god of destiny (32). He mentions further that
the Terrible Mother is the counterpart of the Pietà, representing not only death
but also the cruel side of nature—its indifference towards human suffering (31).
Jung also notes that the mother is symbolic of the collective unconscious, of the
left and nocturnal side of existence—the source of the Water of Life. It is the
mother, he argues, who is the first to bear that image of the anima which the man
must project upon Woman passing from the mother to the sister and finally to the
beloved (32). A predominantly maternal social pattern—a matriarchal society—
is characterized, according to Bachofen, by special emphasis upon blood relationships, telluric allegiances, and the passive acceptance of natural phenomena.
Patriarchies are distinguished by a respect for man-made laws, the favouring of
works of art and craft, and obedience to the hierarchy (23). Even now that
matriarchal societies, sociologically speaking, no longer exist in the West, psychologically man is nevertheless passing through a phase when he is in all essentials dominated by the feminine principle. To come triumphantly through this
stage and to reinstate the masculine principle as the guiding-rule of life—bringing
to the fore the characteristically patriarchal qualities noted above—would signify
an achievement of the kind that was once symbolized by the transformation of
the ‘lunar work’ into the solar, or by the transmutation of mercury into sulphur.
To quote Evola: ‘Symbols of the earth-mother are: water, the mother of the waters, stone, the cave, the maternal home, night, the house of depth, and the
house of strength or of wisdom.’
To see your mother in your dream, represents the nurturing aspect of your own character. Mothers offer shelter, comfort, life, guidance and protection. Some people may have problems freeing themselves from their mothers and are thus seeking their own individuality and development.
To dream that you are having a conversation with your mother, denotes a matter that has preoccupied your mind and you are not sure how to deal with it in your waking life. It indicates unresolved problems that need to be worked out with your mother.
To hear your mother call you in our dream, suggests that you have been negligent in your duties and responsibilities. You are pursuing down the wrong path.
If you dream that you see your mother and converse with her, it indicates that you
will have prosperity in life. To dream that you have lost your mother indicates her sickness.
To see your mother in dreams as she appears in the home, signifies pleasing results from any enterprise.
To hold her in conversation, you will soon have good news from interests you are anxious over.
For a woman to dream of mother, signifies pleasant duties and connubial bliss.
To see one's mother emaciated or dead, foretells sadness caused by death or dishonor.
To hear your mother call you, denotes that you are derelict in your duties, and that you are pursuing the wrong course in business.
To hear her cry as if in pain, omens her illness, or some affliction is menacing you.
Seeing your mother in your dream, represents the nurturing aspect of your own character. Mothers offer shelter, comfort, life, guidance and protection. Some people may have problems freeing themselves from their mothers and are thus seeking their own individuality and development. Dreaming that you are having a conversation with your mother indicates a matter that has preoccupied your mind and you are not sure how to deal with it in your waking life. It indicates unresolved problems that still need to be worked out with your mother. Hearing your mother call you in our dream means that you have been negligent in your duties and responsibilities. You are pursuing down the wrong path. Hearing your mother cry in your dream indicates some illness or affliction.
The relationship that we have with our mother is the most psychologically significant relationship of all. Rarely all good or all bad, our mothers always invoke powerful emotions. We may dream about our mothers in many different forms. She may be disguised in our dreams, and it is our job to find her in there. If you are dreaming about your mother, you may be addressing some issues or concerns in your dream, or your dream may be based on a valuable memory. The general image of "mother" in a dream may symbolise a variety of feelings and ideas: caring, nurturing, love, acceptance, hard work, sacrifice, martyrdom, etc. The mother in your dream could also represent the "collective unconscious," the source of the "water of life," and the yin. The woman is that force, or current, inside of you that nudges you on and inspires you. It is your intuition and the knowledge that in not necessarily attached to words. Men, on the other hand, represent the active part of us that use the information received to create the physical reality of our lives. When the two are working together well, we have balance and experience awareness leading to peace and productivity.