The Dictionary of Symbols
The symbolism of power has been subjected to an extensive study by
Percy Ernst Schramm in his Herrschaftszeichen und Staatssymbolik (Stuttgart,
1954). Power, as a symbol, represents irradiating force, but it is only latterly that
it has acquired this significance, for in totemistic and primitive times it was
generally understood more in the sense of an image of the forces of nature (and of
the animal world in particular) than as an expression of abstract or temporal
dominion. Hence, the principal attributes of a superior power are simply magnified versions of totemic emblems or of adornments derived from them, such as
necklaces of teeth and claws, hides, head-dresses, horns, and various kinds of
standards exhibiting these objects. It was probably with the dawning of the solar
cult that the diadem—the original form of the crown—came to be adopted as
another attribute of power. The immediate effect of the assumption of power upon the body and the attitude of mind is to confer impassivity, indifference—
either real or affected—and serenity and, equally, a tendency to ‘swell with
pride’. Hence the fascination of the hieratic gesture and its use on solemn occasions. Dynamic movements such as stretching out the arms or nodding or turning
the head may also be executed in a rhythm suggestive of hieratic strength and
calm. Ancient art gave expression to a basically similar attitude towards the
powers of the world. Height above ground-level, and the situation of a particular
symbolic element at the centre of a symmetrical pattern—the Greek Potne Theron
for instance—are further illustrations of power-symbolism, deriving from the
symbolisms of level and of the ‘Centre’. Differentiated expressions of power give
rise to the king, the priest and the military leader, each one characterized by his
respective attributes. The synthesis of power is denoted by ternary symbols
such as the triple crown. Certain other symbols embracing the threefold power,
such as the trident, are generally reckoned to pertain to the infernal regions, but
this has come about rather through the influence of traditional, mythological ideas
than by true symbolic logic. Magic power—a corrupt form of religious power—
is symbolized by the wand and sometimes by the sword. There are also certain
other objects linked with the idea of power, but they are attributes or instruments
rather than symbols proper.
Of great interest is the complex symbolic system behind the emblems of the
Egyptian pharaoh. The double crown denotes Upper and Lower Egypt, but it
also expresses the ideas of the masculine and feminine principles, and of heaven
and earth. Sceptres—straight (the lash) and curved (the crook)—are probably
attributes of cattle-raising and of agriculture respectively; yet at the same time
they denote the straight path (or the solar, diurnal, logical course) and the crooked
path (the lunar, nocturnal and intuitive). The Uraeus beyond doubt symbolizes
the sublimated serpent—raised, that is to say, in height (the kundalini), so as to
become a symbol of strength transformed into spirit or an aspect of power. In
itself, the idea of power embraces the notions of extreme self-awareness and
integrity, defensive concentration of forces, appropriation and domination of the
environment, and effulgence. Hence, to take these ideas in turn, the symbols of
power are names, seals, marks, standards and signs; masks, helmets, head-dresses,
swords and shields; sceptres, crowns, pallia and palaces; and effulgence is expressed by gold and precious stones. Domination also finds expression in such
forms of the quaternary as four-headed sceptres, hermae or thrones alluding to
the cardinal points. The crown, in its most highly developed form, embraces the
diadem or circle and the hemisphere or image of the vault of heavens; and sometimes it denotes the four points of the compass—or suggests them by means of four bands which rise up from the diadem to meet higher up, in the middle,
surmounted by another symbolic motif. The idea of royalty is, of course, linked
with sun-symbolism, and therefore the animals associated with it are such as the
eagle and the lion, and on occasion the dragon. Once Christianity had become the
official religion of the Roman Empire, various Christian symbols of sublimation
accrue to the symbolism of power, notably the crucifix and the fleur-de-lis. The
latter symbol is found in Byzantium, whence it reached Central Europe, Germany, France and the Western world by the 1st millennium A.D.
Dream Moods
To dream that you have power, indicates your growing confidence, high self-esteem and increasing skills. Alternatively, your dream of power may try to compensate for a waking situation where you felt powerless.
To dream that you do not have any power, refers to a waking situation in which you felt unable to do anything.
