The sun had just appeared above the horizon and I was only waking up. I grabbed tiger and extracted a potent hit-- smoke tearing down my windpipe. Within moments my heart slowed. The unnatural substance throwing off my equilibrium. I began to panic. Too much attention on my heart. The blood red sheets and murder blanket consuming my naked body. Everything shifty. Perhaps 10 minutes had passed since inhaling. I take slow breaths and I don't even realize I may have stopped breathing entirely. Did my heart just stop? I wait. I don't hear anything. No thumping in my chest. I breath deeply, again, and again. Somehow my heart begins again, the breathing amping it up. My heart some how recognizes my panic and begins to speed up. Faster and faster, it feels like it is looking for a crescendo and will stop once hitting that point.
I wonder about death. Although I do not fear it, I wait.. wondering if anyone or anything will greet me in the end. Or is it really just blackness. But why, then, when my heart did stop did I still see? I still felt. I was still being.
Panicked I text my sister, I call my sister. I have her come down and sit with me. She brings me a bottle of ice water. I don't touch it. After explaining how this heart frenzy began she uses the bathroom. When she returns I sit up and come back down to Earth. I tell her it's okay to leave.
The blood sac assumes it's usual rhythm. My day proceeds.
In the vertical scheme of the human body, the focal points are three in
number: the brain, the heart and the sexual organs. But the central point is the
heart, and in consequence it comes to partake of the meanings of the other two.
The heart was the only part of the viscera left by the Egyptians in the mummy,
since it was regarded as the centre indispensable to the body in eternity; for all
centres are symbols of eternity, since time is the motion of the periphery of the
wheel of phenomena rotating around the Aristotelian ‘unmoved mover’. In traditional ways of thought, the heart was taken as the true seat of intelligence, the
brain being merely instrumental (25); hence, in ancient attempts to explain the
profound and continuing analogies between concepts, the moon was said to
correspond to the brain and the sun to the heart. All representations of the
‘Centre’ have been related in some way to the heart, either through correspondences or through substitution, as in the case of the goblet, the coffer and the
cavern. For the alchemists, the heart was the image of the sun within man, just as
gold was the image of the sun on earth (32). The importance of love in the mystic
doctrine of unity explains how it is that love-symbolism came to be closely linked
with heart-symbolism, for to love is only to experience a force which urges the
lover towards a given centre. In emblems, then, the heart signifies love as the
centre of illumination and happiness, and this is why it is surmounted by flames,
or a cross, or a fleur-de-lis, or a crown (4).
To see your heart in your dream, signifies truth, courage, love, and romance. It is representative of how you are currently dealing with your feelings and expressing your emotions. Also consider the saying "the heart of the matter" which implies that you may need to get down to the core of a situation before proceeding.
To see a winged heart in your dream, represents the power of love and its ability to penetrate through to anyone.
To dream that your heart is bleeding or aching, represents desperation, despair, extreme sadness and sympathy. You are lacking support or love in some a situation in your life.
To dream that you have a heart transplant or heart surgery, indicates a huge change in your personal relationship. Perhaps you are involved in a rebound relationship.
To dream of your heart paining and suffocating you, there will be trouble in your business. Some mistake of your own will bring loss if not corrected.
Seeing your heart, foretells sickness and failure of energy.
To see the heart of an animal, you will overcome enemies and merit the respect of all.
To eat the heart of a chicken, denotes strange desires will cause you to carry out very difficult projects for your advancement.
Seeing your heart in your dream means truth, courage, love, and romance. It is representative of how you are currently dealing with your feelings and expressing your emotions. Also consider the saying "the heart of the matter" which implies that you may need to get down to the core of a situation before proceeding.
To notice the earth in your dream, indicates that you need to be "grounded" and realistic. Perhaps your sense of stability and security is lacking. Consider the consistency of the earth for additional significance on how you are feeling. If the earth opens or separates, then it represents a project or relationship that you are afraid of falling into.
To see the planet Earth in your dream, signifies wholeness and global consciousness. You are interconnected with the world.
Seeing the earth in your dream means wholeness and global consciousness. It may also symbolize the sense of being "grounded" and your need to be realistic.
To see blood in your dream, represents life, love, and passion as well as disappointments. If you see the word "blood" written in your dream, then it may refer to some situation in your life that is permanent and cannot be changed. If something else is written in blood, then it represents the energy you have put into a project. You have invested so much effort into something that you are not willing to give it up.
To dream that you are bleeding or losing blood, signifies that you are suffering from exhaustion or that you are feeling emotionally drained. It may also denote bitter confrontations between you and your friends. Your past actions has come back to haunt you. Women often dream of blood or of someone bleeding, shortly before or during their periods or while they are pregnant.
To dream that others are bleeding, signifies an emotional cry for help.
To dream that you are drinking blood, indicates that you have a fresh burst of vitality and power.
To dream that you are giving or donating blood, suggests that you are feeling physically drained due to stress.
Blood-stained garments, indicate enemies who seek to tear down a successful career that is opening up before you.
The dreamer should beware of strange friendships.
To see blood flowing from a wound, physical ailments and worry.
Bad business caused from disastrous dealings with foreign combines.
To see blood on your hands, immediate bad luck, if not careful of your person and your own affairs.
Dreaming of blood, represents life, love, and passion as well as disappointments. If you see the word "blood" written, then it may refer to some situation in your life that is permanent and cannot be changed. Dreaming that you are bleeding or losing blood means that you are suffering from exhaustion or that you are feeling emotionally drained. It may also denote bitter confrontations between you and your friends. Your past actions has come back to haunt you. Women often dream of blood or of someone bleeding shortly before or during their periods and when they are pregnant. Dreaming that something is written in blood, represents the energy you have put into a project. You have invested so much effort into something that you are not willing to give it up. Dreaming that you are drinking blood indicates that you have a fresh burst of vitality and power.
It is the life-giving, vital part of our physiology and it may symbolize our strengths and weaknesses and our physical and mental health. If you are currently experiencing a very difficult time in your life, you may have dreams with bloody and frightening images. Don't worry; you may be venting your fears! Some believe that when you see blood in your dream, the distressing situation in your life, which is at the root of the dream, has come to an end, and the worst is over. Consider the details and the relationships between all the symbols in your dream before making an interpretation.
Symbolically, to breathe is to assimilate spiritual power. Yoga
exercises place particular emphasis upon breathing, since it enables man to absorb
not only air but also the light of the sun. Concerning solar light, the alchemists had
this to say: ‘It is a fiery substance, a continuous emanation of solar corpuscles
which, owing to the movement of the sun and the astral bodies, is in a perpetual
state of flux and change, filling all the universe. . . . We breathe this astral gold
continuously.’ The two movements—positive and negative—of breathing are
connected with the circulation of the blood and with the important symbolic paths of involution and evolution (3). Difficulty in breathing may therefore symbolize difficulty in assimilating the principles of the spirit and of the cosmos. The
‘proper rhythm’ of Yoga-breathing is associated with the ‘proper voice’ demanded by the Egyptians for the ritual reading of the sacred texts. Both are
founded upon imitation of the rhythms of the universe.
To see your sister in your dream, symbolizes some aspect of your relationship with her, whether it one of sibling rivalry, nurturance, protectiveness, etc. Your sister may draw attention to your family role. Or the dream may also serve to remind you that someone in your waking life has characteristics similar to your sister. Alternatively, your sister may be a metaphor for a nun. In this case, she may represent some spiritual issues.
If you do not have a sister and dream that you have one, then it signifies feminine qualities that you need to activate or acknowledge within your own self. Pay attention to the actions and behavior of your dream sister.
Seeing your sister in your dream, symbolizes some aspect of your relationship with her, whether it one of sibling rivalry, caring, protectiveness, etc. Your sister may draw attention to your family role and sense of belonging. It may also serve to remind you that someone in your waking life has characteristics similar to your sister. Alternatively, your sister may be a metaphor and actually refer to a nun. In this case, she may represent spiritual issues. If you do not have a sister and dream that you have one, then it means some qualities that you need to activate or acknowledge within your own self. Pay attention to the actions and behavior of your dream sister.
In Egyptian hieroglyphs, the symbol for water is a wavy line with
small sharp crests, representing the water’s surface. The same sign, when tripled,
symbolizes a volume of water, that is, the primaeval ocean and prime matter.
According to hermetic tradition, the god Nu was the substance from which the
gods of the first ennead emerged (19). The Chinese consider water as the specific
abode of the dragon, because all life comes from the waters (13). In the Vedas,
water is referred to as mâtritamâh (the most maternal) because, in the beginning,
everything was like a sea without light. In India, this element is generally regarded
as the preserver of life, circulating throughout the whole of nature, in the form of
rain, sap, milk and blood. Limitless and immortal, the waters are the beginning and
the end of all things on earth (60). Although water is, in appearance, formless,
ancient cultures made a distinction between ‘upper waters’ and ‘lower waters’.
The former correspond to the potential or what is still possible, the latter to what
is actual or already created (26). In a general sense, the concept of ‘water’ stands,
of course, for all liquid matter. Moreover, the primaeval waters, the image of
prime matter, also contained all solid bodies before they acquired form and rigidity. For this reason, the alchemists gave the name of ‘water’ to quicksilver in its
first stage of transmutation and, by analogy, also to the ‘fluid body’ of Man (57).
This ‘fluid body’ is interpreted by modern psychology as a symbol of the unconscious, that is, of the non-formal, dynamic, motivating, female side of the personality. The projection of the mother-imago into the waters endows them with
various numinous properties characteristic of the mother (31). A secondary meaning of this symbolism is found in the identification of water with intuitive wisdom. In the cosmogony of the Mesopotamian peoples, the abyss of water was
regarded as a symbol of the unfathomable, impersonal Wisdom. An ancient Irish
god was called Domnu, which means ‘marine depth’. In prehistoric times the
word for abyss seems to have been used exclusively to denote that which was
unfathomable and mysterious (4). The waters, in short, symbolize the universal
congress of potentialities, the fons et origo, which precedes all form and all
creation. Immersion in water signifies a return to the preformal state, with a sense
of death and annihilation on the one hand, but of rebirth and regeneration on the
other, since immersion intensifies the life-force. The symbolism of baptism,
which is closely linked to that of water, has been expounded by St. John
Chrysostom (Homil. in Joh., XXV, 2): ‘It represents death and interment, life and
resurrection. . . . When we plunge our head beneath water, as in a sepulchre, the
old man becomes completely immersed and buried. When we leave the water, the
new man suddenly appears’ (18). The ambiguity of this quotation is only on the
surface: in this particular aspect of the general symbolism of water, death affects
only Man-in-nature while the rebirth is that of spiritual man. On the cosmic level,
the equivalent of immersion is the flood, which causes all forms to dissolve and
return to a fluid state, thus liberating the elements which will later be recombined
in new cosmic patterns. The qualities of transparency and depth, often associated with water, go far towards explaining the veneration of the ancients for this
element which, like earth, was a female principle. The Babylonians called it ‘the
home of wisdom’. Oannes, the mythical being who brings culture to mankind, is
portrayed as half man and half fish (17). Moreover, in dreams, birth is usually
expressed through water-imagery (v. Freud, Introduction to Psycho-Analysis).
The expressions ‘risen from the waves’ and ‘saved from the waters’ symbolize
fertility, and are metaphorical images of childbirth. On the other hand, water is, of
all the elements, the most clearly transitional, between fire and air (the ethereal
elements) and earth (the solid element). By analogy, water stands as a mediator
between life and death, with a two-way positive and negative flow of creation and
destruction. The Charon and Ophelia myths symbolize the last voyage. Death
was the first mariner. ‘Transparent depth’, apart from other meanings, stands in
particular for the communicating link between the surface and the abyss. It can
therefore be said that water conjoins these two images (2). Gaston Bachelard
points to many different characteristics of water, and derives from them many
secondary symbolic meanings which enrich the fundamental meaning we have described. These secondary meanings are not so much a set of strict symbols, as
a kind of language expressing the transmutations of this ever-flowing element.
Bachelard enumerates clear water, spring water, running water, stagnant water,
dead water, fresh and salt water, reflecting water, purifying water, deep water,
stormy water. Whether we take water as a symbol of the collective or of the
personal unconscious, or else as an element of mediation and dissolution, it is
obvious that this symbolism is an expression of the vital potential of the psyche,
of the struggles of the psychic depths to find a way of formulating a clear message
comprehensible to the consciousness. On the other hand, secondary symbolisms
are derived from associated objects such as water-containers, and also from the
ways in which water is used: ablutions, baths, holy water, etc. There is also a
very important spatial symbolism connected with the ‘level’ of the waters, denoting a correlation between actual physical level and absolute moral level. It is
for this reason that the Buddha, in his Assapuram sermon, was able to regard the
mountain-lake—whose transparent waters reveal, at the bottom, sand, shells,
snails and fishes—as the path of redemption. This lake obviously corresponds to
a fundamental aspect of the ‘Upper Waters’. Clouds are another aspect of the
‘Upper Waters’. In Le Transformationi of Ludovico Dolce, we find a mystic
figure looking into the unruffled surface of a pond, in contrast with the accursed
hunter, always in restless pursuit of his prey, implying the symbolic contrast
between contemplative activity—the sattva state of Yoga—and blind outward
activity—the rajas state. Finally, the upper and lower waters communicate reciprocally through the process of rain (involution) and evaporation (evolution).
Here, fire intervenes to modify water: the sun (spirit) causes sea water to evaporate (i.e. it sublimates life). Water is condensed in clouds and returns to earth in
the form of life-giving rain, which is invested with twofold virtues: it is water, and
it comes from heaven (15). Lao-Tse paid considerable attention to this cyclic
process of meteorology, which is at one and the same time physical and spiritual,
observing that: ‘Water never rests, neither by day nor by night. When flowing
above, it causes rain and dew. When flowing below, it forms streams and rivers.
Water is outstanding in doing good. If a dam is raised against it, it stops. If way is
made for it, it flows along that path. Hence it is said that it does not struggle. And
yet it has no equal in destroying that which is strong and hard’ (13). When water
stands revealed in its destructive aspects, in the course of cataclysmic events, its
symbolism does not change, but is merely subordinated to the dominant symbolism of the storm. Similarly, in those contexts where the flowing nature of water is
emphasized, as in the contention of Heraclitus that ‘You cannot step twice into
the same river; for fresh waters are ever flowing in upon you.’ Here the reference is not to water-symbolism as such, but to the idea of the irreversible flow along a
given path. To quote Evola, in La tradizione ermetica: ‘Without divine water,
nothing exists, according to Zosimus. On the other hand, among the symbols of
the female principle are included those which figure as origins of the waters
(mother, life), such as: Mother Earth, Mother of the Waters, Stone, Cave, House
of the Mother, Night, House of Depth, House of Force, House of Wisdom,
Forest, etc. One should not be misled by the word “divine”. Water symbolizes
terrestrial and natural life, never metaphysical life.’
This indicates birth (of some person).
To dream of clear water, foretells that you will joyfully realize prosperity and pleasure.
If the water is muddy, you will be in danger and gloom will occupy Pleasure's seat.
If you see it rise up in your house, denotes that you will struggle to resist evil, but unless you see it subside, you will succumb to dangerous influences.
If you find yourself baling it out, but with feet growing wet, foreshadows trouble, sickness, and misery will work you a hard task, but you will forestall them by your watchfulness. The same may be applied to muddy water rising in vessels.
To fall into muddy water, is a sign that you will make many bitter mistakes, and will suffer poignant grief therefrom.
To drink muddy water, portends sickness, but drinking it clear and refreshing brings favorable consummation of fair hopes.
To sport with water, denotes a sudden awakening to love and passion.
To have it sprayed on your head, denotes that your passionate awakening to love will meet reciprocal consummation.
The following dream and its allegorical occurrence in actual life is related by a young woman student of dreams:
``Without knowing how, I was (in my dream) on a boat, I waded through clear blue water to a wharfboat, which I found to be snow white, but rough and splintry. The next evening I had a delightful male caller, but he remained beyond the time prescribed by mothers and I was severely censured for it.'' The blue water and fairy white boat were the disappointing prospects in the symbol.
To see water in your dream, symbolizes your unconscious and your emotional state of mind. Water is the living essence of the psyche and the flow of life energy. It is also symbolic of spirituality, knowledge, healing and refreshment. To dream that water is boiling, suggests that you are expressing some emotional turmoil. Feelings from your unconscious are surfacing and ready to be acknowledged. You need to let out some steam.
To see calm, clear water in your dream, means that you are in tune with your spirituality. It denotes serenity, peace of mind, and rejuvenation.
To see muddy or dirty water in your dream, indicates that you are wallowing in your negative emotions. You may need to take some time to cleanse your mind and find internal peace. Alternatively, the dream suggests that your thinking/judgment is unclear and clouded. If you are immersed in muddy water, then it indicates that you are in over your head in a situation and are overwhelmed by your emotions.
To dream that water is rising up in your house, suggests that you are becoming overwhelmed by your emotions.
To hear running water in your dream, denotes meditation and reflection. You are reflecting on your thoughts and emotions.
To dream that you are walking on water, indicates that you have total control over your emotions. It also suggests that you need to "stay on top" of your emotions and not let them explode out of hand. Alternatively, the dream is symbolic of faith in yourself.
Seeing water in your dream, symbolizes your unconscious and your emotional state of mind. Water is the living essence of the psyche and the flow of life energy. It is also symbolic of spirituality, knowledge, healing and refreshment. Seeing calm, clear water in your dream means that you are in tune with your spirituality. It indicates serenity, peace of mind, and rejuvenation. Seeing muddy or dirty water in your dream indicates that you are wallowing in your negative emotions. You may need to devote some time to clarify your mind and find internal peace. Alternatively, it suggests that your thinking/judgment is unclear and clouded. If you are immersed in muddy water, then it indicates that you are in over your head in a situation and are overwhelmed by your emotions. Dreaming that water is rising up in your house means your struggles and overwhelming emotions. Hearing running water in your dream indicates meditation, reflection and pondering of your thoughts and emotions. Dreaming that you are walking on water, suggests that you have supreme and ultimate control over your emotions. It may also suggest that you need to "stay on top" of your emotions and not let them explode out of hand. Alternatively, it is symbolic of faith in yourself.
Given that water is the symbol of communication between the formal and
the informal, the element of transition between different cycles, yielding by
nature, and also related to the ideas of material, earthly fecundity and the Heraclitean
‘death of the soul’, it follows that ice represents principally two things: first, the
change induced in water by the cold—that is, the ‘congelation’ of its symbolic
significance; and, secondly, the stultification of the potentialities of water. Hence
ice has been defined as the rigid dividing-line between consciousness and the
unconscious (or between any other dynamic levels) (56). Although the negative
sense is predominant, it is not lacking in a positive sense in so far as the solidification is tantamount to toughness, and the coldness implies resistance to all that
is inferior; in this latter sense it corresponds to Nietzsche’s freezing and ‘hostile’
air of mountain-peaks.
To see ice in your dream, suggests that you are lacking a flow of ideas and thoughts. You are not seeing any progress in your life. Alternatively, you may be feeling emotionally paralyzed or rigid. You need to let your feelings be known.
To dream that you are walking on ice, indicates that you are standing on shaky or instable ground. You need to proceed with caution in some matter or situation. Alternatively, the dream also suggests that you are taking risks that you shouldn't be taking.
To dream that you slip on ice, symbolizes your insecurities and self-esteem issues. There may also be an obstacle ahead for you.
To dream that you fall through ice, suggests that your emotions are threatening to come crashing through.
To dream of ice, betokens much distress, and evil-minded persons will seek to injure you in your best work.
To see ice floating in a stream of clear water, denotes that your happiness will be interrupted by ill-tempered and jealous friends.
To dream that you walk on ice, you risk much solid comfort and respect for evanescent joys.
For a young woman to walk on ice, is a warning that only a thin veil hides her from shame.
To see icicles on the eaves of houses, denotes misery and want of comfort.
Ill health is foreboded.
To see icicles on the fence, denotes suffering bodily and mentally.
To see them on trees, despondent hopes will grow gloomier.
To see them on evergreens, a bright future will be overcast with the shadow of doubtful honors.
To dream that you make ice, you will make a failure of your life through egotism and selfishness.
Eating ice, foretells sickness. If you drink ice-water, you will bring ill health from dissipation.
Bathing in ice-water, anticipated pleasures will be interrupted with an unforeseen event.
Seeing ice in your dream, suggests that you are lacking a flow of ideas and thoughts. You are not seeing in progress in your life. Alternatively, you may be feeling emotionally paralyzed or rigid. You need to let your feelings be known. Dreaming that you are walking on ice indicates that you are standing on shaky or instable ground. You are taking risks that you shouldn't be taking. Fear and caution are also implied. Dreaming that you fall through ice, suggests that your emotions are threatening to come crashing through.
Ice, or water in the solid form, is associated with the emotions and the unconsciousness. Dreaming about ice suggests that you may have some emotions or denied psychological issues that are not readily accessible to you. These feelings may be negative. (I.e. fear and anxiety about death or sexual frigidity) Things that are frozen are generally not usable and they do not change or grow. This dream may be pointing to feelings or thoughts that are inaccessible to you or to that part of you that is inaccessible to others. Superstition based dream interpretation books tell us that sitting on ice in your dreams is a dream of the contrary. It indicates that you may have a life of comfort and prosperity.
According to Bayley, the bottle is one of the symbols of salvation (4),
probably because of the analogy (of function rather than of shape) with the ark
and the boat.
To see a bottle in your dream, indicates that you are pushing your feelings back inside, rather than expressing them. The contents of the bottle represent the nature of the emotions. A bottle of champagne shows your need to socialize, while a bottle of poison signifies evil thoughts and a wine bottle symbolize sexuality.
To see an empty bottle, denotes that you have exhausted your inner resources. You may be feeling drained and empty inside.
Dreaming of a bottle means how you may be pushing your feelings back inside rather than expressing them. The contents of the bottle indicate the nature of the emotions. A bottle of champagne shows your need to socialize, while a bottle of poison means evil thoughts. Dreaming of an empty bottle indicates that you have exhausted your inner resources. You may be feeling drained and empty inside.