The symbolism of music is of the greatest complexity and we cannot
here do more than sketch out some general ideas. It pervades all the component
elements of created sound: instruments, rhythm, tone or timbre, the notes of the
natural scale, serial patterns, expressive devices, melodies, harmonies and forms.
The symbolism of music may be approached from two basic standpoints: either
by regarding it as part of the ordered pattern of the cosmos as understood by the ancient, megalithic and astrobiological cultures, or else by accepting it as a phenomenon of ‘correspondence’ linked with the business of expression and communication. Another of the fundamental aspects of music-symbolism is its connexion
with metre and with number, arising out of the Pythagorean theory (27). The
cosmic significance of musical instruments—their allegiance to one particular
Element—was first studied by Curt Sachs in Geist und Werden der
Musikinstrumente (Berlin, 1929). In this symbolism, the characteristic shape of
an instrument must be distinguished from the timbre, and there are some common
‘contradictions’ between these two aspects which might possibly be of significance as an expression of the mediating rôle of the musical instrument and of
music as a whole (for an instrument is a form of relationship or communication,
substantially dynamic, as in the case of the voice or the spoken word). For
example, the flute is phallic and masculine in shape and feminine in its shrill pitch
and light, silvery (and therefore lunar) tone, while the drum is feminine by virtue
of its receptacle-like shape, yet masculine in its deep tones (50). The connexion
of music-symbolism with self-expression (and even with graphic art) is well in
evidence in primitive music-making, which often amounted to almost literal imitations of the rhythms and movements, the features and even the shapes of
animals. Schneider describes how, hearing some Senegalese singing the ‘Song of
the Stork’, he began to ‘see as he was listening’, for the rhythm corresponded
exactly to the movements of the bird. When he asked the singers about this, their
reply confirmed his observation. Given the laws of analogy, we can also find
cases of the expressive transferred to the symbolic: that is, a melodic progression
as a whole expresses certain coherent emotions, and this progression corresponds
to certain coherent, symbolic forms. On the other hand, alternating deep and highpitched tones express a ‘leap’, anguish and the need for Inversion; Schneider
concludes that this is an expression of the idea of conquering the space between
the valley and the mountain (corresponding to the earth and the sky). He observes that in Europe the mystic designation of ‘high music’ (that is, high-pitched)
and ‘low music’ (low-pitched) persisted right up to the Renaissance. The question of relating musical notes to colours or to planets is far from being as certain
as other symbolic correspondences of music. Nevertheless, we cannot pass on
without giving some idea of the profound, serial relationship which exists in
phenomena: for instance, corresponding to the pentatonic scale we usually find
patterns grouped in fives; the diatonic and modal scale, since it has seven notes,
is related to most of the astrobiological systems, and is unquestionably the most
important of all the series; the present-day tendency towards the twelve-note
series could be compared to the signs of the Zodiac. But, so far, we have not found sufficient evidence for this particular facet of musicsymbolism. All the
same, here are the correspondences as set down by Fabre d’Olivet, the French
occultist: Mi—the Sun, fa—Mercury, sol—Venus, la—the Moon, ti—Saturn,
do—Jupiter, re—Mars (26). A more valid series of relationships, at least in the
expressive aspect, is that which links the Greek modes with the planets and with
particular aspects of the ethos, as follows: the mi-mode (the Dorian)—Mars
(who is severe or pathetic); the re-mode (the Phrygian)—Jupiter (ecstatic): the
do-mode (the Lydian)—Saturn (pained and sad); the ti-mode (the Hypodorian)—
the Sun (enthusiastic); the la-mode (the Hypophrygian)—Mercury (active); the
sol-mode (the Hypolydian)—Venus (erotic); the fa-mode (the Mixolydian)—the
Moon (melancholy) (50). Schneider’s profound investigations into the symbolism of music seem to us well-founded. The tetrachord formed by the notes do, re,
mi, fa, he considers, for instance, to be a mediator between heaven and earth, the
four notes corresponding respectively to the lion (signifying valour and strength),
the ox (sacrifice and duty), man (faith and incarnation) and the eagle (elevation
and prayer). Conversely, the tetrachord formed by sol, la, ti, do, could represent
a kind of divine duplicate of the previous tetrachord. Fa, do, sol, re are regarded as
masculine elements corresponding to the Elements of fire and air and to the
instruments of stone and metal, whereas la, mi, ti, are feminine, and pertain to the
Elements of water and earth. The interval fa-ti, known to musicologists as a
tritone (or augmented fourth), expresses with its dissonance the ‘painful’ clash
between the Elements of fire and water—a clash occurring in death itself (50). We
have been able to suggest here only a few outlines of the music-symbolism
developed by Schneider in his work The Musical Origin of Animal-Symbols, the
scope of which is so wide that, as he has privately intimated to us, he believes all
symbolic meanings are at root musical or at least to do with sounds. This becomes
easier to understand when we recall that singing, as the harmonization of successive, melodic elements, is an image of the natural connexion between all things,
and, at the same time, the communication, the spreading and the exaltation of the
inner relationship linking all things together. Hence Plato’s remark that the character of a nation’s music cannot be altered without changing the customs and
institutions of the State (26).

To hear harmonious and soothing music in your dream, signifies prosperity and pleasure. You are expressing your emotions in a positive way. Music serves to heal the soul.

To hear discordant or out of tune music in your dream, signifies unhappiness, lack of harmony, and troubles in your relationship or domestic life.

To dream of hearing harmonious music, omens pleasure and prosperity.

Discordant music foretells troubles with unruly children, and unhappiness in the household.

The word ‘temple’ derives from the root tem—’to divide’. Etruscan
soothsayers made a division of the heavens by means of two straight lines intersecting at a point directly above the head, the point of intersection being a projection of the notion of the ‘Centre’, and the lines representing the two ‘directions’
of the plane; the north-south line was called cardo and the east-west decumanus.
Phenomena were interpreted according to their situation within this division of
space. Hence, the earthly temple is seen as an image of the celestial temple and its
basic structure is determined by considerations of order and orientation (7). The
temple affords a particular and additional meaning to the generic symbolism of architectonic structures. Broadly speaking, it is the mystic significance of the
‘Centre’ which prevails; the temple and, in particular, the altar, being identified
with the symbol of the mountain-top as the focal point of the intersection of the
two worlds of heaven and earth. Solomon’s temple, according to Philo and Flavius
Josephus, was a figurative representation of the cosmos, and its interior was
disposed accordingly: the incense table signified thanksgiving; the seven-branched
candelabra stood for the seven planetary heavens; the holy table represented the
terrestrial order. In addition to this, the twelve loaves of bread corresponded to
the twelve months of the year. The Ark of the Covenant symbolizes the intelligibles
(14). Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance architects, each in their own way,
sought to imitate this superior archetype. For example, between 1596 and 1604,
imaginary reconstructions of the Temple of Solomon appeared in various works
published in Rome and based upon holy writ, and the illustrations they contained
deeply influenced the architects of the period. Another fundamental significance
of the temple derives from its being a synthesis of the various symbols for the
world-axis, such as the hollow mountain, steps and the sacrificial mountain-peak
mentioned above. In certain astrobiological cultures the temple or altar is in fact
built upon an artificial mountain—the teocalli of Mexico is an example. A more
advanced concept can be seen in the architectural portrayal of those essential
elements of the inner pattern of the universe founded upon the numbers three,
seven, ten and twelve in particular. Seven is basic to the representation of the
planets and their derived symbolisms, and hence the Mesopotamian templemountains—or ziggurats—were constructed after the fashion of a seven-terraced
pyramid. Each of the terraces was dedicate to a particular planet. The Babylonian
ziggurat known as Etemenanki (‘the house of the seven directions of heaven and
earth’) was built of crude bricks overlaid with others that had been fired. A tablet
in the Louvre records that in plan it measured 2,200 feet long by 1,200 wide. The
first level was black in colour and dedicated to Saturn, the second orange-coloured
and sacred to Jupiter, the third red and consecrated to Mars, the fourth golden and
sacred to the Sun, the fifth yellow (to Venus), the sixth blue (to Mercury), the
seventh silver (to the Moon) (39). This order is not always observed, for sometimes the Moon is situated in the sixth heaven and the Sun in the seventh (17).
Berthelot, however, suggests that the ziggurat not only embraces the mystic
aspects of the Mountain and the Centre (by virtue of its mass and situation) and
of Steps (because of its shape), but also constitutes an image of paradise, since
vegetation appears to flourish on its terraces (7). The origins of this type of
structure are Sumerian (7), and examples are to be found in Egypt, India, China
and pre-Columbian America. Eliade, in confirming this, adds that the climb to the top of the Mesopotamian or of the Hindu temple-mountain was equivalent to an
ecstatic journey to the ‘Centre’ of the world; once the traveller has reached the
topmost terrace, he breaks free from the laws of level, transcends profane space
and enters a region of purity (18). It is hardly necessary to observe that climbing
mountains implies ultimately the same mystic tendency, as can be seen in the fact
that mountain heights are the chosen abode of the recluse. And the favourable
symbolic significance of the goat derives solely from his predilection for heights.
Another important example of the temple-mountain, a product of Hindu culture,
comes from Indo-China—the temple of Borobudur built in the centre of the
island of Java in the 8th century of our era. Basically it consists of four levels of
square-shaped galleries, with four more circular platforms on top surmounted by
an enclosed belvedere. In form, then, it is similar to the Egyptian ziggurat, or, in
the Khmer language, a Phnom, signifying a temple-mountain comparable with
Meru, the Hindu Olympus. Four flights of steps up the centre of each pyramid
face lead directly from the base to the top. It would appear that the profoundest
meaning attached to this temple is of a supernatural character. Its name—
Borobudur—signifies ‘the seat of secret revelation’. All graduated edifices such
as steps concern the symbolism of discontinuous spiritual evolution, that is, the
separate but progressive stages of evolution (6). At the same time, the groundplan of the Borobudur temple is diagrammatically a true yantra, and its various
square and round-shaped levels constitute a mandala related to the symbolism of
‘squaring the circle’ (6). The symbolic structure of the Greek temple is fundamentally the same as that of the lake-dwelling: that is, it symbolizes the intercommunication between the Three Worlds—the Lower (represented by the water and
the piles on the one hand and earth and the subterranean part on the other), the
Terrestrial (the base and columns) and the Upper (suggested by the pediment).
Christian cathedrals are related less to the macrocosm than to the microcosm, the
human figure being depicted in terms of the apse (representing the head), the
cross and transepts (the arms), the nave and side aisles (the body) and the altar
(the heart). In the Gothic temple, the upward sweep, the vital rôle of the vertical
axis—and indeed the structure as a whole—embrace the idea of the templemountain with its implied synthesis of the symbolism of both macrocosm and
microcosm. According to Schneider, the two towers usually placed at the western
face correspond to the twin-peaked ‘mountain of Mars’ in primitive megalithic
cultures (and linked with the Gemini myth), while the cimborrio over the transept
is expressive of a higher synthesis, an image of heaven. Both the synthesis and the
crux of the matter are established by Gershom G. Scholem, in Les Origines de la
Kabbale (Paris, 1966). He recalls that God lives in his reason or that God is the absolute Reason and logos of the world, and that the temple ‘is the house’ or
abode of God, and thus identifies temple with reason.

To see a temple in your dream, represents inspiration, spiritual thinking, meditation and growth. It is also symbolic of your physical body and the attention you give it. Perhaps you need to pamper yourself. Alternatively, the dream suggests that you are looking for a place of refuge and a place to keep things that are dear to you.

Seeing a temple in your dream, represents your spiritual thinking, meditation and growth. It is also symbolic of your physical body and the attention you give it.

Man comes to see himself as a symbol in so far as he is conscious of his
being. Hallstatt art, in Austria, shows fine examples of animal-heads with human
figures appearing above them. In India, in New Guinea, in the West as well, the
bull’s or ox’s head with a human form drawn between the horns is a very common
motif. Since the bull is a symbol for the father-heaven, man comes to be seen as
both his and the earth’s son (22), also, as a third possibility, the son of the sun and
the moon (49). The implications of Origen’s remark: ‘Understand that you are
another world in miniature and that in you are the sun, the moon and also the
stars’, are to be found in all symbolic traditions. In Moslem esoteric thought, man
is the symbol of universal existence (29), an idea which has found its way into
contemporary philosophy in the definition of man as ‘the messenger of being’;
however, in symbolic theory, man is not defined by function alone (that of
appropriating the consciousness of the cosmos), but rather by analogy, whereby
he is seen as an image of the universe. This analogical relationship is sometimes
expressed explicitly, as in some of the more ancient sections of the Upanishads—
the Brihadaranyaka and the Chandogya for instance—where the analogy between the human organism and the macrocosmos is drawn step by step by means
of correspondences with the organs of the body and the senses (7). So, for
example, the components of the nervous system are derived from fiery substance, and blood from watery substance (26). These oriental concepts first
appear in the West during the Romanesque period: Honorius of Autun, in his Elucidarium (12th century) states that the flesh (and the bones) of man are
derived from the earth, blood from water, his breath from air, and body-heat from
fire. Each part of the body relates to a corresponding part of the universe: the
head corresponds to the heavens, the breath to air, the belly to the sea, the lower
extremities to earth. The five senses were given analogies in accordance with a
system which came to Europe, perhaps, from the Hebrews and the Greeks (14).
Thus, Hildegard of Bingen, living in the same period, states that man is disposed
according to the number five: he is of five equal parts in height and five in girth; he
has five senses, and five members, echoed in the hand as five fingers. Hence the
pentagram is a sign of the microcosmos. Agrippa of Nettesheim represented this graphically, after Valeriano, who drew the analogy between the five-pointed star
and the five wounds of Christ. There is a relationship, too, between the organic
laws of Man and the Cistercian temple (14). Fabre d’Olivet, following the Cabala,
maintains that another number closely associated with the human being is nine—
the triple ternary. He divides human potentialities into three planes: those of the
body, of the soul or life and of the spirit. Each of these planes is characterized by
three modes: the active, the passive and the neutral (43). In the Far East, also,
speculation about the symbolism of man began very early. The same kind of
triple ternary organization is to be seen in the ancient teachings of the Taoists
(13). It is also interesting to note that there is a relationship between the human
being and the essential or archetypal animals (the turtle, the phoenix, the dragon
and the unicorn) who appear to bear the same relation to man—who is central—
as the tetramorphs do to the Pantokrator. Now, between man as a concrete
individual and the universe there is a medial term—a mesocosmos. And this
mesocosmos is the ‘Universal Man’, the King (Wang) in Far Eastern tradition,
and the Adam Kadmon of the Cabala. He symbolizes the whole pattern of the
world of manifestation, that is, the complete range of possibilities open to mankind. In a way, the concept corresponds to Jung’s ‘collective unconscious’. According to Guénon, Leibniz—perhaps influenced by Raymond Lull—conceded
that every ‘individual substance’ must contain within itself an integral reproduction of the universe, even if only as an image, just as the seed contains the totality
of the being into which it will develop (25). In Indian symbolism, Vaishvânara, or
the ‘Universal Man’, is divided into seven principal sections: (1) The superior,
luminous spheres as a whole, or the supreme states of being; (2) the sun and the
moon—or rather, the principles to which they pertain—as expressed in the right
and the left eye respectively; (3) the fire-principle—the mouth; (4) the directions
of space—the ears; (5) the atmosphere—the lungs; (6) the intermediary zone
between earth and heaven—the stomach; (7) the earth—the natural functions or
the lower part of the body. The heart is not mentioned, because, being the ‘centre’
or dwelling-place of Brahma, it is regarded as being beyond the ‘wheel’ of things
(26). Now, this concept of the ‘Universal Man’ implies hermaphroditism, though
never specifically. For the concrete, existential human being, in so far as he is
either a man or a woman, represents the dissected ‘human’ whole, not only in the
physical sense but also spiritually. Thus, to quote the Upanishads: ‘He was, in
truth, as big as a man and a woman embracing. He divided this atman into two
parts; from them sprang husband and wife.’ In Western iconography one sometimes finds images which would seem to be echoes of this concept (32). A human
couple, by their very nature, must always symbolize the urge to unite what is in
fact discrete. Figures which are shown embracing one another, or joining hands, or growing out of roots which bind them together, and so on, symbolize ‘conjunction’, that is, coincidentia oppositorum. There is a Hindu image representing the
‘joining of the unjoinable’ (analogous to the marriage of fire and water) by the
interlinking of Man and Woman, which may be taken to symbolize the joining of
all opposites: good and bad, high and low, cold and hot, wet and dry, and so on
(32). In alchemy, Man and Woman symbolize sulphur and mercury (the metal).
In psychology, level-symbolism is often brought to bear upon the members of the
body, so that the right side corresponds to the conscious level and the left to the
unconscious. The shapes of the parts of the body, depending upon whether they
are positive or negative—whether they are protuberances or cavities—should be
seen not only as sex-symbols but also in the light of the symbolism of levels. The
head is almost universally regarded as a symbol of virility (56). The attitudes
which the body may take up are of great symbolic importance, because they are
both the instrument and the expression of the human tendency towards ascendence
and evolution. A position with the arms wide open pertains to the symbolism of
the cross. And a posture in the form of the letter ‘X’ refers to the union of the two
worlds, a symbol which is related to the hour-glass, the ‘X’ and all other symbols
of intersection (50). Another important posture is that of Buddha in the traditional iconography of the Orient, a posture characteristic also of some Celtic gods
such as the so-called ‘Bouray god’ or the famous Roquepertuse figure. This
squatting position expresses the renunciation of the ‘baser part’ and of ambulatory movement and symbolizes identification with the mystic centre.

To see a man in your dream, denotes the aspect of yourself that is assertive, rational, aggressive, and/or competitive. Perhaps you need to incorporate these aspects into your own character. If the man is known to you, then the dream may reflect you feelings and concerns you have about him.

If you are a woman and dream that you are in the arms of a man, then it suggests that you are accepting and welcoming your stronger assertive personality. It may also highlight your desires to be in a relationship and your image of the ideal man.

To see an old man in your dream, represents wisdom or forgiveness. The old man may be a archetypal figure who is offering guidance to some daily problem.

To dream of a man, if handsome, well formed and supple, denotes that you will enjoy life vastly and come into rich possessions. If he is misshapen and sour-visaged, you will meet disappointments and many perplexities will involve you.

For a woman to dream of a handsome man, she is likely to have distinction offered her. If he is ugly, she will experience trouble through some one whom she considers a friend.

Seeing a man in your dream indicates the masculine aspect of yourself - the side that is assertive, rational, aggressive, and/or competitive. If the man is known to you, then the dream may reflect you feelings and concerns you have about him. If you are a woman and dream that you are in the arms of a man, suggests that you are accepting and welcoming your stronger assertive personality . It may also highlight your desires to be in a relationship and your image of the ideal man. Seeing an old man in your dream, represents wisdom or forgiveness.

All different kinds of people clutter our dream landscape. The men in your dream may include family members or total strangers. You may dream about your father, son, husband, or friend and should interpret the dream according to its details. A man, particularly the father figure, may represent collective consciousness and the traditional human spirit. He is the Yang and his energy, when mobilised, creates the earthly realities. Depending on the details of the dream, the masculine figure could be interpreted as the Creator or Destroyer. At times, women dream about men that are strangers to them. These men may represent the women's unconscious psychic energy. At times, a strange and ominous man in men's dreams could represent their "shadow" or their negativity and darker sides of personality.

Dreaming that you are dreaming means your emotional state. You are excessively worried and fearful about a situation or circumstance that you are going through.

The point signifies unity, the Origin and the Centre. It also represents
the principles of manifestation and emanation, and hence in some mandalas the
centre is not actually shown but must be imagined by the initiate. There are two
kinds of point to be considered: that which has no magnitude and is symbolic of
creative virtue, and that which—as suggested by Raymond Lull in his Nova
Geometria—has the smallest conceivable or practicable magnitude and is a symbol of the principle of manifestation. Moses of Leon defined the nature of the
original Point as follows: ‘This degree is the sum total of all subsequent mirrors,
that is, of all external aspects related to this one degree. They proceed therefrom
because of the mystery of the point, which is in itself an occult degree emanating
from the mystery of the pure and awe-inspiring ether. The first degree of all is
absolutely occult, that is, not manifest, and cannot be attained’ (25). This explains why the Centre—identical with the mystic point of Moses of Leon—is
usually represented as a hole.

To see something pointed in your dream, represents action, urgency and completion. The dream suggests that you have arrived to a decision or common understanding. Alternatively, the dream may also be a metaphor that there is a point to your dream. Or you need to get your point across.

To dream that you are hurt, signifies wounded emotions or feelings that you may have suppressed. You need to address these feelings in order to properly heal.

If you hurt a person in your dreams, you will do ugly work, revenging and injuring.

If you are hurt, you will have enemies who will overcome you.

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.