Bear is one of my strongest Totems, however most of the Animals are my Totems, as with my Shamanic relationship to the Animal Kingdom and her Majestic Wisdom.
I am a Bear and these dreams were my first encounter with Bear. This was a very short dream sequence, however it's significance is key!
At this point, The Big Bear was very close to me... I was scared and acted dead, as I lay there very still. The bear sniffed his way around me and poked a bunch.. I was sweating and breathing fast.
I noticed the Bear turning a way, so I leaped up! The Bear looked at me and came towards me, so I ripped it's face off! Since i was in the Dream State, the ripping of the Bear's face was vey animated and very much a clear tear.
Upon waking, I wore my crystal bear necklace.. a couples hours in, I took it off and placed it on my kitchen counter.. suddenly falling to the floor, landed and broke from the impact.. It's face was gone! OMG, twas a sign. The symbology was around "The Faceless Stranger".. 2 medicine women told me that day. As to be paying attention to the strangers I walk by and the messages they bring, while in passing.. and the faces i may never remember, but their words will be with me forever to teach.
More dreams about Bears... where I continue to tear their face off. It's almost a given this was going to happen each time. I always felt so threatened. I knew that these were dream messages and that I needed to learn how to receive them without fear.
So, my dreams continued with The Bear until things shifted for the Greater!
There I was, in a house.. The Bear was upstairs and this Cow was on another level.
This house had an open plan, so every room and level could see into every room and level. The Bear began chasing me around this Huge House! Upstairs, Downstairs... we even visited The Cow for a moment and The Cow smiled very animatedly, like a cartoon.. What a trip!
We went in circles and circle and circles until The Bear was going crazy, almost Manic! Suddenly, The Bear came right at me and I saw his arm raise up, so I immediately raised my arms as if I was about to Tear it's face off... and all of a sudden The Bear ducked down and Tickled my Armpit... and Smiled, from Ear to Ear, like The Cow! We Both Started Laughing Hysterically!
I awoke from my dream, laughing out loud, very loudly and I raised my arms and hands and said, "YES, I DID IT!!"
To see a bear in your dream, symbolizes independence, the cycle of life, death and renewal, and resurrection. You are undergoing a period of introspection and thinking. The dream may also be a pun on "bare". Perhaps you need to bare your soul and let everything out into the open.
To dream that you are being pursued or attacked by a bear, denotes aggression, overwhelming obstacles and competition. You may find yourself in a threatening situation or domineering relationship.
To see a polar bear in your dream, signifies a reawakening.
Bear is significant of overwhelming competition in pursuits of every kind.
To kill a bear, portends extrication from former entanglements.
A young woman who dreams of a bear will have a threatening rival or some misfortune.
Dreaming that you are being pursued or attacked by a bear indicates aggression, overwhelming obstacles and competition. You may find yourself in a threatening situation. Alternatively, bears symbolize the cycle of life and death and renewal. It may signal of period of introspection and thinking. The dream may also be a pun on "bare". Perhaps you need to bare your soul and let everything out into the open. Dreaming of a polar bear means a reawakening.
A bear in a dream is a very rich and complicated dream symbol.
Bears are highly regarded symbols in a variety of cultures and traditions. The interpretation of the bear in a dream may be influenced by your perception of it and by the events in the dream. The bear may represent qualities in your character or specific aspects of your personality. Bears are usually associated with danger and aggression, and a bear can represent an adversay, but this is a very narrow view of this powerful dream symbol.
Bears are solitary animals, so a bear in a dream can signify the ability to rely on your own strength to survive. Bears symbolize independence, either in yourself or in someone else.
Females bears are solitary mothers. Therefore,a bear in a dream often symbolizes a mother figure. The behavior of the bear, whether it is uncaring, possessive or devouring, can indicate how you feel towards your own mother.
A bear that is clearly male can stand for a father figure, or just an overbearing person in your life.
A bear can also represent the ability to revive yourself after a period of rest, based on the fact that bears hibernate in winter.
Bears in dreams may represent a period of introspection and depression. However, this may be a part of a healing cycle, where the dreamer has retreated into himself in order to regenerate and in order to create something new and valuable in his life.
Bear Meanings from Native North American Views
When we walk the Path with the bear, this animal will inevitably tell us about its long history with the First People of North America.
As a Native American symbol, the bear is as free in spirit as the great wind; and grander than its mass. To match that magnitude is the quality of unpredictability in the bear. A massive animal who forages seemingly peacefully in the woods on berries and bush. when provoked in certain ways, the First Peoples witnessed a ferocity expressed from the bear that (understandably) could elicited terror.
Because of this potentially furious storm brewing just under the surface of bears spirit, our native forebears were extremely cautious and respectful of this animal. Even tribes inclined to peace honored the spirit of a warrior, and witnessing the bear seemed to embody that kind of blind, powerful surge of courage and strength that every warrior is want to tap into.
Bear meanings were enhanced by observations made tribal sages. These vital tribal figures were inclined to pensive and deeper understanding of how nature communicated intent in all her forms. These sages found connections between human and beast and from these associations would interpret profound meanings that propelled the community into direction, action, and wisdom.
One such connection to bear meaning comes from a Shoshone sage who, set about bridging worlds in a manner of trance walking. During his trance walk, he was gifted with the site of a clan of bears who were performing what seemed to be a ritual dance.
These were not spirit bears, but real bears, on their hind legs, dancing in the golden rays of the sun. The Shoshone sage understood this to be a dance of gratitude as well as a prayer for the healing and protection of their young. From that point further the Shoshone have instigated their own Sun Dance where the bear is a central figure of the ritual symbolizing protection, strength and continuation of the progeny of the tribe.
Native American Bear Meaning - A quick list of keywords summoned by the tribal mind:
Protection
Childbearing
Motherhood
Freedom
Discernment
Courage
Power
Unpredictable
We see a lot of connections with bear and man in the Native mind. We can intuit these bear meanings to come from the human-like appearance of the bear when it’s posed on hind legs. Further, the natives observed the bear looks remarkably human when skinned of its fur.
Bear meanings of motherhood and child protection continue in the Aleut and Haida minds where legend indicates the bear would take a tribal woman as its wife. From this union, man and bear strengthened their greatest aspects, combining the best (and sometimes worst) traits.
As a Sioux symbol, the bear also has healing symbolism. Sioux legend indicates mother bear was weary from carrying her heavy babies in her belly. She was having trouble walking and feared she could not make the journey to the great foraging fields to feed during her final days of pregnancy. She rested against redwood sorrel plant and the plant spoke to her, telling her that if she ate of its leaves her body would be able to sustain her load. Mother bear did as the sorrel advised to discover the treatment worked. She knew her Sioux sisters would have the same troubles when they were heavy with their own babies, so she shared the medicinal advice with the Sioux medicine woman.
The bear is a strong Native American symbol to the Cree who are powerfully connected with the bear. Recognizing its girth, and amazingly effective teeth and claws, the Cree adopted the bear as a symbol for successful hunt. Intricate preparations were made prior to a hunt. These preparations featured the bear as the guest of honor. Every aspect of pre-hunting ritual was designed to honor the bear. Even after the ritual bear skulls would hang in the lodge overnight to induce dreams of bears that provided good luck in the hunt. That is, if the bear was pleased, the dreams would come, and the hunt would be a success.
Above all, bear meaning holds incredible influence and magnitude to the North American tribes. And although the bear is a profound Native American symbol of majesty, freedom and power it is far more. The spiritual connections made with the bear makes it a brother to the First People.
As a brother, the bear imparts this advice to both our ancestors and us today:
Because the bear is cautious, it encourages discernment to humankind.
Because of a fierce spirit, the bear signals bravery to those who require it.
Because of its mass and physical power, the bear stands for confidence and victory.
Because it prefers peace and tranquility (in spite of its size), Bear calls for harmony and balance.
Hibernation is a key attribute of the bear. Having a bear as your power animal indicates the need to go within yourself - to withdraw from the world to find your answers. Your dream time is extremely important.
To see your own face in your dream, represents the persona you show to the world as oppose to the real you. It may refer to how you confront problems and deal with issues in your life.
To dream that your face is flawed or pimply, symbolizes erupting emotions. You may be suffering an attack on your persona or your reputation. According to folklore, if you dream that your face is swollen, then it means that you will see an improvement to your financial situation.
To dream that you or someone has two faces or that the faces changes quickly from one person to another, indicates untrustworthiness. You or someone in your life is acting "two-faced".
To dream that you are washing your face, suggests that you need to come clean about some matter.
This dream is favorable if you see happy and bright faces, but significant of trouble if they are disfigured, ugly, or frowning on you.
To a young person, an ugly face foretells lovers' quarrels; or for a lover to see the face of his sweetheart looking old, denotes separation and the breaking up of happy associations.
To see a strange and weird-looking face, denotes that enemies and misfortunes surround you.
To dream of seeing your own face, denotes unhappiness; and to the married, threats of divorce will be made.
To see your face in a mirror, denotes displeasure with yourself for not being able to carry out plans for self-advancement. You will also lose the esteem of friends.
Seeing your own face in your dream indicates the persona you choose to show to the world as oppose to the real you. It may refer to confrontations and your willingness to deal with problems and issues in your life. Dreaming that you face is flawed or pimply, represents erupting emotions. You may have suffered an attack on your persona or your reputation.
Associated with the earth and with the moon. A great many lunar
goddesses wear the horns of a cow on their head. When linked with the primigenial
goddess Neith, the cow is a mother-symbol, representing the primal principle of
humidity and endowed with certain androgynous—or gynandrous, rather—characteristics (31). In Egypt it was linked with the idea of vital heat (39). Vac, the
feminine aspect of Brahma, is known as the ‘melodious Cow’ and as the ‘Cow of
abundance’, the first description stemming from the idea of the world’s creation
out of sound, while the second—as hardly needs be said—comes from its function of nourishing the world with its milk, the fine dust of the Milky Way. In this
we can see also the idea of heaven as a fecundating bull, with its sex in verted; in Hindu belief, the bull and the cow represent the active and the passive aspects of
the generating forces of the universe (40).
To see a cow in your dream, symbolizes your passive and docile nature. You obey others without question. Alternatively, a cow represents maternal instincts or the desire to be cared for. For some cultures, the cow represents divine qualities of fertility, nourishment and motherhood.
To see the skeleton of a cow, suggests that your mother or motherly figure in your waking life is displaying a lack of emotions. She is being unresponsive to your needs.
To see a herd of cows, indicates your need to belong.
To dream that you are milking a cow, represents your willingness and drive to work hard. In the end, you will benefit from your hard work.
Milking cow is a sign of riches. To be pursued by a cow indicates an overtaking
enemy.
Seeing a cow in your dream means your obedience to authority without question. It symbolizes your passive and docile nature. Alternatively, it represents maternal instincts or the desire to be cared for. For some cultures, the cow represents divine qualities of fertility, nourishment and motherhood. Seeing a cow with a skeleton face, suggests that you mother or motherly figure in your waking life is displaying a lack of emotions. She is being unresponsive to your needs. Seeing a herd of cows indicates your need to belong.
In our dreams, this simple domestic animal can represent a variety of very important and deeply felt issues. In some cultures the cow is a sacred symbol, representing divine qualities of fertility, nourishment and motherhood. Consider the details in your dream and make attempts to identify the individual, (it could be yourself), to whom the symbolism applies. Additional characteristics to consider when interpreting a dream with cows as one of the primary symbols are passivity, docility and general contentment with life. The cow is mostly a positive dream symbol, and superstition-based dream interpretations say that grazing cows are symbols of prosperity, contentment and happiness.
Cow Symbolism
In many cultures the cow is symbolic of Mother Earth, and has been a symbol of fertility, nurturing, and power.
This makes udder sense (pardon the pun), cows have been generous with their life force for eons. They are closely associated with provision and very earth-associated in symbolism.
The cow is also a lunar symbol, aligning itself with feminine (yin) qualities (see list of yin attributes) among the Chinese yin-yang energies.
A quick-list of Animal symbolism of the cow would include:
Patience
Nourishment
Abudance
Fertility
Female Power
Potential
Possibility
Calming
Grounded
Provision
Beginnings
The Egyptian goddess Nut is sometimes depicted with the cow having four stars on its belly. This represents the four cosmic quadrants of the earth, and the respective flavor each directional energy freely flows through each of these corners.
Also in Egyptian mythology, Hathor was an ancient goddess worshipped as a cow-deity. Hathor was the Great Mother gooddess of joy, and was considered the nourisher of all things. She was originally a personification of the Milky Way, which was seen as the milk that flowed from the udders of a heavenly cow. She was also considered a protective goddess and an emblem of royalty.
In Norse mythology the cow makes an appearance as Audhumla whose utters emitted the four rivers of power - these provided nourishment for the giants (primarily the first giant, Ymir) that ruled the First World.
In Vedic literature the cow is also a symbol of abundance and fertility as it represents both earth and sky.
To Hindus and Buddhists, symbolism of the cow deals with patience and holiness. It is considered India's most sacred animal. The calm, tender nature of the cow wins this right among the Buddhists.
The cow is a symbol of motherhood and hourishment. It is also a symbol of fertility.
Cows can teach us about the home and community and the joy, contentment therein. Cows aid us in realizing to be easy going and live in the moment. They show us about love and connections at work and home. Cow also may demonstrate how to eat properly. Are eating enough fruits and vegetables? Are you happy at home? Cow can teach how to make those changes that are needed to balance to the joy in your surroundings.
Mystics have always traditionally considered the feminine aspect of
the universe as a chest, a house or a wall, as well as an enclosed garden. Another
symbolic association is that which equates the house (and the above, related
forms) with the repository of all wisdom, that is, tradition itself (4). In architectural symbolism, on the other hand, the house carries not only an overall symbolism but also particular associations attached to each of its component parts.
Nevertheless, the house as a home arouses strong, spontaneous associations with
the human body and human thought (or life, in other words), as has been confirmed empirically by psychoanalysts. Ania Teillard explains this by pointing
out that, in dreams, we employ the image of the house as a representation of the
different layers of the psyche. The outside of the house signifies the outward
appearance of Man: his personality or his mask. The various floors are related to
the vertical and spatial symbols. The roof and upper floor correspond to the head
and the mind, as well as to the conscious exercise of self-control. Similarly, the
basement corresponds to the unconscious and the instincts (just as sewers do, in
symbols pertaining to the city). The kitchen, since this is where foodstuff is
transformed, sometimes signifies the place or the moment of psychic transmutation in the alchemical sense. The intercommunicating rooms speak for themselves. The stairs are the link between the various planes of the psyche, but their
particular significance depends upon whether they are seen as ascending or descending. Finally, there is, as we have said, the association of the house with the
human body, especially regarding its openings, as was well understood by
Artemidorus Daldianus (56).
To see a house in your dream, represents your own soul and self. Specific rooms in the house indicate a specific aspect of your psyche. In general, the attic represents your intellect, the basement represents the unconscious, etc. If the house is empty, then it indicates feelings of insecurity. If the house is shifting, then it suggests that you are going through some personal changes and changing your belief system. To dream that a house has no walls, represents a lack of privacy. You feel that everyone is looking over your shoulder or up in your business.
To dream that you are cleaning your house, signifies your need to clear out your thoughts and get rid of old ways. You are seeking self-improvement.
If you live with others in your waking life, but dream that you are living alone, suggests that you need to take new steps toward independence. You need to accept responsibilities and be more self-reliant.
To see an old, run-down house in your dream, represents your old beliefs, attitudes and how you used to think or feel. A situation in your current life may be bringing about those same old attitudes and feelings. Alternatively, the old house may symbolize your need to update you mode of thinking. To dream that your house is damaged, indicates your waking concerns about the condition of your house.
To see a new house in your dream, indicates that you are entering into a new phase or new area in your life. You are becoming more emotionally mature. If you are locked out of the house, then it represents rejection and insecurity. You feel you are being left behind.
To dream that your house is broken into, suggests that you are feeling violated. It may refer to a particular relationship or current situation in your life. Alternatively, it indicates that some unconscious material is attempting to make itself known. There are some aspects of yourself that you have denied.
To dream of a haunted house, signifies unfinished emotional business, related to your childhood family, dead relatives, or repressed memories and feelings.
To dream that a house has disappeared, indicates that you are not feeling grounded. You feel uprooted by a particular circumstance or relationship in your life.
To dream that water is rising up in your house, suggests that you are becoming overwhelmed by your emotions.
To dream of building a house, you will make wise changes in your present affairs.
To dream that you own an elegant house, denotes that you will soon leave your home for a better, and fortune will be kind to you.
Old and dilapidated houses, denote failure in business or any effort, and declining health.
Seeing a house in your dream, represents your own soul and self. Specific rooms in the house indicate a specific aspect of your psyche. In general, the attic represents your intellect, the basement represents the unconscious, etc. If the house is empty, then it indicates feelings of insecurity. If the house is shifting, then it suggests that you are going through some personal changes and changing your belief system. Dreaming that you are cleaning your house means your need to clear out your thoughts and getting rid of old ways. You are seeking self-improvement. Seeing an old, run-down house in your dream, represents your old beliefs, attitudes and how you used to think or feel. A situation in your current life may be bringing about those same old attitudes and feelings. Alternatively, the old house may symbolize your need to update you mode of thinking. Dreaming that your house is broken into, suggests that you are feeling violated. It may refer to a particular relationship or current situation in your life. Alternatively, it indicates that some unconscious material is attempting to make itself known. There are some aspects of yourself that you have denied. Dreaming of a haunted house means unfinished emotional business, related to your childhood family, dead relatives, or repressed memories and feelings. Dreaming that a house disappeared, indicates that you are not feeling grounded. You feel uprooted by a particular circumstance or relationship in your life.
It is common to dream about houses. They usually symbolise our emotional and psychological selves. All of your experiences, stages of development, and parts of your conscious and unconscious life may be represented by that house. The house may be representing issues concerning a particular dilemma in your life, or it may be more general and comprehensive. Either way, if you pay attention to the details in this dream, you may learn a thing or two about yourself.
This is a term which refers to that aspect of the symbolism of space
which is concerned with the simple moral pattern deriving from the notions of
height and—ultimately—of centre. Hindu doctrine describes the three fundamental states of the human spirit as sattva, which is ‘loftiness’ of spirit; rajas—
manifestation, struggle and dynamism; and tamas, or obscurity and brute instinct; and these three states are located on three vertical levels. Strictly speaking,
there are five zones or levels: the absolute low level and the absolute high level,
plus the central area divided into three zones merging into each other and at the same time bringing the outer extremes into progressive relationship. When the
baser levels concern not the intellectual but the moral—which is in essence infinitely more complex and mysterious—then the precise significance of the symbolism is not nearly so hard-and-fast. There is always the possibility of symbolic
Inversion, in which case the two opposing directions have something in common
in that both partake of the idea of depth. Hence the saying: ‘Deep calls to deep.’
The temptations endured by the chosen few find their counterpart in the abysses
of salvation which may be opened up for the reprobate. Dostoievski has spoken
eloquently about this. Finally, here is a quotation from L’Art chinois by M.
Paléologue, written in 1888: ‘Under the Chinese Chou dynasty (11th century
B.C.), the dead of the lower classes were buried in the plains; princes, on hills of
moderate height; and emperors in tombs built on a mountain-top. The head of the
corpse would be turned to face North.’ In virtually every work of art whose
composition is of an ideological rather than a naturalistic character, the verticalline locates the Three Worlds of the infernal, terrestrial (with its own, internal
orders—the marine, the animal and the human) and celestial. Thus, in the
Mesopotamian stele (or Kudurru), the illustrations are arranged on several levels,
divided off by lines to suggest their relative values: the most primitive beings are
placed at the lowest level (since they are closest to the ‘primordial monster’)
while astral bodies and symbols of the godhead are situated on the highest plane.
The same principles are true of Romanesque art.
To dream that you are dreaming, signifies your emotional state. You are excessively worried and fearful about a situation or circumstance that you are going through.
Seeing ears in your dreams, suggests that you need to be more responsive or receptive to guidance and assistance from others. You may be relying too much on your own judgment and intuition. You need to listen more closely to what you are being told. Alternatively, it means your immaturity and lack of experience. Dreaming that you are cleaning wax from your ears, suggests that you are not listening to those around you. There may be something that you are refusing to hear. Are you turning a deaf ear? Dreaming of pain in your ear indicates that you will be receive some bad or offensive news.
To hear laughing or dream that you are laughing, suggests that you need to lighten up and let go of your problems. Don't put so much pressure on yourself. Laughing is also a sign of joyous release and pleasure. If you are being laughed at, then it indicates your insecurities and fears of not being accepted.
To hear evil, demonic laughing in your dream, represents feelings of humiliation and/or helplessness. You feel that someone is working against you.
To dream that you laugh and feel cheerful, means success in your undertakings, and bright companions socially.
Laughing immoderately at some weird object, denotes disappointment and lack of harmony in your surroundings.
To hear the happy laughter of children, means joy and health to the dreamer.
To laugh at the discomfiture of others, denotes that you will wilfully injure your friends to gratify your own selfish desires.
To hear mocking laughter, denotes illness and disappointing affairs.
Dreaming that you are laughing, suggests that you need to lighten up and let go of your problems. Don't put so much pressure on yourself. Laughing is also a sign of joyous release and pleasure. Hearing the cheerful laughter of children indicates splendid joy and vital health. Hearing evil, demonic laughing in your dream, represents feelings of humiliation and/or helplessness.
A symbol of individuality—of private thoughts. The windows symbolize the possibility of understanding and of passing through to the external and
the beyond, and are also an illustration of any idea of communication. Hence, a
closed room lacking windows may be symbolic of virginity, according to Frazer,
and also of other kinds of non-communication. Many rites involving the
enclosureimage are performed to mark the reaching of puberty, all over the world.
The legend about Danae, shut up by her father in a bronze tower, pertains to this
particular symbolism. There is a Siberian legend concerning a ‘dark house of iron’
which is also relevant to it (21). We might also mention the ‘vase with a lid’, one
of the eight emblems of good luck in Chinese Buddhism, and a symbol of wholeness, of the idea with no ‘exit’, or, in other words, of supreme intelligence triumphant over birth and death (signified respectively by the doors and windows of
the room) (5). This explains why the hermetically sealed room may possibly be
a variant form of the ‘vase with a lid’.
To dream that you are in a room, represents a particular aspect of yourself or a specific relationship. Dreams about various rooms often relate to hidden areas of the conscious mind and different aspects of your personality. If the room is welcoming or comfortable, then it signifies opulence and satisfaction in life. If you see a dark or confined room, then it denotes that you feel trapped or repressed in a situation.
To dream that you find or discover a new room, suggests that you are developing new strengths and taking on new roles. You may be growing emotionally. Consider what you find in the discovered room as it may indicate repressed memories, fears, or rejected emotions. Alternatively, such rooms are symbolic of neglected skills or rejected potential.
To dream that you are in an empty white room, indicates a fresh start. It is like a blank canvas where you want to start life anew. Alternatively, the dream means that you are trying to isolate yourself. You do not want any outside influences.
To dream of a yellow room, suggests that you need to use your mind. You are feeling stimulated mentally.
Dreaming that you are in a room, represents a particular aspect of yourself or a particular relationship. Dreams about various rooms often relate to hidden areas of the conscious mind and different aspects of your personality. Dreaming that you find or discover new rooms, suggests that you are developing new strengths and taking on new roles. You may be growing emotionally. Seeing an appealing or comfortable room in your dream means opulence and satisfaction in life. Seeing a dark, eerie or confining room indicates that that you feel trapped or repressed in a situation.