Hi,I decided to post my boyfriend's dream because we would like to understand the meaning and cannot figure it out.
He dreamt:

He is in a wild place with people and he sees two enormous snakes,more short and fat than long and thin.He is not especially afraid of them and they seem not to want to attack the people,he sees how one of them gets into a cave/hole in the ground and he gets worried that if there is an animal inside it could get bitten by the snake.All of a sudden a huge tiger comes out of the cave and runs after everybody there.The tiger is much more powerful than the big snake and could not be bitten by it.He eats one of the man of the group and my boyfiend feels very frightened and tries to escape and thinks that at least the tiger ate somebody else and not him.He tries to get on a tree but knows that it is useless as tigers can jump on trees too. He wakes up.
looking forward to your thoughts. Margit

Margit,
Snakes and caves immediately begs the question: is this a 'Freudian' dream? Let's address that aspect to determine if in fact there is some relationship to sex in the dream. It may be too obvious to be a sexual dream but elimination of the possibilities is a good place to start.

Two snakes. Although both are described as being short and fat, the dream may be alluding to comparisons; long and thin. Have there been any conversations about the subject of size and shape recently?

His fear of an animal inside the whole could be focusing on his own animal instincts. Running after everybody may be alluding to a sexual attitude. Part of him may be consumed by this attitude {he eats one of the men}.

The comparison part of the dream, if in fact it is that, may be pointing to worries about size. A man always wants to be in charge when it comes to sex and if he feels he doesn't measure up then the feminine {tiger} would be viewed as more powerful. The fear of not being able to satisfy his female partner puts a man in a inferior position, something that goes against the grain of a man and his sexual identity.

Digest the above possibility, turn and twist it a bit, and see if it fits somewhere. If not we can begin to look elsewhere. In that process also look to other possibilities where the man is put into an inferior position. The dream symbols can have sexual overtones and actually be focusing on something else very similar {inferior position of a man}.

Gerard

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 57 Murfreesboro, Tn.

Have You Posted Before? Date of Last Post {Use Search and Your Post Name to Help Find Last Post} Male

How Did You Find the Dream Forum? Yes

Hi, I reflected on the freudian connection, but as what size and shape is regarded there is no problem in him.On the contrary, he is quite self-confident in the physical realm of masculinity. He is also a hardworker(builder) and physically quite fit and also acknowledged at work and admired.I think it has more to do with the anima connection.You know from my other posts that we consider our relationship a catalyst for consciousness. So, I get the feeling that he sometimes perceives me as threatening.Not so much because I AM threatening but because he has something to work thru with a mother complex.For example,when I am sick and complaining,instead of feeling empathy he feels adversion towards me.After talking about that he explained that his mother(who went thru a painful divorce and was abandonned by the father) sort of tried to control him thru weakness/sickness and possessiveness.So sometimes I get the sensation that he doesn't see ME,but his mother in a situation where weakness is involved from my side.If I cry for example he just escapes...He rejects me in such a state and feels that he needs space.Of course;I feel abandonned and rejected then and even mor depressed.This is the mechanism and my own hang up gets activated,too.
So I think the dream has to do with anima.Maybe as I start to work on my animus problem this constellates in his dream a response.I don't know...
Ah,he sometimes also tells me that I humillate him(I was really observing that and must admit that sometimes i am very masculine and rebellious and there is a sort of competition going on,but I never do it knowingly).I have just become aware of this pattern.Such as he is convinced that he drives better than me ,for instance,and on top of that has just got his driving license.So that irritates me and I drop the odd comment which is putting him down subtely as a driver(not on purpose,it just slips out without realizing it and maybe other people don't even notice.It is more energetic than words).He attaches that to his masculinity and gets completely pissed off.So maybe the size problem is more there in the inner.I am also more in the intellectual world with my job and live in the animus world of thoughts,clarity,words,language and philosophy.Maybe that helps as a backgound. looking forward to your ideas.margit

Margit,
This dream, and a Freudian approach, demonstrates two aspects of dream interpretation. One is Freud should be used sparingly and two, the age of the dreamer is most critical when interpreting dreams. To simplify a dream interpretation by using Freud is often a mistake and at best {an example: Tony Soprano's Dream} can only skim the surface of what is at play within the deeper psyche of the dreamer. The positive aspect of this dream is you are already aware of the other approach to dreams, one that is more beneficial to understanding the deeper psyche, the Jungian way.

And the age factor is most important. If this were a dream of a younger person it very well might fit. A recent dream {for which I unfortunately was unable to find on a quick search of the Forum} about snakes and caves posted a younger man was indeed a sexual dream. But he was in his twenties and still building his ego. An older man's dream would less likely confront sexual issues since the dreamer most likely would not still have an issue with sex {unless there was an addiction to sex}. As you stated in your response, the issues that your boyfriend is facing in his waking life is more about personal growth, working through psyche issues, and sorting through the 'baggage' accumulated in his life.

In the Jungian approach snakes would symbolize a transformation process and caves the deeper unconscious. The two snakes would represent the two opposing aspects of that transformation {ego self vs the Self}. What threatens the ego is very often the feminine {tiger}. The ego self would naturally be frightened by the feminine. If there is a transformation taking place the feminine will eat away at the ego aspects { the tiger ate somebody else} until there is a realization that the feminine is not an advisory but a friend. There will attempts by the ego to refuse to accept the feminine but if there is a bonafide effort to seek guidance from the deeper psyche the ego will eventually realize it has little hope in its attempts {He tries to get on a tree but knows that it is useless}. Trees are all about personal, natural growth and the feminine domain is with the tree of life.

Of course the feminine cahllenge in his life is his own psyche and you {Margit}.

So the tiger in his dream would be two fold, both representing the feminine {and possibly a reference to the two snakes of transformation}. One would be his own feminine psyche which is prodding him to undertake the transformation from self to Self. The other would be you, the feminine woman in his life who is supporting this transformation. You are at times deemed a threat {the tiger in his dream} and there is no escape your animus. Intellectually you are more powerful and to the majority of men on this planet, that is a real threat.

My mistake {albeit a bit consciously contrived} was to let Tony Soprano {the ultimate egotistical icon} cloud reason and knowledge {I was aware of your previous posts}. But ultimately it provided a look at what could have been a sexual dream for a younger man, but in reality required a Jungian approach. If this were your dream then of course there would need to be a totally different interpretation. Sex and age of the dreamer is most important when analyzing a dream.

Note: It is truly refreshing to have so many who participate in this forum who have a working knowledge of Jungian psyche. If Margit did not possess these skills there would most likely not been a continuing dialog about this dream. Kudos to Margit for being a true Jungian, and for her participation. And for not being afraid to challenge an interpretation that she felt not quite correct.

Gerard

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 57 Murfreesboro, Tn.

Have You Posted Before? Date of Last Post {Use Search and Your Post Name to Help Find Last Post} Male

How Did You Find the Dream Forum? Yes

Hi Gerard,thanks for commenting on the dream.your interpretation makes sense this time and yes I am a great admirer of Jung and his disciples.However, I must say that I am only an apprentice and my understanding is still very small.The only thing that is for sure is that I have always liked Jung since I was a teenie and read about his approach.
Then I started my Tibetan Buddhist training and came back to Jung or some of his disciples at times of great inner change. I never had the opportunity to do Jungian therapy(I would like to but in my geographical location this is a bit difficult).So basically it is following my own dreams,entering my inner world and reading such wonderful authors as Marion Woodman,von Franz and Schierse Leonard for example.And of course partecipating in this forum which is really helpful.I listened to the tapes by M.Woodman about dreams you recommended and I am reading Conscious Femininity.I feel so grateful that in this world there are people so brave to undergo the journey of Self discovery into the unconscious and willing to bear and embrace dark nights of the soul,the shadow and all these split disruptive daemonic forces which want to be accepted and loved and share their hidden treasures with us once integrated.
The other day to my great pleasure I read somewhere that Jung also experienced Hermann Hesse's Book Demian as a turning point meeting the God Abraxas.It is funny because when I was fifteen I read this book and from that point on I knew who my "god" would be.This union of dark and light, this complete soul/self where heaven and earth are united.Of course,as Marion Woodman says to become conscious we have to pass through the pain, be open to the pain.Maybe let our hearts break and become vulnerable and feel the sadness and shed the tears when the rigid armour falls.
And as one of my favourite poets Rilke says:
How should we be able to forget those ancient myths that are at the beginning of all peoples, the myths about dragons that at the last moment turn into princesses; perhaps all the dragons of our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us once beautiful and brave. Perhaps everything terrible is in its deepest being something helpless that wants help from us.

just wanted to share this, maybe just images,disconnected ideas(lol)no linear thread and thinking.Just wanted to say thank you to all the heroes and heroines on the path.Margit