Rachael,

Going back over your dream and looking at the opening part of it [with the additional info you provided}, the whole thing about the party {celebration], the big plantation {expanding your horizons}, and having a lot of money {self worth} may suggest wishful thinking for your future {age 18} despite your current realities in your life {living in the South {going south is a declining position} and despite the bad relationship with your dad {which we know is strained at best}. It is your birthday {18th} you are celebrating {hopefully things will change then for you}. The wish is for a positive ego life {white and gold gown} despite the realities {looking different for the future but for now it is still you as things really are}. The house {you} and the balcony would represent moving up the social ladder. The balcony may also represent a desire to stand out, and that would be an area that would involve your father. I can relate to your position in life since I too had a father that left the family and gave little attention to us. But that did not diminish the desire to be loved and accepted by him. This first part of the dream would set the stage for the rest of the dream and what the primary emotional conflict is about.

The two friends you have are one, yourself, and the other Alex. You and Alex think a lot alike {a named person in a dream usually represents someone you identify with}. Alex is on his own and independent and that is what you want it life. the other friend, you is that independent person you wish to be. this is an old soul because it is your true self.

I do think the railing is about security. and the 'he' is about your animus masculine aspects. It is not usual for a dream to use the same symbol {he/Alex-the masculine} in different context. The person you are warning in the dream is yourself. This would represent the possibilities of the fear of 'failing' to achieve what you wish for in your future. Without a strong masculine attitude you will not achieve these goals of independence. You are in dialog with your masculine aspects in attempt to boost them so they can support you {a need to have strong masculine attitudes to succeed}. There is a lot of fear of this failing you. A reason for such fears is because you have not had a strong masculine person in your life to provide instructions {neither did I and it caused a lot of problems in my early adult life, and throughout life until I discovered Jungian psyche}.

The gold railing is the rich security you seek and need for your future {again going back to the beginning of the dream which sets the tone for the dream is about}. The bench is symbolic of being passive and not taking the initiative. This is where the strong masculine attitude is needed, a strong 'railing' to support what you are wishing for.

Now the dream changes. This is where I left off in my first post.

The railing gives way, your security is gone. Falling 3 or 4 stories to the ground {your foundation} is putting yourself in a lower position. This may also represent going into the lower realms of the unconscious {on the balcony you are in the higher conscious world}. I'll address the numbers 3-4 later in my interpretation. Your friends {Alex and your masculine aspects} are horrified. If Alex is indeed a part of this then you may have discussed something to do with failing in your desire to be independent. Or he may have had experiences where he failed.

The failing masculine aspects may have to do with not having that masculine support as a younger child in your life. Without that masculine support you can not 'catch yourself'. This would be an inner fear you possess.

There may be a pattern emerging of an unconscious attitude, a complex, that has to do with the animus. There is a desire to be strong and independent but without the sufficient model in your early life it may be one thing that provides a strong 'railing' of security in your masculine self. Again. i had such this type complex because i did not have the father figure in my life as an example to live by. It is a common attitude that exists in a whole lot of people.

Continuing on.
Running down the stairs may suggest unconscious attitudes {the further down you go the deeper into the unconscious-read Jung's House dream}. The ground may symbolize your grounding, the principles and attitudes you life by {which are determined during early childhood}. A rock can be a symbol for 'permanence', the permanent attitude developed during early childhood {wood is also another strong permanent symbol}.

The rib is often symbolic poverty and/or misery. Close eyes may suggest the not seeing, the unconscious. The body is symbolic of self worth. Laughing is a need to let go of any 'hysteria' you may have. The mist represents confusion. At this stage of life you are in a state of confusion, desiring for freedom, independence and better things. That will require a strong masculine self. My sense this is what the dream is about.

As for the number 3-4. The age of 3 is when your father left you. The age of 4 is when a child first starts having childhood memories. Everything within a dream is meaningful, including numbers. The dream actions are symbolic language for what your emotional life is about, conscious and unconscious. Unconscious motivators are expressions within a dream that are meant to help you understand why you are who you are.

The earliest years in life are the foundations for which the rest of the life is built. It was once thought, contrary to Jung's position, that a child is born with a blank slate. Now we know this is not true. Just like all other animals, we are human animals, we are born with a set of instructions that govern life, including the different stages of life {Jung calls these instructions archetypes of the unconscious. Just as the turtle knows to go straight for the ocean when it hatches from its egg, we too know to go to the mother's arms and breast for security and nourishment. We all have masculine and feminine aspects,as we do a shadow and Self {the regulating center of the personality}. When something is out of balance then that becomes a part of our dreams. the intent is therapeutic, the dream is attempting to inform the dreamer of those aspects that are out of balance so the dreamer can correct what is causing emotional conflicts. This is what dreams do.

If you have any questions or can comment on what I have provided please do so. Some of this may be hard to understand and I try to put into words that will help you do that. Unless there is a traumatic event {age 3 or 4} in your life i believe the dream is about the masculine aspects, not having a father {one of the required archetypes to be a whole person} in early life to provide guidance to animus qualities and about the desire to be free and independent later in life {which will require strong masculine qualities} . Look at yourself and see if it doesn't fit.

Jerry

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Wow, I think that all makes perfect sense. Except, my father didnt leave me when I was 3, he stole me away from my mother and lied and cheated in order to keep me. But you're right in that I want to be independent and get away. The balcony might be a stage, now that Ive read everything youve said, because Im hoping to be an actor, either in films or theatre. And my dad holds me back from these things because hes controlling and doesnt really want me to be that. unlike my mother who is supportive of me. So you're right in that I dont have masculine influences and support. And wishful thinking? yeah, possibly. I like dreaming big. I think ill be in the movies on the big screen in years to come. So you're right.

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Rachel,
Thanks for the reply. Once you told me about your father I as able to put the dream into context. Because the dream did open with him, there had to something about that relationship that was central to the dream. What was different was how the dream described the atmosphere as a party which, without knowing the true relationship with your father, could lead a person away from the true association in your waking life. Once it was apparent it was a wish fulfillment dream it all came together.

Then there was Alex. It sometimes can be difficult to determine whether opposite sex images in a dream are solely in relationship with the dreamer or are aspects of the dreamer {anima/animus figures}. Usually with the person is named it is about the relationship. That turned out to be mostly true in your dream. But when it turned into a 'he' the dream began using the masculine as a reference to your animus. That is not unusual for dreams. A symbol can be one thing in one instance and then another the next. What helps distinguish what is what are the evolving patterns. As I mentioned the pattern that seemed to be emerging was an animus application. Once the flow is established everything should fall into place within the dream. That came together quite richly in the dream.

As for the message of the dream. Because there is a need for a strong masculine to achieve your dreams, you need to be conscious of that. When things seem to conspire to get in the way of becoming an actor, your dream goal, you must remember not to give in. You have to learn to develop a strong masculine self to be able to persevere, reach the heights you wish to reach

It might be easier to explain if I use as an example of the thing you wish to be. Acting, and specifically an actor as the hero/heroine. And the best way to do that is to introduce you to Joseph Campbell {himself a Jungian} and the concepts he established for anyone who wishes to fulfill their greatest dreams. The aphorism he used was to 'follow your bliss'. In all great stories, or in his case myths, there is the hero/heroine who is on a quest, what is known as the hero journey . To do achieve her goal the heroine will go on a journey, a quest. Here is how Campbell describes it:

Campbell: There's a certain type of myth which one might call the vision guest, going in quest of a boon, a vision, which has the same form in every mythology. That is the thing that I tried to present in the first book I wrote, The Hero With a Thousand Faces. All these different mythologies give us the same essential quest. You leave the world that you're in and go into a depth or into a distance or up to a height. There you come to what was missing in your consciousness in the world you formerly inhabited. Then comes the problem either of staying with that, and letting the world drop off, or returning with that boon and trying to hold on to it as you move back into your social world again.

I see a collorlation in your dream to the hero journey. Campbell's statement above fits with your dream journey. Dreams and myths often share the same images as metaphors. In your dream the height would be the balcony. Falling from the balcony would be descending into the depths. You have to let go of the secure life you are hiolding onto {railing} and 'fall' to the depths {falling to the ground} so to discover your true self. In your dream the true self is lacking a strong masculine aspect {what was missing in your consciousness}. What you will face in the furure are 'dragons' you will need to slay to achieve your goal of being an actor. You will have to let go of the social dictates {your father telling you you can't} and stay the path. Once you have accomplished the task, slay the dragons, you return to the world as the heroine in your own life. You become the actor, achieve your goal.

But there will be many dragons in your life that will require a strong masculine. The idea is to hold on to you 'bliss' and not let go. Dreams will allow you to see where you are in your psychological life and in turn reveal your 'true self'. If there is something lacking, like a strong masculine, dreams will reveal that to you. Not only that it will provide the reasons why {as this dream did}. It is all very compliacted, until you decide you do wish to be the heroine. Most people submit and the dragon wins. But most people have no idea about their true self. Few people pay any attention to their dreams.

Here is my page on Campbell's Hero Journey. It will provide insights to the hero in mythology which many of the same motifs as does dreams The Hero's Adventure. It may be interesting to know that George Lucas was a stuednt of Joseph Campbell {as am I} and his Star Wars trilogy is based on Campbell's Monomyth, the basic patterns in the hero journey.

Jerry

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