I had two dreams about a tiger in the last week.

In the first dream, I was led through a desert with my boyfriend by a boy who looked Aboriginal. My boyfriend was carrying a tortoise with him. The boy was showing us how to extract water from plant roots. Then a tiger came running towards us and I told my boyfriend to drop the tortoise, because that is what the tiger was after, but he refused. The landscape turned into a marsh. We scattered and hid, and the tiger never got us.

In the second dream, I saw an Indian boy standing with a rifle and a tiger laying at his feet. He looked at me briefly and then to the tiger. He yelled at it to attack him while shaking the gun, but the tiger rolled over playfully. The boy got angrier at this response and shot it in the chest. I looked away, completely horrified and disgusted.

One thing I am struggling to understand is the relationship between the tiger and the boy. In the first dream the boy was friendly and the tiger aggressive, and in the second the tiger was friendly and the boy was aggressive. What does this mean?

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I have been pondering for a while, but I realized what these two dreams are about. I am still not sure what the tiger is saying (if that makes sense).

The first dream is about a trip I will be taking soon with my boyfriend. I realized this from the boy giving us plant roots. The trip is to his hometown where he grew up. It is somewhere I have never been (boy is foreign ethnicity) and my boyfriend has an affinity to deserts. The tortoise represents him, as well. He has a hard shell, is determined but goes at his own, slow pace. I suppose I am the tiger, or the trip is the tiger... I am not sure. I don't understand the significance of a tiger chasing us. I suppose that is why I am dreaming it!

The second dream is about a young man I knew five years ago. He was from India and wanted to date, but I turned him down because I found his personality too aggressive in a sort of unfocused, boyish kind of way. He gave me jewelry as a gift. I wore the jewelry the day before I had the dream and that is why I thought of him. I thought how I didn't believe I would ever wear that jewelry because it was too ostentatious for me, but my taste changed enough that I liked the jewelry and felt beautiful wearing it. So, it was a nice thought and I remembered him fondly.

Now I am left to wonder: Why would a dream be so unpleasant for such a nice memory? Why does the tiger show up both times? The tiger is stuck in my mind!

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Anonymous,
My sense of the first dream there are two possibilities with this first explanation the likely message of the dream. You feel your relationship is stagnated {desert}, not progressing as it should. An alternative would be instead of the whole relationship not progressing, some aspect of the relationship is 'stagnated {I will say more about this possibility in my analysis of the second dream}.
You want to express your true feelings {boy-developing and then using your masculine aspects} but you repress those true feelings {aboriginal}. hip to progress because of this attitude {his}. The tortoise may also symbolize putting a 'shell' up, not allowing real emotions out, or not allowing the relationship to progress. You feel the relationship is in a 'slow phase' {boyfriend with tortoise} may feel at times there is little room for growth in the relationship {water from plant roots}. The tiger would represent repressed feelings {on your part}, how you really feel about the slow progress of the relationship. You want your boyfriend to change this attitude {ask bf to drop tortoise} but he 'refused'/still possesses the same attitude. The tiger being after the tortoise would represent your emotions/feelings related to the slow relationship {repressing how you really feel}. The slow progress in the relationship could cause it to become unstable, or it may already be there {landscape turns to marsh}. One or both of you are hiding their true feelings {hid, tiger never got us}.

The alternative to this interpretation would be you want the relationship to progress slower than it is going but your bf wants it different. If not the whole relationship some aspect of it The other images/symbols wouldn't change much. You will know which is correct if the interpretation is correct.

Also consider my total analysis of both dreams which I provide at the conclusion of my post. Your bf could represent a true person but could also represent a masculine aspect within your psyche {depending on how you perceive your real bf would define this inner masculine aspect, if indeed it fits}. If there are not major problems in your relationship {they would still be minor issues} then consider this possibility of what your bf represents.

Second Dream
I sense this second dream is addressing issues where you may be in denial about aspects of the relationship with your bf. As in the first dream you need to learn to express your true feelings {masculine qualities/Indian boy}. and exert your feelings more aggressively {standing with rifle}. Your personality may be one of not being able to express your true feelings in general {tiger laying at your feet/your foundations}, and perhaps specifically to do with the relationship. There is a need to overcome these traits, take control and express your true emotions {yell to attack boy}. Instead of being able to express your true feelings you repress them {perhaps a personality trait}. This causes built up frustrations {boy got angrier} and guilt because you can not express your true self/true emotions {shot in chest}. Instead of expressing yourself as you should you 'look away' and deny yourself of expressing your true feelings. This may have a paralyzing affect on you in more ways besides in relationships, not being who you really are {disgust and horrified}.

Taking both dreams together they could be speaking to personality traits in general {as all dreams do in some form} as well as the relationship with your bf. But we need to consider the possibility both dreams are focused on personality traits more so than the relationship with your bf {does my analysis of the first dream about the relationship with your bf fit?}. The overall message does seem to be about expressing your true feelings/emotions, a lack of an ability to do so {the boy would be a symbol of the need to develop masculine attitudes so you can express your true self/feelings}. The reason for this inability would be from your early life foundations, the tiger laying at your feet in the second dream {tiger representing repressed feelings and feet being your foundations}. Do you have problems in expressing your true feelings/emotions? Take what I have provided and see how it would fit in your life. Dreams are expressions of our true selves minus the overpowering influence of the conscious ego {how we and others perceive you and how you consciously, with a biased ego, feel about it}.

Two notes. One is a rifle could represent a sexual symbol which, in reference to any issues to do with your bf, could be a conflict in that relationship {instead of the whole relationship}.

Two. In analyzing dreams no one can say for certain what a dream means as it applies to actual personal experiences. The best a trained dream analyst can do is provide a periphery view, an outline of the symbolic images/actions in the dream. Whatever the message of the dream it will fit with the dreamer's 'true' self/life. Of course there are a lot of emotional issues {dreams are about our emotions} that are unconscious, not known or repressed/ignore by the conscious self. Only the dreamer can know the actual waking experiences. a good analyst will be able to point out any unconscious attitudes the dreamer may not be aware of {in your case the personality traits I spoke of}.

Jerry

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Thank you for your reply. I appreciate the perspective of someone with much more experience interpreting symbolism, and having an outside perspective. Your interpretations are thoughtful so I will consider them thoughtfully (or, feelingly? Ha)

There could be multiple meanings for even one symbol that appears, such as the root or the tortoise. Your first suggestion for the meaning of the first dream resonates, but is also about the trip, as well. There is stagnation in the relationship despite constant change in our living circumstances (we have moved four times in the last six months). I have been wanting to be married, and I am hoping he will propose to me on this trip, because he's also expressed that he wants to be married.... Starting four years ago. Maybe I am afraid he won't, and what kind of disappointment I would be setting myself up for (Desert turning to marsh, tiger wanting the tortoise symbolizing the slow pace for progression of the relationship).

You may be correct about the second dream as well for personality. I had dreams like that before, but different players and contexts, where a youth shows excessive violence. It may go back to childhood because I behaved that way as a child. I had some issues that I left behind me but the guilt and disgust is still there about things I did when I was angry. I had difficulty controlling feelings and now I am constantly worried that I am doing some wrong when I do express feelings because I never knew where the lines were as a kid, so how can I trust I know them now?

It probably does relate to the first dream, through the tiger, as the possibility of getting angry, and then the worry of how justified or well managed that anger would be.

There is more to the tiger. It is still nagging at me. Tigers are not just animals of brutal aggression, they are considered bold, majestic and strong and have positive associations. Some shift is happening where the power of aggression and fear is something valuable and controlled, or has the potential to be. The animal choice can't be random that way.

Thank you for your insights!

Anonymous,
I will provide a detailed response Friday morning. I do appreciate your response and will try to answer your questions then.

Jerry

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Anonymous,
Dream symbols always have at least two or meanings/applications. Most often one application will point to foundations to the dreamer's motivations/personality while another will focus on more recent experiences. I see this in your dreams although the recent experiences stand out as the primary focus. Although a good dream analyst can point to the possibilities only the dreamer can connect the dots and apply them to where they fit in the dreamer's emotional experiences. Your interest in dream symbolism gives you experience in doing that and likely how you feel about their energies is correct.

Many images/symbols speak loud and clear. The stagnation I sensed in the dreams is definitely an issue in your current life but it too likely has associations {in form if not application} to your foundations, your childhood. How you feel, how you react to current emotional experiences will be influenced by foundations since those building blocks are what are imprinted on the developing psyche as a child. Being aware of this can alter the negative impact of how you do act/react and prevent wrong decisions/actions. The way to determine what these motivating energies are is to go back to the early years and see what the reasons were for the excessive violence and your behavior. The guilt and disgust you 'left behind' may have had the actual persons/environment removed from your life but the experiences remain locked within the unconscious. What has to be removed are the energies they possess that have become motivators/influencing agents in your adult life. This is what therapy is supposed to do. Dreams are the most direct link to the unconscious energies that live on long after the environment has changed.

As for the tiger symbolism. I often consult my dream dictionaries for any possibilities to the symbolism {and if I do not find satisfactory explanations there I look to the actual definition as well as the origins of the word}. The dictionaries state the possible meaning of the tiger as follows and this part of the HyperDictionary is where I see possibilities to your emotional life {that may fit with your dream action}:
Seeing a tiger in your dream, symbolizes repressed feelings or emotions that frighten you. Alternatively, the tiger represents female sexuality, aggression, and seduction.
Note: Not all listed definitions are proper. The definitions that have to do with wealth fame or fortune should be ignored.

You may want to look at your childhood and see if the 'sexuality' aggression and seduction' fit. What you have described about your early life does seem to have had experiences that would have associations to some very negative experiences as a child. Especially the guilt and disgust you spoke about.

As for the positive applications of the tiger. Those too must be considered. A tiger is a 'feline' which in most applications point to emotional energies. But a tiger is an aggressive animal which would also point to masculine qualities. The bold and strength may be qualities necessary in your journey in healing. You have taken a first step in trying to understand your inner world and even a more important step by looking to your dreams for answers. Where as your conscious life is an outer world and is influenced by ego bias, the unconscious dream is the inner world and is without bias. It is your true self. What has yet to surface to consciousness resides within the unconscious and anything that is out of balance will be the topics in our dreams. It is nature's way of bringing about balance and harmony to life. In mythology the hero/heroine journey is ultimately psychological. A person becomes the hero/heroine in their own life when they go 'inward', the psychological journey of self discovery. This may be where the positive qualities need to be applied in your life. You must be the 'tiger' in every sense that it offers. The negatives are imprinted and thus the positives must be accented.


Jerry

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