I dreamt last night that I had two blue fish, betas, and one was in an aquarium. My sister (who is dead in real life) was playing with the aquarium and somehow the fish got sucked into the filter. I ran over and got him out. Then I put him in a small aquarium with the other fish, which was much fatter, healthier-looking. Later that evening, my parents (both also dead in real life) brought the fish to a party and were going to cook and eat them. (Which is weird because even the fat, healthy one was maybe two bites.) I begged and cried to them not to do it. There were lots of other people there, and I had a vision that if my parents cooked and ate the fish, someone who had a gun would start shooting and besides my parents, many others would be killed. I cried and begged harder. Someone told us we needed to watch a documentary, and it seems like it was one that would persuade my parents not to cook and eat the fish. Halfway through the documentary, I left, still sobbing. I couldn't deal. I came back and found out that my parents had not cooked the fish. But as I was basking in the delight of it all, floating by the building we had been in in a boat with all the people who had been there, someone began shooting arrows at the building. There were babies and children in all the windows and some of them were hit with the arrows. I was horrified.

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 44 Home

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Veronica,
I'll tackle your dream later this evening or in the morning. Bit of a mental block at the moment. Holidays and all, it is a bit difficult to focus.
Merry Christmas,

Gerard

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 56 Murfreesboro, Tn.

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How Did You Find the Dream Forum? Yes

Veronica,

Dreams often contain multiple themes, or meanings. On a personal (waking) level the dream may describe a waking situation you find your self in that resembles a similar situation your sister once faced or experienced. Some factor of authority involving change or modification required on your part that you do not wish to engage and perhaps rally against.

This authority threatens your inner stability. You attempt to rationalize (documentary) yet do not complete the process, it is unfinished, due to the intense emotions involved. Although the specific situation is resolved to your liking, the authority aspect and aggression continue to be an issue and you perceive this as an assault on you.

That’s one interpretation. At 44 you are in midlife, a stage of transition from adult to older age, and finally death. At this age dreams can speak on a deeper level by examining the past life lived to foster Self development and personal growth. Another possible interpretation in this respect, a deeper meaning, follows.

Fish can symbolize the true Self (as opposed to the external or ego mask), or personal growth. Some similar trait your sister possessed, unknowingly it is also within you, not conscious of as this has been filtered out by the conscious, but resides in your unconscious.

In the context of this dream blue may symbolize aggression, universality (sameness with sister, parents…family), depression (‘the blues’) or a different personal meaning. To determine the meaning consider what the color blue means to you? Then consider those associations in relation to the dream.

Removing it from the filter and placing it in the smaller aquarium can represent bringing this to consciousness. The smaller ,or lesser, aquarium representing consciousness, the larger, or greater, being unconsciousness. Two blue fish representing a duality or sameness in some manner be it inner aspect or otherwise. Parents could symbolize some learned behaviour, mannerism or trait, as learned from your parents. They brought it to the ‘party’ – party symbolizing the totality of Self, bringing representing being the source. Cook and eat could be modification and nourishment. With change comes ‘death’ to the old, to make way for ‘birth’ of the new. As an adult, you now recognize this same aspect in your own Self. There is fear of an internal aggressive aspect in relation to the other aspects of Self.

The documentary, leaving before completion, couldn’t deal could all indicate rational thought being under developed as a result of past reliance on the emotional aspects. This in conjunction with the aggressive aspect could represent a type of emotional threat, the emotion aspect threatens to disrupt the Psyche. Although past reliance on the emotional aspect may have appeared to work in essence it has left you incomplete. And perhaps a wounded child issue buried deeply within a source of negative issues in your life.

As usual, a dream is interpreted by the dreamer because only the dreamer knows meaning of their dream. Dream interpretation without personal information from the dreamer is based on archetypal, or universal, symbolism. We’re often close in finding an outline to meaning but the dreamer is the one with the details, and knows if an interpretation is relevant or not. The interpretations may or may not be close. On a personal level, examine the days preceding the dream for clues to meaning. On a deeper level, if you are already involved in mid life transition work, this interpretation is likely to be more off than close.

Please reply with your thoughts on the dream and interpretations. If the interpretations are not close we can work together on the dream and likely uncover the meaning(s).

Kind regards,
Kathy

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 44 Central OH

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Veronica,
Since your parents are so prominent in this dream I am leaning toward the dream addressing past experiences concerning them, aspects that are still in conflict. There are few symbols in dreams that should be taken literally and one is family members {other symbols are most often metaphors}. Although parents can also be pure metaphor {representing your wise self for example} I believe their inclusion in this dream is addressing your past.

Fish in a dream often symbolizes your true self, or true emotions. An aquarium would represent your unconscious where past experiences are stored and still reside, unfiltered. Taking the fish out of the filter, and the aquarium, may suggest you are beginning to confront past experiences, seeking resolution. Being in your mid 40s you are at that stage of life where reflecting back is part of the mid-life thing. Those events from the past that have been left unresolved begin to show themselves. It is what many describe as 'looking for meaning' in life.

Other than your parents the most overriding symbolism seems to be 'cooking and eating the fish'. Cooking could represent making something about past experiences more palatable to accept. Then you have to digest {eat} that thing that has been 'unpalatable. And because you have started to 'look back' you may be compartmentalizing {smaller aquarium} past experiences {start giving thought to them} with the desire to understand these experiences and the affect they still have in your life.

The documentary in your dream is probably about your life. You parents are there thus the dream may be reflecting on those experiences when they were alive. The documentary suggests you can not deal with the contents. Perhaps your true desire is, and always has been, that your parents would have provided the nourishment {here cooking takes on new meaning, which is the norm for dreams} you needed as a child. Then you would have fit in with the fat, healthier fish in the smaller aquarium {did your parents show preference to your sister?}

The last part of the dream may be addressing how you have handled these past experiences with your parents up until now. You have sorta floated through life ignoring the past. But now there are arrows being shot at you.
Arrows-The arrows may be pointing out something that needs to be brought into your awareness. Pain, feeling wounded

The building is you, your constructed life. The babies and children may represent the beginnings. Have you begun to look back at the relationship with your parents? If not consciously, then unconsciously. You may need to examine these past experiences and see where there are unresolved conflicts. They may be frightening at first but it is a necessary thing if you wish to find resolution to your true emotions. Then you will be able to put the fish back into the bigger aquarium where they can live life and prosper.

To determine if I am on the right track with my interpretation you merely need to examine the relation ship with your parents. Do my words ring true or am making wrong assumptions? A reply post with your thoughts may help clarify this question.

The only other suggestions to this dream would involve your parents being metaphorical symbols for other aspects of who you are {wise self, yourself as a parent}. In this case the dream would be addressing some current conflict in your life. That would be more difficult to interpret without knowing more about what is currently happening in your life. It would probably involve emotional pain. And it may involve your not confronting whatever it is that is causing this pain. Compare this to your waking life to detremine if it fits somewhere.

I believe my first approach will fit best.

Gerard

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 56 Murfreesboro, Tn.

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Kathy,
I didn't realize until after I had posted my interpretation that you had already done so. Overall I think we are of the same mind with the dream. How odd. Or is it that Jungians tend to think alike?

Gerard

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 56 Murfreesboro, Tn.

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

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Obi-Wan,

Thanks for the mentorship...

Regards,
Chewbacca

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 44 Central OH

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