I am sitting across from an Egyptian Priestess. I never see her clear enough to make out her features, however I get the feeling I know her and know of her reputation for being very powerful. We are having a battle of wills although neither is actually moving. I am confident in myself and my cause and that I will triumph.

Suddenly, I realize that she has bested me and now I lie dead in the sands, my body having withered away to a mummified state. I am still aware of what is transpiring as if my spirit is still present. I am confident in my ability to resurrect myself.

The priestess appears again and begins to crush my remians into dust in order to prevent my return. The sun bakes us and the desert sands blow around us as she crushes my body from my feet on up. I feel no pain although I begin to worry as she gets closer to my head. When she she reaches my torso I begin to experience pain and fear. As she reaches my neck, she begins to consume me and I can acutely feel her jaws crushing my chin. At this point I force myself awake terrified of what will happen if she consumes my brain.

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Katherine,
You are probably going through a transformation in your life. It very well be a spiritual transformation or one of identity that gives more emphasis to the spiritual, and perhaps creative aspect, and less on the ego-centered self. What is happening is a process of annihilating the ego, something that is required for a succesful transformation. But the ego mind resists, does not want to give up control. There is pain in the transformation but only when the ego self is give room to protest.

Joseph Campbell speaks of the necessary annihilation of the hero in myth. It is a slow and often painstaking procedure. But when the transformation is complete, the mummified body releases the spirit and new life is given, a whole new world of adventure.

Look at your life and see what transformation is taking place. If it is spiritual then that will be obvious. If it involves something else, something to do with the feminine aspect, then it may be less evident consciously. Let me know your thoughts and we can expand on my interpretation.
Gerard

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hi katherine,the first thing that came to mind when i read your dream post,was,they may take my body but not my spirit,who or what is threatening to consume you in life,who or what is threatening your thought process and rationality,definatley a power struggle of a kind,as jerry said,could be an inner feminine aspect,but could be some sort of figure in real life,a devouring mother figure maybe ,it occured to me that if you did lose your brain,you would lose the ability to think for your self.regards steve

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Steve does have a good point about the personal aspect of possible interpretation. It could be a devouring mother. But I also see the possibility of it being some other person in your personal life, another woman. The high Priestess would be a projection you put on this other person.

I see a conflict somewhere in your life. Of course a waking conflict experience causes an inner turmoil also, emotional conflict. Whereas there could be this other person causing conflict in your waking life that the dream is directed at, the inner conflict must be looked at also. In life we solve, live with, or run away from the conflicts, but we don't always settle the inner emotional conflict, and residual damage.

When I interpret dreams I always look for the two interpretations in the dream. One is about the inner self, the inner conflicts of emotions, and the other the actual waking experience dealing with life. I don't always try to intrepret the dream on a personal level, I just don't enough about the dreamer. The inner conflict more readily comes through when I look at dreams. This is the intuitive seeing combined with Jung's approach to dreams.

If I am correct with the inner intrepretation, a couple questions to dreamer usually gets to the actual personal interpretation the dream was trying to communicate. But sometimes the deeper inner conflict remains unless it is dealt with it properly. Of course personality has much to do with it also. Some people deal emotionally very well under the hardest circumstances. Others 'wither' at the first sign of conflict. Having an understanding of Jung's {and Freud, Adler, others} personality theories is most important.

I think most often an inner interpretation of the dream will be enough to stimulate the dreamer's own wisdom to recognize the waking experience the dream is addressing. Sometimes not.

The more you know about the dreamer the better it is to determine what the dream is about, on the personal level {that's a given}. I am a people person, a lot of first hand experience with people, so I have that learned experience. And I am able to intuitively recognize aspects about a person when I physically meet them. My intuitive self is more capable of recognizing the deeper inner conflict {if there is any 'deeper' conflict} when looking at dreams. There are just too many possibilities to feel comfortable about giving a definite personal interpretation. Unless it involves loved ones, personal relationships and/or traumas {including fear}. There are always other possibilities.

Look at Kim's dream to see her experience with different interpretations of her dream. The other interpretations often tried to address the personal aspect, giving a definite interpretation to a waking experience. You have to interpret what is there, following Jung, and let the intuitive self determine what it can without the thinking mind interfering with the process.

I would like to hear some feedback about my comments, these and others I make from time to time. Dialog will help all of us learn more about the dream, and let others share what we all know. This version of Dream Forum is less than two and a half months old and there is a growing number of new members every day {over 900 in 2 1/2 months}. A lot of people read the dream posts. The better we are at giving interpretions to dreams, the more benefit to those visitors to the forum. A desired purpose of MDS is to share the knowledge, the wisdom, the experiences, the insights, so others will benefit.
Gerard

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Upon reading the interpretations and giving them some thought, I realize that both aspects of the interpretations (both spiritual and personal) are presently manifest in my life and are linked together.

To give you a bit of a background, I'm an ENFJ Teacher type but tend to be very analytical and constantly seek the logical course of action thus seeing issues very black and white, i.e resolved or unresolved, with me tending to operate as though issues are resolved. I've come to realize that this need for order leads me to think that I've solved an issue and layed it to rest and thus as I move forward it should no longer trouble me.
One such issue was my mother and our relationship while I was growing up. And while I have dealt with the specific issues with my mother, the dream and your interpretation indicate that I haven't really addressed the inner emotional conflict. This is compounded by moving near my sister who is a very strong personality. We recently had a falling out because for the first time I wasn't in agreement with her. I didn't realize how much my previous issues with my mother resonated with my relationship with my sister (and others I now realize as I analyze it more in depth).
At the same time this is going on(perhaps leading to it as part of my voicing my disagreement instead of just going along as usual is because of this desire to change), I'm trying to resolve internal issues that are causing me to have stress. I've been taking stock and am trying to steer a path to a less complicated and happier life. My major obstacle is that I want to ensure that everyone around me is happy, and to be honest pleased with me as well, so I fear (and dread) situations that may result in the opposite. I realize that the dream is saying that such pain and discord will be part of the process and is necessary if I am truly to achieve the inner peace I desire and finally settle past issues.

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Katherine,
Perhaps it is your mother that has bested you in your dream, having at one time placed you in a mummified state. Perhaps moving near your sister has brought back those consuming attitudes your mother possessed over you. The transformation would be a reversal to the former self {being closer to your sister, and thus your mother}.

What you have to do is be that Egyptian Priestess, your higher self. She sits across from you, she is still present. She has the power to get you through these times. The battle of wills are those within you. She is the confident self but remians across from you as long as you let the old attitudes creap back into your life.
Does this make sense?
Gerard

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I've been exploring that concept and my reaction to my sister's behavior and I feel that you're correct. Part of my reaction is because the feelings of helplessness I had for so long with my mother are being stirred up as well as my dread of these types of confrontations. It is interesting that I only experience these feelings with both these women as I have no problem asserting myself with others. In fact, I've been working to separate the old feelings regarding my mother's behavior from those of this recent issue with my sister because I feel that they should be kept separate(my sister isn't responsible for my mother's previous behavior, only her own) and perhaps I should recognize that while the incidents are separate they are rooted in the same patterns of interaction with these two women who are very similar. It's also true, now that I think about it, that I have conflicting feelings regarding what I would say or do if my sister were not my family and how I perceive I must act given that she is.
Yes, what you say makes total sense! Thank you!

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