Recently, I found out that my husband has developed deep feelings for my best friend. She was transferred out of state to a new job with her husband along. However, when my husband was alone with my friend, she was trying to tell him how much she admires him, and that given another life, she'd be head over heels for him. At that point, my husband kissed her and told her that he loves her. She told him that she loves him. Long story short, I know. He told me. She told me. Nothing more than this happened. I am not angry, only deeply hurt and feeling betrayed. Since this occurred, I have had this dream. I cannot seem to piece together the meaning so that I get from it what I'm supposed to.
I dreamed that I am in an empty house. It's not any house that stands out in any way. Just empty. I'm inside this house, looking out the window. Through the window, I see horses. One of the horses is a brown mare. She has a bridle on for some reason, and all of a sudden, she and the other horses take flight. I see the reason for their flight is wild animals...cheetahs, gazelles, zebras, and giraffes, to be specific...are thundering toward the horses and are going to go past my window.
The mare with the bridle gets tangled by the reins of the bridle in thick weeds next to a creek, and the reins are tangled in a black, leafless and twisted squatty sort of tree.
I feel panicked and desperately want to free the mare who is frantically trying to free herself. But I know that I will be in danger if I leave the safety of the house.
Meanwhile, the herd of wild animals thunders past the window, and I go thru the house to another window, and I see that the cheetahs have killed not the mare but one of the zebras. The zebra is lying on its back, with its rear hooves toward my window, and the cheetahs have begun gutting it, and eating its flesh.
As I go to another room, for what reason I cannot remember, I encounter a room with a hanging light fixture, like an old-fashioned lampshade. The shade is glass, colored a deep pink or pale red. It's hanging over a table, and is in the center of this room, perhaps like an entry foyer.
All of a sudden, fire leaps out of this light fixture, like a flamethrower. I am trying to decide how to handle this disaster and then, just as suddenly, the fire is gone. Like it was never there.
I know that I get vague impressions from this dream and some of the symbols mean things to me, but to put it all together is beyond me. Can anyone help?

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 41, GA

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

The horse can signify sexuality/freedom -'unbridled' feelings. It is running, so appears free, but the horse in your dream has a bridle, but no rider so indicates to me that this freedom of spirit has been thwarted.

I am a novice to dream interpretation, so bear with me and tell me if you think I am wrong!

The weeds are indicative of unwanted emotional circumstances in your life that have literally entwined themselves around your being. The stunted vegetation, indicates truncation, something cut short. Prevented from thriving/growing.

You walk through the house looking out of different windows, trying to get a new persepctive. But the scene gets worse with both horse and zebra slaughtered.

I don't know what the zebra signifies, but I would guess that the mare is you and the zebra may represents your husband or that which he/the relationship meant to you. That the situation was black and white or perhaps that he is duplex /not the man you thought he was/the relationship is not that which you believed it to be and that the killing represents emotional pain.

'Bridle' could also be interpreted as 'bride'. You , the 'bride' having thought yourself free to love in an uninhibited manner, now find yourself caught up in a maelstrom of unwanted emotion.

Did you suspect that all was not well before your husband made this disclosure to you or did it come as a 'bolt' from the blue?

What is your husbands attitude towards the situation/you now?

How do you feel about your relationship? What would you like to happen?

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 39, UK

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

I am not sure what the table represents - maybe all the cards are on the table now?

The pendulous pink/red glass shaded old fashioned lamp. Hanging on to something of value/that has weather time, something that offers both love and anger at the moment.

Glass is something that you can look through - alters your perspective - your perspective is of love and betrayal - things hangingin the balance.

The fire could be sign of death and rebirth - phoenix from the ashes or it could signify anger, or anger suppressed as it flares and then disappears.

Have you always felt that you have had to keep a tight rein on/a lid on your emotions in the relationship with your husband for fear of losing/hurting him? Have you felt that you have permitted him to control you life in some way? Obviously this recent situation has afforded an element of 'control' of sorts as he has hurt your feelings.

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 39, UK

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

Thanks for your input. I was not aware of his feelings for my best friend prior to his disclosure. He broke down in tears and told me. He is torn, and I have this overwhelming feeling that if I handle the situation incorrectly, I will lose him. Having had other relationships in my past that were violent and abusive, the last thing I want is to lose this good man. His own feelings are pretty confusing to him, and he and my friend actually surprised each other with the revelation. We are trying to work thru this, and you're correct. I am trying to tread carefully and show him unconditional support. I feel that any behavior to the contrary will drive him away. That's the last thing I want.
I appreciate your perspective, and the dream is starting to make some more sense to me. Still kind of confusing, but less frightening. THANKS!

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 41, GA

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

'He is torn'. And you are not?

This is easy for me to say, but stop pandering to him and start looking after YOU.

You tread cautiously because you fear losing this 'good man'. You should not have to tread on eggshells. You deserve love, you don't have to go begging for it.

He needs to recognise the events/feelings which triggered this 'revelation'. You need to make a life for yourself in which your needs are not displaced/sacrificed for another.

When we say that all relationships require 'sacrifice' it does not mean that YOU are the sacrifice. It means you give way on a fwe things, but not consistently to your own detriment.

In order to 'work through' this, you must stop playing second fiddle to his needs and start asserting yourself more, inall aspects of yuor life.

Stop 'reacting' to him and star being 'proactive'.

He is not ill. He has hurt your feelings and he is making out like he is the victim here.

Yes, he may be torn, but don't hang around waiting to be the 'chosen one' as he puts your heart through a mincer.

Yes, you can continue to have a re;ationship with him, but you have to put a bit of emotional distance between yourself and him.

If you love somebody let them go. Does not mean 'drop them down a well' it means YOU letting go and seeing whether they come to you or not on terms that you find mutually agreable.

These may sound like harsh words, but you have already mentione a history of abusive/violent relationships. Abuse comes in a myriad of forms. Stop allowing yourself to get emotionally beat up. You are better than that.

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 39, UK

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

Lisa,
I will give you an interpretation of your dream Saturday. s williiams makes some good observations in her posts. I will try to expand on those with my interpretation. And I appreciate your providing the personal information. It helps narrow down a lot of the possibilities of the metaphorical references of the symbols. Understanding the personal aspects of a dream is most difficult without knowing something more than gender and age of the dreamer. The underlying emotions are often easier to read than the personal. I'll try to work with both.

Thanks s wms for your imput. It has been a busy week and often I can not get to interpreting dreams as timely as I wish I could. I like to feel that when somone posts a dream for interpretation they can expect a response within due time. Observations from you and other regular members is of great help. Thanks again.

Gerard

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 55 Murfreesboro, Tn.

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

You are welcome, Gerard.

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 39, UK

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

Lisa,
The mare is most likely you and the emotions in your real life are probably the meaasge the dream is trying to help to work through. The house is also you and the fear that you may make the wrong move would leave that house empty. The panic and destparation are real life fears. The zebra is probably that balanced life you once had {before your husband's admission} and the it has been gutted by that admission.

As for the lamp fixture and the fire. That is another way of the dream communicating the circumstances in your waking life. Fire is shooting out at you {perhaps anger at first} but it subsides and disappears.

One apsect of the dream, the last sentence, makes be believe perhaps you may be avoiding some of the truth about the situation. Like it was never there. Could there be some denial on your part? Perhaps this is a main part of the dream message. Also the freedom that mare seeks in the dream. It almost sounds as if deep down there is a desire on your part for some kind of freedom in your waking life. Can there be some unconscious reason for this? Perhaps there are deeper reasons why you have accepted this admission from your husbnad so casually and the fire disappears so quickly. But of course it could be your personality, you are the type who forgives too easily and this is what bridleds the mare in your dream.

Let me know your thoughts on my interpretation and perhaps we can delve deper into the possibilities?

Gerard

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 55 Murfreesboro, Tn.

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

Hey Gerard and everyone,
I have read the input and thoughts. I am trying very
very hard to keep things in perspective. I have told my husband that I will let him go if that's what he needs to be happy. My friend has told him that she will NOT be the catalyst to our breakup. She is giving her own relationship 110% effort in rebuilding. Sooo, I told my hubby that I will work on issues that I have, but that since I didn't break things all by myself, I will not accept responsibility for fixing everything. Seems that he feels outside factors, such as stress with money, my kids from previous marriage, and a few other situations that are too deep for this site are the issue, and not me or our relationship in general. He doesn't handle stress well, anyhow, and the constant and eroding stress has left him feeling as though he should not continue to endure. I don't blame him for that, I want out of the drama too! BUT I can't get out of it. He has, for the time being, agreed to really try to see whether this relationship is what his heart wants or not. I have informed him that if he leaves, then that's okay. I want him to be happy. But if he leaves, I am thru with any more affairs of the heart. I can't handle any more. Thanks for all the kind and intelligent insights. I WILL consider them. I have had a couple of other dreams that I might put out there to see what's going hand in hand with this one...

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 41, GA

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

Lisa,
You have supplied some information that wasn't known from your orginal post that keeps clear a few things up. In fact there seems to be much more to the situation all around that would lend itself to better understanding the dream. Is the other woman resisting a breakup with her husband?

One statement that you made in this post seems to verify some susipions I received from your dream; "BUT I can't get out of it".
My own statement in my interpretation may explain your response; my statement "Also the freedom that mare seeks in the dream. It almost sounds as if deep down there is a desire on your part for some kind of freedom in your waking life". If you could clarify this I would appreciate it. I had a feeling that you too were wanting to get out of something, the mare seeking freedom.
If you would post another dream perhaps we can gain more insights to unconscious emotions that may help you with your situation.

Gerard

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 55 Murfreesboro, Tn.

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

Ditto.

The mare in your dream ostensibly signifies uninhibited movement/freedom, but the bridle indicates that it remains shackled in some way. The mare has lost or 'thrown' the rider/controller and then becomes enmeshed in the twisted and stunted vegetation - that which signufies emotional stasis/stagnancy/truncation. You want out. Don't worry about your husbands happiness - look after YOU.

There is an indication that the mare is seeking freedom - emotional, physical and possibly sexual. All may not be well in all areas and you may feel unable to express yourself in this relationship, and thus feel oppressed by it.

Does your husband want all the benefits of a relationship with none of the demands/responsibilities?

The wild animals that savagely attack could indicate predation by your ill-named 'best friend', whom I believe should be demoted in this respect, as no 'friend' does what she has done to you. The same could be said for your husband.

Transgression occurs not only with the partner, but also with others - they have both stepped over the line.

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 39, UK

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

Actually,
it turns out that my friend was simply trying to tell my husband that she thinks he's a great person, etc, and how she admires him. Trying to tell him things he really should believe of himself but has trouble with. However, what he was told and what he HEARD were two very different things. Sooo, I am aware of the differential, but my husband will not know until we all (the four of us) sit down and talk everything over. My friend IS trying to work on her marriage. My husband has declared that he's trying to take a step back and figure out what's really been going on for him. The whole backstory would fill an entire site alone. So, it's...unfortunately...a very confusing state that brought our relationship to this point. I am going to post the other dream that has been on my mind for a few days. I'm sure it's related. But I think the freedom I crave (being the mare) has a lot to do with work, and with another situation that's been affecting our lives. However, do not think that I have disregarded any of the input here. I have not.
Thanks again!

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 41, GA

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

My mother used to say that attention seekers did such a good job of upsetting others that the other person would continue to takl about them in their absence - hence they woud still be the cenrte of attention.

Why your husband should deem it appropriate to 'confide' in your friend is byond me and suggests that he maybe being the narcissistic attention seeking, emotionally draining person who would appear to be sucking the life out of any situation as he finds it.

Poor, poor hubby, so without confidence etc - but confident enough to tell you he ants out with regard to the relationship, kids and confident enough to transgress and confide in a mutual 'friend' which he probably knew would get back to you one way or another, but just to make sure, he told you AND with interest i.e. his add-on about loving her was a great kick in the teeth for you.

Turn the volume down on his platitudes and look at how he acts. Look at your response. Not exactly indicative that all is well, is it?

Stop 'forgiving' him and ignore his stupid games.

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 39, UK

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