Yesterday, I blogged about what spiders mean in dreams. I was inspired by my appearance on a radio show where the theme of the conversation was focused on scary dream images and their meaning. As is often the case, I found myself explaining that when we project our fears about an image onto the meaning we make of it, we are missing the value of what our unconscious is trying to tell us. By “removing the yuck,” as it was so charmingly put on the air, and examining the essence of the symbol in question, a more satisfying interpretation emerges.
I use the image of snakes in dreams frequently to illustrate this point very clearly. So once again, borrowing from the pages of Dream Sight (coming from Llewellyn Press in February 2011) I include the following selections. The first is from the first half of the book from a section where I explain this very concept using snakes as an example, followed by the actual dictionary term of Snake as it appears within the pages of my book. I hope it is of value.
To illustrate this principle more clearly, let us use another example utilizing two people having essentially the same dream. The primary image is that of a snake. Dreamer number one is terrified of snakes, while Dreamer number two finds them interesting and even a bit erotic. While hiking down a path alone somewhere in nature, each dreamer comes upon a large snake in the middle of the path. Encountering the snake stops their respective hikes and each dreamer regards the snake from a safe distance before waking up.
The fact that snakes shed their skins–which is symbolic for discarding the old to make room for the new in one fell swoop–makes change and transformation the Universal Landscape for snake. In addition, many varieties of snakes are capable of killing and death is always symbolically linked with rebirth, which is the ultimate of transformations. Even the fact that their long, straight shape can be formed into a circle is symbolically suggestive of the cycles of change that are so much a part of life.
The Dreaming Lens in this dream is the same for both dreamers–the presence of the snake in the middle of their path has halted their progress. Now the meaning of the dream is expanded: this is a dream about some path in life that each dreamer is on. Since they are alone, we can assume the dream is reflecting their own private journey as opposed to their public life. Some element of change or transformation is occurring in their lives as represented by the snake appearing on their respective paths. This apparent obstacle is causing them to stop and consider what direction to take and what to do next.
Now we come to the Personal Focus, which is going to be very different for our dreamers, therefore resulting in a different final interpretation for each. Dreamer number one is afraid of snakes and therefore whatever change in life this dream is expressing is bringing up some level of fear. Dreamer number two is also facing a shift in life, but one that is intriguing and inviting by virtue of having a Personal Focus of snakes as an object of fascination. Without using the process of Dream Sight, both dreamers would be stuck and confused with having the dream mean something about how they feel about snakes rather than coming to a full understanding of the dream representing a change or transformation that their unconscious minds are asking them to explore.
Snake
Universal Landscape: Change or transition; healing; death and rebirth.
Dreaming Lens: What kind of snake is appearing in your dream? Is it poisonous, dangerous or innocuous? What was your fear level or lack thereof? Did the snake have human qualities or abilities? Does it have a message?
Personal Focus: Snakes can inspire great and varied personal emotions, and therefore can ultimately connect to very different shades of meaning based on your Personal Focus. Because of this continuum of response from fear and loathing to fascination and sensual stirrings, they need to be considered carefully when they appear in a dream.
First and foremost, snakes represent change and transformation. This connects to the fact that they shed their skins in their growth process and that many of them are capable of causing fatality to their predators, implying the symbolic rebirth that follows any death experience. There is a healing element of this, as many snake venoms can also be used as curatives. This may connect to the two snakes that appear on the physician’s caduceus, representing the challenge to life and the response of the healer to match it.
In the Judeo-Christian tradition, the snake bears the responsibility for tempting Adam and Eve. As such, a snake can represent a confrontation with a change in your value system. It is important to remember that their yielding introduced the human race to the knowledge of mortality and the birth of consciousness. A serpent in your dream may actually represent a major shift in your awareness that may bring about the death of an old paradigm that brings you into a whole new world.
In Eastern cultures, the awakening of spiritual power is often referred to as a snake. Known as the Kundalini, it is experienced as an incredible energy which undulates up the spine. Stimulating this can induce a tremendous healing force which contains the ability to purify the nervous and glandular systems. The practice of yoga is designed to awaken the snake that lives dormant at the base of the spine. As a dream symbol, a snake could represent the potential for power and energy if properly channeled.
If a snake appears on a particular part of your body (such as choking you) you might want to make an association between that body part/energy and what in your life needs to be transformed. How you feel about the presence of actions of the snake reveal your deeper emotional responses to the change that is occurring.
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
What a terrific blog.
This is perhaps only tangentially related, but two nights ago, I had a dream involving leaches. I dreamt that they were lodged in the tear ducts of my eyes, and that I was removing them with a simple metal instrument. I would press the metal tip gently below the corner of my eye, and the leach would slide out of my eye.
I find the idea of leaches disturbing. We were at a lake a couple weeks ago, and a teenage kid with us found one on his Achilles tendon. Perhaps that’s why it was in my consciousness. So, on that level, the fact that they were in my eyes in the dream was very disturbing, both in the dream and afterward.
I was interested in what you wrote about snakes being symbols of transformation. Not sure if leaches qualify as snakes, but the dream seemed to me to be about transformation, or the need for it. It was very interesting to me that my eyes were what needed cleansing.
The good news was that the “infecting agent” was very easily removed and not painful at all. That seemed like good news to me. Weird and gross, but not, in the end, that big a problem.
Brett,
What a marvelous response to this post – on several levels. First of all, I just love that you felt moved to contribute to the conversation, so I thank you for that. Secondly, and far more importantly, you have helped illustrate the value of the dream at the collective level with such profound clarity. The way in which you connect waking-life experiences with a dream image that you had and then weave in what was evoked in you by reading the blog and taking the time to post it – this is the tapestry of unconscious/conscious awareness that I am helping to facilitate in the world – thank you, thank you, thank you!
Now, onto your dream. Leeches and snakes are not so far off as you might think. It is not so long ago that the medical community felt that blood letting was an important part of healing. If you were not well, a physician would drain small amounts of blood and using leeches for that was common practice. Snakes are featured on the physician’s Caduceus as a sign of healing and transformation. It’s all connected.
You say that it was interesting that your eyes needed cleansing. What interests me most is that you say that where the leeches were attached to you were your tear ducts, suggesting to me that what was being cleansed is how you see your life (eyes) by virtue of how emotionally expressive you are allowing yourself to be (tear ducts). Now add to that the notion that leeches as an old method of healing are being removed; this suggests that old ideas of how to deal with wounds around emotional expressiveness are being easily let go of. Overall, a very powerful dream.
One last point – the waking-life incident that indeed may have put leeches into your consciousness where the boy had leeches on his Achilles’ tendon may be pointing out that this current block that is being addressed by this dream may appear to be innocuous, but has been potentially very debilitating in your past, as the Achilles’ tendon represents hidden weakness.
Thanks again for sharing your dream with me!
Michael
Michael, remember my snake dream of a few months ago? It was about the large golden orange snake that was making its way through a big open closet. I wasn’t afraid of him, etc.
Well, I had another snake dream a few weeks ago. This one had a little girl in it. She was holding the snake. I was concerned for her, but she wasn’t afraid. I kept thinking that snake is going to strangle her or something, but it never did. That’s about all I remember. I believe that little girl might have been me. Since snake dreams have to do with transformation and change, perhaps my inner child is the key? Why would I be afraid for her? She wasn’t afraid.
Love you,
Rita
Hi Dr. Mlennox.
I was searching for the what sankes say in our dreams… i found this blog its very nice… i had a good info about it. But my search is snaks dancing, Few days ago i had a dream of two snakes dancing parlally zig zaging them both and it was beatiful iam watching it.. the snakes are black in colour and long as ancondas so i camt guess wat kind of snake it is. I need to know what that snakes are try to say me. what is meaning my subconcious for me… pls help me i this….
Srileka,
This is a very beautiful dream and I am delighted that you desire to know what your unconscious is trying to say to you. Dancing is a seduction and ultimately connects to arrousing some passionate and primal instinct. When we dance with people in our lives, it is a kind of foreplay to passion and intimacy. You can think of these snakes as an instinctual part of your unconscious (animals always connect to our instincts) that are trying to get your attention in a way that is beautiful and engaging. This is a very intense time where there is a lot of shifts occuring both in the world at large as well as for all of us as individuals. Snakes symbolically relate to great change and transformation. This dream may be representing an opportunity for you to move toward change, even if it is a bit frightening or may take you into unknown realms. It is natural for us as human beings to initially be afraid of change. Snakes are a somewhat mysterious creature capable of inspiring both fear and awe. I don’t know anyone who is not facing a need to surrender to the things in thier lives that require change, flexibility and faith in things unseen.
My suggestion to you is not to get too mental with this process. The more creative you are in approaching the dream work, the deeper and more satisfying the results will be. My assignment to you is to take some time with a paper and some sort of drawing materials and draw the snakes in your dream. It does not matter if you are good at this or now – even a stick figure of two snakes dancing will signal to your unconscious mind that you are ready for more information to come through. I assure you that if you do this, you will have more dreams in the near future that will offer you deeper insight and new information. Give it a try and let me know how it goes.
All best,
Michael
Hello,
I had a dream last night that consisted of both leeches and snakes. I never actually had encountered a situation which would have led these two species into my dreams during the waking day. The dream itself consisted of me picking up some branches and finding two black snakes with red parallel lines as their ‘body colors’. I was a bit afraid, but the snakes did not attack so I remained calm. After a few second there appeared to be leeches on the snakes, and then the snakes died. I have been going through a considerable amount of stress in my life but I am constantly trying to devoid the situation by not allowing myself to get down. Are there any suggestions as to what you may perceive this dream to be?
This is indeed a very curious juxtaposition of symbols. Snakes usually represent change and transformation. Red is a color that signals darker qualities, like stress, anger, security issues. The snakes in your dream may very well connect to the stress.
Leeches, however, are a very different animal. They suck the life force out of whomever they attach to. They kill the snakes in your dreams. Snakes = change. Dead snakes = no change.
Perhaps the leeches are representing the ways in which you are trying not to get too down. This is not such a bad idea on the face of it, but often change requires us to face the darker, scarier elements of our humanity. Leeches are also an rediculous and VERY outdated healing modality. When someone became ill (read stressed) they were “bled” by applying leeches in the belief that this was helpful and currative, depsite our ability today to recognize it as pointless.
Do not try too hard to devoid the stress out of your life situations and perhaps allow yourself the dignity of being down once in a while. I’m not suggesting you live in that place, but if you try too hard to slow down the pace of, or eradicate the effects of great change and transformation, you may just be killing off your natural ability to change (snakes) by adding an outdated cure that kills its host and isn’t really effective in the first place.
Thank you. Interestingly enough I had a dream about flying in an airplane (with no delays) to Korea (my mothers side of the family lives there) to visit family. I went there and made chocolate cookie dough to make and had some already made ones to eat. From reading up on those interpertations, I suppose I am finally going to over come my stresses in my daily life. Again thanks for your input. If you have more you could enlighten me on this most current dreams I would be grateful.
Thanks again! Jackie.
Flying in a plane = big transition that is successful (you get there with no delays). The stress you refer to may be related to inter-generational issues and the behavior modeled by your mother. Mothers make cookies (well, my mother never made cookies, but I understand it is a very motherly, nurturing thing to do. You now have the dough – which is the raw materials that can be alchemized into something very sweet and satisfying. The dream does suggest that you are in a new phase of accepting abundance and joy that is not only immediately available to you (the cookies you eat) you now have a back-log of that which is neccesary to make life feel sweet. I hope this is at least a little helpful.