[Stormwind]

Last week I dreamt that I was in my childhood home (but I was the age I am now - I lived there until 10 years ago). I had just arrived home from a fun day out (I think I'd been on a nice sunny holiday) and was in a pretty good mood. Although I lived with my family, when I arrived back I found myself home alone. It was late at night when I arrived home, and I hadn't even had time to turn the lights in the house on, so it was dark inside and out, giving me a clearer view into the garden than I would have had if the lights inside had been on (although my view into the garden was still not totally clear as it was dark out there too.

I looked from the living room, through the conservatory into the garden and saw a man there digging something up. I was surprised because the garden walls were so high and overgrown, how on earth did he get in? And the garden floor was paved, how had he managed to dig it up? I looked closer and it seemed he was digging up something that he'd hidden there. although I'm not 100% sure what he was digging up, I felt it was something bad that he shouldn't have had, like drugs or stolen money. I was scared of course and I went into the conservatory, opened the door and shouted to him that he must get out of my garden or I would call the police. He was absolutely furious and clearly very distressed and upset and yelled and screamed viciously at me (can't remember what he said) but I was terrified, he seemed extremely volatile.

I was terrified and quickly locked the conservatory door. I went back into the living room I think and I did call the police. They took a while to come and I wished that they would hurry, the conservatory doors were made of glass and the door leading from the conservatory to the living room was either damaged or just not very strong, I knew that if he wanted to break into the house and get me he could easily do so. He was still in the garden digging up whatever he wanted, even when the police went out to get him he didn't try to run away as he was so desperate to get what he was looking for. This dream was so strong I can't stop thinking about it and have barely dreamt since. I feel it has a message for me. What does this mean?

[2bisnot2b]

Hi Stormwind:
Welcome to Delphi!

Is it possible that this being close to the Holiday Season that you are missing home? Sometimes dreaming of our childhood home also symbolizes the need for building a family.


Hope this has helped a little.

[Stormwind]

Hi, thanks for the reply.

I feel it has a more sinister meaning, I think maybe the man is an unconscious part of my mind trying to dig an old secret up and the "me" in my dream is the conscious part trying to keep order and not let the secret out. I have no idea what the secret could be though.

[Athanor]

Although it would be best to have general background information about you as well as recent events just before the dream in order to provide an accurate interpretation, in general terms the image of your childhood home would tend to represent the basic group of attitudes, behaviours, expectations, beliefs etc. etc. as picked up consciously and unconsciously from your parents and other members of the family during your upbringing.

Apparently you may normally be quite comfortable with these outlooks etc. which usually serve you well (back from a pleasant holiday, still “living with” your family).

However, something may have happened just before the dream that challenged your normal conscious viewpoint but which didn’t really register very clearly (in the dark, alone), or such an event may be in the offing.

The dream might be suggesting the need to reduce certain strong habitual views and opinions about how your life if going etc. (lights not on) because this may help to reveal an underlying situation (you are able to at least see the intruder in the garden).

The basic theme of the dream could relate to central ideas about your life (the living room) as well as to “soul” issues (the conservatory, the garden).

Approaching the problem by using instincts, feelings and values (looking through the conservatory) may help lead to a deeper, “earthier” appreciation of the situation (the garden itself).

The man is a figure who has arrived from your unconscious mind apparently in spite of certain resistances to letting him in (high overgrown garden walls). He could symbolize certain doubts or realizations for example that may sometimes spring annoyingly to mind and “spoil” things by making you feel “insecure” (has broken in).

Dreams speak metaphorically, so perhaps something “bad” was “planted” in the garden of your soul, something that was then “covered over” and denied (paving stones).

This could be for instance an adherence to common societal values and opinions of our day such as “power and money are good”, “fame/people-knowing-about-you is always the best thing”, “prestige is all” etc. etc.

Such one-sided values have of course always been present in human societies, but perhaps the near total collapse of the world economy and the continuing doubts about a real recovery show how such values have tended to become almost uncontrollable in our times.

The dream could be exaggerating the situation (extremely volatile man) in order to warn you of where you might be tending to drift too much, that is, to a collective kind of life over time.

The “treasure” in the garden, which usually is something valuable and attractive, is apparently in danger of being permanently debased. Perhaps your true nature and potentials (a normal treasure) could be overturned by too strident an attachment to career or social status for example.

It’s also possible that the dream could be pointing out that swift corrective action may be required or otherwise even normal feelings of some guilt and shame might not be enough to curb such a direction in your life (man doesn’t stop digging even when the police arrive).

The seriousness of the dream is also shown in the fact that it has stayed clearly in mind for so long.

So unfortunately, your feeling that the dream was dealing with something “sinister” appears to have some truth to it although as mentioned, dreams can exaggerate the situation in order that the person sits up and takes notice in time so that a developing state of affairs can be dealt with more effectively than if it remained mostly unconscious.

Many women have found the work of analyst Marion Woodman helpful in balancing their lives in a mostly patriarchal society, so you might like an introductory look at her ideas in a collection of interviews etc. called “Conscious Femininity”. The inner man who appeared in your dream is also extensively dealt with in her “The Ravaged Bridegroom”. To help look at your own dreams in a reliable way, you may also like analyst Robert Johnson’s “Inner Work”.

I hope these ideas can be helpful in finding the personal message contained in your dream.