Thread: Dream Archetypes appearing as animals?

Originally posted by irishcream
Last night i had this really weird dream...i don't remember much about it, except that one of my Archetypes appeared, but not in the usual form. My most common Archetype is the wise old man, who usually appears in the guise of a man i know pretty well. Except last night he appeared as a white horse. A stallion, not a gelding. Don't ask me how i know that, i just do.
I was in a stable, feeding him hay, and trying to comb his mane out. Somehow, i knew it was my wise old man. I felt no fear, i simply asked him 'it is you isn't it?' And this horse shook his head, and whinnied softly into my hand.
I was just wondering. Can Archetypes change form?? And in my case, i listen to my Wise Old Man, so i don't think it's a case of him changing to make me pay attention!
Also my parrot was in my dream, i was trying to walk past his cage, but he kept trying to nip me with his beak, and someone in the dream said, 'liz, he's not going to let you by till you pay attention.'
So i stopped in front of his cage, and using his wings, my parrot forced his way between the bars of his cage, coming to sit on my shoulder and nibble my ear.
I know this should probably be in interpretation, i might post it there too, save this getting moved.

Actually The Horse Archetype is a separate Archetype. Your recognition of The Horse as the Wise Old Man was perhaps wrong as a specific particular, but only as far as language is concerned... you DID recognize The Horse as integral to your Spiritual Path, just as the Wise Old Man is a part of your Higher Dynamics.

You are going to have to ride this Horse. Years ago I had a complete Dream Series with the Dream Horse. I started in a large field where there was a County Fair going on and one of the attractions was "Ride the Wild Stallion". People were lined up. This large spiritued White Horse was throwing people into the air and then returning to the line to throw somemore people. I honestly could not see what people saw in such treatment, but I was lined up also. Perhaps it was a Dare. Anyway, my turn came and I knew enough about riding to keep my knees flexed and match the rise and fall of the gallop with the flexing of my legs. The Horse noticed and appreciated my effort to ride upon him correctly. So off we went for a good gallop. He stopped at a sandwiche shop and asked me to get a ham sandwidch. The Old Lady looked slow and I was concerned, but both the Horse and the Old Lady told me that though the Horse was Willful and Powerful, it could be patient and I had no need to worry. when the sandwiche was ready, the horse asked me to share it with him.

Then the dream broke away to my father smoking a pipe in an armchair, ready to be philosophical and insightful... something of a Dream Archetype itself. He told me that to ride the Horse one must understand the Horse and to understand the Horse one had to know its true essence. And what is that? THE HORSE IS REALLY A PIG.

To understand the Horse, you must realize it is essentially just a big pig with a saddle.

So what is the Horse Archetype. The Horse is your Will. The Horse is the Motive Power you must use in your Life to arrive at your Spiritual Goal. It sounds like you have a good one. But you need to saddle it, and ride it.

I had a series of dreams of my Horse. Finally I was able to ride him with great precision and discipline. Later ... years later... the Horse was still with me, but rolling in clover and getting fat while I soaked my feet in a pretty little pond in a glade. The Wise Old Man told us to get moving.... and so I started writing on line.

I'd be interesting to know how many other people have encountered their Horse Archetype. It may be a rather advanced symbol.

Oh, and regarding Animal Archetypes... has anybody bumped into any Snakes?

err, whats an Archetype?

okay, i;ll try and explain this...but you might want to talk to Leo, he's good at explaining!
An Archetype is a Dream Character that is there to give you advice, or try to bring your attention to a lesson you need to learn in waking life, in order to grow and develop.
For Example...in my case, the Wise Old Man often gives me advice to questions within myself that i'm not really even aware that i'm asking myself. He helps me to make judgements and decisions. In the beginning, i never listened to him and kept screwing up. Now i listen, and my choices are usually right.
Also there is the Earth Mother...she also gives advice, but she's more cryptic than the wise old man. She's also likely to give you a clip round the ear if you're messing about, and not doing what you're supposed to be...although in my case, the Wise Old Man didn't think anything of putting a toe up my ass the other night regarding a career decision.
There's loads more...but ask Leo, he's rather more experienced in this kind of thing, and i've probably only served to confuse you even more!