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THE TRICKSTER
Because our dreams are in part the product of a vigilant consciousness, and a wise emotional intuition, they often present warnings early on in a business venture, a purchase, a romance or an investment. It is human nature to want what we want, and to bring all our powers to bear when it comes to rationalizing what we’re doing: convincing others and ourselves that something sketchy makes sense.
NATURE SYMBOLS
The trickster refers to a life situation in which we are taking a turn with foolishness—particularly when things are not as they appear to be. People sometimes dream of a coyote, a fox, a weasel or a squirrel when they are dealing with a trickster episode in life. The animal in question may come into their home, or lead them down a path, or act like a trusted pet, following by their side. While there is nothing wrong with these animals, in their negative symbolic potential, they can reflect the deceptive, unpredictable or sly characteristics of the shady broker, the faithless lover, or the charming but unreliable leader.
UNRELIABLE PARENT
One woman, whose mother was difficult and unreliable in her early life, had repeated dreams of being a young girl again, trusting and hoping that her mother would stop drinking as she promised, then discovering she could not be trusted to do so. This girl was then forced to become the informal parent in the family, compensating for her mother’s troubling patterns. As an adult, she had little to do with her mother, and was a successful wife, mother and teacher. She was puzzled and a little depressed at these dreary dreams of disappointment and frustration that seemed to be arising from nowhere.
As we talked, she described her relationship with her mother as the first time she learned that some people, even people you love and admire, cannot be trusted to do as they promise. It was a hard lesson, and had taken her many cycles of repetition to become clear about it. As we explored this pattern, and how she had felt duped by her mother’s promises, she suddenly realized that her current boss made her feel much the same way. She felt that her boss was pulling her strings, alternately charming and conning her into doing more than her share of the planning and committee work with hinted promises of advancement and a sense of being on the inside of a special group of favorites. At this time in her life, she wanted nothing more than to find a less demanding position, something that would allow her to explore independent projects, yet her boss always persuaded her to stay where she was.
This dreamer concluded that her dreaming mind had been conjuring up reminders of her early lesson in deception and manipulation so that she might “wake up” to the way her boss was exploiting her abilities and disposition. She eventually left the position, when she found something that suited her own needs better, and has experienced a wonderful reduction in stress as well as increase in creativity.
QUICKSAND
I have a friend who was a wealthy and attractive bachelor. Not surprisingly, he was often sought after by single women and did a lot of dating. He really wanted to settle down and marry, but he seemed to have a pattern of getting involved with women who were more interested in his bank account than they were in him. He would generously and optimistically launch into a relationship treating the woman to nice gifts, travel and perks, then discover that he had gotten himself into a quagmire of demands, and what he laughingly called “high maintenance” issues. Although he was good-natured about this, he had a recurring dream that helped him to recognize what was wrong.
In the dream, he would be hiking up a hill, something he loved to do. As he climbed up, he would start to lose his footing. He would recover, and then loose traction again. Finally his boot would give way into soft earth, and he would have a sinking feeling as he started to get in too deep. When he tried to raise his foot to get out of the mud hole, he would find that he couldn’t do it: he was in a quicksand sinkhole. The mud would cling to him and although he was quite strong, it was all he could do to leverage himself out of the messy, clingy quagmire.
He told me these dreams out of curiosity, because he assumed they were indeed about his hiking experiences – although he had never encountered such a problem in real life. However, when I told him that slippery muddy situations often reflect times when our thoughts and emotions are in conflict and we lose our way, he knew immediately that these dreams were about his relationship(s). He commented that he had these dreams intermittently over the years, and believed that these dreams were trying to point out that he was traveling on a path that was more treacherous than it seemed at first glance. While he was careful and shrewd with his business dealings and with his outdoor excursions, he did not apply the same scrutiny to his romantic life, and he was thus easily mistaken and sometimes misled in his choice of partners.
In part because of this awareness, as well as other awakening factors in his life, he altered his pattern in relationships and abandoned the revolving door of partners. He later met and married a woman who truly cares for him, and they have been together for many years, loyally seeing one another through challenges and victories through the years.
THE CLOWN
Many clients tell me that their first nightmares as kids were of clowns, who acted funny and had painted smiles on their faces, yet seemed unsettling or scary in some way. Adults who had these clown nightmares often do not like clowns, or continue to find them creepy. The “false clown” nightmare is often the first presentation of the trickster archetype.
There is something horrible about the discovery that things can seem one way yet actually be another. The sensation of being deliberately deceived is a horrifying one and a confusing one for a child. The situations that give rise to the clown nightmare are varied, but they often include the use of jokes to disguise cruelty, or humor to distract from tragedy or hardship.
SEND IN THE CLOWNS
One man told me that he couldn’t stand clowns; because of a recurring dream he had as a youngster that a scary clown was following him, trying to get him to laugh. In his early life, there had been a great deal of economic hardship as well as other challenges, and his parents had a habit of concealing things yet clearly stressing about them. In his youth, he himself had become something of a “class clown” and had discovered how to use humor to diffuse discomfort. Today, he is very successful in his work in the media, and is known well for his great timing and sense of humor. He has turned his abilities and experiences to his advantage. He has never forgotten his early sense of insecurity though, and is careful to be a good provider for his family and a wonderful parent. If he has a dream that features a clown, he knows this is a “heads-up” to him, that something in his life is being presented to him in one way, but it actually is something else entirely. This sets him up to pay attention and to give his decisions a second look before he proceeds.
MAKE THE MOST OF CAUTION SIGNS
If you have a dream in which things are not what they seem, you may be dealing with a trickster chapter in your life. There could be someone who is trying to schmooze you into making a deal, or you could be rationalizing staying with something you have outgrown. Although we are often so busy and so goal-oriented that we fail to see subtle signs of trouble or inconsistency, the dreaming mind will almost certainly be featuring the trickster deception in your nighttime visions when that happens.
If you notice one incident of deception in a dream, haul out your dream journal and look at the last month of entries. You will probably see a pattern of caution signs, and you will likely clue into what it is in your current situation that deserves a second look. Take your time making decisions and commitments and do your homework: be sure you feel good both logically and intuitively and you’ll be more likely to find smooth sailing.
Have a wonderful month of summer, wherever you are, and thank you for paying attention to your dreams! | |
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