MENTOR
[DREAM IMAGES: JEDI; MASTER; TUTOR]
Mentors do more than just teach; they pass on wisdom and refine their students’ character. In dreams, they represent aspects of yourself you can trust, or people you can rely on. In its shadow aspect, however, the mentor can take on an overbearing attitude that is more about imposing control than imparting wisdom. They can appear, for example, in dreams about people who undermine you or refuse to help you for no good reason.
MIDAS/MISER
Midas turned everything he touched into gold, including, tragically, his beloved daughter. The archetype is associated with entrepreneurial or creative ability, and appears in dreams where wealth and luxury figures strongly. That Midas was a king symbolically implies that the Midas figure has the power to generate wealth for an entire kingdom, yet is interested only in his personal aggrandizement. Greed is his downfall. For that reason, lessons of generosity are a large part of the characteristics of this archetype. The shadow Midas or miser creates wealth by hording money and emotions at the expense of others, and refusing to share them.
MONK/NUN
If a monk or nun appears in your dreams, the positive aspects of this archetype are fairly obvious: spiritual intensity, devotion, dedication, persistence, and perhaps wisdom. Are these qualities you need to develop within yourself? The monk archetype can also suggest the ability to be single-minded, assiduous, devoted to a spiritual path or to any great achievement that requires intense focus. On the shadow side, the role of a religious recluse could be seen as being removed from the real world, overly pious, even privileged in the sense of not having to be concerned about earning a living, or raising a family.
MONSTER
Your innermost fears or negative attitudes that are seen as larger than you can handle. See also NIGHTMARES; SURREALISM AND FANTASY
MOTHER
[DREAM IMAGES: MATRIARCH, MOTHER NATURE]
The mother archetype appears in many forms—mother, princess and witch—and is symbolized by the primordial mother, or ‘earth mother’, of mythology, by Eve and Mary in Western traditions, and by less personal symbols, such as the church, the nation, a forest or the ocean. According to Jung, someone whose own mother failed to satisfy the demands of the archetype may well be one that spends his or her life seeking comfort in the church, or in identification with ‘the motherland’, or in meditating upon the figure of Mary, or in a life at sea. In dreams, mother figures suggest nurturing aspects of ourselves and others, or the need for greater compassion and selflessness; they can, however, also suggest the shadow side, which is overprotection, abandonment, cruelty and abuse. Bear in mind that the qualities that are associated with this archetype can be expressed in other than biological ways, such as giving birth to books or ideas, or nurturing others. See also FAMILY.
NETWORKER
[DREAM IMAGES: COMMUNICATOR; COURIER; HERALD; JOURNALIST; MESSENGER]
Although networking seems like a very modern skill tied to career advancement in the media age, it is actually quite ancient. Networking would also have been an integral part of any military alliance as well as all social and clan confederations in prehistory. If a messenger or journalist appears in your dreams, this suggests that you have the skills to bring information—or power—and inspiration to others. The question is will you use these skills for the good of the group, or for personal gain?
PIONEER
[DREAM IMAGES: EXPLORER; PILGRIM; SETTLER]
The pioneer discovers and explores new lands, whether that territory is external or internal. The passion to explore the South Pole is as much a pioneering endeavor as the passion to explore medicine or spiritual practice. Even initiating new fashions, art, music, or literature may qualify as expressions of this archetype. The core ingredient is innovation—doing and creating what has not been done before. In dreams, this archetype suggests a need to step on fresh and undiscovered territory in at least one realm. The shadow pioneer manifests as restlessness and a compulsive need to abandon one’s past and move on.
POET
The poet combines lyricism with sharp insight, finding the essence of beauty and truth not only in the great epic affairs of humanity, but also in everyday acts and objects. Great poetry extols momentous events and great deeds, and also expresses wonder at the hidden joys and sorrows that most of us might overlook. If you dream you are a poet, or a poet figures in your dream, this suggests the need and the ability to discover beauty in the people and things around you, and to express it in a way that helps others, too, see that beauty. The shadow poet turns his gift for lyricism to negative or destructive effect, as in songs or poems written in support of military aggression or genocide. See also ARTS AND CRAFTS.
PRIEST
[DREAM IMAGES: EVANGELIST; MINISTER; RABBI; VICAR]
A priest may represent traditional religion with its spiritual rules and regulations. Are you making moral judgments? Alternatively, the priest could represent your own spiritual wisdom. The shadow side of this archetype manifests in lapses of personal morality.
PRINCE
The true prince is a ruler-in-training who is in service to the people over whom he will rule, whether that is a literal kingdom or a figurative or spiritual one. The shadow prince can manifest as a young man with great feelings of entitlement, or an heir apparent who uses his position solely for self-aggrandizement. Are you dedicated to service, or do you feel that the world owes you a living?
PROSTITUTE
This archetype activates the aspects of the unconscious that are related to seduction and control. Prostitution should also be understood as the selling of your talents, ideas, and any other expression of the self—or the selling-out of them. This archetype is universal, and in dreams it relates to the need to birth and refine self-esteem and self-respect.
QUEEN/EMPRESS
Freud believed that the king and queen represent the dreamer’s parents, whilst a prince or princess represents the dreamer. The queen is a symbol of power and authority in all women. She may also stand for the unconscious, intuition, nature and the instincts. Jung saw royal figures as representations of the animus and anima—the male and female principle—and the queen personifies the feminine forces within the psyche, the unconscious feeling for life. The shadow queen can slip into aggressive and destructive patterns of behavior, particularly when she perceives that her authority or capacity to maintain control over the court is being challenged. The ice queen rules with a cold indifference to the genuine needs of others—whether material or emotional. The queen bee is a mixed image—the astonishing ability to power the entire hive without leaving her ‘chamber,’ yet at the cost of enslaving the rest of her community.
REBEL
[DREAM IMAGES: ANARCHIST; NONCONFORMIST; PIRATE; POLITICAL PROTESTER; REVOLUTIONARY]
The rebel in a support group can be a powerful aid in helping the group break out of old tribal