I was in Crimshow last night, listening to her speak about Occult Metal Music, strange sigils, Cernunnos and Halloween horror. This got me thinkin about lore and dreams.
When I was a kid I used to have a variety of spooky "scare" dreams that would replay again and again every few weeks or months for years, even though over time I thought about them and realized that they weren't all that scary or even realistic - but in the dream they were nightmarish.
The earliest one I remember having, it might even have started when I was a toddler, was about the stereotypical witch in black hat and robes standing on a hill in our back yard. She was cackling and stirring a big black pot. I knew I should run away to hide, but I was on the toilet with my pants down and I couldn't seem to move. I was so afraid that she would see me, and so I sat there hinged on a wire, struggling to move..
This dream kept returning for years, although less and less as time went on. Not every day or week, but every so often. Near as I can figure, if I do dream analysis based on what I believe the dream meant, this dream might be about my emotional indecision and fear when dealing with a cold and uncaring woman who is stirring my emotional fears. Talk about foreshadowing.
The second dream I had many times as a young child was being home alone and looking out the front door. This dream was also was from a very early time in my life because in real life, the door was moved when I was about eight, but in the dream, the door remained in the old location.
In this dream I saw a large black cat, a jaguar or leopard, walking down the street. There were no other people about, as if the world was deserted. He came up on the side porch where the door was. I couldn't lock the door to keep him out, even tho I tried. I was afraid, but knew there was nothing I could do. Somehow I always ended up with the door open. I knew he had come to suck the blood out of my head. In the dream he stood on his hind paws and did this. about then, the dream would end.
Dream analysis: feeling alone in the world, trying to keep out my enemies or hide my true self from the outside world, which was draining my vitality and passion; feeling powerless to stop the inevitable. pretty heavy dreams for a little kid.
Another dream I had once in a while was the sickness dream. I call it that because I equated it with sometimes being sick soon after, which I rarely ever was as a child.
In the dream time couldn't move, or only extremely slowly. There wasn't much of a dream image, except maybe a grayness or fog, alternating with trying to walk to the refrigerator in the kitchen. There was a heaviness about everything, as if I was stuck in a giant machine making a whooshing noise, and my limbs were paralyzed; every second was an hour.
Not only could I barely move, but I couldn't tell awake from asleep, because eventually I realized after dreaming this dream many times, that I would wake up and walk, or try to walk, to the kitchen. I was still asleep and everything was slow motion. I would be stuck in this half sleep half awoken state for hours, dreaming the same thing over and over, like a bad acid trip. I can't recall my family ever noticing.
analysis: feelings of helplessness or being unable to move forward or navigate a situation. Being unable to emotionally detach. Sleep paralysis and most likely sleep walking. possibly feverish.
The devil dream. I had this dream much less frequently, but it always left me tired. I was in the park and the devil was chasing me. I don't recall him ever catching me, just the terror and the running. After many years of this dream occurring infrequently, I had this dream one last time. In the dream I realised I was dreaming and started chasing the devil. He was afraid and ran away. I never had the dream again. Most likely signifies running from fears and limitations, and in the end, overcoming.
I've had many other repetitive dreams, but those four stand out as among the most significant. The first dream is in fact ironic, since I eventually came to see witches in a more positive and nurturing way and have more fear for organized religion than I do for pagan or pantheistic beliefs.
Thanks for reading my scary halloween themed dreams! Maybe one day I will jot down a few of my fun and silly dreams for comparison!
Top image creative commons, other images dreamed or edited by torico from found images on pixabay or other.