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Spirit and Dream Animals, by Richard Webster

(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

Many years ago, while doing some research in Hong Kong, I accidentally overheard two women talking about dream animals. I went into a café and sat down at a table next to an attractive Asian lady and her American friend. I wasn't paying any attention to their conversation, until I suddenly heard the Asian lady explaining the concept of animal dreaming to her friend. According to her, if a woman dreamt of an animal about the time she became pregnant, her baby would possess the qualities of the animal she had dreamt about. I was fascinated, and after apologizing for overhearing the conversation, asked if I could join in.

The two ladies were very kind and gracious, and allowed me to join them. I learned that, in Asia, dreams are believed to be created by a lack of energy. However, dreaming of an animal does the opposite. These dreams create energy, in addition to providing valuable clues about the personality of the unborn child. I also learned that not all pregnant women dream of animals. These dreams occur only if the unborn child has significant potential.

The Asian woman leaned towards me. "Did you know that Buddha's mother dreamed of a gorgeous white elephant with six tusks that ran around her bed three times?" she asked. "That's a classic example of a prophetic animal dream."

I chatted with the two ladies for about an hour. Just before leaving them, I learned that it was important that the mother-to-be told no one about her animal dreams. "My mother had several dreams involving me before I was born," the Asian lady told me. "She told me they were good, but that's all she's told me about them."

When I returned to my hotel, I wrote down everything I could remember about the conversation. As I'm interested in both dreams and animal symbolism, I tried to learn more about the dreams pregnant women have about animals. Unfortunately, the people I spoke to weren't able to tell me anything that the two women hadn't already covered.

About ten years later, while in Singapore, I was fortunate enough to meet a lady who made her living interpreting t'aimeng, which are predictive dreams about unborn children. Once I got to know her, she was happy to answer my questions, and encouraged me to write Spirit & Dream Animals.

A month or two after that, I had a predictive dream. In the dream I was driving into the city on the freeway. The car in front of me had a personalized plate that read "animal." One week later, I was driving along the same stretch of road that had been in my dream, and saw a car with the personalized plate "anamal." The spelling was slightly different, but it was obviously an omen. Over the years, I've learned to act on these, and a week or two later I began working on the book.

Although I first heard about predictive dreams involving animals while traveling in the Far East, they can be found all around the world. Here's an example. Olympias, the mother of Alexander the Great, dreamt that she was sleeping with Ammon, the horned god. In the dream, Ammon told her that she had conceived a male child who would be her avenger.

Men can also experience predictive dreams about their unborn children. In the Bible, Joseph experienced a predictive dream after discovering that Mary, his wife, was pregnant. An angel appeared to him in the dream and told him the unborn child, Jesus, was the Son of God (Matthew 1:20-21).

Animals are often overlooked in our dreams. However, they fulfill an important purpose. Carl Jung, the Swiss psychiatrist, noticed that people frequently dream of helpful animals, or animal-headed people, when they are ill. In some way, these animals symbolize the healing process. One of the central beliefs of shamanism is the intrinsic connection between animals and humans. Shamans perform their tasks by using their power animals, or guardian spirits, to connect with the animal world. This connection frequently occurs in dreams.

Animals sometimes appear in dreams as human beings. The Jívaro people of South America find that a guardian spirit usually appears first as an animal, before appearing as a human being in a dream. The Jívaro believe that if an animal speaks to you, it is undoubtedly your power animal. It's not surprising that animals can appear in human form in our dreams, as we are both living on this planet together, and are related in many different ways.

Australian Aborigines frequently refer to "Dreamtime," when the world was fresh and new, and ancestor spirits created form and shape to the land. Some of these mythic beings were people, while others were totem animals. The ancestor spirits had the ability to change from person to animal to help them decide what they wanted to be. According to Aborigine belief, animals still remember making their choice. The great fertility mothers and male genitors created the first people; these mythic figures are eternal, and even though some are killed, disappear, or change shape in the Aboriginal mythic stories, their integral qualities remain. They are spiritually just as alive today as they ever were, and the places where they metamorphosed became, and remain, sacred grounds. In the Dreamtime, man is just one part of nature, and is not considered especially different to the mythic people and animals that live there. The land still retains its memories of the Dreamtime, as do the Aboriginal people. Everyone is given an animal spirit at birth, and this provides the person with guidance, wisdom, and protection.

Dreaming of animals can be highly beneficial. They provide comfort, advice, and protection; they even provide advance warning of upcoming danger, when necessary. Their task is to help you progress through life. Because of this, you should pay attention to your animal dreams.

You should also be aware of your guardian animals while you are awake. If you are not aware of your guardian animals, ask them to make themselves known to you in your dreams. Once you have discovered who they are, communicate with them regularly, and call on them whenever you need advice, help, or comfort.

By paying attention to your guardian animals, and the animals that appear in your dreams, you'll gain confidence and a sense of direction and purpose. Every aspect of your life will improve as a result.

Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2011. All rights reserved.

What does it mean if I keep having the same dream almost every night? I dream that someone is knocking on my door. It's always three knocks, and then I wake up yelling Who is it? When I wake up, it seems so real that I get up to open the door just to make sure nobody is really there. I don't know if this is related in any way, but a couple of years ago, my husband and I had been arguing, and when I was going to bed, I saw this man dressed in all black with a big hat on walk right by my bedroom door and then just disappear. He was a tall, shadowy figure, and every little hair on my body stood up. It really scared the heck out of me and still does just thinking about it.

Robin

Susyn:

Some recurring dreams can be really disconcerting, for it can feel like we are being sent some kind of message that we can't quite interpret. When this happens, the best way to alleviate these dreams and the anxiety they create is to investigate them in order to decipher their metaphysical purpose.

This dream is simple in its overall form: three knocks that wake you from a deep sleep and appear so real that you get out of bed to investigate. Hearing a knock at the door implies that your subconscious is attempting to get your attention and bring a certain aspect of your life to greater conscious awareness. This implies that there is something you need to pay attention to or some changes that need to be made. We can assume this is a positive message, as in opportunity knocking.

It is interesting that you always hear three knocks. In numerology, three is the number of enlightenment and associated with the planet Jupiter. Though being awakened by the sound of three knocks on a door can be startling, these dreams carry important information. When you feel anxious about these dreams, it helps to remember that good things typically come in threes.

Three can also represent a triangle, which may be why you are connecting the dream to an argument you had with your husband and the dark, shadowy figure you saw outside your bedroom door shortly after. I don't feel that these incidents are connected with the dreams you keep having, for it seems you never saw the shadowy figure again after this event. If this man was a spirit residing in your home, you would have noticed him more than once.

When we experience dreams of this nature, it is always helpful to write them down in detail. Usually, this will coax additional information to the surface. I also recommend meditating on these dreams in order to learn more. During these reflections, you can ask Spirit to reveal the deeper meaning behind these knocks, and achieve greater clarity on the messages they are trying to convey.

It could be that you are ignoring some aspect of your life or that you feel something is out of control. As you grow in understanding of the reasons for these dreams, they should subside, for once a dream has fulfilled its purpose, there is no reason for it to return.

You may also want to create a protective energetic force field around yourself. This can be done by smudging your bedroom, placing protective stones like turquoise or malachite on your nightstand or under your pillow, and asking Spirit to block these recurring dreams before you go to sleep each night.

*****

Oceania:

Dreams of door knocks, doorbells, ringing phones or hearing one's name being called are common. They tend to occur when we're stressed and something is going on that requires our attention.

When a number recurs, I assign meaning to it using tarot symbolism. Card III is the Empress or good mother, so you might consider three knocks a message to nurture, protect and preserve your precious self. Also, examine whether your relationships with your mother, your children or any others you care for are out of balance or depleting you. Now's the time to attend to your own well-being; it may even be urgent for you to do so.

I recommend you take an inventory of your life from every angle. Examine whether you are meeting your physical needs by eating well, exercising, getting enough sleep and addressing any health concerns. Check your emotional needs by acknowledging feelings and addressing situations that may be hurtful or upsetting. Check the contents of your thoughts to make sure you are giving thanks for your life and many blessings. Use your imagination to delineate and envision your personal goals.

Note whether you're making room for spirituality through positive affirmations, readings, meditation, time spent in nature or participation in a spiritual community. Take stock of your marriage, career and hobbies and whether adjustments need to be made. From a social perspective, take a moment to honor each of the important people in your life and to consider how you'd feel if they died today. Some aspect of your life needs your attention; once you discover it, your recurring dream will cease.

I don't believe the figure you perceived years ago is related to this current call to action. The ominous man dressed in black may have been a representation of the destructive energy you had just exchanged with your husband. You felt frightened and your hair stood on end because you knew the argument had not been constructive, which stirred up fear of losing your marriage. The walking figure served as a warning to avoid negativity.

These dreams are not so much warnings as encouragement to take better care of yourself. Think about something nice you could do for yourself right now. It might be as simple as giving yourself a foot massage with scented lotion, taking a bubble bath, making a cup of tea or taking yourself to lunch.

You might sing Tony Orlando's song lyrics and add to them: Knock three times on the ceiling if you want me - to take better care of myself! By writing to us, you set in motion a plan to do just that.

Astrea:

Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.

Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!

While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!

I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!

As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.

I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.

You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!

Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.

A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.

You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.