mainelyhappy,
/*\ Namaste :-}}
- from a Jungian perspective there are anxiety issues and perhaps themes related to feelings of guilt, penitence, mortality, and 'afterlife'
- also, from a Jungian perspective any number of the characters in the dream will be aspects of your own unconscious, hence of you (characters sometimes representing feelings, for example)
- the sunburst cross in its various forms appears prominently in catholic iconography (perhaps in other christian sects as well) - the roots of the sunburst are 'pagan' if I am not mistaken
- perhaps the co-appearance of what you call the christian cross and the sunburst represent some spiritual issues you have tried to suppress or have hidden away (repressed) - or perhaps they are not so hidden and you are being 'reminded of them by way of the dream
- renouncing one 'icon' (cross) in favor of the other certainly might support such a notion -the issue of being forced to do so also gives the dream an energy suggesting tension
- since it is woman (the feminine) at the cross and man (the masculine) trying to force his will upon her, one might say that your own masculine and feminine aspects may be in some turmoil at present
- but, how do you interpret the woman being singled out for "the ritual"?? A ritual lead by a man?? Is she being honored? Persecuted? What were your feelings in the dream if you are able to recall them?? Therein lies one of the values of diarying as soon as possible after rousing from a dream
- the ending of the second dream where the woman (you) is fleeing and feels lost might well represent the unresolved nature of the tensions of the unconscious around these and other matters
- I recommend sifting thru some symbolic interpretations of some of the key elements of these dreams - a good place to start, I would say, is J.E Cirlot's "A Dictionary of Symbols", 2nd Edition. You might also try Introduction to Dream Interpretation (20001, 2005) by Robert Winer, M.D. He takes a largely Jungian approach but from a more neo-jungian slant with which I do not always agree entirely.
- so, if you do not keep a dream diary perhaps you will begin one - the trick with a dream diary is to keep diary and pen at bedside and to write down all recollections at any time you may awake enough to know you have been dreaming - simply write your impressins as they flow through your mind - no later editting - though one may add "interpretations\impressions" - some people will write down their dreams on the left hand page and save the right hand page for later thoughts, etc
- hope this helps
Reiki All Around,
All Blessings,
Firekeeper
