What Do Animals in Dreams Mean?

Dear Dreamers,

Howdy. How are you? Hell of a week it’s been.

Last night, I had a dream that I was teaching high school in my hometown, in the first room my mother was ever assigned, down the hall and to the right of where my father taught history and geography and showed the Evil Dead VHS tape on Halloween. Imagine, for a moment, that they’d never met. Or that they had, sure, how could you avoid it in a place so small, but they’d never spoken. Never made each other laugh. Where would I be, then?

Oh, somewhere. My spirit is old. Maybe yours is, too. But still, that rural Oklahoma town and I’m teaching motherfucking high school, just like both of them, and I’m being forced to clean up after the teacher who was there before me, some nut who has pasted conspiracy theory printouts all over the room, which isn’t even painted the standard colors that the state has set. And then the bell rings, and my students flood in, and some of them are people I know, a whole room of people to see my panic, my ineptitude, and then I’m digging through said nut’s DVD collection, CDs, for something to play and distract, but everyone is laughing, and the two aides I’ve somehow been assigned aren’t listening to me, nor providing me any helpful suggestions, and I don’t even know what class I’m teaching. The board says Spanish, but I’m convinced it’s English, and then I find a short story I’ve never read on the falling apart desk I don’t know how to discuss, and the crowd is getting louder and louder, and then I start screaming. But no one even looks at me, besides the aides. They call me a name I don’t recognize. And then I wake up.

You may be thinking, oh my God. That sounds awful. And it was! But it was also a classic of the genre, one that needed no interpretation from yours truly. I had been feeling anxious, and burnt out, and my dreams took me to a hell of my own making. One I could leave whenever I wanted, but felt I could not. Which is all to say, if you, too, are feeling particularly burnt out, or anxious, or the like, remember there is always an exit door. Even if it just means sweeping off your altar and starting over, there’s always a choice. Find the window and open it and let the air in. I promise it’ll help.

Sending you good dreams,
Cowboy

Queer Dream Interpretation

(submit your dreams!)

Okay so I dreamt I was holding my birthday party at a beach campsite and for some reason all my ex-girlfriends and ex-situationships were invited. I was slightly stressed by this but hosting and making introductions and managed to get all the lesbians seated around a big camping table with a table cloth over it, when a massive round brown bear ambled slowly over and curled up under the table at our feet. One of my exes (let’s call her Ann) started to freak out about it but I apparently knew this bear and was very comfortable with her (definitely a she, she had a strong matriarch vibe) and told Ann and the others that there was no need to be scared, the bear and I were good friends and as long as we didn’t make a big deal of her she wouldn’t make a big deal of us. We all sat down and ate dinner together, and the bear came and leaned its furry head against me during the meal while I petted her head and mediated conversation between my exes. It felt like we were extremely close and I really loved her. Shortly after I woke up.

What is the meaning of my love for the bear?

Dear Susie,

Thank you for the gift of your dream. First off, kudos on managing to get all the lesbians at your birthday party wrangled and seated, like there’s not even a butch standing up and tending to the fire in this scenario! I kid, but also…

I will say, straight away, that this is a uniformly positive dream. Yes, even the inclusion of your exes and ex-situationships points me towards this. There’s a cohesion here, not just in your party planning skills or smoothing over, but the way that you were all unified, even through past hurts of foibles, at one table. This image is a beautiful one, and one you should honor. I’m not saying you have to invite these folks to a real party, or reach out, rather that you should feel some peace about how it all shook out. There’s a warmness reaching toward you. Reach back.

In regards to the beautiful bear, I agree wholly with your assessment that our ursine friend is a she and is a matriarch. At the risk of being slightly too woo-woo (but isn’t that what we’re all here for?) I’d like to posit something: I think this bear is a visitor from your lineage, though the cards are unclear whether this is from your maternal and paternal side. I think she is a guardian that you can call upon whenever you need it. I also think that her visitation to you, in such a dream where many people of a certain, shall we stay lifestyle, is a familial (though ancestral) confirmation that you are living your life the way you are supposed to, surrounded by lesbians, specifically, and women more generally.

This is a gift, and one that ought not to be taken lightly. Do with this information what you will, but your love for the bear, in this dream, is a reflection of the bear’s love for you. If you’re a candle lighting type, light a candle for her, clear some space on your altar. Honor your dream connection, and you very well may be surprised how deep your spiritual connection becomes.

Sending you a bear hug,
CC

The Meaning(s) of Various Animal Symbols in Dreams + Journal Prompts

Inspired by Susie’s dream (thanks, Susie)! I thought it might be helpful to put together a list of animal symbols in dreams and some prompts for further exploration for those things that might creep, crawl, or cascade (lol) into your consciousness.

SNAKES: Friend or menace? Transformation or death? The snake as symbol can mean many things, but you should never ignore it. Ask yourself: is there someone waiting in the grass to bite me? Process this paranoia. Wherein can you shed your skin? Is it time? If it bites, how can you suck the poison out? Metaphorically speaking, of course.

SPIDERS: Whose web are you caught in? Which creative project are you stuck on? Where can you weave a web of love and support in trying times? Where can you clear the webs out of your spiritual practice, life, and mind, in order to bring about cleaner times?

FISH: What wisdom are you keeping in your own depths? Are things opening up to you? Do you feel like you’re amidst a spiritual transformation? Do you feel like part of the shadow self is awakening? What, exactly, swims beneath the waters of your mind? What hides in the murk? What shimmers and shines about you?

DOGS: Who is loyal in your life and who is not? Are you loyal to yourself? How is your health, mentally, emotionally, and physically? What is barking for your attention? Is something close to biting you?

ALLIGATORS: What is primordial and ancient and still with you? What is rough and dark in your life, and why do you fear it? What lurks beneath seemingly still waters? What have you survived, and what violences still mark you? What could swallow you whole, and, in turn, what could you swallow whole?

BEARS: What are you protective of? What are your energy levels like right now? Have you been feeling an influx of anger? Deep feeling? Where is it stemming from? What do you mother, and what, in turn, mothers you?