Autumn

‘The autumn of one’s life’; mellow feelings; gradual but often pleasant decline; maturity; middle age; past the prime; a period of change when the old order of things is fading away, and the new has not shown itself.

This might suggest a time of harvesting what has grown or been developed in previous years or months. Autumn in your dream may also suggest a time which is not good for active creativity, but more suited to ‘being’ rather than ‘doing’. The falling leaves of autumn may therefore remind you that many attitudes are outworn – no longer necessary ways of living and working – are falling away and not to be held on to.

Autumn leaves: Old memories, skills, attitudes, things you have developed in life that are no longer performing a useful function due to the changes happening. They can therefore be dropped. It is just a process and like all life is carrying on readying for a new phase.

If the dreamer is in middle age: Represents these years of your life. The details of the dream show what you intuitively feel about these years and what can arise from them. It is therefore helpful to see if you can understand this season of your life and what it brings. It may be a time to rest and let go some of the outer activities of the past.

Mrs C. had the following dream at a time when she started her own business against her husband’s wishes, and one week before he walked out on her. Autumn here depicts the sense of something coming to an end.

Example: ‘ My husband was in a wheelchair, I was pushing him along a promenade. At the end of the promenade was a path which we took. The path went along the top of a cliff. The sea below was pretty rough, a typical Autumn day at the seaside. All of a sudden the path came to an end and there was a steep slope to the right which led down to the beach, I decided to turn right and go down the slope. When we got half way down the slope the path started to give way on the left and I found myself without enough room for the four wheels of the wheelchair. I was desperately holding on, tilting the wheelchair to the right to keep it balanced on the two right wheels when my husband got panicky in the chair and moved. The chair tilted to the left and fell down the rocks. I started running down the path towards the beach, towards my husband and the wheelchair. I never reached the wheelchair or my husband because I awoke and that was the end of the dream. ‘ Mrs C.

Example: My brother had his arm around my shoulder as we looked at the dark blue night sky. A symbol like a witch appeared in the sky. I looked at a tree with no leaves, just three branches. A cat and dog sat on it. The cat was on a branch that veered outwards. The branch broke off and my brother said, ‘Is that the way it’s going to be?’ Kelly 19

This fascinating dream by a young woman of 19 most likely depicts her relationship with her brother. The lack of leaves shows there is nothing now growing between them. The dog and projecting branch represent him, and the cat herself. There is I believe a fairly obvious sexual connection, and the dream shows how she is breaking away from an unconscious male female link with her brother as she matures. The branches come from the same trunk depicting family relationship.

Useful Questions and Hints:

What is the autumn of my dream offering or revealing?

Is this autumn a time of loss or of fresh opportunity?

What are the fruits of my summer that exist in this autumn?

See Identity and Dreams; Plot of the Dream; Individuation.