Black

This is the colour of the night, and so because it links with absence of light, opens us to what we can’t see or deal with in the dark – in what is ‘in the dark’, unconscious – within or around us. It is the experience, like sleep, in which the ego diminishes or melts back into unconsciousness. This relates to all those things you repress or avoid feeling or lack full awareness of in yourself and life. So the dream will probably include threats of some sort, or what is unknown, hidden or avoided. So this relates to your hidden fears or past hurts that have been buried and remain unconscious. In African traditions black is the colour of night, death, excrement, and illness. But our universe began in darkness, and light in dreams represents conscious awareness.

Black can depict what we feel is evil – in other words the unaccepted side of yourself, the parts of your nature you don’t want others to see, and you don’t want to admit even to yourself. It also may indicate depression, what is negative within you or from an outside influence. This includes feelings of secrecy, fear or things we fear, and anxious feelings about death. See The Con About Evil

Writing about the meeting with the darkness, Jung says, “The battle between the hero and the dragon is the more active form of this myth, and it shows more clearly the archetypal theme of the ego’s triumph over regressive trends. For most people the dark or negative side of the personality remains unconscious. The hero, on the contrary, must realise that the shadow exists and that he can draw strength from it. He must come to terms with its destructive powers if he is to become sufficiently terrible to overcome the dragon. I.e., before the ego can triumph, it must master and assimilate the shadow”.

 Example: ‘Black and grey – outpouring of thoughts and feelings I have pushed down, refused to look at or acknowledge, for most of my life.

Last year I got into the habit when doing JKZ’s Body Scan Meditation, of doing the following: there is a part at the end of the meditation where you imagine you are breathing in through the top of your head, through your body and out your toes, and then reversing the process: in through the toes etc. I liked to imagine the air and the energy I was breathing in was full of colourful sparkles – it made me feel good. Towards the end of December last year I almost stopped in my tracks when I did this and realised that I was breathing in thick blackness – in through my head, and filling my body. I thought “Why is this happening?” and then made an effort to start again whilst imagining clean air coming in.

A few days later I was wondering though – perhaps I should have just let the blackness fill me and see what happened. I thought of how most of us only want to experience what we see as the ‘good’ things in life – always pushing away the ‘bad’ – but we need to experience everything – to integrate it all. On New Year’s Day I woke up feeling so low and empty – life seemed so meaningless, and I resolved to breathe in the blackness during my meditation…’ This is what set in motion a process of change, which over the months since then, has led me to a deep acceptance of myself and my life – I feel transformed. Helen Black

Things like a black animal or black vehicle usually indicate that you are dealing with feelings or fears that you have previously kept buried or repressed. Their appearance in your dream shows you are ready to meet such feelings by allowing them to be experienced and acknowledged.

Example: I dreamt last night that a black Spanish fighting bull charged me. I climbed a high wire mesh fence, like that surrounding tennis courts. There I was safe, as the Bull charged again. It charged people. I came down from the fence trying to help divert the bull’s destructiveness.

Here the dreamer is meeting sexual feelings that he had always avoided in the past and still feels threatened by. As the dream shows, he tries to avoid facing these feelings, but in the end has to deal with them. The forgetfulness or repression of parts of ones experience is very clearly shown in the next dream.

I felt very close to the girl. She said, “Do you remember when they made you black all over?”  I said I couldn’t, and she reminded me of being a film extra, when, to cover up my bad skin, I was covered in black make-up to look like a slave. I then said, “You know, there are parts of my life I can’t remember.”

The connection in some dreams between feelings about death and the colour black are shown in the next dream.

Mike is dying. He is taking care of the old folks to gain merit because he knows he may soon be joining them wherever they are. He wants to be sure that they remember him kindly. The black road (death road=death row) has been incorporated into President Bush’s speech and is declaimed as death road or death highway in some of his speeches – as in ‘we want to protect you from death road or highway’. Of course, no one believes him as everyone knows that it is impossible to save oneself from death’s road. We all have to travel it eventually.

Black also sometimes indicate what is earthy, the source of life and growth. What is hidden in the unconscious or body can be powerfully transformative. Like compost, it is full of potentially life enhancing energy. Such black or hidden things often take time to clarify. They have remained in a condition of never having been felt or known fully, and so are unclear and pre-verbal. Knowing them means gradually understanding through experiencing them, and being able to describe and integrate them. There is often a complication here in ones progress, in that consciously you may have hidden or repressed, or been unwilling to accept, anything that was not judged good or positive. In this way the so called ‘bad’ is repressed and you become one sided and lacking wholeness. Therefore meeting the ‘black’ is important. Out of this fundamental earthiness the new person you can become can emerge. See: For blackbird, black hole, blackberries, black-tie, see respective

Black and white: The opposites appearing together. In ourselves the good and bad coexist, and one balances the other. So this would suggest such coexistence and balancing.

Black clothes or under garments: This usually points to hidden or unconscious feelings or sexuality. Black is also associated with a priest or the clergy, so might depict a religious or moral influence in some dreams.

A person dressed in black: This may represent your shadow, or less accepted characteristics. See: shadow.

Black people: If this is a true black person, see black people.

Shiny black: Rather like a crystal ball, this suggests looking into your intuitive perception of what lies usually unconscious within you, looking into the depths of yourself, perhaps beyond the boundaries of your personality.

 

Useful Questions and Hints:

What is it I am on the edge of being aware of, or have been unaware of previously?

Are there anxieties o feelings I usually do not allow myself to feel fully – perhaps using defences such as smoking or alcohol to help push away?

Is there something emerging out of the blackness that offers new growth – if so what do I notice in waking that is new and living in me?

See Resistances and meeting things I fear or dislike in my dream.

Comments

-Elana 2017-12-06 18:05:46

Last night I had a long dream that ended with my palm being read by two fortune tellers. They each said 3 things to me. The first two statements from both were not memorable but the last one was. The last statement from the first teller was “dark night”. The second one said “black night”. And then I woke up. I don’t know if they meant “night” or “Knight” but either way it freaked me out. Any insights?

-Km 2017-08-31 21:26:42

I just awoke from a dream of going to see one of my old friends P and we were going to her boyfriend’s family party. In this party was a mix of people. I had sat down and, I was covered in a black robe. I guess my clothes wasn’t appropriate. I know I didn’t feel comfortable in them. Anyway. I’m getting to know people introducing my self having conversation. Next thing you know a group of women dressed in black dresses sort of like nuns but you couldn’t even see their faces. Everyone around me immediately started to get up to move to a different room like we couldn’t be in the same room. So I followed. Before we got out of there presence a boy/man told me don’t be rude. No one else acknowledged but I managed to get the courage to say something to them. Don’t remember what I said but I acknowledged one of them. When we got out of the house they explained that they were part of my friends boyfriend’s family and they were really religious women with certain morals. In one part of a dream I even seen a man carry one of the women in all back down some steps. Toward the end of the party they were spaced out all around . I even got to see one of there faces. One woman had an African American face. Can someone please explain??

-rose 2017-02-09 15:58:02

I dreamed I saw a line of people walking they all had on black but my boyfriend was in this line and he had on blue and white.. What does this mean?

    -Tony Crisp 2017-02-10 9:28:11

    Hi – I am stopping from answering your posts fully – but will try to give hints; sometimes long ones because I quote from masses I have already put online. Also I need to take time to update the site – dreamhawk.
    It would help you to understand your dreams, if you would read – http://dreamhawk.com/approaches-to-being/questions-2/#Summing and also http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/features-found-on-site/
    Nothing can replace your own ability to understand your dream. With a little effort you can do this by practicing what is described in – http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/acting-on-your-dream/#BeingPersonOrThing or http://dreamhawk.com/dream-dictionary/getting-at-your-dreams-meaning/
    Tony

    It means that you feel your boyfriend has qualities that are unusual and not like the crowd.

      -Olly 2017-02-12 6:27:06

      Hello good morning
      I saw myself in the dream wearing a black polo and black leggings and an all star
      I went to my former office and greeted most people and then I later saw myself walking on my own. Few minutes later I saw some of my colleagues driving again I entered the car, greeted them and they dropped me somewhere.
      Where they dropped me was sort of a church that had a festival where they all wore white and when I got in, a man told me to come take pot (Weed) but when we got to where the pot was it was finished, then we scheduled to meet another day.
      Now this other day, I got to the bus station to go meet this guy that wants to give me pot only to find that there are no buses so I turned back and woke.
      I really need clearance as to what this dream means.

      -Eseosa 2017-03-02 11:07:33

      My dream went like this:
      I was given a task
      To throw what looked like candy into water
      They were four waters, like a pool
      Divided by bars
      I was to throw those candies into the third pool
      Unfortunately all I could do was throw them in the fourth
      I quickly apologized for my mistake, and made up for them by quickly scoping them and putting them in the third pool
      Though with the assistance of one whose face I can’t remember.
      Now we completed the task
      Had to rush back to like the entrance to get a ride to take us to a someplace
      It was one ride for one person
      There were not too many of them
      I really got there on time
      Called my ride
      I could remember on its way to me, someone else called it
      But it didn’t stop rather he said I called him first
      I could then see my sister beside me
      She did not get a ride at first so I wanted her to come on mine
      But the driver- it was like a bike, said she had to get her own
      Fortunately we came across one, and we rode swiftly along to the place we were suppose to be
      On our way, I noticed the sky which was open was closing up
      As we get really closer, I saw something that made me doubt so I hesitated
      There were faces in the cloud and I wasn’t so sure anymore
      But we turned a bend and I saw a familiar face who started the journey with me
      So I felt all was well
      We reached over across to where we were supposed to be
      Then one of the guys said to me- you doubted when you were almost here which is not good
      I tried explaining myself
      He then said- its fine, I got plenty and am willing to share with you.
      He then gave me a loaf of bread wrapped in see through nylon- just like the dough I buy at a bakery not so far away from me.
      It ended.

-Tom 2017-02-06 6:15:53

I dreamt that I was outside and came across a black lion, or tiger maybe even a black panther, I don’t know if it matters what type of cat it was. But then I was attacked and bitten as I tried to fight my way out and basically I was starting to get eaten and then I shook myself awake because obviously it wasn’t a pleasant dream. This is my first time on this website so I’m not sure if I’m doing this right but is there anyway to know what kinda interpretation I can get from this dream.

Thanks. Hope to figure this out because I think the dream had significant purpose.

    -Tony Crisp 2017-02-06 10:37:18

    Hi – I am stopping from answering your posts fully – but will try to give hints; sometimes long ones because I quote from masses I have already put online. Also I need to take time to update the site – dreamhawk.

    It would help you to understand your dreams, if you would read – http://dreamhawk.com/approaches-to-being/questions-2/#Summing also http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/features-found-on-site/

    Nothing can replace your own ability to understand your dream. With a little effort you can do it by practicing what is described in – http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/acting-on-your-dream/#BeingPersonOrThing

    Tony

    Whenever we dream its images are not like real life, because a dream is nothing like outer life where things could hurt you, but is an image like on a cinema screen, so that even if a gun is pointed at you and fired it can do no damage – except if you run in fear; so, all the things that scare you are simply your own fears projected onto the screen of your sleeping mind.

    All the images, people, animals, places we see in our dreams, are simply your own feelings, fears, hopes and wonder projected onto the screen of your sleeping mind as images. So, it makes sense to take the image of your dream person, thing or animal back into you and own it. In that way, you are meeting and dealing with the things about yourself you are not owning or conscious of. That is why dreams are often difficult to understand, because we are hiding things from ourselves. To do this you can use http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/acting-on-your-dream/#BeingPersonOrThing

-PW 2016-07-20 11:50:11

I dreamt that I had a black bear as a sort of pet. I lived in the woods & he was inside my house having a snack & a rest. When he went outside, he was carrying a black blanket in his mouth and I scolded him…which is something my dog does….but he remained playful. My mom (who in life is deathly afraid of dogs) was coming up the hill to visit & she walked right past the bear without a care in the world. The sweet creature was a friend. First time I can remember dreaming of a bear.

-Su 2012-01-20 16:35:45

Please, I dreamt of a desert with the sun high in the distance in a bright orange/red sky but the sun was black then I woke, what could this be mean?

Copyright © 1999-2010 Tony Crisp | All rights reserved