Elephant
Although the elephant is much like any other animal in your dreams, it tends to represent the power and influence of the potent forces active in your body and mind, that if you relate to well bring about health and success, and if badly illness and ruin. For example the elephant can refer to the powerful responses in us such as fear, sex, survival, and the power of imagination to evoke great anxiety or great pleasure. Often our personality evokes these forces in a destructive and disorderly way. A person may have read an article about cancer for instance and develop a great fear they have the disease, causing much stress and actual physical illness in some degree.
So some elephant dreams revolve around how we relate to this power, and the attempt of the elephant to place us on its back to direct it. So in general it is your potential or energy. Also depicts your big self, or the power of the unconscious and your cosmic, eternal nature. The tremendous inner power of the unconscious, with a mahout, or conscious direction or co-operation can achieve wonderful things. Ganesh, the Indian elephant god, represents the remover of all obstacles, the power of life manifesting. He is the god of good fortune.
So it is the totality of yourself rather than awareness of only the conscious ego. It is what is referred to in Christianity as the ‘spirit’, the influence that can heal or instruct, thus power from our unconscious; strength; unforgiveness from association of long memory; patience; fidelity; intelligence or wisdom of the unconscious. In some ways the elephant has similar qualities to the crocodile in its link with the collective unconscious. The difference is that the elephant does not usually in dreams seek to consume you like the crocodile or alligator. It therefore depicts a relationship with one’s incredible potential that can lead to directing or working with the potent forces of the unconscious. See: alligator.
If we run from the elephant: Being afraid of our own strength or inner power. The question is, can we meet this enormous energy in ourselves enough to direct it? Sometimes represents the collective unconscious.
Elephant’s trunk: Sometimes a sexual symbol, the penis. As such it is usually referring to how your sexual feelings are being influenced by the great spirit of Life acting on you – the cosmic power of the spirit. Also the trunk illustrates the ability to get or reach out for ones own needs – see example below.
Example: During an experience arising from the use of psilocybin, I had a very clear mental image of a baby elephant. It was like a bas-relief made out of clay, but mobile. I could see that the baby elephant had some problem with its trunk, and I wondered why my unconscious had produced this image so clearly and what it meant. Immediately the image disappeared and a series of associations arose unbidden. It was that the elephant actually ate with its mouth, but it had to reach out for everything with its trunk. As a baby the elephant would suckle, but as it matured it would have to learn to get its own needs with its trunk, therefore the problem was about me reaching out for my own needs. Danny.
Example: The I experienced the elephant as a powerful force which I intuitively sense and feel some anxiety about. I felt the elephant as a powerful influence which works below the level of normal consciousness, which acts upon masses, although it obviously influences individuals. But it influences individuals unconsciously, so they are inclined in a direction along with many others. As it enters my life I sense it seems to be an influence which might direct me into a communion with this deeper, more inclusive or integrative influence. Thus my personal activities might have added to them this influence which co-ordinates the processes of life, and adds to ones small endeavours the stamp or power of a grander life – the spirit. The life of the spirit I sensed here as the ‘company’ where I was accepted as a worker in this wider organisation behind life.
Example: I was on a road and noticed that a magnificent elephant had appeared. It had enormous tusks and ears, the latter being powdered with blue dust and adding tremendously to its impact. As it was coming in my direction I was frightened and began to run. I ran off the road, over a fence into a field. I thought the elephant would be stopped by the fence. It wasn’t. It walked straight through it after me. Then I tried to climb a low bank back to the road. The elephant was drawing nearer and I was so frightened I could hardly move to climb the bank. The elephant caught hold of me and I suddenly realised it wasn’t going to destroy me, but wanted, despite it being a magnificent and powerful beast, to sit me on its back. I was still frightened however and ran to a doctor’s surgery. The elephant came and, thrusting its trunk into the surgery, drew me out to it. AT.
Example: I looked out of a window and noticed a wild elephant in full charge. It ran past the end of the building and I went to the opposite window, seeing it charge another elephant. After the impact it seemed to be a strange mixture, in my mind, of elephant and rhinoceros. It then stood shaking with sexual motions, until a great deal of sperm came out and its tension was released. AT.
The above two examples illustrate firstly the enormous power of the elephant and how it is not usually an attacking or destructive power, and in the second example it shows the link between that power and the sexual drive.
Idioms: White elephant; pink elephants; rogue elephant. See: the self under archetypes.
Useful Questions and Hints:
If I imagine myself as the elephant what do I experience?
What powerful influence am I meeting or directing at the moment?
Am I aware in any way of the enormous impact the collective power of society and my own unconscious has on me?
What is my relationship with the elephant and what does this depict in my life?
See Do you imagine that is a real creature – Avoid Being Victims – You are the Projector
Comments
DREAM OF BABY ELEPHANT PLAYING WITH ME
I dreamed that we went to the post office to collect our mail, (don’t quite remember how we meaning my husband and I got this envelope) we got this envelope our name was not on the envelope so we ask the postal carrier she said open it this person is gone and have been here a while; we opened the envelope in it was 2 platnium credit cards and a solid gold elephant with no name on the cards, as soon as we were getting ready to leave the owner for the letter shows up we handed the cards to the mail clerk but kept the elephant, the owner waited around looking a little concern but never mentioned the elephant and had no interest in the platnium credit cards which we my husband and I said to each other those cards are worth thousand he seemed not to care, he eventually left without mention of the solid gold elephant which we kept.
I saw my ex giving me an elephant that it means?
i dreamed about – a group of angry elephant ,legs tied with chain
Yokesh – Because of our birth situation or education many of us are taught to crush our own wonderful strength. Maybe because we have inherited or learnt not to believe in ourselves.
Your dream shows that the great strength you have – the elephants – have been chained and held back. This has caused you to feel angry at times, but don’t poison yourself with anger by feel the strength of the elephants and take off their chains. Do this by using http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/acting-on-your-dream/#BeingPerson
And imagine yourself removing the chains.
Remember, you have a lot more to offer the world than anger.
Tony
I am a 50 yr old female…I dreamt that i was indoors writing a couple of postcards and I was with my walking group leader (she is a lesbian by the way) and I had bought loads and loads of stamps and 3 elephants, (I think 2 adults and a baby) were chasing me and this leader was saying to me you had better run or they will eat your stamps and I was running around the room feeding stamps to the elephants…wierd!
had a dream last night about seeing elephants in the road and I was so worried about them getting hit by a car. I ran in the street to protect them and to tried to get them off the road. there was a baby elephant laying on the road as if to be playful and I was thinking of how I would stop the cars and protect him. and then I woke up.. any ideas on what this may mean :o) blessings, Celia
facing some health and emotional issues I dreamed that an elephant gave me one of his tusks saying it was more worth given to me than if I had taken it. ? Feel really calm afterwards though.
In my dream I found a map of Ireland with an elephant on a corner (close to Belfast) and I read that there was a shelter… like a conservationist shelter for elephants there. Then I found a lady that worked there. I was so happy I found where Id love to work! Im a vet btw. I was in tears asking the lady if she knew if they were hiring. I was even telling my friends Id do anything to work there and they were saying “What about your PhD???” And I said “Fck it!!! I’ll do what I love”… I was very very happy, inspired and decided.
When I woke up I found that there are only 5 elephants in Ireland. All of them in Dublin Zoo.
So I didnt actually see an elephant but what does this mean?
I had a dream I was at work at my family company (we’re right along railroad tracks) there was a rain on the tracks but pulling it was a big elephant and every few carts was an elephant on a big treadmill, they were powering the train. The front one was a dark grey but the others were kind if cartoonish. One was running very fast, One was yellow and kept falling, one was white and couldn’t keep a good pace, another was a baby (very much like dumbo) I felt very bad for the elephants and became upset before waking up. If anyone has ideas what this could mean, please share.
I have this dream where I’m walking or riding my bike in my neighborhood and I come around the corner and see this house that has a herd of miniature elephants (full grown, the size of a house cat or a chicken) most ignore but the male charges me when I go by. It used to make me run (I didnt feel scared) but this last time it was fenced in and couldn’t get to me. Last night the elephants had some other small animal-I think a coati mundi (related to a racoon and just as common where I live)-trapped between two layers of the fence, I thought it was dead at first, but then it moved so I pulled part of the fence back and let it out.
I had a dream this morning about two elephants, 1 grown female and 1 baby (do not know gender). I am just standing before both elephants and the mother is shot and then I work to save the mother and nurture her back to health and the baby elephant is using it’s trunk to stroke her. I feed her and give her water and this is as far as I remember. Can you help me interpert this dream.
i had a dream last night that i went inside a abandon house with this girl in my dream i dont know who she is and there on the window i find a glass or ceramic can’t remmember exactly colorful elephant and as i grabbed it from under it falls out two crucifix and the girl next to me grabbes one and put it on. what does this mean?
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I had a feel good dream about a baby elephant that was carrying another small animal on it’s back then started to fly….what does it mean ?
i jzt saw a baby elephant cycle around me after i got up from the rever or sea i don’t know earlier it was quite deep but suddenly it’s not then i hear it’s mother (the baby elephant’s) coming out of a cave
Hey Tony!
I’d a dream about this elephant who belonged to me, but some other people were after it. It took place somewhere with shops. I went into the shop and left it outside. When I came back my beloved elephant was gone! The bad guys took it. Luckily I got it back, but I still had a fear that they would take it. What does it mean? I haven’t thought about elephants in a loooong time! So this dream comes on pretty random. Also, I think I was looking for a bracelet when I was in The shop when the elephant was kidnapped.