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
I saw the elephant run for me to fight, i have the child with me then i run closed the door but he ran and contenously hit the door again and again, i did smart move take the kid from the other door and with thehelp of rope i took them upper level of the house, then i took my late father Gun and blow the head of that angry elephent, in this dream i saw the huge high tight of sea as well coming towards us on ground while this elephant appears , the high tides are so huge looks like sunami etcc ,
I think that by seen such dream i have ability to fight with my Haters, , what you think tell me in reply.
Cheers,
Adil
Adil – Like most people you mistake the imagery of your inner world and believe it is a reflection of the outer world. See http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/questions-2/#Summing
What your dream is showing is that you are so afraid of the great power within you that you kill it – the elephant. The gun was in fact turned against yourself. The same with the tsunami, you run from it seeing as if it were an outer event. Yet it again is showing a tremendous inner power you have. See http://dreamhawk.com/inner-life/inner-world/ also http://dreamhawk.com/interesting-people/edgar-cayce-and-the-cosmic-mind-superminds/
Tony
hi tony
I like your interpretation of an elephant dream. I’m a little stumped decoding when I had a dream where I see one elephant parent with two baby elephants. one baby on each side walking through a forest. the elephants come up to a large poisonous snake. the snake bites and kills one of the babies and I wake up instantly when I see the baby being dragged by the snake! now I’m lost as to any possible meaning
any ideas?
Hi Tony,
I dreamt that two very angry elephants were in my backyard. They were pounding on the wall which was supplied for them to release their anger. I knew it was good for them but at the same time I feared they would break through the wall and I would be in danger. But the main sense was the understanding that anger needed an outlet. The fear of the elephants breaking through was an after thought. Any thoughts on this dream?
I`ve just been dreaming about trying to manage an elephant. I`m in someone`s house at a neighbourhood gathering where they have an elephant in the house – it is such a squeeze trying to move it around the house, also feed it and make sure it doesn`t hurt itself. It`s not a full grown elephant, probably just a bit taller than me. Then everyone has gone and I`m trying to manage it on my own – it`s trying to escape – I feel sorry for it.
I always had recurring nightmares of Elephant trunks….just elephant trunks detached fromt heir bodies coming through windows and attacking me in my dream. The dream would always turn a soft but bleak grey color that i can only describe as a unlit house during a thunderstorm during the day. When I was a child this dream occurred weekly, sometimes every night. In one of my dreams I finally killed one of the creatures and the nightmares stopped.I was finally able to fight back in my nightmare.It had been about 10 years since I had this nightmare, and it just recently occurred again. It came as a shock seeing the thing that haunted my dreams as a kid in my nightmare again. What does it mean, this return of these elephant trunk like things.
Nick – My only response is that an elephants trunk is its way of reaching out for what it needs or needs to do. So when you fought back it changed the way you were feeling – you took the situation in your own hands so were now longer passive observer.
That the dreams occurred again suggests that an attitude or way of feeling that was powerful in your childhood has returned. Maybe because of changes in your circumstances. See http://dreamhawk.com/approaches-to-being/martial-art-of-the-mind/
Tony
I had a weird dream. The first time I’ve dreamed of multiple animals. In my dream I’m at what I assume
Is home, and the zoo had a break out and some animals are in my yard. There are two snakes that are trying to bite me and a baby elephant who I am trying to rescue. I catch the baby elephant and pick him up but then there is a snake jumping at me. I woke up after that. What could this mean?
Great information for the meaning of an elephant dream! Thank you!
I had a dream recently I’m still trying to figure out. My recent ex,my mom and I were walking on a path. I noticed a big bull elephant on the horizon. I warned them. It began to chase us. We ran away. My ex jumped over the gate of a little with house surrounded by a hedge and low tree canopy. We followed. The elephant came crashing after us and was so fast that it smashed through the windows of the house. At this point it became clear it was a baby elephant. My ex sat on the steps as it crashed past him; unphased by it.
It came after me. I tried to hide behind a strange trellis type thing in the garden (which was covered in shade . As a result there wasn’t much grass growing) . I saw it had no tusks and it’s eyes were tiny and squint-ish. I felt sorry for it. I realised all it wanted was affection. It spoke to me and said:”All I want is the greatest gift of all : to be loved by you.”
I woke up feeling overwhelmed and intense.
That day I had seen my ex for the first time since the break up, and he’d revealed to me that he missed me and was going through a tough time in his personal life (unrelated to me,but stuff that had started before the break up).
Mr Tony Crisp, I love your work. I have your Dream Dictionary, it’s my favorite dream book and I have used it so much that it is now in pieces.
In my dream last night, my best friend and I had spent the day together, but were going to separate for a bit, and meet back with each other later. It is night, dark, and I don’t recognize where we were, but there are paths and woods all around. I was carrying this little pill in my fingertips, which gave a high similar to LSD. Eventually it broke into some smaller pieces. I ate a small piece and felt like I gave a small piece to my friend. As we were now not together, in the back of my mind I was hoping she was ok alone. So I am walking along, and encounter a huge elephant. I pause, look at it. It looks at me, and proceeds to charge at me. And i run as fast as I can, wondering if I can outrun an elephant. I go go go, down this hill, and see my friend standing in the shallow water along the shore of a lake, with 2-3 other large animals, but not elephants. I run toward them, hoping the other animals will distract the elephant from me. I finally make it down to the shore and it seems the elephant is not as big of a threat.
I had a dream that I saw elephants hanging from a tree. What does this mean? I never remember my dreams but this one is so clear
I had a dream I owned a pet elephant and he was recruited for to star in a movie althugh I later found out the person training him was abusing him 🙁 What does this mean??
A friend of mihe just called me and said she had a dream about me. She said that we were at my house in the backyard with white fence and I was trying to tie our dog up (dont have a dog). I then asked her for two screws she went looking and ended up seeing a baby elephant in the yard. She said we were trying to figure out where it came from and soon after the mother elephant came with its tusk up. The dream goes on to the media being at my house, the circus was at my house, I had a clown hat on and it turned into a really big thing. We were trying to figurevoutvwhat this dream meant, may b e you can shed some light?
Yolanda – When you think about your friend, do you think your thoughts are them? They are simply your thoughts. So your friend’s dream is not about you. See http://dreamhawk.com/approaches-to-being/questions-2/#Summing
It is about her seeing that something big is about to happen to her – not you.
Tony
Last night I dreamt I was in Philadelphia on a side street with cobblestone and my 8 year old son and I were riding an elephant..he was decorated as if he was in the circus… There were other ‘circus’ like animals around but what struck me in my dream was us riding these giant gentle elephants.. I’m curious what this could mean?
I didn’t have the dream, my husband did. He dreamt about a giant elephant that was hanging out on the loading ramp of his business. The elephant defecated, then proceeded to step in its dung and make a mess. At this point my husband briefly woke up, told me the dream and promptly went back to sleep. I know in the most general sense dreams about defecation are related to money, but I’m curious as to how the elephant is tied in.
Hello! I just dreamt about a ton of dead elephants laying all over the water by the river. I was poking them with a long stick and throwing them I to the water. I was watching them float away, dead. Afraid
Someone would see them. I was in charge of hiding there bodies. I was crying and didn’t feel good about this at all. I could feel the stick poking through there skin, and I did NOT like the feeling. I was crying and very upset I was put in this position. I remember watching one float away with his trunk in there almost in like a pose. And being amazed. Soooo strange this dream. I woke up so sad and irritated and wanting to cry. What do you think?
I had a dream about a baby elephant and would love to get a responce or a thought on what it might mean. I was in the middle of a forest it was cloudy and misty at the same time. Both the baby elephant and I were attached to these climbing ropes while going up this tall tree (like the ones in red woods California). The baby elephant was climbing up the tree ahead of me and we were both very excited and fond of each other, we were having fun. But our happiness and joy soon turned into an uncomfortable situation. The elephant started pushing himself up higher, to where I couldn’t see it anymore. In concern, I started climbing up faster and by the time I got there it was sitting on a branch almost freezing of cold. I quickly started to warm it up by hugging it. The scene then changes, im at a talk show telling them my experience. I remember feeling like the elephant was so important to me because my “son” (that I do not have in real life) would be devastated if I had not come back home with it… what does it mean?
Teresa – A great dream, and one I explored to see if I can make sense of it for you.
The forest represents a state of mind in which you have relaxed your everyday concerns and are immersed in the deeper levels of yourself – your awareness. It is your natural state of existence and right on the edge of what you know about yourself. In other words you are looking beyond your personal experience and seeing a wider view – your unconscious.
The baby elephant is your enormous potential that you still need to grow to reach your full power. And the tree is what you have achieved so far in your personal growth – quite a ‘tree’ you have. The tree also shows what you have grown from, your forebears and your inner inheritance.
So climbing the tree shows you are exploring the upper reaches of your potential. The baby goes quickly ahead because it is uncovering what it knows about itself/yourself. But it gets to a point where it is too young to meet the hard climb – it/you like an Everest climber needs more experience and growth.
Then the change in scene is I believe a look into your possible future in which you are telling a wider public about what you have realised about your personal experiences.
The son is yet another aspect of you, and probably represents a young and growing part that is active in the world that you are proud of.
I suggest you read http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/questions-2/#Summing and http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/acting-on-your-dream/#BeingPerson
Tony
I just dreamt seeing a baby elephant being eaten by a full sized lion. The setting was in a school playground. What can this all mean?
Marie – I wonder what age you are or what you are engaged in, because the dream appears to show that a small child with enormous potential is eaten/attacked or subdued by an adult or older child.
It could even apply to you in that your wonderful potential has been put down by someone or you by what you have been taught.
Try being the lion and the baby elephant. It doesn’t matter in dreams if you get eaten by the lion, because then you are the lion and so have all its strength. To do this use http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/acting-on-your-dream/#BeingPerson
Tony
Thank you Tony for your response.
About my baby elephant being eaten by the lion- –
2014-09-11 6:55:05.
I am 33 year old mother of two young children. I’m a stay at home mom.
When I saw this in my dream, I felt disturbed by it.
Marie – Thinking about you dream some more, the lion is a great strength you have that you feel instinctively. But you have another even greater strength in the baby elephant. So try imagining the lion no longer attacking the elephant but protecting it so it can grow up.
Tony