Rape

This can mean you are overcome by events, by other people dominating you, or by your own internal unwanted emotions.

Rape in dreams is very different from rape in real life, as we create our own dream, so why introduce rape? Perhaps in the example below Mrs B. discovers her own power in the situation as she realises the weakness of the male.

Example: ‘I tried to turn but my legs were like lead. The man caught me and I fought. He tried to rape me but couldn’t do it. As I talked to him I began to feel sorry for him and not frightened. I realised that inside he was a nice person. In the end I found I liked him so much I began to kiss him myself.’ Mrs J.B.

Example: ‘A man is trying to make love and at the last moment I repel him as I know it will cause a pregnancy. When I was about ten I was raped and for many years had a fear of men.’ Anon.

This is the other side of rape. Rape in this dream may be memories, the effects of that are still visible in the life of this dreamer, causing her pain in warm sexuality.

Example: ‘The Devil attacked a woman. He was invisible. The woman turned black as he raped her. She didn’t die. At this point I woke and went to the toilet. On returning to bed I continued the dream, particularly wondering what I was in conflict with in the image of the Devil. I found it disturbing and frightening to be confronted by such a powerful opponent. Partly because of the rape, I realised it was repressed sexuality. I then approached the ‘black’ woman with tenderness and this transformed the Devil into available sexual or emotional energy. I tried this again and again. Each time it worked, and I could observe the Devil was my sexual warmth and love that had become negative through restraint.’ Neil V.

In this male dream, it is the conflict with his sexuality that causes the ‘devilish’ rape. When he can find tenderness the negative aspect disappears. Rape also depicts the real evil of another person disregarding our personal needs and feelings, abusing not only the body, but particularly the ‘person’. Being raped by someone known: Feeling anxious about sex with them; fighting off desire for them.

This can mean you are overcome by events, by other people dominating you, or by your own internal unwanted emotions.

Rape in dreams is very different from rape in real life, as we create our own dream, so why introduce rape? Perhaps in the example below Mrs B. discovers her own power in the situation as she realises the weakness of the male.

Example: ‘I tried to turn but my legs were like lead. The man caught me and I fought. He tried to rape me but couldn’t do it. As I talked to him I began to feel sorry for him and not frightened. I realised that inside he was a nice person. In the end I found I liked him so much I began to kiss him myself.’ Mrs J.B.

Example: ‘A man is trying to make love and at the last moment I repel him as I know it will cause a pregnancy. When I was about ten I was raped and for many years had a fear of men.’ Anon.

This is the other side of rape. Rape in this dream may be memories, the effects of that are still visible in the life of this dreamer, causing her pain in warm sexuality.

Example: ‘The Devil attacked a woman. He was invisible. The woman turned black as he raped her. She didn’t die. At this point I woke and went to the toilet. On returning to bed I continued the dream, particularly wondering what I was in conflict with in the image of the Devil. I found it disturbing and frightening to be confronted by such a powerful opponent. Partly because of the rape, I realised it was repressed sexuality. I then approached the ‘black’ woman with tenderness and this transformed the Devil into available sexual or emotional energy. I tried this again and again. Each time it worked, and I could observe the Devil was my sexual warmth and love that had become negative through restraint.’ Neil V.

In this male dream, it is the conflict with his sexuality that causes the ‘devilish’ rape. When he can find tenderness the negative aspect disappears. Rape also depicts the real evil of another person disregarding our personal needs and feelings, abusing not only the body, but particularly the ‘person’. Being raped by someone known: Feeling anxious about sex with them; fighting off desire for them.

Occasionally some rape dreams are traced back to sexual assault by the father when young, or another member of the family. Here is a quote from the book Dreams and Sex by Dr. Gayle Delaney.

The terror Deborah felt in this dream was so great that it led to her recall of incest with her father thirty years earlier. When she told her sister about the dream and the memories, her sister refused to talk to her. But later her sister confirmed that she had experienced similar nightmares and memories. Both had worried that they might be falsely accusing their father of incest, but after a few months of therapy, they decided to confront their parents and found solid confirmation of the abuse.  I have written about it because there are so many adults who have been abused as children and do not yet know either what to do about it or that they have plenty of company among others who were abused and are still ashamed.