Cane

This suggests the use of authority or aggression, either by you or toward you. Sometimes it links with memories and feelings about school or parents aggression, punishment, or sadistic sexuality. When being used it can depict anger or domination of the weak by the strong. In some cases it is an image of male control over women, and often linked punishment with sexual pleasure.

But the cane has associations with discipline also, and can at times represent the disciplining of oneself in a process of strengthening resolve or direction.

Example: My daughter was trying to escape me and leapt into the river tributary, putting her head under water. I pulled her out and gave her a thrashing with a cane. Once that was done we both felt very close and able to communicate easily, as if a great burden or impediment had gone. We hugged each other. Peter W.

This is about disciplining Peter’s own emotions that have been causing him great misery and difficulty in his relationships. The daughter representing his unruly emotions – a good example of how we see something in another person, and then use an image of them to represent it in ones own life. The discipline leads to greater harmony within himself.

The cane, perhaps not so much in present times, but in the past, was a symbol of the oppressions and authority of the ruling classes or the punitive minions of the state.

It can also depicts support, or the process of ageing or vulnerability, as in a walking stick.

Useful Questions and Hints:

What is the cane being used for, and does this give me a clue to whether this dream is about oppression or discipline?

Am I using the cane or is it being used against me – and what is my response? To understand about your possible response see – active/passive.

Does this link with feelings from childhood, or is this about my own anger?

See Acting on your dream; Characters and People in Dreams; Secrets of Power Dreaming