Dark Darkness

Lack of understanding; difficult to grasp, obscure. Dark can also mean ancient, worn dark with age, and it can relate to sombre, or depressing feelings.

A woman with dark hair sometimes represents this intuition. Similarly, a dark skinned person in a dream can represent parts of yourself that are difficult to understand, or are only just becoming conscious and the way in which they influence your life and are obscure.

What is unknown, not defined by the intellect or conscious self. What is unconscious and perhaps only vaguely sensed. Some dreams of darkness depict depression or confusion, or something we are frightened or terrified of.

Darkness in some dreams illustrate forces of what we might feel overpowered by, secrets we hide from self or others, or things we do or sense that are done ‘under cover of darkness’.

Darkness can also represent age, the experience of  prenatal life and feelings about death.

Universe/God was originally the darkness of night. Universe/God then created light. Science says that it look 300,000 years for light to finally shine in our Universe.

“And the earth was waste and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. “And God said: Let there be light; and there was light.” Genesis is a scientific treatise

For the Creative force of our Universe was Everything and everything cannot take a shape or form, for then it would be something. The spiritual worship of light is misplaced, for we were all started in the darkness of Everything. Light is for the human recognition of what we sense in the Hugeness we hold within us in Darkness. If everything was light you would not be able to recognise yourself, for colour and shape exist because kight and darkneess mix to give us our experience in the world.

Dark water: Emotions that are felt and powerful but have not been defined or their source understood.

Dark colours: Feelings emanating from unconscious sources; depressed or unhappy feelings. See: Aboriginal; Black.

The following examples are given to show the many facets of  darkness and its many meanings. In the first example the feeling is of being lost and trapped in depressing feelings.

 

Example: ‘I ran down very dark streets, like a maze, and could not find a way out of them. ‘ Mrs N.

 

The following dream depicts particular aspects of darkness.

Example: ‘It was a festival in this strange world, in which everything had a rather dark, dilapidated look.’ Tom.

Dark here is about ancient; things dating from times past. This may refer to ones sense of childhood which feels like the ancient past; or to our unconscious knowledge of family and cultural attitudes and experience. In general the ‘strange’ world of the unconscious or sleep.

Example: ‘I was overwhelmed by terror, as if the very darkness of the tunnel was a living force of fear which entered and consumed me. I screamed and screamed, writhing in uncontrollable fit like contractions. Nevertheless a part of me was observing what was happening and was amazed, realising I had found something of great importance.’ Andrew P.

Because the dreamer explored this dream with me, I know the darkness was depicting fear Andrew experienced while a 9 year old in hospital. He was given a rectal anaesthetic because he was about to have an operation on his nose. He fought and begged for the nurses to stop, but to no avail. This led to a very real feeling that humans were terrifyingly dangerous animals who would not respond even if you were on your knees begging. So this fear was the awful thing in the darkness. Darkness here is the unconscious area of experience.

Example: ‘I am back in time looking at an old cottage. I see the windows, walls and doors, everything about the place. It is dark and old and warm. I see the curtains and bedrooms, all the ornaments and I feel safe and comfortable.’ Mrs R.

Here dark expresses a feeling of comfort, perhaps because it is undemanding, or that one is not in any glare of attention or activity. It is the relaxed quiet of evening. This woman has a relaxed relationship with her unconscious.

Example: ‘I met a woman I know in a long, dark underground tunnel. She was waiting for me. We had sexual intercourse. She had a very formed vagina mouth, and a very large clitoris, like a small penis. I masturbated this.’ Norman.

Norman has no fear of the tunnel. It is his secret desire and pleasure which he admits to no one, often not even himself. Dark here is one’s secret self. It has the meaning of the saying, “Keep it dark.”

 

Idioms: A dark horse; in the dark; keep it dark; a shot in the dark.

 

Useful Questions and Hints:

What feeling or thoughts does the darkness in my dream provoke – can I define what they are?

Is this a warm comfortable darkness or one of foreboding and heavy feelings?

Are there things I am discovering in the darkness – if so what?

See Avoid Being Victims – Resistances – Face Fear