Enemy

The person or group you are pitted against represent something, probably within yourself, that you are in conflict with. Such dreams show us parts of ourselves we struggle with. Jung called this the Shadow, the aspects of oneself we are frightened of, or repress for one reason or another. Enemies in dreams usually refer to some facet of this. Though it may simply depict something you are struggling with, a relationship for instance, or feelings about work.

Example: When my husband was a child of about 8 years he often used to have an abstract nightmare. It consisted of him (a soft wavy line) being attacked by the enemy (a pointed zigzag line). As the enemy (zigzag) overcame him (soft waves) he would wake up in terror. The nightmares ended when his father died unexpectedly from a heart attack.

The enemy are nearly always the almost unseen horde of darkness we carry with us from the past; the depressed feelings; the feelings of failure amd hopelessness. The enemy are the many doubts and fears and conflicts that block you from knowing and using your real abilities. These are usually unknown a  nd in the unconscious. Of course it is a battle, and the threat is death of pain, which your supra conscious knows are empty threats. The battle is between the false beliefs, the pains and fears that have been grown as truths in our lives, and our own real self masked by such beliefs and experiences. It is a real battle.

If we face the facts of our dream life in which our usual morals are lost, we may dream of being a cannibal, for cannibalism is an attempt to take in the power of another. Cannibals eat their fallen enemies in an attempt to assume their virtues. They eat their enemies’ genitals to gain virility, their hearts to gain courage. It is a symbolic attempt to destroy their enemy and take on their power. The child or child aspect of self may dream of eating their mother. It reveals a desire to take in the mother, the source of all nourishment and life; it is an attempt by the infant to gain the source of power himself.

An inner or outer enemy can put massive obstacles in the way of what you what to achieve or the way you wish to live. With an outer enemy the attack can be very subtle. Because the unconscious will use any belief system or cultural symbols we have absorbed to express a theme, the powerful images of witches or evil characters we see This ‘cross wiring’ of associations could meaningfully be portrayed as a ‘spell’ which makes one feel frightened in the apparently loving situation. See: Victims; Dream Like a Computer Game; self hypnosis; spell.

I had two very powerful examples of outer enemies and their power. My wife and I were visiting my wife’s sister and her husband. Her husband’s brother visited and sat and talked to us and afterwards I felt strangely ill at ease. Being able to ask my unconscious – inner self – for help I was shown that in fact the brother had wanted to ‘have’ my wife and wanted me out of the way. He had said things to me that didn’t seem bad, but the hidden feelings in his words had caused me to react badly. When he came again I was watching and listening for any signs. He immediately said, “What is that silly hat you are wearing”? A simple enough remark, except I recognised it was his way of making me look stupid in my wife’s eyes.

So it is wise to recognise that someone is an enemy and take care how you react to them. An inner enemy is often harder to recognise than an outer one. See Defence Mechanisms and Resistances

Useful questions and hints:

Do you actually feel under attack by your emotions, evil or someone?

Is the dream giving any advice as to deal with the enemy?

You are important, and any enemy is an idiot, and can be conquered – no matter who it is – by love.

See Techniques for Exploring your Dreams – Secrets of Power Dreaming – Prison – Avoid Being Victims