Lightning

Sudden discharge of tension in a possibly destructive manner. Sudden enlightenment or realisation. Fear of fate or punishment from conscience. Revenge. Sudden and disturbing change or release of emotions or sexuality.

Sometimes information leading to a realisation builds up over time, but in a flash is put together forming a new, perhaps life changing, insight. The build up toward a change in life style or direction might similarly occur, and so may be depicted by lightning. It is the build up of tension, whether of insight or emotion, and its sudden breakthrough into consciousness that lightning represents. See: aura.

Killed by lightning: Life changes occurring. These changes may be arising from within through the expression of aspects of oneself previously not released. The energy of the lightning may be repressed powerful drives – such as teenage sexuality – and may be felt as destructive. The repression of oneself in this way feels like death, or that one is not fully alive.

Lightning struck tree: Death in some form. i.e. the loss of love, the ending of some part of ones personality, etc.

Lightning striking someone: Pent up emotions or sexuality in connection with the person. If the person is a male, it may refer to tension or held back feelings being expressed in connection with a male friend or partner.

Example: My husband and I were walking around a rocky area. We were on a flat part, but there was rocky hillock on our right. My husband was ahead of me. We were each carrying a child. Mine was female and my husband’s was male. I looked down at the rocks we were walking across and saw they were covered in a bright yellow substance. At first I thought it might be gold, but then smiled as I realised it was probably paint. It was shiny and I was worried it would be slippery and I was walking carefully, but it seemed okay. The scene changed and we were now in a poorly lit room, no children but with a shadowy male figure. We were chatting amiably. Then I noticed my husband was wearing a pair of light coloured trousers and he was fidgeting as if he wanted to go to the toilet. He was almost squirming and a fart escaped. I said he had better go to the toilet. He got up and went out of the room. Suddenly a big shadow seemed to come over the place and a great force attacked the place. I felt it was lightning or some power descended and wrecked the place. The walls crumbled, a direct hit. I was then swept along by the force horizontally above the ground outside. I was very frightened and scared that my body was damaged. I was swept passed the shadowy man who was in a corner. I saw I was heading for a brick wall and didn’t know if the force would smash me against it, over it or through it. H. K.

This dream is interesting in that it not only illustrates lightning in a dream, but because of the dreamers associations shows how such dreams are formed. HK had travelled abroad and was trying to establish herself in the new country. After some months she had managed to get a job, but was sacked at the end of a month without warning. The employers refused to tell her why, but from information gathered, it appeared to be money problems in the company, as they could hire someone else for a third of HK’s wages. So it seems likely the rocky ground is the life situation she and her husband are in – rocky in that it is a new country and quite difficult to establish themselves. The going is not easy. The child they are carrying is their own vulnerable feelings. The lightning is the sudden event in H.K’s life. She feels carried along by events she appears to have no power over. Lastly, in their bedroom a rather attractive bare brick wall faced their bed. Prior to the dream, on the morning after her dismissal, her husband had woken, looked at the foot of the bed against the wall and jokingly said, ‘It’s looks like were up against a brick wall’ referring to the Idioms ‘Back against the wall’ and ‘Bang ones head against a brick wall.’

But the lightning and the house being smashed depicted big changes.  And that was what happened because the woman quickly found a much better job with a millionaire family where she worked for many years. But shortly afterwards her husband did get fidgety and left the marriage. At the time she saw him as a fart.

Useful Questions and Hints:

Did the lightening hit or damage anything?

Did it produce any changes?

What do you associate with lightening?

See Associations Working With – Being the Person or Thing – Techniques for Exploring your Dreams