Tiger Tigress
Power, anger, sexual power, inner anxiety or terrifying urges. Fear of another person’s anger or forcefulness. Sometimes the power of a mother’s protectiveness. A woman’s anger or sexual craving.
Although similar in many ways to the lion, the tiger has a more feminine quality. It can therefore represent an angry woman; ones mother/a woman as a protector or destroyer; anger; spitefulness; the power and authority of ones animal strength; anxiety or fear, flight or fight. Often children have recurring dreams of being chased by a tiger (or lion), and this is about anger that they have been told is bad to express. So this is why they are running from it when they should have made it their friend. This is probably also why most people are still running or hiding from tigers in their dreams. Instead they should have been taught to direct their anger – a natural part of our defense system – effectively.
Do not to be afraid of the animals you meet in your dreams. They are only symbols of your own inner nature, your animal self. See Your Mammal Brain
The tiger represents your own power, the power that can protect your family and any children. Feel the power of that by imaging yourself as the tiger. Yes, actually imagine yourself in its body.
Also big cats, like domestic cats and dogs are very ‘mouthey’ – in other words they do everything with their mouth. They love with their mouth and love to hold you with their mouth. It is their way of giving a hug and wanting to be near. But of course tigers can bite for real too, but your dream tiger is a part of you. Even if it did bite you in your dream it is only like holographic image and can do you no harm. To be frightened of your dream tiger is to run away, avoid or deny your own wonderful natural strength and self protection. See Mouthey Animals
Example: Just last night I dreamt I was walking and a tiger came at me. I was scared, but I thought I would try to be strong and not show my fear. It did not work and the tiger ran at me. I climbed a tree and onto a roof of a tin shed. The tiger followed me up and I ran across a series of tin sheds. I finally realized I could not escape and I turned and faced the tiger. I screamed at the tiger and ran straight at it. The tiger got scared and turned and ran away, and then I woke up. These dreams have been on my mind, and I would love some insight into them. Thank you so much.
From that you can see that an image – in a dream – cannot hurt you, though it can cause you to feel fear. So chasing it was a way of changing your feeling, and that of course changes your dream. So, there is nothing in any dream that can hurt you, unless you run away from something. Running away is leaving yourself open to being a victim of whatever frightens you.
When we call someone a tiger we either mean they are fierce, capable of defending themselves, or very successful at what they do. But we also say a woman can protect her children or loved partner like a tiger. So it is also about strength and passion to protect and care. This aspect of the tiger depicts the primeval and passionate power of motherhood and the love and care of nature itself emanating from the unconscious. Tigers are individual creatures and are not, like lions, part of a group less it is a mother with her cubs.
Like any other animal, the tiger can also represent aspects of sexuality, depending upon how it is presented in the dream. As a symbol of sex it would most likely include elements of uncertainty – will I be attacked or overwhelmed – power and instinctive responses. It has to be remembered also that the tiger is a top of the food chain predator, and so can represent the predatory facets of human nature. See animal for an explanation of the role dream animals play in our life:
But it has to be remembered that every image in our dreams is an aspect of ourselves, and being an animal the tiger represents the wonderful strength we have as our heritage – if we claim it. Many people are frightened of their own strength and so run from their dream tiger, but as the following dream shows it can be your strength.
Example: An adult tiger was at my bed with one of my old high school buddy holding him on a leash. When I saw him I was furious what the fuck is such dangerous animal doing on my bed. Went to load my AK (the imaginary one, don’t actually own one), but when I pointed the gun at him he ignored me with calm and assertive look. I dropped the gun and in my admiration for him just felt his strong and firm energy. Since then I started to really think of Tigers as the ultimate alpha animal!!
Example: I was in a hallway behind a door, pulling it against me to shield myself against a tiger. The tiger was large with bloodstained paws. Some people stopped outside the door to look at the tiger. I told them to move along, as it had a very uncertain temper, and could easily attack. In fact it began to grow restless and growl. They went. I saw the deep colours of the tiger, and the blood. I was terrified that at any moment it would pull the door away from me. At that moment the tiger attacked me when I came from behind the door, and swallowed me. Now instead of feeling separate I was the tiger, and delighted in his movements and anger.
If you are born in the year of the Tiger in Chinese astrology, dreaming of a tiger might be a comment on your strength and weaknesses. It could be wise to consider your basic characteristics in the light of the dream. See Chinese Zodiac Tiger
The tiger can represent many things however, and below is another important aspect of a tiger.
Example: While in a basement a person approached me holding quite a large animal. As they handed it to me I saw it was a tiger cub, large and very well built, with a thick neck. I was surprised, but even more surprised and disturbed when a huge tigress came through a doorway above us at ground level and came down the stairs to us. I thought she was going to attack us, but she took the baby cub and placed it down. She then came with something in her mouth, probably money, and placed it near me. She gave off a powerful feeling of not wanting the cub, and with the money handing it over to me or us for our care. There was an atmosphere of irritability about her. Peter G.
In this example the tiger has an obvious connection with the mother. The dreamer had often been threatened by his mother that she was going to give him away, or put him in a home. So the dream probably dealt with his need to confront these feelings of abandonment which, like the tiger, were threatening. Interestingly, almost exactly five years later, in the same month, Peter dreamt the following.
I am in a house. There is a feeling I am sharing it with a number of people, as if there is a connection with a friend Mike. Suddenly I notice there is a tiger cub running around the room. It is a large room and empty except for myself and the cub. I realise this must mean there is a mother tiger about and worry that it will be angry or aggressive because of its cub. I go to walk through a doorway, but the mother tiger walks through. I stand still, not daring to move. But she brushes against me in a friendly way and strolls over to look at her cub. Peter G.
Interestingly the dreamer sees himself as a young tiger in his dreams.
Example: There is alarm that a wild tiger is about. I am concerned to find a place out of sight, behind a desk, in case the tiger sees me. It comes in, and, although there are many other people, it comes directly to me. As it comes towards me, I see it is small, and young, and un-coordinated in its random, flailing movements (rather like Tigger in Winnie-the-Pooh). Its body is like a pipe-cleaner twisted into a tiger shape. As it comes to me, I see it is full of energy but also shaking uncontrollably with fear, drenched in sweat. It is furiously wagging its tail, which may have a white bow tied to it (or is it the shape of the tail? – the latter I think), as if it is desperate to please. So from within my fear I say to it “Good tiger, there’s a good tiger,” to calm it down. I think, or say: “This tiger is terrified, because it is quite out of its element, in a classroom with humans.” I look up and see there is no one else in the room – just me and the tiger. JH.
JH says of his dream: “This seems to me to be a very revelatory dream. Clearly I am the tiger, and so I am frightened of my own fear in trying to hide from it. But the clarity of the dream is in the basic fear of existence the tiger exhibits.” Here the tiger is clearly about the fight and flight instinct in us all, and the struggle JH has in dealing with this in his life as a teacher.
Idioms: Fight like a tiger; paper tiger.
Useful questions:
Am I dealing with anxiety or anger in this dream?
What relationship do I have with the tiger, and what does this say about the way I deal with the ‘tiger’ aspects of my life such as fear, anger, aggression and dominant strength?
Does my dream tiger show any signs of motherhood in this dream, and if so how does that reflect on my mother or motherhood?
Comments
i had a dream that i was playing with a small baby boy (2yrs ) in a mud. when i was about to leave i saw the the tiger or tigress lifting the boy from the mud and started eating.unfortunately i was helpless and the boy was crying and shouting mom.I was crying and seeing that nobody is coming for help nd I was “awake” Reply
Sana – Do not mix the things you dream about with the things in waking life. The tiger is not a great animal that can destroy you, it is a living part of your self – it is the fear you feel about life. For a tiger is an expression of life, and you felt fear of it. Yet if you feel love for it then it would be very different.
The child is a young and growing part of you, a part that loves to play and feel the earthiness of existence. But your fear of the natural instincts, shown by the tiger, killed out the growth of a new and explorative part of you. For life in you – the tiger – can be anything. It can be anger, it can be fear, it can be greed or it can be love. You have the choice of which if these you express.
Tony
Afternoon i was sleeping and had a dream where my grandmother and a uncle who was very close to your family came in my dream where both my grandmother and my uncle are dead very long back now they are alive in my dream and a tiger was with my uncle and who saw me a was back of me i was running with in the home of my uncle i was closing the door but not able to close and it was coming towards me.
Ram – In our dreams the images such as tigers are simply masks covering our own feelings. So in your dream you were running away from your own feelings – probably fear. If you turn round and face it it will change and you will no longer be afraid of it.
Quoted from What We Need to Remember About Dreaming:
1. Dreams are a magical mirror in which your innermost hopes, longings, fears/terrors and genius are made real. They are made real as external environments, people, animals and relationships. Unfortunately this wonderful virtual reality world is usually felt as dealing with other people, as externals, like something that can damage us, or something like the Devil that can possess us. But the greatest truth I have found in exploring dreams – not interpreting them – is that we are alone with ourselves in the world of our dream. If we can acknowledge and admit that our terrors we dream are actually our past hurts that we have not faced presenting themselves for us to heal; that the ghosts and demons that can rampage about our night are embodiments of our fears; that our wonderful visions and insights are an expression of our own infinite potential, then we can walk a pathway to finding what we really are. Audio Introduction to Exploring a Dream
2. Dreams are virtual realities that we create in our sleep. Even the wonderful dreams of God and angels are an external virtual reality, and mirror of our own inner immensity and our enormous variety. Unfortunately people either accept them as externally real, or as fantasy. But they are reflections of your potential, that cannot be seen in your daily life so dominated by your physical senses and hungers and fears. See The Magical Dream Machine. So the images and fears we experience in our dreams are projection upon the vast screen of our mind. They are all projections from you. Running from them is like trying to escape from yourself.
Tony
Hi Tony,
I had a dream last night that has been disturbing me all day, and that i cannot get off my mind. I usually have good dream recall but i rarely have dreams that are this vivid and contain so many details. When i do, what they may mean bothers me for a long time. I apologetise for the length – as i said, i remember a LOT of details from this dream – and i would greatly appreciate any incite you might be able to give me about it.
I had a dream that i was on a beautiful beach in Bali (I’ve never been overseas, and i generally never dream of specific places if i haven’t been there before) I was speed boating with my brother (who i currently do not speak to) and we were in separate boats heading out into the bay so he could show me the area and teach me how to drive properly. We went out to the left of the bay from the shore, into a fog that was difficult to see through and a little worrying. I trusted the openness of the sea at this point and followed my brothers instructions and arced back towards the middle of the bay where there was a large mountainous rock protruding from the ocean. We circled this rock and I remember running my hand along the side as we sped past, feeling the texture of the rock beneath my fingers. As we circled, there was a very unusual rock painting on the side, of a snake – sort of in the style of the snakes found in the aboriginal dream-time paintings. I remember thinking it was beautiful and wondering why it was there and whether i could go around the rock and see it again. As we circled the rock and came around the far side of it, there was a fully grown male tiger swimming in the ocean. I was immediately wary and surprised that a tiger would be swimming so far from the shore, and even more surprised when i saw a local jump into the water with it and play with the tiger – grabbing at its paws and letting it lick his hands and feet in the water. I remember being absolutely amazed that such a fierce animal would behave so gently with something that should be prey and was convinced by the local to have a try myself, which i did. As i was doing this i was feeling anxious and worried but was marveling at it at the same time. This same tiger – and its love of the water and swimming – featured in all of my dreams that night. I also remember speed boating around at a later time following a cruise ship behind the rock and seeing someone drop a huge cut of meat into the water for the tiger. It attacked the meat and i remember seeing people from the back of the boat yelling out to me to get out of the water and climb onto the rock until the tiger was done eating.
The next dream i had of the tiger was very disturbing. The tiger and i were together in a very dirty suburb. It took on the form of companion at this stage, and neither of us knew where we were. I had no money – i’m not even sure what age i was in this dream – i think i was actually playing the part of a small girl. There were gangs and violent people all around and we took a car and drove to the dock carpark to hide for a while. Some people with guns and knives approached to steal the car and i told the tiger i was going to drive through them, which i did to escape. We ditched the car and started trying to find somewhere safe to hide in the streets. We were attacked a few times – at which stage the tiger confirmed the worry i had in the previous dream and maimed the people who were trying to stop us (at this time i remember having the thought that one lady he attacked was just like a zebra as his claws sliced her). They were all poor – beggars with flip knives etc. and we eventually found sanction behind a outcrop of weedy bushes. This whole time i was trying to find a way to get the tiger back to Bali where it belonged. I was scared of the tiger and anxious for my own safety and how i was to return it to its rightful home.
Behind in the bushes we met a fairy-lady who had a magical hoop. We were able to make a wish as to where we we could like to go through this hoop. I said i wanted to go home, but she deceived me and sent me through the hoop into a set of trials that i must accomplish before i could make it back. In accomplishing these trials, one consisted of flying over all these artificial islands – they were all small and some were empty. One of the longer ones we (the tiger and i, he reappeared at this point) zoomed over felt like a montage of different world cultures. There was the ‘india’ section of the island, etc, and we eventually landed in a section that was like a town pool. The tiger was thrilled to be near the water and i took him inside and let him swim. I knew the people would be frightened and alarmed at a tiger in the pool and might harm him, so i told him to do some tricks in the water to set them at ease. He did and he was welcome to swim. He did not like the chlorine in the pool – the taste of it -but he loved being back in the water and was happy.
A lady told us we must leave for the day, but we could come back tomorrow and the tiger was very angry. I talked him down and told him to come with me, and we both decided it would be a very bad idea indeed to come back the next day. So. Were were left in the same predicament as before. How were we to get anywhere and escape home, and return the tiger to bali?
thanks,
Anita.
Anita – A lovely dream with a lot of meaning. I take it from the dream that you have been looking for the spirit for some time – am I right?
I am not sure what you associate with your brother, but from what you say it might be that it represents a difficult side of your life. If that is so then you face the difficulty and this enables you to trusts your self to a new area of experience – the speed boat and the ocean. But also you trusted yourself in the fog – not knowing where your life would lead now. And that trust led to a new view of yourself and life.
Then you circle around the rock in a spiral, touching the rock. To touch something like that in your dream says that you contacted your core self in some way. The rock is the eternal in you emerging from the sea – the deep unconscious – into the little you, enlarging you. The image of the rock may therefore link your conscious personality with innate unconscious forces or strength.
This was also shown by the snake painted on the rock, as it represents the Force of Life within each of us. It is everything we can be, expresses as our physical form, sexuality, hunger, emotion and empathy, speech and the mind.
Then the tiger in the sea: The sea is of course the enormous ocean of unconscious Life we all exist in. And as such we have to realise that we didn’t suddenly arise out of nothing. We exist because of all life that went before us as all the earths’ creatures. You exist only because you stand or ride an ancient beast, your body. Most people are unaware or do not acknowledge this – but our dreams remind us. The wild and ferocious animal that you are unconsciously can also be tame and be with you in all you undertake. You were scared of ‘swimming with it’ but it was okay – as long as you recognise that it is, as a wild animal within you, needs to be treated with real care.
The second dream is about how you can face the world you see around you and it dangers. Without the tiger that you are, you would not have been able to. To get ‘home’ – the real contact wit your core self – you need to learn certain things, part of which is a wider awareness of the world.
Because this dream is a doorway to a new awareness and real contact with what the rock and tiger are only like surfaces of, I suggest you read and try: http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/acting-in-your-dream/
Tony
I am someone else’s shower there are scorpions there, I leave the shower and enter a bedroom. I find I Tiger and coax it to the bed. I am gently stroke the tiger, nice tiger I say trying to calm it. Then I realize it is a tiger and could devour my whole arm. I leave the room and end up in my office at work.
Ruby – Maybe being at someone else’s shower stimulated your desire to get close to someone in bed. Because your dream could mean that you invite a man/tiger to bed with you. Then you realise that it might be more than you could handle.
Or if not that then you stimulate or call out your own female animal in strong sexual excitement and then are worried about where it could lead.
Where did it lead?
Tony
I dreamt of an aquintance who just had ababy boy recently. In the dream she handed me a new tiger cub who was very cute but showing teeth because it was hungrey. I fell in love with the cub and she said I could take it home. What does the dream mean . It also looked like she was moving and I took a sign that I liked from her home. she may have been having a garage sale.
Debra – I think it means that having known about your acquaintance’s baby you have an inner hunger for a baby too.
The tiger cub is how you feel; you could love a slightly wild creature. Maybe you are slightly wild too.
Tony
I dreamed I was walking through the woods with Oprah and another woman (can’t remember who, though I knew her in the dream). I was lagging behind and feeling out of place. The path curved to run alongside a river, and when I looked back I saw that the river was very swollen, almost overflowing its banks. I remembered swimming in that place in the past, but it was much calmer and the water level was a lot lower then.
I saw what I thought was a sea monster or an eel surfacing above the water, and I pointed it out to Oprah and the other woman. Then I saw another. Then I realized was not a water creatures at all, but a tiger with its tail surfacing. Then there were two tigers in the water, and I looked around frantically for a place to hide or escape, but didn’t see one. I told the others that we should make a lot of noise to scare them away but I was too scared to do it, and then I woke up.
Marooz – I see following Oprah as you moving toward a big opportunity in your life. Such opportunities are real trials of our strength, confidence and ability to express who we are – or what we are capable of, our potential. But you are not expressing you potential or your strength – the tigers.
At one period of your life you felt easier about letting life flow through you – swimming in the river – and you felt confident. But the power in you has got stronger and so it seems more threatening. There may even be a sexual element here, which you thought was an eel.
But Marooz, you have the strength, because those tigers are images, masks which hide your enormous strength. But instead of allowing it you turn it back on yourself by being unable to make a sound. I think you should open your mouth and SHOUT defiance of the tigers. Shout it until it comes out clear and strong. Then you will have the strength of the tigers.
Tony
I dreamt that I was in a house (I think my mum may have been there) with a few other people and there were about 3 half-grown tigers we were looking after. I think at some point there was also an adult, possibly the mother. I remember being quite scared at first for fear of being attacked. The tigers were roaming around quite peacefully but I know I was worried about their possible unpredictabitlity. I did end up stroking them and I think they were purring. One rolled on its back which could have been me replaying the time I was in Thailand (in real life) stroking tigers; one in particular rolled over so I could rub its belly! I became less and less afraid in the dream but I was still a bit uneasy. Shanti.
Shanti – Remember that dream tigers are very different from those in waking life. Your dream tigers are a special part of you. Remember also that as we grew in our mother’s womb we went through all stages of life from cellular to animal, and in our brain we still have these levels. See http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/brain-levels-and-dreams/
So it is good to feel at ease with what are your inner strengths, and fearlessness when needed. So become less and less afraid until they are a part of you.
Tony
I had a dream I was with a friend at a zoo of sorts I guess. I was sitting and a tiger came to me. At first I was cautious, cool, and collected. It came right up to me and I eased my hand to it slowly. The tiger seemed warmed by my gesture and I slowly touched its face. It seemed to welcome it and then I rubbed my hands from the top of its head back around to its face and it enjoyed it. Then it put its face to mine. At this moment I became somewhat worried it was obviously a loving nuzzle but I realized the size of the tiger and felt somewhat cautious and pulled away from the tiger but was still overjoyed at the tiger’s boldness and tenderness. Earlier in the dream I saw a whale diving through the water. Later in the dream I found some antique jewelry. Those parts are very fuzzy and that is all I remember. What do you think?
Anna – I have the feeling that you have been feeling a lot of loving that was also slightly sexual in feeling. The tiger was expressive of those feeling, but the strength of it and the wildness of it made you cautious of really allowing it to be felt fully.
The whale can depict the powerful evolutionary drive involved in reproduction, and what lies behind individual male or femaleness. It is the beneficent power of the collective unconscious – the enormous life and mind that underlies our own little area of personal awareness. It can also indicate the ability to dive deeply into your unconscious life process and awareness.
So the antique jewellery could be you while in that state of mind, diving under the surface of your awareness finding precious things that can be brought to awareness – such things such as a new view of your life, a changed way of relating, a different insight into your destiny.
It is a lovely dream.
Tony
I dreamt that i was in my parent’s bedroom of the house i grew up in. The tiger entered the bedroom and i was immediately frightenend. It closed its mouth on my hand and i could feel his fangs, and although it wasnt very painful, i was calling out to my husband for help who was in the bathroom of my parent’s bedroom, but I couldnt find my voice. I led the tiger to the door, trying to close the door on him as my hand was still in its mouth, thinking, “what the hell is my husband doing in the bathroom that he wont come help me?” I finally was able to muster a muffled “please help me!” which I apparently said out loud and woke myself and my husband up.
Sara – Nothing can hurt you in your dreams. Whatever you believe is a power of creation in dreams. So your fear created what you felt was a dangerous situation.
The tiger is powerful natural force that we all have – anger – which if denied can seem as if it is attacking us. But the tiger is also the instinctive power of caring and protecting. The tiger in your dream didn’t in fact hurt you. It only took your hand and probably wanted to lead you somewhere. It is only your fear that is the harmful thing. That is because every image and person in your dreams is an expression of your own life process, of you. As such it is alive and intelligent and is something sent to help you. Only you can hurt yourself inwardly by the way you react. Do not get dreams mixed up with the dangers of the waking life.
You were also partly paralysed because your fear woke you slightly. See http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/sleep-paralysis/
Tony
I have extremely vivid and lifelike dreams loaded with symbolism and messages.
Last night I dreamt of a powerful, peaceful tiger emerging from the ocean, really sitting on the waves as the tide crashed in, looking at me. Although the tiger didn’t speak of open her mouth, I felt the tiger was telling me that she and I are one. The sky was gray but calm, the waves persistent but not dangerous. Another message I received in this dream was my lover telling me not to worry about the future of our relationship. I would be most interested in your insight into this dream as I really feel the tiger was sending me a message.
Thank you!
Tigresstiff – This is a dream to treasure. The tiger on the waves is a message of strength and peace, and I think you should imagine yourself as the tiger sitting on the waves. As I said, you and the tiger are one, and so you should hold that image or you as the tiger.
While it is true that you should not worry about the future of your relationship – that is just a message saying, “Do not worry!” That doesn’t mean there will not be changes; just that your life will be okay.
Tony
Hi Tony,
Thank you for the insight, I really appreciate it. I have been having very intense dreams again this week. Perhaps it’s neptune conjunct my Pisces moon in my first house, nonetheless I had a dream that is really bothering me last night.
The dream had two parts, the first part, I was with a group of people protecting ourselves against an attack of zombie-like people, I didn’t know if they were traditional movie type zombies or not but I knew I needed to protect myself and my group. I came back home to find that a neighbor girl, who I thought was a zombie-monster, had been invited into the house. She seemed normal but I knew she was possessed by whatever evil we were fighting to protect ourselves from.
The second part of the dream, the devil was making a deal with me, that if I accomplished something he wanted me to do, we would be safe. I am vague on exactly what this task was, but I think it had something to do with an intellectual contest.
I have had zombie dreams before, I am always a survivor helping others. That could be because I watch those kinds of movies. But the devil has never appeared to me before. I grew up in a religious family but I am not religious myself, though I am spiritual. I think it’s important to mention that the man I am seeing is an atheist and I am unsure about how much our spiritual differences matter.
I have vivid dreams often and can sometimes work out the meanings, but the devil dream is really disturbing me.
Thank you Tony for any insight and also for the response to my tiger dream.
Tiffany
Tiffany – I realised I didn’t have an entry for Zombie, so said this:
zombie This is about something you sense in yourself or others that is moved by other than human and conscious motives. It is like being asleep and sleep walking, there is no sense of any response there. Or at least they are moved by urges that control them and they are not in control of. This is something like we meet when we see people moved by habits, by propaganda, by religious bigotry, the current paradigm or political brain washing. See: http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/archetype-of-the-paradigm/
The thing about zombies is that they are often so ‘normal’ it is scary. So obviously, if you are a feeling person you must feel them around you all the time. It is scary and hurtful to be surrounded by them. It is fine that your friend is an atheist as long as he can feel the wonder of life and nature around him, and can laugh and cry easily.
The devil is, as far as I have been able to define its meaning is that whenever we turn Life back against its normal flow, there is the devil-lived. It is a mirror image of who we are, and is a slow killer. So where you help others that is the way to allow life to flow through you and find goodness. So the evil you are fighting is that which makes people become rigid in their views, constantly judge other people, and act from inbuilt habits instead of conscious evaluation.
Also I don’t think it matters that you are not religious as long as you continue to grow in spirit.
Tony
Thank you Tony for your insight. I really feel what you are saying. One other question, I often dream of a man I know. We are not romantically involved as I am with someone else, though I have known he cares for me for several years. In these dreams, we are often in a grocery store or market. Sometimes we are at his family’s home visiting with them, but I haven’t met them in waking life. I am wondering if you have any insight as to why I see him so often in dreams? Thank you and a very bright and loving weekend to you.
Tiffany – Some years ago I realised that dreams show a very different view of relationships that our culture presents. If were not so blind we would see it as energy patterns and flows that connect people to those around them. For instance some people their connection is through their hands/ work; another might be through their heart and love as a mother does; another would be through the genitals; another could be through mind and so on. But what I saw was that all these connections are there at the same time, but we choose how to relate to them. And we can relate to many people in the same way. So for instance we can relate to a lot of people genitally but are careful how we express it outwardly. So we could relate to someone through dreams, through fantasy, through showing love outwardly but not through the genitals.
The thing is that we are so judgemental about what we allow ourselves. So it is okay if we allow ourselves a full love experience with another person in our dreams or fantasy even though we are in a committed relationship with our partner. If we cannot allow such we become pent up, frustrated and even irritable. The more we allow love in a safe way, such as dreams or fantasy the more we feel love for the partner we choose. And I use the word ‘safe’ to mean within what is considered right in the society we live in.
I made myself ill by holding back love for a woman I fell in love with while I was married. I gradually allowed myself greater freedom and became at peace with myself. It is a learning process so do not rush into it.
Remember that you can be involved romantically with many people but express it in innumerable ways.
Tony
I had a dream where I was back at the house I grew up in as a child, and there was a tiger laying in a cage in our basement. I went and sat by it and it was so sad and vulnerable. I felt bad for it, but the next thing I knew I was upstairs, watching as a random man mutilated and tried to skin the tiger. I was with my mom, my recently deceased brother, and his girlfriend. None of us wanted to tiger to be hurt but we had no control. What could this mean?
Kara – The start of the dream shows you in values you probably inherited from your parents and culture you grew up in. The your dream moves to the basement, which is a place in you where you keep old memories that are not actually unconscious but certainly out of mind most of the time. But here you visit a tiger a sad and vulnerable tiger. And it has just come to your memory again recently; and the tiger is most likely the wild side of you that you were taught had to be controlled, and that make you feel sad at the moment. Most children are taught not to respond angrily and that can be seen as a caged tiger.
Unfortunately it usually means we hold back our most honest and creative self. And tigers are not, in our dreams, the wild and destructive things we are frightened of and need to cage. They are a powerful and creative part of you, a part that connects you with nature, the nature in yourself.
I believe the ‘random man’ is the consequence of caging the tiger. It is a part of you that was denied expression, turned back on itself and become an evil influence. Something that non of you wanted; a sort of inverted cruelty.
And you do have control. It is your dream, and you created it out of what you have done in the past, and what you feel about yourself at the moment. So you are the dream creator even if you do it out of sight.
What you can do is to imagine yourself back in the dream, in the basement, and release the tiger and invite it upstairs with you. And remember that whatever happens, no harm can come to you. This is shown over and over in the dreams I receive here. So do not confuse your inner life of dreams with the truths of the outer waking life.
Tony
It was on the side of a road I think, there was sand, it was deep, became deeper and very soft. Then I was swimming in it! Was so soft and oily – a bit like the Dead Sea water, then my two friends (&colleagues) were there and suddenly they kind of sailed/swum/drifted off to the distance … and I was annoyed, like ‘where the hell did they go without telling me’ ? ….
Then I looked to the horizon and the distant hill had what looked like dust rising off the horizon line – like sand or dust rising because of the rain hitting it – but the longer I looked the more I realised it was not dust rising but actually a large number of tigers – yet in/under or actually made of the sand of the land – i.e. sand was tigers, running in large numbers, up over the hill – so I saw the point at which they were reaching the top of the hill and just running over back down again…. They were running fast, at a fast and steady pace over and down, over and down… beautiful it looked
The sand was golden and yellow and soft and ONE.
Any ideas of what this may mean? I live in the dessert… Thanks, Jennifer
Jennifer – It seems that only while you are alone do you begin to realise you have an awareness of something wild a beautiful in the desert. Maybe you felt it subtly while you were in the desert alone.
I believe it is that in a desert or a landscape where there are not a wide variety of colours, we begin to have a sense of oneness, of feeling something very special. That is probably why your dream showed it as swimming; sometimes it is shown as flying.
Tony
i saw a grown tiger lying and playing in my feet like a tamed house cat.I am not afraid of him I feel love for him like a pet animal.
Ruby – If you dreamt that you are one of the few who knows how to relate to the wild and natural in you. The secret is that you feel love for more than the tiger – you feel love for Life and all it offers.
Tony
I dreamt of showing a young girl a field full of sweet animals a deer in particular. We went into the field and a big animal with a bird on its back moved and there was the deer as we approached a pair of very large tigers appeared from behind the deer. I made sure the young girl was behind me but showed no fear of the animal (so she would not be scared) one came to me and nuzzled me I felt relieved it was tame.. then it pounced and had me in a strong powerful embrace I sang softly to it and stroked it but it eventually savaged me without drawing blood as if to let me know he could dig his teeth in any time. I asked her to get help but people just stood around talking. The dream went off on a different tangent but I did get away safely.
Moira – Your calmness and singing was what changed what could have been a frightening experience into a lesson of how to get through. In fact if you held the tiger as it was holding you – with the same strength and with love, you would have seen the face behind the tigers mask. Every dream image is a mask for what lies behind it.
A tiger can be an expression of a mother’s fierce love that felt to you like an attack. Maybe it was at one time, and your calmness and care for the young girl/you was a saving grace.
Tony
In an abandoned greenhouse. At the end, there was a type of enclosure, with a tiger in it. As I approach, I notice the latch for the door is not closed, so I move to lock it. As I do so, the tiger moves towards the door to the cage as well. I turn around and start walking away as quick as possible. I look around, and see the tiger has left the pen, headed straight for me. It pounces.
I remember dreaming I woke up, but I felt my skin still being ripped apart by the tiger, although I was “awake” and in bed at home. I began to panic, and then THAT’S when I really awoke.
Kapuff – Obviously you awoke without a mark on you. So you were terrified of fear.
So what is it you are frightened of, considering that in dreams our feelings and fears take on form in a virtual reality? Very often such fears animals are an expression of anger – our own instinctive feelings of anger. In a glasshouse also suggests something in your experience that protects fragile aspects of your growth, but something that is itself fragile.
As such it sounds as if you have had a real fear, possible from an angry or sadistic mother – or just your own anger you are frightened off.
If you can imagine yourself as the tiger, with eyes closed and see what feeling are called up, you will know directl8y what it is you feel ripped open by. And remember, nothing actually hurt you.
Tony