The minotaur is a mythical beast – half man and half bull – that was trapped within the first labyrinth created. Spiritually, it is symbolic of man’s instinctive urges overcome by sheer bravery.
The centaur represents the combination of man with beast whilst the minotaur does the reverse – that of beast with man. These combinations are intended to show that we are able to combine two basic principles.... fabulous beasts dream meaning
It is held by some to be an exploration of the hidden feminine, whether in the sense of sophia (eternal wisdom) or the anima in men. Also consult the entries for maze and minotaur.... labyrinth dream meaning
If the former is the case, it may be obvious to you: recent encounters with your brother or sister, or some piece of news about him or her may be recognized as prompting the dream. Always be on the look-out, though, for those dreams where a brother or sister plavs a symbolic role. The dream source may choose its materials - its images - from your recent external experiences, but what those dream images represent is nearly always some part of yourself. So please read on.
(2) In early childhood a brother or sister is a natural object of jealousy and hatred. In the eyes of a small child the mother may seem to be favouring his or her sibling. When a second child is bom, the firstborn is especially likely to develop hostile feelings towards the new’ rival for mother’s attention and affection. Sometimes w’e carrv such jealous grievances (at an unconscious level) into adult life, w’here they continue to affect our behaviour and attitudes.
It is then imperative that w’e sort them out, face up to them, acknowledge them for w’hat they are, and so liberate ourselves from their damaging influence (see (3) below, second paragraph, on projections).
(3) An elder brother or sister (brother for a male dreamer, sister for a female dreamer) may represent your ‘other self (‘alter ego’), that side of your personality that has so far been neglected and undeveloped. Jung called it ‘the Shadow’’. We start adult life w’ith a self-image that is usually some sort of compromise between what w’e w’ant to be or do and w’hat parents or society at large seems to require of us.
If this self-image corresponds to our actual abilities, all may be well for a while; but a time mav come w hen wre need to give attention to other facets of our (potential) self. These other facets - our Shadow- - will show- themselves to us in dreams; and one form they take in dreams is that of an elder brother or sister.
People often project their shadow- on to a sibling of the same sex as themselves; and if it is not projected, it may express itself in all kinds of aw kward and embarrassing ways - astonishing rudeness, for example, or other antisocial behaviour. The contrast between your conscious ego and your alter ego mav be as startling as that between Jekvll and Hyde. Don’t be alarmed, though: remember alw-ays that your unconscious is vour ally - vour best friend - and even the most frightening or appalling things that reveal themselves in dreams as parts of vour unconscious are frightening or appalling, first, because of their unfamiliaritv and / or secondly, because, having been neglected and locked away in the dark, they tend to behave like a neglected child and mav become mutinous (on this phenomenon, see Demon). Pay proper attention and proper respect to them, and their threatening features will disappear; they will prove themselves valuable supplements to vour personal equipment for coping with life and achieving full satisfaction and wholeness. Introduce them into your consciousness, identify them and their needs, and give them a controlled and appropriate part to play in your waking life.
Incidentally, one test you can apply to check whether you have a neglected shadow-self is to ask yourself if there is some characteristic that you particularly dislike in other people (particularly your partner): a domineering tendency’, perhaps, or an over-liberal attitude, or whatever.
If there is (and of course you need a lot of honesty’ to admit this), then that characteristic is likely to belong to your shadow-self. We tend to project on to other people the dark, ‘nasty5 things that live in our own unconscious.
If something is going wrong in our life, we tend to put the blame on to other people, the government, or our parents; we look for some scapegoat to carry the blame. The blame, how ever, is ours, because we have not put our own house in order: we have not paid due attention to the demands of our unconscious and have not allowed our ‘other self proper scope for expression in our life.
(4) When a female dreams of a brother, or a male dreams of a sister, the brother / sister may represent w’hat Jung called the ‘soul-image’, w’hich is the masculine side of a woman’s personality (her animus) or the feminine side of a man’s personality (his anima). There would seem to be very basic differences between man and woman arising out of different biological functions (as well as less basic differences that owe their existence to social conditioning). There are w’hat have traditionally been called feminine qualities and capacities (such as gentleness, a caring disposition, creativeness, cooperativencss and relatedness, intuition) and, similarly, what have been called masculine qualities (such as aggressiveness and competitiveness, rationality’, and a tendency to analyse and look for differences). However, it is widclv accepted nowadays among psychotherapists that the male psyche also contains feminine qualities and the female psyche also contains masculine qualities, albeit often dormant and neglected, or repressed.
If you arc a man, do you admire the ‘masculine’ tv pc of woman? If vou do, vou may be in need of redressing the balance in vour psyche: vour feminine side
has possibly swamped your masculinity, and you now need to promote the latter. In your case, the anima will be rather masculine. This is just one instance of a general rule: the animus / anima will have the opposite characteristics to the conscious self-image.
Either male or female dreamers may find themselves in a dream in an heroic relationship to an anima / animus figure. A man may, in a dream, rescue a damsel in distress; a woman may waken a dead prince with a kiss. These should be seen as invitations to incorporate your anima / animus into vour conscious functioning, to rescue it from oblivion and neglect: to make Cinderella or the Frog-Prince your partner in life. Personal wholeness cannot be achieved without this.
See also Cinderella, Frog, section (3), Marriage.
(5) A sister in a man’s dream or a brother in a woman’s dream may take the dreamer into some frightening abyss, to the bottom of the sea, or into a dark forest. This may represent the man’s anima or the woman’s animus leading the ego into the unconscious, to discover, for example, the deep emotional causes of a psychosomatic illness; the repressed rage that lies at the bottom of a chronic boredom; or the fount of energy or wisdom that can furnish a more fully satisfying existence. Literary and mythological representations of this can be found in the examples of Beatrice, who led Dante safely into hell and out again, and Ariadne, whose thread enabled Theseus to find his way out of the Cretan labyrinth after slaying the Minotaur. Both hell and labyrinths are symbols of the unconscious.
See also Labyrinth, Monster, Underworld.
(6) Sometimes the anima / animus figure in a dream may appear in some way hostile or threatening. For example, in a man’s dream the anima may take the form of an enchantress, a femme fatale, seducing men into a lake or ocean. The watery depths may be seen as symbolizing the depths of the unconscious. The meaning of such a dream may be that the dreamer needs to explore his other - unconscious - self, despite (or, more accurately, because of) its frightening and threatening aspect. Water, however, is a symbol of the feminine, too. The meaning of the dream, therefore, might be that die dreamer is too heavily fixated on his mother and needs to liberate himself by asserting his masculinity and independence; in extreme cases the man might be in danger of being “possessed’ or ‘swallowed up’ by the feminine within his psyche. Such a dream may be, however, not a warning, but an invitation: the unconscious may be urging the man to get on better terms - equal terms - with the feminine side of his psyche. Give your anima / animus equality, and it will cease from its mutinous attempts to take over the whole of your psyche.
In the case of a woman, a dream may contain a male seducer: some Pied Piper animus figure. Again, the dreamer will have to decide whether such a dream is a warning or an invitation: a warning against being carried away by her masculinity (perhaps she has not resolved her early father fixation), or an invitation to discover and utilize her neglected masculinity. Commonsense and, above all, honesty should guide her to the correct understanding of the dream; and in any case, bear in mind what was said above about giving equality to the anima / animus.
(7) The unconscious compensates the conscious mind. It contains those qualities and capacities which the conscious mind lacks. In this sense it is the opposite of the conscious mind; hence its otherness, its alien appearance.
It follows, therefore, that the image that represents anima or animus in a dream may be the opposite of the psychological type to which the dreamer belongs. For example, if you are a woman of the intellectual type (i.e. if thinking is your strong point at the conscious level), your animus may be represented in dreams as a sentimental type (a romantic Don Juan, for instance).
If you are a sentimental woman (moved at the conscious level mainly by feelings - including moral feelings), your animus may show itself as a bearded professor or other intellectual figure.
If you are an intuitive woman (an artist, for instance), your animus mav take a muscular he-man form in dreams (the sensational type, functioning most strongly at the sensory level).
(8) If brother and sister appear together in a dream, this may symbolize either the tension of opposites, or the union of opposites. The opposites are the conscious and the unconscious contents of the psyche. Their union and interfusion are the means by which the self- the true self that is already within you but waits to be unfolded - is realized.
The appearance of this symbol will usually be an auspicious sign, meaning that, despite all appearances to the contrary, there is within you a latent and attainable order and harmony. But of course you - the conscious ego - must make that latent order real by paying loving attention to the needs of your unconscious opposite (like the prince who wakes the sleeping beauty with an embrace).... brother / sister dream meaning
If this scenario appears in a man’s dreams, they may be calling on him to rescue his anima from its imprisonment in the unconscious, to utilize this previously hidden and abused feminine side of his nature, and so attain a proper balance in his personality. (For anima) See also Dragon.
(2) When Theseus saved Ariadne from the Minotaur, he had to make his way through a labyrinth; Perseus cut off Medusa’s head to rescue Andromeda. Both labyrinth and Medusa may be negatively charged symbols of mother.
If such an image appears in a hero-rescuing-damsel dream, it may be taken as indicating that the dreamer needs to free
himself from an emotional entanglement with - or all-consuming dependence on - his mother. Only then will he be able to let the feminine in himself express itself. (If he doesn’t let it express itself, it will still do so - but in destructive emotional outbursts.)... damsel in distress dream meaning
If the bull is aggressive, this shows the frustration that can arise from basic drives being thwarted. For example, a person may have a high libido and feel frustrated with a partner who does not care for sex as much.
If the bull is wounded or killed, this suggests a killing of natural urges or drives for sex and procreation.
If the bull is sacrificed, this can suggest generosity and self giving. The ridden bull indicates harmony between instinct and decision making.
In many cultures or myths around the bull there is the theme of the Hero confronting and overcoming the bull; for instance Theseus and the Minotaur. Victory over the bull therefore represents the human struggle and victory over instinctual or reactive forces influencing consciousness. From this victory a new life or consciousness can be born.... bull dream meaning
being a character in: wil be fortunate to love one who expands your horizons.
centaur: are an exhibitionist who integrated physical and spiritual energy.
followed by a: aim is brutish, sexual frenzy.
minotaur: a dangerous instinct hides deep in your being.
unicorn: gently woo by placing head in lap.
being chased by a mythical creature: discourages your present attitude toward life.
being immortal: happiness in the family.
eternity, living into: validates your belief in timelessness.
N N N N N... mythology dream meaning
If you see a maze in your dream, it may also indicate the need to find direction in life and the skills needed to negotiate change.
If a map or chart of a maze appears in your dream, this may be a reassuring sign that you are on the right path.... labyrinth maze dream meaning
Jung saw the dark, enclosed labyrinth as a symbol of the tortuous depths of the unconscious and a dream of entering it as a voyage of self-discovery or an attempt to locate a deeply buried emotion. The void at the center of the labyrinth may suggest despair but it can also symbolize serenity and calm. A labyrinth is an archetype with which you can have direct experience. It is a metaphor for your life’s journey. As in the Greek myth of Theseus who entered King Minos’ labyrinth in Crete to slay the Minotaur, your descent into the unconscious, hidden aspects of your nature may involve confronting impulses that threaten your personal security and well-being.
Mazes are often confused with labyrinths but they are quite different. Labyrinths tend to symbolize the quest for knowledge and freedom, whereas mazes mirror the general confusion that may be fogging your sense of purpose in waking life. A maze is first of all open to the light, whereas a labyrinth is in the dark; furthermore, a maze has numerous entry points whereas a labyrinth only has one. A maze is like a puzzle to be solved, possessing twists, turns and blind alleys. It is a task that requires logical, sequential, analytical activity to find the correct path into the maze and out. A labyrinth, on the other hand, involves intuition and creativity. With a labyrinth there is only one choice to be made. The choice is to enter or not to enter. With mazes there are many choices to be made, with many entrances and exits.
Dead ends and cul-de-sacs present riddles to be solved. Mazes challenge the choice-making part of yourself.
In dreams, a maze can therefore reflect the difficulty in finding a direction to follow in life. No one can predict what is right or wrong, so you may have to rely on your instincts. If, in your dream, you have a map, chart or password to help you navigate your maze, this may reassure you that you are on the right path. Mazes can also often portray a confusion of ideas and feelings, the difficulty in finding your way through the mass of apparently irrational emotions and images arising from within, or the variety of opinions and seemingly authoritative sources of information with which the modern world bombards you. You may dream of a maze of corridors, for example, during periods in which your life seems particularly complicated and you are faced with choices and decisions. In this sense, the maze represents an attempt to find your way through conscious thoughts, opinions and doubts, to an opinion or mindset that is yours alone.
If you enlisted the aid of a ladder to help you get out of your maze, your dreaming mind may have been suggesting that you take a more logical, rational overview of your situation.
If you found a way out of your maze, this suggests that you will find a way to break free; but if you found yourself ending up in the same place whatever path you took, this could be reflecting your sense in waking life of going round in circles, covering the same ground or not being able to make a breakthrough. Bear in mind that tunnels and paths in dreams represent transitions, and entrances represent new directions; perhaps you have been so overwhelmed with emotion and confusion that you have not seen the opportunities already being presented to you. ... labyrinth and maze dream meaning
The classic symbolism of Theseus (you the dreamer) in the labyrinth (the entanglements of your real life) guided by the spiritual thread (your intuition) to slay the Minotaur (your debased animalistic side) may filter into your dream.
If you find your way out of the maze, this suggests the end of a mystery or the resolution of a dilemma in waking life.
See also BUILDINGS.... fabulous and fabled settings dream meaning
Dream Encyclopedia
Dream Interpretation
What is the dream?
Common Dreams
Top Searches