Pegasus, the winged white
steed who carried heroes across the sky in mythical episodes, had
his origin in earlier goddess myths. He sprang from the blood of
serpent-haired Medusa when the hero Perseus cut off her head. The “wise
blood” of Medusa had origins in the principle of medha, an
Indo-European word for female wisdom.
Venturing further into the realm of the little-known we encounter
a female Pegasus. Aganippe, “the mare who destroys mercifully” who
was a earlier winged horse. This was one of the titles of the goddess
Demeter in a destroying lunar aspect. This mare was said to visit
as a night-time messenger and is the origin of the word Night Mare. A nightmare is a very intense dream, which engenders powerful emotions
such as anger, guilt and grief, but the most common feelings are
crippling anxiety or disabling fear. A nightmare may wake us, screaming
perhaps, in the middle of the night. Nightmares are characterized
by sudden awakening with no sense of confusion or disorientation
and with a feeling of impending harm and vivid recall. Because
of the frightening nature of the images the dream tends to remain
with us through the day, inviting deeper interpretation.
Many people experience nightmares after suffering some traumatic
event such as surgery, death of a loved one, an accident or devastation
such as the recent hurricanes. The nightmares of combat veterans
also fall into this category. In these cases the content of the
nightmares are directly related to the trauma and the disturbing
dreams recur on a continual basis until healing takes place. Sometimes
therapy is required.
Nightmares not related to trauma generally occur when we have ignored
the subtle or purely symbolic communication from our dream guidance
and need a more dramatic statement. The main message of a nightmare
is “Wake up and pay attention.” Nightmares contain
themes of “survival” and we are being admonished to see
the truth. Nightmares contain subject matter, which can be difficult
to manage on a conscious level, as in the case of trauma. These dramatic
messages can also be signals that we are either denying or ignoring
in our waking life. Sometimes these messages relate to our health.
One dreamer, a two-pack-per-day smoker, reported a vivid dream of
having inoperable lung cancer. In the dream state he looked at an
ominous shadow on his own chest X-Ray, realizing that the entire
right lung was infiltrated.
He experienced
the incredible anguish of knowing his life would soon end, that
he would never see his children grow up, and none of this would
have happened if he had quit smoking. When he woke he felt surprise,
relief and joy; he felt reborn. Fortunately the dream galvanized
him to quit cigarettes.
When we wake from a bad dream the tendency is to want to go back
to sleep. That’s the very thing a nightmare is trying to
prevent. It’s a bit like unplugging the annoying smoke alarm
rather than looking for the potential fire. Nightmares function
as early warning systems, revealing behavior patterns or imbalances
in our life, which may well be leading to disaster. These disturbing
dreams vary in theme but the most prevalent theme is that of being
chased by an unknown assailant. Children usually dream about being
chased by animals while adults are usually pursued by a male figure.
Although the encounter may seem frightening and unwelcome this
type of dream may in fact have the greatest potential to change
our lives if heeded and there is great benefit in mining the imagery
for its symbolic content.
Although there isn’t a hard and fast answer to dealing with
the complex issue of nightmares, and dreams which arise from devastating
trauma (which takes much more care and work) there is a rule of
thumb which can be applied. Whatever it takes to re-experience
the emotions of the dream, and examine our waking life to determine
where this same feeling emerges, will help to release what needs
to be healed. Emotions revealed through the dream setting, and “naming” what
causes us to be afraid identifies the source of concern in waking
life. Psychologically this is called associative logic; the dream “associates” to
our waking life, sometimes to a past event, through a specific
emotion. Identify the emotion, locate this feeling in waking life,
and the healing can begin.
From the standpoint of the spiritual aspirant there is a great
irony in the phenomenon of nightmares. Namely, the more horrifying
and disturbing the dream imagery the greater the potential for
increased understanding and creative power for change the dream
possesses. Like a magical steed who will carry us to the heights
of heaven, Night Mares can be our most profound blessings in disguise.
The choice is up to us whether we face our fear or go back to sleep.
Julie Gillentine is the award-winning author
of TAROT & DREAM
INTERPRETATION and other books and articles. Each year she leads
a sacred journey to Egypt. Julie can be reached through her web site
www.queenofcups.com or in Colorado at 970-264-7474.
A nightmare is a very intense dream, which engenders powerful emotions
such as anger, guilt and grief, but the most common feelings are
crippling anxiety or disabling fear. A nightmare may wake us, screaming
perhaps, in the middle of the night. Nightmares are characterized
by sudden awakening with no sense of confusion or disorientation
and with a feeling of impending harm and vivid recall. Because
of the frightening nature of the images the dream tends to remain
with us through the day, inviting deeper interpretation.
