Dreamscapes - Water

If there is magic on the planet, it is contained in the water.
~ Loren Eisley

Most people who remember their dreams, even if only occasionally, will have a memory of a water dream. The symbolic power of water, that essential element, is immense. It flows into our dreams to reveal the symbiosis between our conscious minds and our emotions, or even the contents of the unconscious mind, the unexplored terrain that houses either repressed traumas, the wisdom of humanity, or both (depending on who you read).

As it related to emotions, water in a dream can evoke calm and relaxation (a babbling brook, a fountain, a beautiful waterfall) or, perhaps more commonly, anxiety and fear (flooding, drowning, a tidal wave, a raging river). Turbulent waters can mean that the dreamer feels out of control in waking life. A tidal wave (a dream I used to have with some regularity) can signal a time of emotional upheaval or unusual stress. I'm happy to report having made it through that time, and that the tidal waves have since subsided.

But within my own dreams, water has also played a role in places that I visit again and again. There is a tree-lined brook I frequent. There isn't any strong emotion associated with it - it's just a lovely place to go. There is also a waterway lined with carved stone that looks like something from a medieval city. No one goes swimming in it because of strong currents. There is an implication that people have drowned there.

These dreams about specific places are harder to interpret, in that they don't seem to directly relate to anything going on in my life at the time of the dreams. So they remain mysterious destinations of my dreaming self, scenes for me to puzzle over, then accept as part of the dream landscape that offers clarity one night and enigma the next.