A giant hand?

[Saturn]

I was having this dream that I guess was kind of a nightmare. In the wall of a cliff there was this short rectangular tunnel about 20 feet wide and 10 feet tall. I climbed up the cliff and went into the tunnel and saw at the end of the tunnel was a huge metal vault door. I couldn't seem to figure out how to open the door so I walked over to the precipice and peered over the edge. I saw zombie-like creatures climbing the cliff wall to get to where I am. After a brief moment of panic, I realized that this is probably a dream so I went to the door and just forced it open like if I had super strength. I went inside and shut the door before being overrun by those creatures. While I was in the vault I conducted some experiments with the dream state, and after a little while the door was burst open and I saw people come in the vault.

It was an elderly lady followed by what appeared to be a whole tribe of people. I got mad at them for breaking the door and I told them "You could have just asked to be let in". So I go back to my experiment but then the old lady starts causing more damages and I tell her "I'm going to have to fight you but I'm going to pull us into the astral first" and she said "Good then we can use the ultimate power."

The next thing I know is I'm waking up in a bed. I thought I was actually waking up but that wasn't the case. There were two cats there, one was laying on my chest and the other laying near my feet. They kind of reminded me of my two cats but they looked strange. The one on my chest started to growl and I began to pet it to calm it down. It was looking at something out of my field of view. Then the one at my feet got up and came closer. It had an angry look on its face and was also looking at something I couldn't see.

Then this huge hand comes down from above. It was so big I couldn't even see the whole hand from where I was looking. In fact, I couldn't even see those cats anymore at that point. The hand touched my head with its palm and I wake up for real this time.

So can anyone tell me what happened here? I definitely have never seen that before.

[Dreamweaver]

I had a lucid dream once where I was lying on my bed in an astral bedroom brightly lit by intense moonlight talking with my 'brother' over the phone when a weight pushed down on my back imobilizing me, and an anonymous hand - a regular man sized hand - was placed like two inches in front of my nose, open palm facing me. I felt like I was being forced to be still and to observe this hand.

It was such a lucid, hand in my face experience that I can't help but believe it was supposed to mean something important - it certainly got my attention.

Associations: hand of God, helping hand, give someone a hand....

I think of cats as sexuality or feminine sexual energy symbols in dreams - that's just me. There are many ways to look at any symbol. They were at your head and your feet.

An older woman - I view that as Binah... or YHVH Elohim, primordial female, wise old woman/great mother/crone - more archetypal feminine creative types of energies.

A secret/secure chamber in the heart of a high mountain - peak or pinnacle/mountain to me represents Chokma - primordial male and YHVH.

Interesting dream!

[CFTraveler]

An initiation?

[Saturn]

@CFTraveler If it was an initiation... then for what?

@Dreamweaver That is pretty interesting. Is it normal that primordial female would be attacking primordial male? When I saw the hand I initially thought it might be the hand of God. It seemed like everything surrounding the hand was engulfed in a sea of bright white light.

My initial reaction when I woke up in the real world was that I bit off more than I could chew, ended up somewhere I shouldn't be and God came and saved me. Definitely wouldn't have been the first time that happened... haha..
There's also something I've been wondering. Do the dream symbols still have the same meaning when you are having a lucid dream?

[CFTraveler]

Who knows. The concept of the initiation is that the guide (in this case, dream or spiritual guide) gives you something- and you do something with it. What it is is up to you to find out.
And, lucidity does not change the meaning of the symbol, unless you have tried to change it. Then it's something else.

[Dreamweaver]

Hi Saturn - I don't know that 'normal' applies to dream or lucid experiences or to spiritual exploration of any kind ;). Was the old woman really attacking? Or was she 'breaking through a defense?" Zombies are scary sure. Fear is part of change. Just my interpretation.

[Saturn]

I meant like the "lore" of the relationship between the primal female and the primal male.
I'm not really certain why she attacked, but she was causing enough havoc to get my attention.
Also how were people able to figure out what dream symbols mean?

The fear is another issue. Even though I'm aware of being in a dream, I still was afraid of the zombies. I suppose i'll have to build up my courage to progress.

[susan]

Hi Saturn, I find the best way to get my attention is to have someone behave in an ' Over the top manner'
within a dream. It works for me and stays with me the next day.
Fear is definitely something that must be addressed to progress further. I went through a period of fear tests but treated them as fun. Maybe this was as CFT suggested an initiation to see how you behave. Face anything next time, don't be afraid.
For me I've had a cliff twice and both times they have represented a higher plane. The fact that this was difficult for you to reach but achievable may imply that you can do it when you overcome the fear factor. The woman was pleased when you suggested going up to Astral.
The hand maybe assistance.Help is here.
Symbols take time for individuals to personalise them. You are working with spirit whether guidance or higher self or whatever and an understanding will slowly merge between you and spirit.
I started off using one book only and clearly stating that if I didn't understand the meaning, then I would use the meaning in that book. It takes time and eventually you will have your own interpretation .

[CFTraveler]

I can only answer the 'dream symbol' question from a historical point of view. Jung and Freud interviewed many many people who had certain issues come up in their lives, and after a lot of note-taking throughout the years, could see the correspondence between some of the symbols that recurred and the themes in their patients lives. This opened up the idea to see the symbolism on some types of dreams and what they could mean to the dreamers. Of course, both researchers came up with different interpretations for the reasons for the symbols and issues, but that's another subject. You could call it a statistical study, I think this is what it was.

[Dreamweaver]

Hi Saturn - dream imagery is metaphorical, and operates on multiple levels - from the subjective and the collective subconscious to the subjective and collective superconscious. From Omega to Alpha - the microcosm to the macrocosm. Our dreams are meant to speak to us, tell us about ourselves - and to reveal to us what our real, emerging identity is. Its not lore - its your psychology and spiritual development that you experienced. How does the imagery and the emotional content of the dream relate to your Self. Your dream is your Self telling you your story : ).

[Saturn]

Thanks for the responses everyone. This is very interesting to me.
I don't know why I keep forgetting that there will be tests....
As for the dream symbols. I guess I should go through my journal and try to decipher some of them.