To Dream of Lions/ Big Cats & Water.

[Blessed Bee]

I've been passively pursued by a lion since my teens in the early 1970's. I'm not entirely happy with the "death/resurrection" explanation, but can't quite grasp this recurring dream. Recently, the lion changed to leopard and I was hanging from a tree branch; it was on the ground reaching for me and nearly grabbed me.

Unrealted to the Big Cat dream is the dream of water; I am always surrounded by it and the other night, I drove across what seemed to be a shallow ford, but my car sank. I wasn't panicking, but calmly waiting for the car to fill with water. I awoke before it did.

Any suggestions?

[myst]

Hi BlessedBee,
I read your lost cat thread about the Goddess Bast before reading this one about the lion dream, and I wondered if it might be a key to interpreting the dream. Bast is sometimes depicted with a lion's head and sometimes with a cat's head depending on the period of Egyptian history and on what aspect of her personality was being depicted. For you it's been the lion for some time.

The lion's passive pursuit is interesting. The lion's strength is sure, and it doesn't really need to do much to proclaim it's royalty, other than to show up. But perhaps now it's time for you to act on something? Now the lion has changed to the leopard, which is a much more agile cat, both physically and mentally, and she is reaching out to you more actively than the lion. It's very interesting that you are the one hanging in the tree, because in the 'real' world that's what the leopard usually does. She finds a nice tree to hide in and waits for her prey to come along - but in the dream it's you in the tree and the leopard is on the ground. In waking life, a tree is no place to hide if you are being chased by a leopard. Perhaps you are the leopard? Perhaps the power of the leopard is with you and you need to use it now. Have you seen Mel Gibson's film "Apocalypto"? Watch it for the leopard references.

Perhaps it's time to get off your royal lion's throne and put the leopard's head onto the Goddess Blessed Bee Bast.

And remember that in the thick of battle you not only have to use the strength and agility of the leopard; you also need the control of the zen warrior. In order to win, the Zen warrior must stay calm and not lose control of his emotions, just as you show yourself in your water dream. They say that if you ever find yourself in that situation, you have to do exactly what you are doing in your dream - wait for the water to fill the car and then wind the window down and escape the situation. What that's all about, is not losing control of your emotions when you find yourself in a difficult situation, and thus be able to calmly and effectively employ your big cat strengths.

Myst

[Enthusiasm]

I had a dream that I was drowning. I have just come back from the beach and a large wave took me back into the sea. I would like to know what that means please?

[Blessed Bee]

Thank you for the interpretation, Myst. It does make sense, what you said about the leopard and the water. I've recently had to go through a really difficult time, when my whole faith and belief system was tried and tested. I have indeed allowed my emotions to take control at times and water does represent emotion. The phrases that sprung to mind after the second dream were "in over my head" and "still waters run deep". In the dream, I had not tested the depth of the water, but just plunged in. I think in reality, I didn't stop to find out the facts: if I had, I could have saved myself a whole load of heartache.

[myst]

Enthusiasm,
The classic definition of a drowning dream is recognition of (emotionally) overwhelming circumstances in your life at the moment. And every time they seem finally to be coming to an end, something else happens (and the wave drags you back into the tough emotional waters again).

Is there something in your life like this, happening at the moment?

In Blessed Bee's dream, she wasn't drowning. She was very consciously aware of the nature of her waking-life problems and her dreams were acknowledging this and showing her how to handle them.

Your dream may be telling you to go easy on yourself because you probably really do have some draining and ongoing (emotional) problems in your life at the moment, and it's OK to register the problems they are causing.

What other dreams, intuitions or advice have you had that may throw more light onto your situation and how to progress? Was there more to this dream that may tell more?

Myst

[Enthusiasm]

Thanks for that. I probably have had so many other dreams since then.

Ta