Nature Can Inspire, Guide Us
Dear Nancy: I have had several “giant lizard dreams” the past couple of years, but this one was really strange. I have visited the Southwestern states three times, and I love the lizards there. To me, they are interesting and beautiful creatures. Diane
I am outside with a few women, standing by a huge circular glass container taller than I. It is filled with a yellowish fluid, and huge, live lizards are floating in it. One woman tells me there are 9 gallons of this fluid and offers me some. I think I should drink it, but it doesn’t look very appetizing. Then she offers me a plate with a chunk of almost-raw lizard meat on it. I would like some, but I don’t think I can eat my friend, the lizard.
Dear Diane: It is important to take note of recurring animal symbols in dreams, especially if they are animals which whom you do not often come into contact.
All animals have their own particular characteristics.
Lizards are extremely sensitive to the weather and hibernate when it’s cold. Do you take care of yourself when you’re feeling uncomfortable? Like the lizard, at times you may need to retreat to nurture yourself.
Lizards shed their skin periodically, a symbol of the rejuvenation process. Are you shedding old attitudes and beliefs at this time? Are you forming or adopting new ones?
Since you have had other “giant lizard” dreams, you might want to consider the lizard as a totem animal for you. Our psyches use dream symbols larger than life to get our attention.
In your dream, the lizard is your friend, which shows you already have established a connection to this animal.
Being offered the lizard juice and meat (the energy and quality) is an invitation to infuse those qualities within yourself. Perhaps you will be ready to accept them in a later dream.
Tips for readers: A totem can be anything in nature a person feels closely aligned with and connected to on a deep level. In the past, humanity felt itself closely connected to all of nature and used this connection to learn and receive inspiration and guidance. Today, many of us have lost that connection.
All animals have their own unique characteristics. A bear, for instance, has great strength, hibernates during the winter, loves honey, and is a protective parent. People who find bears in their dreams may be developing inner strength, going within to find answers, longing for more sweetness in their life and possibly learning to protect themselves and their own inner child.
Mammals generally represent the emotional aspects of our lives and our own natural instincts. Water animals can symbolize our subconscious and creative life. Birds are our connection to the spiritual realms and can represent our own souls and spirits. Reptiles and insects can also be powerful totem animals.
When animals show up in your dreams, think about their habits, particular abilities and talents. Read about them. “Animal-Speak” by Ted Andrews is a wonderful guide and reference on animal totems.
This column is intended as entertainment. But psychologists who work with clients’ dreams say that dreams can hold a tremendous amount of significance; a particularly disturbing or repetitive dream may indicate the need to see a therapist.
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