Symbol Watcher

Blood letting was modeled on the process of menstruation, stemming from the belief that menstruation functioned to purge women of bad humors. Source: Wikepedia

For many of us, the sight of blood — whether in conscious life or in our dreams — can be a scary thing.  It is, after all, our very life energy coursing through our bodies.  It is the divine force. To some of us, blood represents our actual individual spirit. If we are drained empty, we return to dust.

Blood’s magical associations can be seen in many ancient traditions and modern-day idioms. In Mithra and Cybele cults, the blood of a sacrificed bull was poured on people in the belief that the doused would take on the life energy of the powerful animal. And, of course, the ritual of drinking the Eucharist wine provides Christians with the ability to embody the life force of Christ. 

Common phrases such as “bad blood between them,” “cold-blooded,” and “blood thirsty” are all succinct ways in which we describe someone’s life energy.

Although we earthly creatures all share the collective experience of being blood born, there is one type of blood that is unique to being female.  That, of course, is menstrual blood. Menstrual blood contains within it the ability to create new life — someone who is a part of, yet separate from, the woman. Symbolically, menstrual blood represents a woman’s creative life. This life can be either physical and psychological, or both. Some myths emphasize that even shed menstrual blood will make soil fertile wherever it flows.

And unlike men, women can bleed without dying. It’s a fact that we see has caused some patriarchal societies who are fearful of being overpowered by the feminine to label menstruation as dirty and impure. Some cultures throughout history have even gone so far as to separate women from their communities while they are menstruating.

So if we dream of blood, we have to ask ourselves what is our interaction with that blood — that LIFE force — in our dream? Or if it’s menstrual blood, what is our interaction with that CREATIVE life force? Are we drinking it? Whose blood is it? Are we trying to internalize the energy of that being and make it part of who we are?

For instance, are you trying to stop a bleeding wound because your life energy is leaving for some reason? How successful are you at stopping the bleeding?  What part of the body is bleeding? Analyzing which part of the body is bleeding can provide further insight into the root cause of the life force injury.

Are you drowning in a room full of blood, feeling overtaken by life energy?

These are only a few of the many possible associations of blood symbolism that may appear in our dreams.

Maybe you’ve had a dream similar to the one I had last night. I’m still trying to make sense of all the particular symbolic details but the dream expressed my core problem as follows:

I am at work (my office in dream life, not conscious life). I walk into the women’s restroom and find the floor covered with menstrual blood and used tampons and maxi pads. I’m disgusted by the sight. The blood is everywhere in the stalls. I can’t believe the women who work here would just throw their feminine protection on the floor and not keep the bathroom clean. I think they are doing it because they are disgruntled, dissatisfied with where they’re working. Now I am in one of the stalls and feel something wet dripping down on me. I look up and realize blood is dripping down on me from the ceiling. I know the women on the floor above me are doing the same thing as the women on my floor. I see that blood has dripped on the front of my clean white blouse, right on the stomach area. I am angry about this.  

I’ll provide an interpretation for this dream as soon as I have a better idea of what it’s trying to tell me.  I know the women who’ve left the menstrual blood all over the bathroom are a part of me.  I feel the place I work is the place I’m working at, or through, psychologically. But other than that, I’m still trying to understand the message.  In the meantime, please post any insights or symbolic interpretations you have for my dream or for blood symbolism in general.

 –Writeye

Posted on January 4th, 2009 under Dreams, Jungian Psychology, Symbol Brief • Tags: blood symbolism, menstrual blood symbolism. •  Print This Post •  Email This Post • RSS 2.0 feed • Leave a response, or trackback