Symbol Watcher

My 9-year-old cat Piglet

Yesterday we found out our cat Piglet has cancer. It’s an open, oozing, furless sore that’s taking over the left side of her face, at her mouth and jawline. It’s incurable. The vet assures us she’s not in pain, a piece of information I’m leaning toward believing because she’s still enjoying her food and our company. Piglet could undergo the painful procedure of cutting out her jawbone to remove the cancer, but it would only extend her life by a few months.  

Cancer is an odd disease. It is growth and destruction all at the same time, like a wild fire I suppose. It destroys our tissues, blood, organs and bones as it picks up speed and proliferates until there’s more of it than us.

Thinking about cancer over the last few days has reminded me of the importance of both health and “dis-ease” from a symbolic perspective.

Our dreams often speak of our psychological health in terms of physical illness. For instance, if I dream I have brain cancer, then I need to ask myself, “What is taking over and threatening to destroy my brain life (the intellectual, cognitive, unemotional side of my life)”? Or, “In what way am I allowing this side of my life to grow out of control and dominate other areas of my life”? 

If I have cirrhosis of the liver in my dream, I have to ask myself, “What are my associations with the liver”? The liver metabolizes nutrients, breaks down fats, filters toxins. In ancient times, the liver was said to be the seat of anger, but it is also the only organ that can regenerate itself. So if my liver is dis-eased, my dream might be telling me that I am having difficulty processing my negative emotions and moving on. It may be telling me that I am having trouble processing what life is sending my way (nutrients, fats and toxins = good and bad life experiences).

What if I have suffered a heart attack in my dream? Most of us can think of many things the heart symbolizes. It is the seat of human emotion, the carrier of love if it’s open and hate if it’s closed. It’s the doorway to the individual soul and, anatomically, it’s the pump that keeps our life energy (blood) flowing. 

So whenever we dream that some part of our body is diseased, it is helpful to think about our associations to that body part and how those associations might translate into a symbolic message concerning our psychological health.

Please let us know if you’ve ever had a dream of a diseased body part that made you realize some psychological aspect of your life was out of balance. Also, has anyone ever had an actual illness that you think was a physical manifestation of a psychological ailment? I’d like to hear your story too. Thanks.  

– Writeye

Posted on January 17th, 2009 under Dreams, Jungian Psychology • Tags: brain symbolism, cancer symbolism in dreams, disease symbolism in dreams, heart symbolism, liver symbolism. •  Print This Post •  Email This Post • RSS 2.0 feed • Leave a response, or trackback