In the Dream – Can’t Get There From Here

For this series here at Tarot notes, I describe a dream I had recently and devise a Tarot spread to explore possible interpretations.

Here is a description of the dream:

Setting: I am supposedly at Myrtle Beach in South Carolina, a place I have been many times, with my mother and a few other people.

We arrive and my mother heads into the main office of our motel to register. Somehow I and the others wander off and soon lose any sense of where we are supposed to be. We end up following someone’s directions that take us through a ridiculous series of narrow tunnels, difficult climbing situations, and so forth.

We decide we are not getting where we want to be, and then, suddenly we are riding on a bus or in a van of some kind, being (supposedly) driven to our desired destination. We drive down a street that looks familiar, with shops and motels, but then we head down a series of long country roads, and eventually realize that – no – we are not going anywhere near the beach. When we stop, the driver doesn’t seem to care and tells us that we might be able to walk there, but it’s a very long way.

We find a woman who agrees to take us back to the beach. Suddenly we are on her boat out in the middle of a very large lake. I comment that I don’t recognize this area, and it doesn’t look like we are going to Myrtle Beach at all. Others agree with me, but we don’t know quite what to do at that point. I wake up.

I am asking the Mystic Dreamer Tarot the following questions:

(1) What type of energy will help me interpret and utilize the message(s) of this dream?
(2) What might “Myrtle Beach” (my intended destination) represent?
(3) What might the series of tunnels and difficult climbing situations represent?
(4) What might the bus/van and its driver represent?
(5) What might the woman with her boat represent?
(6) What might the lake represent?
(7) What message might the dream as a whole have for me?

Layout:

……….1………

2……………...3

4……..5……..6

……….7……….

(1) What type of energy will help me interpret and utilize the message(s) of this dream?

EIGHT OF WANDS – In short, Wands (Fire) energy is active, courageous, enthusiastic, imaginative, passionate, and confident. On the Eight of Wands in this deck, we see a woman who is ready to be off at a moment’s notice.  This energy at its best is focused, and directed -- fast-moving without being reckless.

(2) What might “Myrtle Beach” (my intended destination) represent?

SIX OF PENTACLES – My reaction to this image is to notice that one of the beggars is receiving coins from the woman who is standing up, while the other is not. To me, Myrtle Beach means vacation, enjoyment, relaxation, rest, a carefree spirit, a “treat.” I think perhaps in this dream it symbolizes for me something that I want and need, but a part of me feels or fears I might not receive it. There is a lot of feminine energy involved in both the dream and this card. Who is the person deciding whether to give or withhold what is needed? Are all of the women aspects of myself?

(3) What might the series of tunnels and difficult climbing situations represent?

THREE OF SWORDS – Typically, this card refers to new, raw pain. It can be an indication that the truth (Swords) hurts. The pain might be based on a misunderstanding or maliciousness, and it may be hard to discover the truth in that situation. In the dream, it was very uncomfortable (if not painful) trying to crawl through narrow tunnels and claw my way up. The pain was intensified when it became obvious that all of that effort was not getting me any closer to my destination (rest, relaxation, enjoyment). I had been misled or deceived. Who made me go through all of that? Again, could it be an aspect of myself?

(4) What might the bus/van and its driver represent?

FIVE OF CUPS – Fives often suggest difficulties, challenges, change, restlessness, or turbulence. The Five of Cups, specifically, is often about a loss that is difficult to deal with but provides an opportunity for growth. Even though three Cups are turned over, two are still standing. Something (represented by the driver of the bus/van) keeps taking me away, in the wrong direction from where I want to go or be. In the dream, the only option suggested to me to overcome this “loss” is to turn around and walk miles and miles back towards my destination. In a sense, the Five of Cups could be saying that I have “lost my way” by allowing an aspect of myself (the driver) to transport me in the wrong direction.

(5) What might the woman with her boat represent?

ACE OF PENTACLES – Aces often represent a new beginning or approach. The suit of Pentacles is typically about the physical, material world. Certainly at first, being on the boat seems like an improvement over the idea of trying to walk a long distance. It’s a “new opportunity” to get to my desired destination. However, gazing out over the vast lake, it is obvious that the boat is not taking me there, at least not quickly! The vehicle I am on is useful, but it seems to be in the wrong place.

(6) What might the lake represent?

KING OF PENTACLES – How interesting that the woman with her boat is the “Ace” and the lake is the “King” of Pentacles. We go from the lowest Pentacle to the highest. As the “King,” the lake represents abundance, pride, protection, generosity, and reliability. The lake seems to represent personal qualities belonging to another person in my life or perhaps to me. The boat floats on the lake (the lake “supports” the boat, allowing it to move forward). In general, I view water (as in a lake) as representing the subconscious, emotions, and intuition. Water is a feminine or receptive element; Pentacles is a feminine or receptive suit (Earth).

(7) What message(s) might the dream as a whole have for me?

STRENGTH – A Major Arcana card comes forward to sum all of this up for me. Strength presents us with a woman sitting with a lion, which represents her own inner animal instincts and passions. The woman and the lion are compatible. Neither tries to dominate or control the other. How might this apply to the dream? In general, the dream definitely has a push-pull energy to it: I arrive at a desired destination, wander off track, wrongly believe I have found the way back, and end up floating on a lake in a boat. Is it possible that I am being encouraged to look again at the lake, to consider the possibility that it can offer me the same or similar “rest, relaxation, and enjoyment” that I intended to get from Myrtle Beach? In other words, am I being told that a change in destination does not have to mean disappointment or feelings of loss? That I need to take a closer look at a new opportunity that is right in front of me instead of focusing on getting somewhere else? Perhaps I am trying too hard to get or be somewhere when it really isn’t necessary to achieve satisfaction.