Hero / ine Dream Meanings

The archetype of the hero has fascinated, taught, even ennobled human beings for thousands of years. Appears as Christ, Athena, Krishna, Mohammed, Mary, Ulysses, Su­perman, Florence Nightingale, a great game hunter, Hercules, or any film or TV hero such as Captain Kirk or Dr Who. We are the hero/ine of our own life. We brave great dangers, face monsters, pass through difficult initiations. Fundamental to the whole drama of the hero/ine is the evolution of our own identity from the depths of unconscious in the physical pro­cess of conception, through to developing self awareness as an adult.

It is such an incredible journey, so heroic, so impossi­ble of achievement, so fraught with dangers and triumphs, that it is the greatest story in the world.

We find it told over and over symbolically in all the ‘holy’ books as the binh of the holy child; the journey of the hero/ ine; the creation of the world—our consciousness, the jour­neys of Moses. All penain to the difficulties and means we use to be; to the an of keeping balance amidst the multitude of forces acting on our human psyche.

The hero/ine is the one who dares, even though they feel afraid and in pain.

The avoidance of fear and pain in our society, where chemical anodynes or tranquillisers are sought to remove any tiny dis­comfort, is a great tragedy. Not that we need to become mas- ochists, but we miss our own wholeness through fear of our own power of experiencing. In other cultures the ability to meet pain and fear were considered spiritual strengths. They still are.

The following example shows one dreamer meeting his own fear and uncertainty. Example: 4I was in an ancient room. It had the feeling of being an old church. Then my wife and I were in bed in the room.

A middle aged woman was in the room. She was a ghost. I felt afraid of her, but to meet the fear I tried to confront her. I reached out my hand to her. I was crying out in my sleep from fear. As she took my hand I was amazed and shocked to feel it was physically real’ (see Christ within this entry, above).

If we are not the hero/ine of our own dream, we are probably still not accepting responsibility for our own drives, potentials and weaknesses.

The hero/ine frequently depicts our initiative and unexpressed potential. We might see our highest ideals as coming from an exterior figure such as Christ, and so miss touching the depths of our own being, avoid responsibility for our urges or actions. What happens to the hero/ine shows how one’s own creativity and expressed love fare.

See Christ, hero/ine and the self under archetypes; religion and dreams.