
Charlotte Eléa is an intuitive counselor and workshop leader. Join us for her signature Dream Decoding workshops this summer at Wanderlust Hollywood, where she will guide guests through their individual dreams, as well as explain common dream themes and archetypes. Get your tickets here!
Why do we dream? Part of the mystery and wonder of being a human being happens when we sleep, and yet the reason why our brains perform these private plays remains largely unknown. Researchers studying dreams and sleep science have proposed various theories about what dreams are and their relevance to our everyday experience. Some of the popular theories include: dreams as representations of our emotions, a strengthening mechanism for our memory, a reflection of our waking life, a way for our subconscious minds to prepare for the future, and a means of processing hardship and difficult situation. Most of the popular theories have in common the use of dreams as metaphor for reality. One of the fathers of the field of dream interpretation was famed analytical psychologist and psychiatrist Carl Jung. Jung theorized that when we dream we tap into a "collective unconscious"—our shared human experiences. From this theory he developed archetypes for the symbols that commonly occur in dreams. Knowing the archetypes and what they mean, according to Jung, can help us better understand our subconscious and thereby better knowing ourselves. Five of Jung’s popular archetypes are:
Erin Ward is a freelance writer, yoga teacher, and navigator at Wanderlust Hollywood.
Why do we dream? Part of the mystery and wonder of being a human being happens when we sleep, and yet the reason why our brains perform these private plays remains largely unknown. Researchers studying dreams and sleep science have proposed various theories about what dreams are and their relevance to our everyday experience. Some of the popular theories include: dreams as representations of our emotions, a strengthening mechanism for our memory, a reflection of our waking life, a way for our subconscious minds to prepare for the future, and a means of processing hardship and difficult situation. Most of the popular theories have in common the use of dreams as metaphor for reality. One of the fathers of the field of dream interpretation was famed analytical psychologist and psychiatrist Carl Jung. Jung theorized that when we dream we tap into a "collective unconscious"—our shared human experiences. From this theory he developed archetypes for the symbols that commonly occur in dreams. Knowing the archetypes and what they mean, according to Jung, can help us better understand our subconscious and thereby better knowing ourselves. Five of Jung’s popular archetypes are:
- The Persona: This represents the mask that each of us wear in our waking lives. It may not appear in the same likeness, but in the dream there is a certainty that this person is a reflection of us.
- The Shadow: The dark parts of ourselves which we try to hide from everyone else in everyday life.
- The Amina/Aminus: These are masculine and feminine representations, and depending on which one appears — ie in the form of a beard, dress, pregnancy or other distinguishing characteristic — clues the dreamer in to which side of themselves they need to pay more attention to.
- The Divine Child: When a baby shows up in a dream it represents the truest form of the dreamer, as well as the innate innocence of us all.
- The Great Mother: The dreamer’s mother appearing in a dream represents the state of relationship between mother and child. Many times, according to Jung, this turns into a nightmare because there is pain and contention present in the relationship.
