​

For this water-world dream, I’m going to focus on the solutio phase of alchemy. Solutio is Latin for loosening or dissolving; also, solution or solving. (You can read more about alchemy in my post on the nigredo phase, or the phase of blackness.) In short, alchemy is the mystical and pre-scientific art of transmuting base metals into gold. This cryptic practice spanned the globe, and lasted up until the Renaissance in Western Europe. We have Carl Jung to thank for redeeming the value of alchemy in metaphorical terms, as it was never shown to work literally. Jung noted how alchemy was a perfect allegory to describe psychological transformation, as what one rejects the most in oneself (base metal) is also the way to the gold.

​

Solutio is the stage where the base metal is dissolved, which will allow for it to coagulate in a new way. Psychologically speaking, this is like when one’s outdated ideology starts to dissolve — it can be a tearful time when this happens in therapy as the “base metal” is grieved. Thus solutio describes the paradox of solution and dissolution occurring simultaneously. I see this paradox come alive in your dream; it’s as if you’re both flooded and reborn at the same time.

​

Let’s take a minute and think about the octopus, because wow, an octopus! The Book of Symbols. Reflections on Archetypal Images, my go-to symbol encyclopedia, describes the octopus as follows: “The octopus resembles its cousins—the whirlpool, the spider’s web, the wheel and the spiral — in representing both the mystic center, and the unfolding of creation through dissolution.” Thus the octopus is the p e r f e c t creature to have visited your dream as it further reflects the paradox of solutio. It is the amorphous “mandala in motion,” signifying you’ve been touched by the mystical epicenter of the psyche. In my read of the dream it feels like you got its blessing to emerge anew. I’d be very curious if after this dream you felt more at peace with the break-up. I think the octopus intends that for you. 

​

As you surface from the underwater place, you meet the handsome property owner. It’s like a meeting of land and sea, or the masculine and feminine dimensions of your nature. Alchemical illustrations often depicted a king and queen as a means to emphasize the dualities coming together in a “chemical marriage.” Jung would say this indicates psychological transformation occurring at the royal level. Thus the “land lord,” who governs the realms of logic and reason, right and wrong, probably has some thoughts about the flooded apartment.

​

And then your dream shifts into its epilogue. My read on this dream finale is that you can sit in the “love seat” of all your mixed feelings. Shy and uncomfortable feelings are snuggled up next to excitement and happiness. These disparate feeling states are coexisting peacefully. Now you become the container of your emotional waters and are free to wonder about what’s next.

​

​

*DISCLAIMER: Dreamwork is a collaborative process that relies entirely on the associations of the dreamer to create a dream meaning. Without the dreamer’s input, I can only describe my personal associations and amplify the dream images as they exist symbolically on a cultural level.

​

​

See original post on the Free People blog here

Illustration by Erica Prince