Woke up in tears twice last night/this morning.

But first, something interesting happened yesterday. 

Through the window I saw two men struggling with a cat. One had on gloves and the other had a carrier. The cat kept attacking the man wearing gloves but it didn’t run far. It seemed injured and the men weren’t making progress, so, I went out with a large towel to try and help. The men were grateful and tried covering the cat with a towel. Surprisingly, it jumped and ran away and hid in the bushes. It’s hind legs were definitely injured. We followed it but it was very obviously stressed, panting hard and pupils dilated. We decided to let it rest and one of the men was going to call animal control.

I went back to my house to work and watched the cat from the window. It didn’t move and the sun was beating down on it. After some time passed I felt bad and took it some water. It wouldn’t drink and just hissed at me. So I returned to watch from a distance while I worked. 

Eventually one of the men returned. I went out and he said animal welfare didn’t open until 11am and were on their way. It had been over an hour. The cat was still alive but weak and stressed. Animal welfare arrived and picked it up easily. It hissed but didn’t put up a fight. It was too weak. The welfare worker said it was going directly to the vet. If it survived they would place it for adoption.

I went inside and cried a bit for the poor thing. I noted that it was likely symbolic and a message I needed to pay attention to. Cat = Divine Feminine, feminine sexuality. This cat was injured and refused help (stubborn). It only accepted help when it was near death and completely exhausted. 

On to the dreams….

Uncle Visit

I don’t remember much about the beginning of this dream now, unfortunately. I remember my uncle was there and I was in awe of his transformation from the man I once knew to the man he was in the dream. Though he was old, I admired him and could feel a strong connection between us that caused me to not care that he was so much older or that he was my uncle. It was as if we were the same age to me.

In one scene I was walking through a dark room towards a closed, half door. As I walked what looked like a large turkey ran across my path. It hid and I continued walking. I came upon a woman who was there and said to her, “Be careful, I saw a turkey. I think he hid under there.” I pointed to an old table on its side. The woman laughed and ran up to the table and reached underneath. She pulled out a red hen and cuddled it. It was friendly and she held it close.

I went inside a room where I saw my uncle. He told me about losing his beloved dog and how he had to put her down when she was 12 years old, saying she “lived until the day she died”. There was a visual of the dog, a small Chihuahua that was active and energetic. I saw the dog stop in her tracks and fall over when she died. 

I walked away for a bit, pondering the visual of the dog. I wanted to tell my uncle something. When I returned, he wasn’t a he, though, but a tall, older woman with long graying hair. Still, I knew his energy and that it was him using a different body/image. I said, “I meant to tell you something regarding the loss of your dog. You said she lived until the day she died. Well, I wanted to say, we all do [live until the day we die]”. In the dream, saying this felt poignant for some reason.

The most vivid part is the end. I looked up at my uncle as the woman. She was much taller than I and very beautiful despite being old and gray. I asked, “Why weren’t you like this when I was younger?” I began to sob to the point that I could hear my sobs in the dream. I woke up still crying.

Buried Horses

I returned to the dream with the female version of my uncle. Still a woman, she was telling me about how upset she was about 16 years she wasted on an old house. She said, “It’s been since 1930!” I said to her, “That must have been very difficult.” I listened with compassion and held one of her hands. What she was saying seemed important. The house was a total loss and she was upset for trying so hard and wasting so much time.

She told me about also her horses. She had to put them down. She showed me a visual of taking their bodies and burying them on a hill. She was grieving for them still and wanted to return to their burial site. I went with her. We walked up this tall hill and I could see the top of what appeared to be a brown horse’s head poking out of the dirt. I knelt down to look closer at the horse. It’s eyes were long gone and empty sockets stared back at me. I was then shown what was under the dirt. I saw the legs of the horses extending down into the darkness. 

I don’t remember why or when this dream made me cry but it did and I woke briefly only to return to the in-between. There I saw a visual of my uncle as both the male and female versions. I saw over his head the number 52 while also hearing it spoken. I sensed a heavy dread indicating that difficult times were ahead. This woke me completely and I said, “I don’t want to be that age.” I heard him ask why and I replied, “It’s too old.” I felt suddenly very old and tried to return to sleep, but couldn’t. 

Messages

I realized quickly some of the messages from the dreams. 

The turkey turned chicken is symbolic of fear. I am fearful of the turkey, avoiding it and warning another of its presence. Then the turkey is actually a very nice, pet chicken. So, this could be symbolic of confronting my fears; recognizing that what appears scary isn’t really scary.

What I said about living until the day we die was very much reminiscent of the other dreams I’ve had recently about running out of time in this life. It felt like I was noticing that I can either live fully until the end, or not.

My comment to my uncle that made me cry is about me wishing that I had the wisdom of old age in my youth. It felt very much like my other dreams that indicated that there was not much left of this life. 

In the following dream, the 16 years stands out to me because this year marks year 16 of my marriage. A house is symbolic of one’s Self. In this case, the Self has spent 16yrs focusing on a life lesson/path. The woman, very likely an older, wiser version of myself, is regretting spending so much time on this one lesson. She feels she wasted too much time on it and regrets that her efforts to “save” it were unsuccessful.  

Finally, burying the horses seems to have two messages. 

First, symbolically, dead horses mean a stage of life is coming to an end. Usually, it indicates the end of a relationship and the grieving process. It suggests a warning of difficult times ahead. It is a message that it is time to let go of a person or thing(s) that is no longer significant to you at this point of  your journey. It is time to start working towards something new, leaving the past behind and forging a new path. A dead, brown horse (like this one was) is symbolic of paying too much attention to others and neglecting yourself. Source: https://www.fromtheangels.com/spirituality/dead-horse-spiritual-meaning-and-symbolism/

The fact that I went back with the older version of myself to visit the horses indicates that I am willing to confront the situation(s). I am recognizing the upcoming difficulties despite them making me uncomfortable and sad. 

The buried horses remind me of a song I use to listen to frequently. Specifically, a verse – “I’m gonna bury that horse in the ground”. The song is about leaving the past behind and ending repetitive, negative cycles.