I’ve been reflecting quite a bit lately on the multidimensional or multilayered nature of symbols. This idea has kept reappearing in my thoughts and experiences over the past few months, becoming a deep source of contemplation. It’s a story of trying to understand symbols, dreams, and experiences one-dimensionally, so to speak, to instead viewing them as more multidimensional. I’ll attempt to put this into words.
Let me set the stage. Around 2020, I began to dive deeply into photography, and it has gripped me powerfully ever since. Initially, I thought my interest was natural; I remembered being given an old camera as a child, running around taking all kinds of photographs. Those were some of the happiest moments of my early childhood before life intervened, and I forgot about it. But perhaps even back then, as a small child, I was already aware—if only unconsciously—of the importance of symbolism. Maybe that’s why I feel so drawn to photography today.
As I explored symbolism, I started delving into Carl Jung’s work, as many do. He places a strong emphasis on symbols having specific meanings derived from a shared collective consciousness. While Jung acknowledges that meanings can vary slightly from person to person, he generally believes symbols hold a definite, intrinsic significance.
“The primordial image, or archetype, is a figure… which recurs practically everywhere and at all times in the world’s myths and fables. Hence it is clear that archetypes are not disseminated only by tradition, language, and migration, but that they can reappear spontaneously, at any time, at any place, and without any outside influence.”
– Carl Jung ‘The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche’
After reading this, I developed the idea of a personal “codex” that could grow over time—a guide to access the supreme wisdom available to us through our subconscious and dreams. I followed this path for a while, yet something about it wasn’t resonating or “working” for me.
As I pondered my experiences with dreams and symbols, I realized that I don’t experience symbols as having a single, fixed meaning. I struggled to assign clear meanings to images the way Jung describes, and I often had difficulty understanding the “language” of dreams. This struggle persisted until I began to sense that symbols are richer than just a single meaning. Both in dreams and waking life, symbols carry layers that go beyond any single interpretation. They convey vast amounts of information without words, transmitting ideas, emotions, energies, and vibrations.
“Symbols are methods of expressing inner reality. They are not meant to be taken literally. Their meaning is, in fact, so full of complexity and variation that it cannot be precisely pinpointed… they are shifting; they hold many meanings on different levels, and within their existence lies their freedom and power.”
– Seth as channeled by Jane Rogers ‘Seth Speaks’
Incorporating this understanding made the language of dreams, once elusive, start to reveal itself. The difficulty I faced in trying to distill dreams into simple, one-to-one interpretations seemed to evaporate. Realizing that dreams and symbols hold depth far beyond narrow definitions felt like opening a floodgate. Rather than thinking, “I saw a red balloon, so it must mean X,” each symbol began to bring forth a complex network of words, thoughts, emotions, and sensations—an entire world, a complete idea, with elegance and richness.
Now, dreams play a central part in my life. That’s not to say I fully understand every dream in all its complexity, but I do appreciate the richness they bring and gain much more insight than before.
For an example on how dreams have helped me understand more you can see: The Impact of a Double-Blind Method on Pendulum Accuracy
don’t want to say Jung was wrong; in his way, he was correct for himself, and what he communicated does start us on a path of understanding. But I feel his ideas only scratch the surface. My suggestion would be not to stop there but to keep digging deeper—there’s so much more waiting to be uncovered.
For anyone else who might be struggling to understand symbols in dreams, I hope this sparks some insight. I’m not claiming it’s the ultimate answer, but it is a helpful stepping stone.
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