Apocalypse, Disaster

The apocalypse is the end of the world, a catastrophe that in dreams can reflect the demise of the ego, often expressed through flood, fire, abyss, and/or the triumph of the evil tyrant.

But at the same time, apocalypse means "revelation," the unveiling of what has been hidden, which may suggest the end of the old and the beginning of the new. The downfall of all things is a universal religious concept, but it is almost always associated with renewal, where a new world emerges (like Ragnarök).

The energy released in a catastrophe (nuclear weapons, earthquakes) can be linked to the emergence of the Self in dreams. By throwing overboard our previously trusted beliefs, we in a sense "destroy" the world as we know it, which is a prerequisite for the new world to emerge.

By casting our previously trusted beliefs overboard, we "destroy" the world as we know it, because the "world" is our understanding of it.

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