Gift

In symbolic thinking, what belongs to me is a part of me (which explains the irritation when others handle one’s belongings carelessly). If I give someone a gift, it implies that I am giving away a small part of myself, so to speak, which merges with another—often with the unspoken implication that the other will, in turn, give me a gift at a later occasion. In this way, a relationship is created and maintained. In "Hávamál", Odin emphasizes the importance of gifts and reciprocal gifts for the depth and longevity of friendship (stanzas 42 and 44).  

Gifts presuppose that what is given truly belongs to the giver, which is why a hastily purchased item on the way to a celebration holds less symbolic significance than an object one may have created or used oneself, meant—unlike a sacrifice—to be used by another, usually with an unspoken expectation. (Compare stanza 145: "A gift demands a gift in return.")  

Thus, the gift implies an invitation to, or the maintenance of, a relationship. In Jungian terminology, it is an expression of Eros, the "principle of relationship." Dreaming, for example, of not bringing a present to a celebration might illustrate an inability or unwillingness to initiate or sustain a relationship.

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