Insect

These creatures, so fundamentally different from humans, symbolize a psychological element that is inherently alien to the ego; that is, something that, despite some activity, does not reach consciousness at all.

Jung suggests that insects such as ants represent the sympathetic nervous system in the dreamer (Visions Seminar, p. 813).

Hillman says that the insects corresponds "to the external counterpart of the human vegetative nervous system, hence their symbiosis with plants." (Animal Presences, p. 39.)

For an accessible deep dive into insects as dream symbols, James Hillman’s essay "Going Bugs” is highly recommended.

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