Right and Left

The right side generally represents the conscious, orderly aspect, the side one controls; in rituals and similar contexts, it signifies what is "correct," even good. The left side is "the other side," often associated with the unconscious or shadow side. The Latin word sinister means both "left" and "bad." (See also Two.) In Western cultures, the seat to the right of the host is a place of honor, Christ sits at God’s right hand, and so on.  

In dreams, however, right and left should not be interpreted in a moralistic way. A path to the left can lead to adventure, mystery, the treasure that is hard to find, and so forth—it may be necessary to choose the left. This side is also closer to the heart and to our emotional life, to our more unconscious and potentially fertile selves (though negatively, the left can be associated with irrational affect). The expression "the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing" illustrates that we are not always aware of "the other" within us. (Compare Matthew 6:3.)

There is a “remarkable concordance” across the world in associating the right side with what is good, conscious, active, and even sacred, while the left side is linked to what is bad, unconscious, passive, and profane (Stevens 1997, p. 329). The right has also been associated with the masculine, rational, and conscious, while the left is tied to the feminine, emotional, and unconscious (darkness). Right and left can be compared to yang and yin, respectively. (Note, however, that for a left-handed person, the left hand may represent consciousness.) (See also “Circulation” under Circle.)

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