Light

Light symbolizes consciousness, and darkness symbolizes unconsciousness.

Degree of Consciousness

Dreams sometimes seem to use this analogy to describe how conscious the dreaming individual is of the situation they are reflecting on. For example, the first dreams in a series may be dark, and as the dreamer begins to understand the content, they may become brighter.

It is typical in creation myths that the world, in its original state, is dark, and the story begins with the arrival of light. In the same way, humans start life in darkness but are born in the encounter with light.

Jung testifies to the fact that light in dreams often expresses consicousness, when in Memories, Dreams, Reflections he recounts a dream he had, where he walked in darkness, wind, and fog, trying to protect a small light he held in his hands. He says: “I knew ... that the little light was my consciousness; the only light I own” (p. 107f).

Light in Darkness

Sparks and other points of light in the darkness symbolize emerging or potential consciousness. Edinger points out that it is important to pay attention to this symbol, as otherwise, it will have no effect. (Mysterium Lectures, p. 61.) “Such a dream indicates that the dreamer's psyche is ready for a major step in individuation, ready to relate to the unconscious as a bringer of light.”

Enlightenment

In particular, the New Testament often refers to “the inner light” associated with God, which should lead one and shine forth – Jesus is also called "the light of the world." (See also Eye.) In dreams, unexpected light can represent the dreamer's insight.

Candle: The Light of Life

A light can also be an expression of life and rebirth – light and life can be extinguished, but according to archetypal patterns, they can be reignited. von Franz recounts (Skuggan och det onda i sagor, p. 214) a dying woman who dreamed of a candle on the windowsill that was about to go out. Then, the light burned steadily on the other side of the window. The woman died a few hours later.

Unlike other lights, candles and wax lights leave behind a clear substance, a kind of "coagulated" spirit. The melted and moldable substance has been used in various religious purposes.

Negative Light

Light is not always something positive. A mystery may benefit from being nurtured in darkness, for the light makes it "nothing but," something that, as a result, can no longer grow; a secret room whose door cannot yet be opened because the ego cannot yet face what has been hidden; a flower that wilts and dies if moved in one step from shadow to sunlight. Here, as in many other contexts, it is a matter of timing and an initiate’s sensitivity to the fragility of the process.

While we have positive associations with light, and can see that it is universally typical in the above, there are times in dreams when the light is not the fruitful one. There may be periods in life when the dim, perhaps expressed as moonlight, is more fruitful; it could be that a dreamer turns away from the dark, where growth can occur, and stays in the sunlight, insisting that the lamp is on, and so on.

Electric Light

Electric light, the lamp that turns on when we press a button, certainly still has some connection to consciousness, but it holds a different symbolic value. The lamp is a conscious, rational "machine" that humans have created and can control with the press of a button. In this way, the lamp is more associated with our ability to understand and orient ourselves through will and thought.

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