Multiplicity, Many

It is a common motif in dreams that the number of animals, insects, people, and so forth is large, and just as specific numbers carry their own meaning, multiplicity itself also holds symbolic significance. In brief, multiplicity is “a central characteristic of unconscious life processes” (Children’s Dreams, p. 370).

Wholeness as Multiplicity  

The one is broken into many. It is not uncommon for the one, which cannot be managed, to reappear as many; this mirrors the mythological theme of unity being fragmented into multiplicity. One of the final steps or stages in the alchemist’s opus was often a spontaneous multiplication (multiplicatio). This can be expressed in various ways, such as the one becoming many, what touches the gold becoming gold, the tincture reproducing itself, and so on. A symbolic reason for this multiplication is that the one, as the whole, cannot be expressed in any other way. (Compare Dismemberment and Two.)  

Biology  

The image of many mice or insects, for instance, is according to Jung connected to the sympathetic nervous system, “as it neither focuses nor unites, but branches out and expands” (Children’s Dreams, p. 370).  

“The devil is lord over all such small creatures, like fleas and rats and vermin of all kinds; so it means that when the god is not one, he is everywhere.” (Visions, p. 813.)  

The Collective, the Fragmented  

The image of multiplicity can refer to the dissolution of the individual into a collective environment. All unconscious states possess a kind of inherent multiplicity, a lack of focus and unity, and the more unconscious a person is, the more evident the dissolution into multiplicity becomes—in others, in the collective. The individual becomes scatterbrained, fragmented, so to speak. There is no center, no focus; instead, everything disperses, and the individual tends to adopt a collective attitude (often an ideology, these days) to orient him or herself, which they risk developing a fanatical relationship with—a vital shield against chaos.

When multiplicity in this sense appears in dreams, it can reflect that the dreamer lacks direction and focus. The specific content of the multiplicity reveals more: if it is, for example, snakes, it might concern “life energy” (Drömbild: Orm, p. 26); a monster with many heads could indicate a scattered and dissociative emotional life (Archetypal Dimensions, p. 163), and so forth.  

Crowd

Whenever the active party is represented by a crowd, “it refers to a dissolving state” (Dream Symbols, p. 234) with a tendency toward the unconscious. One loses ego control, becomes like everyone else; consciousness lacks sufficient energy, and the unconscious takes over.

The One and the Many

At times, the one becomes many in dreams. For example, the dreamer might evade a monster, only to, in the next scene or in a later dream, face many monsters. This may express that the primitive content not brought to consciousness becomes nonspecific and, as if dissolved in the unconscious, forms or contaminates various autonomous complexes. Bringing it to consciousness becomes a “gathering together” (see below). The many become the few or the one—a reduction of chaotic multiplicity to its core. This expression is familiar from mystical contexts, where, for instance, thirty measures become three. This follows the symbolic concept that the one potentially contains the whole, but unity, unlike multiplicity, allows for focusing on the central. (Aurora Consurgens, p. 275.)

Individuation – Gathering Together

The danger of multiplicity is expressed in religious and mystical writings, such as Origen:

“See how he who believes himself to be one … seems to have as many personalities as moods … Where sins are, there is multiplicity … but where virtue is, there is unity … Understand that within you, you have herds of cattle …”

von Franz comments that the individual must, through moral effort, gather this multiplicity into a single personality. This is one goal of the individuation process. (Projection and Re-Collection, pp. 173–174.)

The act of “gathering oneself” is a common motif in unconscious expressions, such as dreams, legends, myths, fairy tales, and so on. Something is scattered and must be gathered. According to Jung, individuation is portrayed “in dreams … as a composition of many units … as a gathering of that which has been scattered” (Psychology and Religion, par. 399). Things fall into place. On this theme, Edinger states:

“In its initial manifestations, the unconscious appears to us as a multiplicity; but the deeper the ego engages in relating to and understanding it, the more the unconscious appears as a unity.” (Mysterium Lectures, p. 60.)

Multiplicity and Illusion

According to the Hindu concept of maya, the sensory world with its perceived multiplicity represents the illusion that conceals the one, which one becomes aware of through enlightenment (consciousness). This concept aligns well with the psychological dynamic described above.

Threat to Individuality

Multiplicity is dangerous to the unity that consciousness (and also the Self) largely strives for; the ego risks dissolution. Thus, there is a conflict between the ego on the one hand and multiplicity on the other, a conflict often illustrated in dreams. A completely unconscious person is “many,” uncertain of who they truly are.

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