Bed, Bedroom

The bed is a place for both protection and care, on one hand, and is associated with sexuality on the other; intimacy is a key word for the bed and the bedroom. (Compare Sleep.)

Lowered state of consciousness

In the bed, we sleep and dream, allowing consciousness to make space for the unconscious. However, we also tend to fantasize, daydreaming, as we prepare to sleep. Thus, the bed symbolizes a descending state of consciousness, where we "come in contact with the body, instincts, and the unconscious" (Animus and Anima in Fairy Tales, p. 100).

It's characteristic that we often struggle to fall asleep precisely when we are about to do so because what we have kept suppressed ("under the bed"), content from our personal unconscious, resurfaces as consciousness weakens. Many prefer to distract themselves to sleep, with the radio, music, or stories, to skip over this stage.

Instincts

The bed is associated with instincts and life as a human. We are born, love, and die in the bed.

Safe/unsafe

We want to feel safe in our own bed, especially because we are vulnerable while lying asleep or dozing in the middle of the night. Perhaps for this reason, we tend to imagine threats right there—ghosts, burglars, and so on.

The feminine, motherhood

The bed and bedroom are often linked to a distinctly maternal quality. The aforementioned characteristics of the symbol—darkness, safety, unconsciousness, the bodily—are also qualities of the mother as an archetypal image.

Under the bed

The dark and hidden area under the bed is an apt image for our personal unconscious. For a child, it represents the unknown underworld where monsters lurk. For an adult, it might be a place we don't bother to clean as often, where we hide things we don't want guests to see; in the past, people would place their chamber pot under the bed, for example. So, it is an appropriate image for the personal unconscious, the things we displace (in contrast to, for example, a forest, which can symbolize the collective unconscious).

Bedroom

The bedroom is probably the most private room in one's home, and a dream that takes place in a bedroom likely pertains to one's private, intimate life. It is considered impolite for a guest to enter the host's bedroom, and the host may feel it somewhat invasive if someone is snooping around, even if no secret items are hidden there.

Proverb

"As we make our bed, so we must lie in it" – meaning we get what we deserve – is a central symbolism for the bed, especially in fairy tales. Beds are often magical in fairy tales, sometimes demonic, and everyone has at some point lain awake, troubled by worry or regret.

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