Time, Moment

Dreams, like folklore and fairy tales, seem to place more emphasis on when something happens rather than how it happens. (This aligns, incidentally, with Eastern philosophy.) The collective unconscious is characterized by the notion that time is relative and possesses a quality rather than a quantity—a recurring motif in folklore, fairy tales, and other expressions of the deeper layers of our inner world.  

Astrology  

According to Jung, moments in time hold qualities in the unconscious, which are projected onto the heavens, giving rise to archetypally tinged astrology. For instance, a ram in our dreams may symbolize spring, as the zodiac sign Aries falls in March-April.

"The zodiac is a projection of our unconscious knowledge of time and its qualities. ... Everything that arises at a certain moment possesses the qualities of that moment and will retain them for eternity." (Visions, pp. 109-110.)

This perspective from the unconscious gives rise to superstitions, such as the belief that someone born at an "unlucky" moment is destined for misfortune or that a ship must be launched at an auspicious time, and so forth.  

The Right Time  

While modern people always ask why something happens, humanity has traditionally paid attention to when something occurs (superstitious beliefs once so common abound with examples). In contrast to modern narratives, folk tales do not explain why something happens—why the hunter appears, why a certain prince can pass through the thorn bushes where all others have perished, or the cause of why a treasure suddenly becomes visible to this particular hero. Rather, it simply happens because it occurred at a particular moment, the right time.  

The Greeks called this time kairos, as opposed to the quantitative chronos time that measures days, weeks, and years. (Compare Jung’s concept of synchronicity and Buddha’s "auspicious moment"; see also Wheel.) The alchemist Zosimos developed the idea—or perhaps the experience—that the transformation of metals could occur only at the right moment (kairikai), which, according to von Franz's interpretation, means the right inner moment. (Alchemical Active Imagination, pp. 8ff.)  

In stories and legends, hidden things reveal themselves at certain moments, to those present at the right occasion, rather than because someone does something specific to make it happen. As anyone who remembers their dreams knows, dreams do not explain why, for instance, an unexpected encounter happens—it simply happens (probably because it was time for it to happen). Dreams and fairy tales share much in common.  

von Franz argues that philosophies concerning the necessity of the right moment are a continually repeated experience in psychological treatment. One cannot force insight upon someone; the time must be ripe for his or her own realization. (Projection and Re-Collection, p. 165.) Edinger states that the timing of critical change is chosen by the Self and not the ego. However, he adds, "it is very helpful if the ego has prepared itself so that it doesn’t come as a complete surprise." (Mysterium Lectures, p. 211.)  

The Wrong Time  

Dreaming of being late, doing something at an inappropriate moment, feeling the need to hurry, and so on, might indicate being "out of sync" with inner, autonomous processes.  

Occasion  

The “right time” was traditionally associated with specific occasions, such as Midsummer, certain weekdays like Thursdays or Sundays, and so forth, where time was thought to have a particular quality. (Mircea Eliade, a prominent interpreter of religious experience, draws a distinction between historical time and sacred time, in line with such traditions.) This idea recurs in dreams, where one might dream that it is Christmas, Midsummer, a birthday, and so on, when something significant happens, even though this is not true in waking reality. In such cases, it can be assumed that what occurs in the dream happens because the time is right—perhaps one is in some kind of alignment with destiny, for lack of a better term, much like the prince who appears at the right moment. Sacred time, to use Eliade’s term, can be expressed in dreams through seemingly impossible moments, such as it being Christmas and Midsummer simultaneously.  

Christmas, New Year, and Birthdays  

Our celebrations often mark the birth of something—a child, a year, or a season—or a peak or turning point. In significant dreams, it is often one of these occasions (regardless of the actual date in waking life). Such dreams might signify that something extraordinary is being celebrated, something transcending the mundane.  

A birthday is the day something new comes into the world; the dream might thus be celebrating a new insight, a new stage of development, and so forth.  

It is a recurring experience that prophetic dreams, or dreams about the future, often occur on actual New Year’s Eve. However, humanity has long considered dreams on, for example, Midsummer Night to be especially magical—an observation that aligns with contemporary experiences. (The Dream Story, p. 96.)  

Bells Ringing  

The ringing of bells marks sacred or significant moments, interrupting the ordinary, trivial, and uneventful. Suddenly, attention is directed toward the eternal or archetypal. This type of "ringing" sometimes occurs in dreams—indicating that the Self seeks to draw our attention to something, as the time is ripe.  

Place  

It is worth noting that both in dreams, folklore, and fairy tales, places carry a similar symbolic value—crossroads, bridges, and so on. Such locations possess a magical quality simply because they are what they are, not because someone has done something to them, nor necessarily because anything has happened there. "It just is," is the only explanation we are given—an explanation deeply unsatisfying to the rational intellect.  

Time Span  

If the dream emphasizes a specific moment or a span of time, it can be helpful to compare it to one's life. For instance, dreaming of an eight-month-old child often refers to something that occurred eight months prior.

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