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I almost never remember my dreams. I’ve promised myself for years that I would work on learning techniques to help me remember, but it’s one of those things I just haven’t gotten around to yet. But, what that means, is that when I do remember a dream, it’s a big deal. Well, at least to me anyway

A few nights ago I had a dream about snakes. Lots of snakes. I was in some building, a house I think, and there were snakes everywhere. My initial feeling about this was one of fear. The snakes all seemed to be menacing and “after me”. I don’t remember many specifics, but I know I was moving around the house trying to find my way out. After a while, it started to occur to me that the snakes weren’t trying to get me at all, and in fact they were leading the way out instead of trying to keep me from it. That was about all I remember, because I woke up and was immediately surprised by how strong the memory of that last part of the dream was.

I thought about this for a while, and came up with my interpretation of this dream. Since I’ve been studying a lot about shamanism lately, I of course looked at this dream from the point of view of what I have learned. Specifically, most indigenous cultures look at encounters with animals, whether waking or dreaming, as symbolic in nature. The snake symbolizes many things, and can be quite different to different cultures, but one thing that is quite common is the snake represnting rebirth or renewal. The shedding of the old skin can be seen as leaving behind an old piece of yourself and moving into something new. Here is a good quote I just found online :

Snake comes to you at a time when you are heading for change. You are ready to explore the mysterious voyage where you have never gone before, whether in the physical world or in the depths of the mind and soul. People with Snake medicine know the power of renewal. Snake sheds his skin, leaving it behind and slithering away completely renewed. Snake people can do the same, shedding their dull layers to reveal a brilliant new self underneath.

This seems appropriate for me right now, since I have definitely been putting a lot of effort into change, with setting forth on this shamanic training path. I had written several weeks ago about the fear that had come up in me related to the training I’m going through, but this dream represents a shift to me. I was afraid of the snakes in the dream at first, which would make sense with how I felt a couple of months ago, but then the shift towards realization that the snakes were there to help and guide can be seen as me starting to open myself to the change and rebirth to come. Looking forward with no fear and accepting what life has in store. And that is exciting.