The crocodile and its alligator cousin appear regularly in the dreams of people far from warm, wet habitats. In ancient Egyptian mythology, the divine crocodile Sobek was honored, especially at riverbanks, the threshold of land and water. The Egyptian earth god Geb was depicted as a crocodile guarding the gateway to the underworld. Thresholds mark the entry to the unknown, a realm where usual rules do not apply—an apt parallel to the boundary between the ego and the unconscious. Primordial force, seemingly submerged in psyche’s ancient riverbeds, can erupt to drown, dismember and devour the ego’s claim to autonomy. Moments of dissolution in trauma or periods of psychosis have power as crushing as the crocodile’s terrible teeth and gaping maw. The unconscious source of consciousness also has the power to consume it. Crocodile is danger, death, and life’s relentless urge to realize itself.
We Analyze Several Crocodile Dreams To Explore A Variety Of Ways The Archetype Presents.
REFERENCES:
Erich Neumann. The Great Mother, translated by Ralph Manheim https://www.amazon.com/dp/0691166072/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_DBFKM4HWBS5VAK5N8W4P
The Book of Symbols. Reflections on Archetypal Symbols. Taschen. https://www.amazon.com/dp/3836514486/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_FSZEWSEQ8A2KAFSJSC1H
RESOURCES:
Learn to Analyze your own Dreams: https://thisjungianlife.com/enroll/
Hello Joseph, Deb and Lisa,
I really really enjoyed this format of discussing dreams with the same archetype! It would be great if you could do more like this with other archetypes! Also, on the last dream, I was thinking that perhaps the crocodiles represented a killing of her regressive restoration of the persona. She says that in real life she has had some major transformations and perhaps breaking old patterns and images of who she is. Perhaps the dream ego is taking pleasure in this now encouraging her to keep moving forward. I just finished rereading Symbols of Transformation, so I have regression on the brain! Thanks again for a great episode!
We were traveling with my brother and father and had stopped over because my dad was too drunk to drive. I am talking to this person trying to explain the situation as discreetly as possible. This place was filled with water. Like a natural pool within a building. We walk further to the depths and my brother is somewhat suspicious of the clear water. A few steps down and crocodiles emerge and we start bursting out of this place. Before this dream I was still running away from someone who seemed like a zombie per see and in the next dream after the crocodiles, we were on top of square houses running on top. Next to the houses was this diving site with a very deep pool, a natural pool. Someone was trying to get me to dive but I didn’t. In one scenario I was this young mother with her daughter and in another with this girl all this time trying not to dive into the pool
Crocodiles are actually more related to birds than “reptiles”. Their care taking is thought to be related to similar behavior in birds. So the mother imagery makes more sense in this aspect.
I have a dream an alligator 🐊 want to devour a beautiful woman both are in the river. In the river there is an island, where I am observing but don’t make any effort to save that woman. What this means? In the last alligator Chase women and they both moving in an anti-clock wise orbit which enclosed the island where I am.