Cave

(1) For Freudians, a cave represents the female genitals.

(2) It may also represent your mother; or your anima, if you are a man (for anima, see Brother / Sister sections (4)-(6)).

(3) A cave may represent a womb, a place of conception or birth. (It is a hollow place in Mother Earth. A Renaissance painting depicts the conception of Jesus in a cave, with a flash of lightning as the fertilizing agent. Here we see the almost universal symbolism of sky = father, earth = mother.)

The conception or birth represented in your dream may not be a physical one. Metaphorically, a ‘pregnant5 situation is one that may ‘give birth1 to something new, a new order of things. So it may be that something new is coming to birth - or trving to come to birth, if onlv the conscious ego will let it.

(4) A cave may symbolize the unconscious. Wordsworth (‘Prelude1, Book III, lines 246—7) speaks of‘Caverns... within my mind which sun / Could never penetrate1. The unconscious lies beyond consciousness (of which the sun is a symbol) and is therefore ‘dark1 and possibly frightening. But we can allow the light of consciousness to penetrate the unconscious. Rock suggests permanence and antiquin’. Similarly, the unconscious is a much more ancient part of the human psvchc than intellect, much closer to the source of things.

(5) If, in your dream, there is someone in the cave, it may be that he or she is a Wise Old Man / Woman figure see Wise Old Man / Woman), a personification of the wisdom contained in the unconscious. Perhaps he or she will let you into the secret of your ‘destiny5, or uncover for you the causes of whatever is troubling you or spoiling your life.

(6) There mav be a fierce-looking monster, snake or dragon in the cave. There may be treasure there, too, guarded by the monster.

If so, the treasure is voursclf - your true self - or the key that will unlock the secret of life for you. First of all, though, you must overcome your fear of the unconscious (the frightening monster). The terrifying thing in your unconscious may be some traumatic childhood experience that, being unbearable, was repressed - banished from consciousness. Like St George, vou have to slay the dragon, overcome your fear of the unconscious, learn to trust it and let it sene you (which is what it is there for).

See also Monster, Treasure

(7) It may be that the cave in your dream represents a hiding-place, a refuge from life’s problems.

If so, there will be other features of your dream(s) pointing towards this interpretation.

• Positive: Although it might not seem that a cave can be a positive place, it does speak of a place of being protected and hidden away. I remember the Lord giving me a vision once where he drew me to a cave.

• The cave was empty except for me and Him. He said that here He would teach me everything that I needed for the next phase of my spiritual walk.

For a season things would quiet down and I would not be involved with a lot of people, but that this was of Him.

• It was indeed one of the most precious times of my life where I came to know the Lord Jesus face to face at a new level. It was a time where He brought the Scriptures to life for me and gave me a new impartation of his love.

• So if you have a vision or dream of the Lord drawing you aside, this is a good thing. It speaks of a time of seclusion that is temporary. However it will be a time of much growth for you. Even Elijah experienced the still voice of the Lord in the cave.

• 1 Kings 19:9 And he came there to a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD [Yahweh] [came] to him, and he said to him, What are you doing here, Elijah?

Negative:

It has been our experience in personal ministry to often see someone we pray for tied to a cave wall. This indicates that they have hidden themselves away from the real world, usually because of hurts in the past. I speak more of this under the symbol “Bars” • It also speaks of a place of hiding away from the stress and the pressures that are surrounding you.

The only way to overcome is to step out in the name of Jesus and to overcome..

It is very common dream during adolescence. The events happening inside the cave will reveal which aspects of the Self you are working on. In other interpretations, the cave represents the womb or female sexuality. What you find in it will be those elements the unconscious wants to cultivate in your: virtues, ideas, attitudes, etc.

Many dragons and monsters from mythology lived in caves guarding a great treasure. This symbolizes that before winning the spiritual reward, you must fight the unconscious’ fears. The cavern may also represent memories about a traumatic childhood that have been banished from conscious memory.