lightning

Universal Landscape: Sudden awareness or enlightenment born of divergent, confronting ideas.

Dreaming Lens: Where was the flash of lightning in your dream? Were you witnessing from a safe distance, or were you in danger? Were you indoors or outdoors? Were you actually struck by the lightning?

Personal Focus: Imagine you are in a dark field at night; you can’t see where you are at all. Suddenly, there is a flash of lightning. For that brief moment, you can see everything around you. You see where it is safe to move and where it might be dangerous. Avoid the cliff off to your left. If you go too far to the right, you might be carried away by the rushing river. The lightning abates and you are plunged back into darkness once more. However, now you have the awareness of where you are and can navigate with much more confidence and surety. This is the essence of lightning.

Also consider how lightning is formed. Thick clouds contain both positive and negative charges. The positive charges gather on the top of the clouds and the negative charges drop to the bottom. When they are thrust together by the right weather conditions, the reaction of opposites explodes in an electrical charge of great violence. Therefore, lightning represents the flashes of brilliant awareness that come when polar opposite views come crashing together. These contradictory views should cancel each other out. However, what actually happens is that they reveal a brand new viewpoint that would otherwise have not been knowable.

At this point in time, there is no definitive theory as to why lightning forms. This scientific ambiguity must, therefore, be figured into the meaning of the image. In this way, the awareness and enlightenment that lighting symbolically brings is, ultimately, mysterious in origin.

Another nuance to the meaning of lightning comes from a little known fact. The most brilliant flash that we see when lightning strikes doesn’t actually come from the sky. It is, in fact, a reactive charge that emanates from the ground and moves upward in response to the initial charge that starts in the clouds above. To use this distinction in your interpretation, remember that the initial spark of awareness may come from the heavens and, therefore, be associated with higher thinking or spiritual origins. But don’t forget that the full charge of enlightenment comes from the ground, representing knowledge that was already present in human consciousness. It just needed a divine reminder to initiate it into full expression.

How you experience the lightning in your dream is key to your interpretation. If it is harmful or feels dangerous, then your dream is reflecting Shadow material. This could be anything that inspires the kind of fear that comes from gaining knowledge or information; as the saying goes, ignorance is bliss. Look to where you are being guided to choose a path that you are resisting, even though you may know it is your highest choice. If you are delighted by the beauty of the lightening, then your unconscious may be expressing gratitude for the sudden new awareness that is present or right over the horizon. (See also Thunder.)

You are being inspired by sudden awareness or enlightenment born of divergent, confronting ideas. Consider how lightning is formed. Thick clouds contain both positive and negative charges.

The positive charges gather on the top of the clouds and the negative charges drop to the bottom. When they are thrust together by the right weather conditions, the reaction of opposites explodes in an electrical charge of great violence. Therefore, lightning represents the flashes of brilliant awareness that come when polar- opposite views come crashing together. These contradictory views should actually cancel each other out. However, what actually happens is that they reveal a brand-new viewpoint that would otherwise have not been knowable. How you experience the lightning in your dream is key to your interpretation.

If it is harmful or feels dangerous, then your dream is reflecting shadow material. This could be anything that might inspire the kind of fear that comes from gaining knowledge or information; as the saying goes, ignorance is bliss. Look to where you are being guided to choose a path that you are resisting even though you may know it is your highest choice.

If you are delighted by the beauty of the lightning, then your unconscious may be expressing gratitude for the sudden new awareness that is present or right over the horizon.

1- Lightning in a dream denotes unexpected changes, which arc taking place or are about to take place. These may come about through some type of realisation or revelation. Often such a revelation has the effect of knocking down the structures we have built in as safeguards in our lives. Altcrnativelv. we may have to make changes in the way we think while leaving our everyday structure and relationships in placc. Lightning can also indicate strong passion such as love which may strike suddenly but be devastating in its effect.

2- When we dream of lightning we are marking a discharge of tension in some way. There may be a situation in our everyday lives which actually has to be blasted in order for something to happen which will change the circumstances. This may seem like a destructive act 011 our part, but is nevertheless necessary If we take all the known facts into account, our intuition will make us aware of the correct action.

3- Spiritually, lightning denotes some form of spiritual enlighten- merit. This may be the sudden realisation of a personal truth, or of a more universal awareness. Literally something which had not ‘struck us’ before. In dreams a lightning flash can also represent the Holy Spirit.