TOILET

Privacy, our need for time where we are not always considering what others need or want of us, but can do what we want.

If it is a bathroom and toilet: possibly includes the need for cleaning up one’s sexual attitudes or general attitude to others and self.

Example: ‘1 am in a toilet and people can see me. Some­times the walls fall down. Once I looked around and everyone was watching me.’ (Ms JR). This relationship with the toilet usually shows that one needs more privacy and time to one­self.

Example: ‘1 go to the toilet and it is full up to the brim.

It is disgusting, and I can’t go’ (Alan). Alan went on to say he is often awake in his dreams and if anything unpleasant hap­pens he wakes himself to avoid it. Alan shows great difficulty in meeting the very biological, blood and guts, and sexual side of himself. This may lead to living a very intellectual or sweet- ness-and-light son of life; occasionally suggests the body needs cleansing. Not being able to go to the toilet: as with Alan, a difficulty in expressing the more natural and down-to- earth aspects of self; holding back sexuality or emotions; be­ing selfish and not sharing or giving’ of oneself.

Example: ‘I was watching my teddy bear go to the toilet. It fell down and disappeared’ (Jackson S). Jackson was very young and just learning to sit on the toilet by himself. His dream shows him meeting the fear of falling down it. He has seen things disappear for ever, and this disturbs him. He uses his bear as himself. This aspect of the toilet can depict the magical, hidden, or unseen world into which we disappear in sleep—the unconscious.

Toilet bowl: the pan of us which can deal with the body wastes, and the emotions we need to discharge, female sexual organ, ‘sexpot’. Going to the toilet: expressing oneself; releas­ing feelings, often creative; letting go of tightly held attitudes or sexuality; acceptance of one’s own natural drives and needs. What we put down the toilet: what we consider to be the least important or most unpleasant aspects of ourself or our experience; what we want to get out of our life. My small son, who had depended for long years on a pacifier, one day decided he no longer wanted to have that dependency, or be seen as needing it. He took the pacifier out of his mouth, put it down the toilet and flushed it away.

The zone of the root chakra, where the Kundalini resides. This image may point to the relief of undigested leftovers, problems one has worked with.

The suggestion here is to “let go.”

From time immemorial, the toilet has been seen as a dark and scary place—in dreams, all places connected to natural functions are demonized.

It is the place of forbidden sexuality—self-gratification and homosexuality—a place full of danger and frightening activities.

It is a place where ghosts and devils do their bad deeds, and the reason why toilets in the past were always outside.

It is a place of taboos, of secrets and forbidden things, a place where budding sexuality and puberty fantasies run amuck.

This dream image also expresses the finality of nature. On one hand, it addresses everything that is transitory and points out that everything material will pass on and has no value. On the other hand, it addresses the meaning of accomplishment, completion. It is, again, an example of the alchemistic idea that gold can be made out of feces. In one sense, the toilet is the place where products are transformed. Such dream images almost always point to a necessary change: you must let go of something, while, at the same time, you must produce something positive. In Norse fables, King Olaf warns his guests not to go to the toilet alone during the night, because they might end up in a dangerous adventure with the Devil.

The toilet has also been considered the place of ghosts.

According to Jung, it is the place of the highest creativity.

To see a toilet in your dream symbolizes a release of emotions or getting rid of something in your life that is useless. To see a clogged toilet in your dream signifies that you are holding something in or keeping your feelings to yourself. Your emotions have been pent up for too long. To see an overflowing toilet in your dream denotes your desire to express your emotions fully. Dreams featuring problems with toilets—such as toilets that are too dirty to use or broken toilet seats—can indicate that you want to eliminate waste material but are frustrated in some way. Such dreams may be urging you to clean yourself up emotionally. If, however, your dream home toilet is a pleasure to use, this may represent healthy self-expression and the symbolic release of outdated aspects of your life.

See also Toilet and elimination dreams in BODY.