"Learn everything you can about mythology then forget it.--Carl Gustav Jung

The woman tells me:

"I am outdoors when I see a tornado approaching. It is long and thin, stretching from the sky to the earth in a long winding spiral. It is very close to me, almost right upon me. There are other people in the dream, frightened people screaming and scurrying for cover. But I am not afraid. I am, in fact peaceful, calm, joyous even. I watch the tornado with anticipation and fascination as I think to myself, 'It's finally here! There tornado I've always dream about is finally here in real life!"

If you look up tornado in as a symbol you will probably find a less than positive interpretation. Generally tornadoes are interpreted as destruction, being out of control, unpredictable disaster, feelings of complete inner emotional or spiritual turmoil. These interpretations are based on the universal experience of the actuality of a tornado and are not without merit.

Interpreting a dream using a symbol's traditional meaning or mythology is a fine starting point. Symbols carry their power because they are based on thousands of years of universal experience and cultural associations. Indeed, this is what makes dream interpretation so fascinating: that inside our collective consciousness there is something universal, a place where our individuality connects with the greater whole reminding us that we are not alone.

However, accurate dream interpretation goes beyond the traditional meaning or universal mythology of a symbol. More important than a symbol's traditional meaning is the meaning the symbol carries in your own personal mythology. Thinking along those lines, let us return to my client's tornado dream. Is there any way something as destructive as a tornado can possibly carry a positive message?

My client had never witnessed a tornado in nature but she knows exactly when the tornado image was imprinted in her memory. As a child, she suffered severe abuse at the hands of her father and brother with her mother as her witness but never her protector. When she was 8 years of age she saw 'The Wizard of Oz' with its famous tornado scene. After seeing the movie, she began praying the same prayer every night:

"Dear God, please let a tornado come. I don't want anybody to get hurt and I only want our house to be hit. If you'll destroy this house I can go live somewhere else with some other people who will love me and take care of me."

She didn't need God to transport her to the Emerald City--all she wanted was enough divine intervention to make her parents financially unable to support her, forcing them to give her up. To her, divinity took on the form of a well placed tornado.

So according to my client's personal mythology, tornadoes as a symbol suggest something positive. For her they are symbols of freedom, liberation from pain and suffering, divinity delivering her from abuse. Ironically, tornadoes for her also imply safety for in her child's mind the tornado would destroy the place where she was in the most danger--her parent's home.

This is the essence of Jung's message about learning then forgetting. Use the traditional interpretation as an anchor and then ask yourself if that feels right to you. If not, trust yourself and your own intuition--after all dreams are messages written to you by You.

Until next time, sleep well and dream out loud!

*~Aisling Ireland~* is an ordained Spiritual Counselor providing dream interpretation and Tarot readings. To make an appointment check out her website at:
web.mac.com/aisling.ireland

Carl Jung was one of the pioneers of dream interpretation. This book is one of my favorites because unlike most of Jung's other work, this one is easy to read, understand and use in one's daily life.