When Dreams Speak

There's a chill in the air here this morning, it's drizzling and gray. They say it's going to warm back up next week, that this is just the first taste of fall, a promise of what's to come.

I laid in the bed longer than usual, it was too comfy snuggled up under the comforter, listening to the rain. I drifted back to sleep and had an odd dream. It was just me standing face to face with someone, having a casual conversation. On a small hill behind us, a white doe stood watching from a safe distance. As I woke up, the words "white doe" were repeated over and over in my head, as if to make sure I didn't forget.

Although I don't usually subscribe to the popular "dream symbolism" explanations, when it's something as obscure as a white doe and it's appearance seems to be thrust in my face, I hit the internet to find out what traditional opinion says. There are different opinions on animal totems, the Native American, the Celtic and Pagan. I usually look at all of them and find the common thread. Several Celtic pages gave this explanation:

"In its form of the White Doe or White Stag, the deer was often a messenger and guide from the Otherworlds. Following such an animal led the unsuspecting human into contact with supernatural beings. The antlered headdress of Cernunnos may have been copied by Celtic shamans as apparel in their rituals. The deer represents keen scent, grace swiftness, and gentleness. There are ways of reaching your goals other than force."

I wish I could credit the original site, but it appears to have been copied so many times that it's impossible to know where it came from.

The white deer also appears in several of the Arthurian legends and is said to have represented Christ to early Christians.

I have no recollection of the conversation I was having with the other person in the dream, from this I can assume that the words that were being spoken weren't important. What is important, is this last line from the above excerpt and that I apply it to the situation around the person I was talking to in the dream.

"There are ways of reaching your goals other than force."

I've never seen a white deer, but there's a small herd of them over in Big City on the grounds of this large estate. (Merritt.. go check that out, I have a feeling you'd love that place.) There are stories of them being seen in the wild around here, but their hides were so sought after by hunters that it's rare to spot one anymore.

There's a scheduled power outage for the entire town tomorrow from 8am to 6pm. I wonder if they'll still do it if it's raining. Can you replace electrical equipment in the rain? I guess we'll see. I'm trying to figure out how I'll have coffee in the morning. Maybe I'll get up around 7am and make a pot and put it in my thermos.

So now I'm off to do all of the household duties that I usually spread out over Saturday and Sunday, the ones that require electricity, so that I'm not scrambling to get them done tomorrow night. Ya'll enjoy your weekend.

Later Taters.