The Dream Gate

The Dream Gate Dream

A couple of weeks ago, I had a lucid dream about a high ancient-looking stone wall. The wall was covered with vines and there was a recessed rustic plank gate or doorway. The overall effect was medieval and charming. 

It might have been dusk or overcast in the dream but I could see everything clearly. Just above the doorway, I saw a symbol that looked like a triquetra. I even exclaimed (in the dream) "that's a triquetra," except I actually said "trifecta," as in horse racing, because things get garbled for me in dreams. Either way, I was excited because I love all things Celtic, so I woke up in the middle of the night and recorded the dream (and drew the symbol) in my dream journal.

Earlier that month, I’d been told that ancient dreamers were always on the lookout for gateways in their dreams. Since my impression in the dream was that I was seeing a wall, not a building, I felt that what looked like a door to modern eyes was technically a gate.  

So I made myself go back to sleep and back into the dream. I found the door again easily and everything was the same—except that instead of the symbol above the door, there was a long narrow sign with lettering. 

Annoyingly, I find it hard to read in dreams and I couldn’t read the sign. I woke up again and wrote down the second dream and went back to sleep, but I didn't go back to the door, that night, or go through it. 

When I woke up the next morning I was thinking how nice it was that I dreamt about the triquetra which I remembered as representing the Trinity and the Welsh triads and other pleasant things. Then I looked at my dream journal and saw that the symbol I had drawn had three interlocking triangles instead of three loops. 

I was pretty sure I remembered the triangle symbol from a passing interest Germanic mythology. I thought it was probably Scandinavian and when I googled it, there it was. 

It was not a triquetra. It was a valknot.

No one is absolutely sure what the valknot symbolizes. Due to its presence on Old Norse funerary items, however, it has been associated with the dead. My thoughts on the dream in light of this particular symbol were that this door is closed and maybe it should stay closed. Or maybe not. 

One Gate, Two Perspectives?

And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. —Matthew 18:18

Then Holy Week came and I noticed another gate / doorway in the Icon of the Resurrection which is traditionally displayed in Eastern Christian churches at Easter.

The Icon of the Resurrection shows Jesus standing on the broken down gates of the netherworld as He pulls Adam and Eve from their tombs to freedom. You can also see King David, Moses, John the Baptist, and others. On the left below Jesus' and the fallen gates, you can see broken locks and the devil, bound. This represents what Jesus did after the crucifixion when he defeated death and set the captives free.

Some of my most interesting spiritual dreams have been very hard to decipher. Some seem to be about various afterlife locations, so I can't help wondering if the gate I dreamt about was that kind of dream. I also couldn't help wondering if the Icon of the Resurrection portrayed a similar gate—or even the same one, from a different perspective.

Dreams have been many things to me—an inspiration for my creative work, an occasional window to psychic and / or spiritual experience, helpful reminders (both practically and relationally), and more. But this doesn't mean that I always fully understand them. And I'm not sure I understand the Dream Gate dream or the odd coincidence of seeing the Icon of the Resurrection for the very first time.

What Does This All Mean?

When it comes to dreams, the question is always the same. What does it mean?

And the truth is, I'm not sure. I'd had a tough week. Historically, several close family members have died in April, including my mother (April 15). Then there is the Passion, which is less brutal than it is hopeful but still pretty darned brutal overall. 

This year a family member was hospitalized on Holy Saturday with a serious illness and stayed in the hospital through Easter and into this week. Various small and not so small things went wrong. Some people were kind and others were not. I didn’t get a whole lot of sleep.

So I don't actually know if I'm ready to unpack this particular dreams. But I have considered some of the questions it brought up for me. 

Should I go through that particular dream doorway?

Given the connection with the valknot and the icon and the fact that the gate was closed, I think not, or at least not yet. 

Am I divining by dreams?

Probably. But I do pray for guidance in dreams and I also pray to understand that guidance. I try to stay reasonably near to a state of grace and I believe that my guardian angel watches out for me. 

To me, when the Bible talks about divining, the warning is specific to that time (against listening to the gods worshipped by non-Jewish people in that particular era). This does NOT mean that warning can't extend to other times and places. I don't practice divination (tarot, pendulums, spirit communication, ouija etc.) because I feel (and the Church teaches) these things are modern day examples of things we should avoid. 

I do pay attention to my dreams, however, and what I do with them is a form of divination.

Should I keep working with my dreams?

I think so. The key for me is to be open to dream experience while staying within the broad parameters of my Catholic faith.

Dreams can be tricky. Like many other life experiences, they can take us in the right direction or in the wrong one. But I believe they're given to us for a reason and that—as the Icon of the Resurrection clearly shows—God is always in the mix.

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Please note: I use Catholic Christian symbols and sources in dream interpretation because that is my religious tradition. It's what I am familiar with. You may want to work with what's familiar to you.