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Killing the King
A couple mornings ago I had a dream set in some medieval-type world. I don’t remember the lead-in to it, but in this dream I and another man had been given the task to murder the King. It was supposed to be some type of “Mandate of Heaven” situation, where the King had failed his people on some important level, and the wheels of justice were set in motion. And we were those wheels. We snuck into his sleeping chamber and pulled out our knives. My friend slit his throat while I punctured his stomach. After this we went into hiding, and prepared to flee. In the ensuing day, a massive hunt was undertaken to find us. The men organizing the hunt were an order of priests. I remember about a dozen of them interviewing this beautiful gypsy-esque woman with dark hair and skin. She was on our side though, and spent the time flirting and toying with them to enable us to escape. After that we took to the hills and made our escape. I’m not sure if it ended well. The last thing I remember was meeting up with another of our friends, and he handed us each a sword.
This dream might seem like obvious political allegory, but that’s not how my dreams work. It almost certainly references a personal psychic event. Upon waking up, the first thing I remember was an old drawing in an alchemy book of mine. It’s actually a series of drawings. In one a king sits on his throne, and his son plunges his sword into the old man’s breast. Subsequent to that in the series, the son takes the king’s body and puts it into a tomb. The son however ends up falling in as well, and a third man slides the lid shut over them both. I’m not sure the alchemical process this depicts, but I think the tomb represents the oven. Anyway, eventually the tomb is opens and the bones are collected. An angel or something reconstitutes the flesh. The sequence ends where the king is restored to his throne - except he is wholly spiritual now. In front of him are his loyal subjects, but each one has a crown, because the king has acquired the ability to make others kings as well.
If anyone knows more about this alchemical story, I’d like to hear it. I’d also like to thank everybody for all the incredibly thought-provoking comments on the site lately. I’m going through one of those really important periods where I’m trying to re-analyze things I’ve been taking for granted, and see what shakes loose and where it takes me. So far it’s been really excellent.
- Fisher King
- The Fisher King
- BIG ELK - “For a Free America” [Lyrics & Chords]
- Formal Prediction
- Who are the Kings and Queens of the Card Deck
- Prev: Super Villains & Super Heroes
- Next: Entrances to Hell
July 2nd, 2005 at 1:56 am
I used to keep a dream journal. Also used to be gaga over Jungian psych. Used to treat dreams with much importance and so scrutinized and analyzed my dreams and those of close friends. Until about a year and a half ago. I suddenly woke up. And I should hope such a horrid Dark Ages will not be visited upon me ever again. Whew! That nightmare lasted nearly a decade. Now that my critical thinking faculties are wide awake, I’ll keep in on a steady stream of caffeine lest it starts sleeping on the job again.
July 2nd, 2005 at 2:56 am
Remember edwardson that it took you a decade of “horrid Dark Ages” to arrive at where you find yourself today. This is the path you are on and you have simply decided to linger at a particular point. It does not mean you have reached the end or are any closer to “enlightenment”. It just means you’ve decided to linger. Remember, the only thing anybody really takes seriously around Tim’s joint is the ability to be fascinated. That’s why I love it here.
I am a materialist and an atheist. But I am also vigilantly open minded.
All I can say is, you only believe you have “woken up”. And perhaps you really have — whatever “waking up” means. But it does not ethically necessitate that you must stir the rest of us from our naps. We’ll arrive at your level of eureka soon enough, but in our own time.
Personally, I’ve always hated it when people drone on and on about their dreams. Yet this does not mean that dreams have ceased to exist or are no longer important in the understanding of what transcendency mortal humans are capable of imagining. As a long time self-defined “materialist”, I’m beginning to understand this. Does that mean I have woken up as well? Who decides who is awake? How does one know when he is?
July 2nd, 2005 at 2:58 am
Edward-san, if you’re going to criticize, then go gung-ho about it! Don’t sit around and slap me with a wet fish like that. And don’t try to cry about how hard your struggle has been when you’re not giving me the slightest reason to care. Otherwise, speak your piece, add your personal experience, and just enjoy the ride.
JK: this is freakin awesome
July 2nd, 2005 at 4:13 am
Here’s some lyrics from the greatest and most overtly humanistic-materialist band of all time: Bad Religion.
The brain child of Bad Religion, Greg Graffin, is our kind of guy. It appears he also finds dreams and their meanings to be important whilst maintaining the kind of logical sanity that only a materialist PhD of Zoology can faithfully wield before the gaze of the obsessively materialistically faithful.
July 2nd, 2005 at 7:33 am
tomb/womb. all men have the potential for creating kings…….and destroying them. it is this cycle of alchemy that makes us all. and by conspiring with women,of course.
July 2nd, 2005 at 9:18 am
Ever read the Pullman series? If not, you might find it interesting, as it has a Gnostic sensibility. What made me think about it in this context is that the protagonists of the story are trying to kill God.
July 2nd, 2005 at 9:47 am
i mean on the one hand you have this strong and very masculine male whose powers are earthly, and then you have this cunning “gypsy-esque” female, which to me suggests things like crystal balls and tarot cards and feminine mystery. maybe ask yourself what’s going on with the male/female energies within your psyche right now. it sounds like it also lines up with what you said to me about fresh starts.
or maybe the “feminine” is just sort of working better for you right now, in terms of your problem-solving and even your “online stuff”. i mean you said it yourself that you’re going through one of those important realization/information synthesis times… sometimes the only way to really reap the fruits of your labor is to kind of sit back and be very yin and intuitive about it.. it seems like right now you’re grokking, rather than strictly cataloging.
edwardson.. i believe that interest in one’s own dreams can be a very healthy thing. dreams are amazing visual and emotional maps of our psyches. my dreams are often FUN and really beautiful. when my subconscious delivers an emotion-rich and visually stunning “episode”, i enjoy it. i don’t generally keep a dream journal though. i guess my point is that it really varies from person to person, just as much as the dreams themselves vary. what doesn’t work for you may be a brilliant tool of introspection for the next guy.
July 3rd, 2005 at 1:07 am
Tim - what did you do with the sword?
July 3rd, 2005 at 12:22 pm
I took it, and we set off on foot. Not sure what happened after that, but we were all wearing green - sort of like Robin Hood.
July 3rd, 2005 at 5:15 pm
Greg Graffin is prick…probably the biggest asshole I have ever known.
July 3rd, 2005 at 5:28 pm
Now that that’s off my chest…lol
Tim, what’s realy messing with my head here is that I’ve had an almost identical dream. And weirder, before coming here, I was reading an account of the murder of the Prince of Serbia, and it did feature a gypsy woman. So there’s my shudder for the day.
July 3rd, 2005 at 5:43 pm
WHAT? That’s nuts. tell me more about this dream and the prince of serbia thing
July 6th, 2005 at 9:00 am
It was a Blavatsky piece, not her usual thing but some sort of collection of loosely connected thoughts, and it started with the assasination of the Serbian Prince. I didn’t read very far because it seemed kinda pointless at the time, but I’ll see if I can remember what it was called.
As far as the dram goes, very similar imagery, I also remember a fortification and a river crossing?
July 6th, 2005 at 11:53 am
Yeah definitely a fortification. I dont know if I ever got as far as the river crossing… I think I woke up before we really got out and about, but that has a certain resonance with everything else.