Dream: Being chased by lions and being bit from behind. My young son has been dreaming this over and over for a month or so.
DreamsMaster: A lion generally symbolizes strength, power, courage, pride and leadership. It may also symbolize cruelty, especially if it has turned on you. The core question is whether the lions in this repetitive dream represent certain others in your son’s life that he’s feeling threatened by, or if they represent another aspect in his life or a trait in himself that he’s trying to run away from.
The fact that this dream began about a month or so ago is a significant clue to its meaning. Have your son think back on what started happening in his life back then. Did something of concern occur at school? For example, is he being bullied by someone he perceives to be a leader of an intimating group? If he cannot identify any external threat like this, ask him what else he may feel threatened by, such as overwhelming demands of school and fearing falling behind (“being bit from behind”). Most likely an event in his daily life triggered this feeling of being threatened, and the threat persists.
Regardless of whether the perceived threat is external or internal, work with your son to draw on the lion’s courage and transform the symbol from a threat to a friend. Have him draw a picture of a lion that represents strength, power and protection, and then encourage him to hang the picture where he can look at it frequently. Once he can tap into his own personal power and with your support face the threat head on, the dreams will become less threatening and likely cease altogether.
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