Two candles

I had this dream today that I thought I'd share. Appears as if I am sitting in my living room and my sister is there. There are two candles on the table, they are dark in color-almost black. They are strange looking candles, and the wick of the candle is dark, hardly visible. It's as if the candle is made out of some other material than wax. I light one of them but it doesn't hold flame for long if at all, the flame keeps going out. I try several times but the same thing happens. I seem kind of frustrated by this, and the vision of lighting the candle but the candle not holding flame is pretty vivid. Suddenly the two candles change shape turning into what looked like in texture and form, a part of a root of a tree. They were rounded and curved. The black color had faded in parts, to a lighter section as well. The lighter whitish color being more in the center.

I looked up what candle symbolizes in the book "Earthway" by Mary Summer Rain. In the book, the author mentions that a candle represents one's manner of spiritual sharing and the state of the flame, it's indicator. Not too reassuring, but then it also didn't seem like a typical candle. Been thinking about what the significance might be of two candle like object's transforming into a part of a tree root, and the coloring.

About the book, "Earthway," still haven't found out whose book it is or who had it originally. From what I remember, I found it one day years ago in my parents bookshelf. May check with them again. Anyway, the bit of the book I've read I've found interesting. Appreciate any insight into the dream.

Cleo said:

Appreciate any insight into the dream.

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Hi Cleo,
Here are some thoughts based on the general interpretation of the symbols in the dream image.

If we take a house as being representative of the psyche, and the living room as the place in the house where we interact with others, then the living room can indicate the public face that we show others.

Candles can have multiple meanings but one of them is related to mourning. The color black usually represents the dark, unconscious part of the psyche. Black is also the color of death and mourning. So black candles could be related to the theme of mourning and the unconscious. The presence of two candles of a same type - a dual motif - can indicate emergence of unconscious content.

The effort to light the candle could indicate the desire to throw light of consciousness on the unconscious content that is coming up related to the theme of mourning. Failure to do so results in frustration which could be related to the anguish at not finding a satisfactory meaning to the recent experiences concerning death and mourning.

The transformation of the candles into roots of a tree almost seems like a response to the frustration of not being able to light the candles. Roots of a tree are underground and not visible - yet they provide support and sustenance to the visible parts of the tree. The candle could not be lit but the transformed root had a lighter shade in the center. So what possibly symbolized death and mourning got transformed into a source of support and sustenance. Overall, that seems a positive image with the possibility of conscious realization of the meaning of recent events.

There was the presence of a sister in the dream. Looking into what this figure represents for you and whether the presence was emotionally comforting, neutral or uncomfortable in the dream could give some additional clues.

Such interpretations are never complete or accurate - so take fwiw.

Hi obyvatel, appreciate your insight into the dream. Helps to see the different symbols of the dream broken down into the different possible meanings. When I originally was looking up the symbols, I find it interesting that I didn't think to look up the symbol of the house or living room, where everything is taking place. Instead, I focused on the candle and the root of the tree. I do see how in my grief, a lot has surfaced and I can be impatient with wanting to make sense out of it all. There's a kind of frantic, panicked quality to it at times. I notice this quality in some of the posts I've written since on the forum. Seems as though writing about it has been helpful, especially here on the forum. The word, patience, comes to mind sometimes. Causes me to reflect on where I'm at but can be challenging to follow up on.