I talk to an American woman in front of a 17th century Italian palazzo. It’s all shuttered up like no one lives there. She tells me she wanted to be an artist but her father wouldn’t let her so she collects. She started with a Monet drawing of a fig.
The house seems poor but inside it’s magnificent. I’m surprised it’s so bright. There are big modern windows. I wonder if they open? There’s a gallery full of classical sculpture. Her own room glows with warm light and lots of red drapery.
I ask to see the Monet’s. She’s delighted. On the way upstairs we pass a snowy courtyard with sculpture in it.
Background: I am an artist who usually works part-time to support my art. I’ve worked full-time for one year now to decide if life would be satisfying without art. I just decided to go back to art.
Anxiety: How to make the boat float? Is it an ego trip or a calling? I dream about art often. I’m also single and have difficulty meeting men, even though I am attractive. I am very shy with men.
—Nicole, Age 41, Single, USA
Hi Nicole—
Houses in dreams represent our selves. This house, accordingly, represents your artistic desires that for the past year you have had to “shutter up” and leave behind: “No one lives there.” The woman whom you meet in the dream also symbolizes yourself. Like her, you are an artist, but your father (an authority figure in dreams, who represents your perception of the “right thing to do”) won’t let you be one, so you “collect” instead.
Your profession as a collector most likely holds a double meaning. You inform us that you gave up being an artist for a year so you could collect money (listen to your father, pay attention to your financial responsibilities, the “right thing to do”), but you also were wondering if being an appreciator of art (you will collect its value emotionally from a distance), rather than a creator, would be satisfying emotionally.
The poor condition of the house represents your current financial concerns, but once you are inside, you find that the interior of this building (your inner wealth) is magnificent. What’s the meaning? The dream shows that you still are full of creativity, and that you value your artistic inspiration highly. Your question about the windows (do they open?) represents concerns about self-expression. Can you open this wealth that you feel inside to the exterior world? The brightness in the dream is another indicator of the value you place upon your inner artistic ability. Brightness in dreams is associated with emotional and spiritual clarity, and vision for the future. It’s “easy to see.”
When you visit this woman’s bedroom (symbolism of privacy and sensuality in dreams) you observe that it glows with warm light (spiritual warmth) and red drapes. Red in dreams is a symbol of passion. Despite your difficulty revealing your passionate self to members of the opposite sex, this dreams shows a sensual fire that burns inside. By contrast, the snowy courtyard represents the “emotional winter” of the past year. The fig drawing by Monet holds allusions to innocence, the Garden of Eden, and sexuality. You are ready to re-explore this passionate side of your nature and personality.
What’s the meaning? This dream is a calling! Inside this wonderful house of yours there are many treasures, artistic and sensual—that await being opened and explored. Your dream is strong encouragement for you to move forward with your recent decision to re-explore and develop your art—to find a way to integrate it with your lifestyle and financial responsibilities. Based upon your dream, I do not believe that you will be happy in your life without a firm commitment and embrace of the arts. It’s time to re-open the windows on this emotional richness inside you.
