Dream Interpretation: Dream Bees, Slippers and Shaman

I got an intriguing post from a reader who requested a dream interpretation .

Here is a recap of her dream:

“The main parts of the dream were about three buried bumble bees, and one ruby slipper, buried by a shaman, in order to ’summon’ me? I came to him with utter confusion about finding three bees and a ruby slipper.” To which I respond…

Dear Dream Queen:

I’m happy to regurgitate the impressions I am shown about your dream. However, it is always you who is the interpreter – and only you are able to apply the meaning of your dream to your own life situation.

By translating the dream into how it applies to your life you are able to join two worlds – the mundane with the mystical. By joining these two halves to make a whole, you essentially lift yourself into a higher state of consciousness. With that kind of gravity, you can see why you really owe it to yourself to investigate all angles of meaning to your dreams.

That said:

Slippers or shoes are typically dream symbols that indicate our path in life and they ask these questions of us:

• Is the path I walk congruent with my beliefs?
• How is my spiritual walk?
• How do I feel about the direction my life is taking?

I’ve written an interesting post on shoe symbolism and lore here.

That your slipper is buried may indicate there is neglect within an important aspect within your life-walk, or something that you may wish not to reveal to others. Alternatively, buried slippers may hint to a meditative state – a time of resting from action and contemplating the path you’ve strode thus far.

That there is only one slipper may indicate a sense of either incompleteness or a narrow minded approach to your life’s journey (only moving in one direction with resistance to other options).  One slipper may also indicate taking the first step as we see an aspect of number one in numerology deals with new beginnings.

Rubies – (including ruby colored shoes or ruby slippers) are symbolic of the passion that sparkles brightly within our selves. For many of us, the subconscious mind associates the ruby with life, passion, and action as it’s deep, rich color is linked with such primitive forces as blood and fire.

The dreaming mind’s reference to gems speaks of unlimited potential and our inherent ability to create exquisite beauty by working hard towards our heart’s goal. We gather this analogy from the back-breaking work in mining for gems, and then undertaking the arduous task of forming the gem into its finished faceted glory. This is analogous of the chiseling of the soul…chipping away at the superfluous parts of ourselves to retrieve our innate finery.

Offhandedly, does the Wizard of Oz have something to do with the symbolism of your ruby slipper? Is there some kind of symbolic archetype there that your subconscious is tapping into? Are you looking for a way back home (philosophically speaking)?

Bumble bees in dreams speak of:

• industry,
• action,
• communication, and
• our ability to consciously choose the results we want in our lives

Bees also point to spiritual gifts as we incorporate the treasures of (golden) honey as their industrious byproducts. When we dream of bees it may be an indication that we are ready to communicate our spiritual gifts, or perhaps we should more clearly recognize the treasure the resides within us.

That your bees are buried may indicate you’re holding yourself back, or your voice (communicating your needs) is stifled for whatever reason. Alternatively, buried bees may hint to a hibernation, a time of holding back in self-reflection and I speak more of this later.

Even the number of bees may assist in identifying what kind of concepts the subconscious (dreaming) mind is presenting. Three is symbolic of creativity, and joining together higher aspects to create a unified whole – an end product (whether it be wholeness, art, enlightenment, or accomplishing a goal). I’ve written more on the symbolic meaning of three here. – it might be worth a gander.

Shamans are archetypes of primitive power. These beings can breathe in-time with the pulse of the earth. Likewise they move in-step with the primal rhythm of the Mother (earth, that is). That he is summoning you may indeed be a literal translation – your higher self – or the part of you more in-tune with the Divine may be calling you forth on a new path (harkening back to the symbolic slipper).

This symbolism combined with the earth (in the burying bees & slipper) bring about an intuitive glimmer that speaks of needing to be more rooted in the core of your beliefs. I’m talking about anchoring, rooting, and becoming wholly centered within your own Source of power.

I’m particularly fascinated with the burying aspect of your dream – not only can this be symbolic of holding back, or covering up – it may also indicate a need to ferment, or a time of hopeful germination. Are there aspects of yourself that are still in development (like seeds buried in the ground waiting for the right time to spring forth)? Or, do you have ideas that need to compost a bit before you can develop them?

I hope these ideas give you a bit of a nudge in a direction that might help you apply more personal meanings to your dreams. I know you will be able to read this and weave many tapestries of personal understandings that will weave through your daily life.

I would encourage you to continue to develop your own understanding of the many aspects of your dream life and then lay these meanings on top of your life situation like a template.

By doing this we can see through the transparencies and begin to formulate meaningful insight into the greater context of our lives.

Thanks for posting your dream, and for allowing me to reflect upon it.

Namaste,

A.