A woman had a dream about a beautiful, red antique chair with gold trim. She thought of it as a throne and felt like royalty when she sat in it.
Self-doubt plagued the woman who had this dream. She was working very hard on advancing her career, which required a big leap of faith, both in terms of her belief in herself and in terms of taking necessary concrete steps toward her goal. But imposter syndrome gnawed at her, filling her with anxiety.
A quiet introvert, she had to practice public speaking and become more engaged with her community, both of which scared her. But this dream brought encouragement and insight.
During dream work, the woman referred to the chair as a “kingly” chair. When we unpacked the association with royalty, she realized that the chair represented her sense of worthiness and power. It was a manifestation of what Jungians refer to as animus energy.
Traditionally, animus energy is understood as masculine, but it doesn’t really have a gender. Rather, it’s the archetypal energy of boldness, directness, goal-orientation, decisiveness, confidence, and positive action.
So, when the woman had this dream, it was like her inner self was inviting her to sit in that throne and claim it for her own. The chair said, "Be bold! Own it! Go after your dreams!" She needed to recognize that she was worth the inner and outer riches for which she longed. And the chair gave her a symbol to access that multifaceted wealth.
"I'm a king!" she exclaimed.
This very affirming dream helped the dreamer not only take the next big step in her professional life, but also to become more whole. Where low self-esteem once reigned, now she understood that she'd been royal all along.