Bleach Cleaning and Cthulhu Weddings

The dream:

Phil and I were in his work pick-up, driving to my mom’s house. She was selling the house and we had to help clean it. We drove through the old neighborhood and things looked kind of run down. We pulled in and parked. My brother’s big black pickup was on our right and my cousin, Andrew was standing in the gravel to our left with a rake.

Mom came out of the house before Phil shut the truck off. She met him at the driver’s door as he turned the key. She said that something was making noise on my side and to turn it back on so Johnny could hear it. She went to Johnny’s truck, told him to get out and listen. Phil started the truck again, Johnny listened, said it was nothing. We all got out and went in the house.

We started in the kitchen. Mom wanted us to bleach everything from floor to ceiling. I forgot my gloves so Phil went to get more. My mom was standing on the counter scrubbing the walls and the ceiling near the stove. I looked out the back door. Phil came in the front door with more latex gloves. I put them on, grabbed a bucket, filled it with hot water, soap and bleach and started scrubbing the stove.

Then the dream switched and I started talking about someone’s wedding. I asked my mom if she (whoever the bride was) had bought the invitations yet. Mom said she’d heard that they were already bought. So I suggested buying a separate set, like only  150 or so for the bride’s close friends instead of the 1500 for the big wedding, and surprising her with a small, private Cthulhu (kah-thoo-loo) wedding.

I contacted Kevin Lucia to help me track down some Cthulhu wedding invitations then I started making a list of the people we’d invite to the private Cthulhu ceremony. I also started planning the decorating and such centered around the Cthulhu mythos and knew the bride would absolutely LOVE it. She was a horror writer, too, and though she had the big elaborate wedding already planned, we knew she’d appreciate this gift from us, this small, intimate wedding with an outlandish theme.

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That’s it. That’s the whole dream.

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Kevin Lucia and I have known each other about 5ish years. He was published in the first issue of The Midnight Diner, he helped edit the second issue with me, and was also published in the 3rd Diner. He and I both write horror from a Christian point of view and are often misfits of sorts in the horror community as well as the Christian writing community. Kevin does write a lot of Cthulhu type stories.

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My Interpretation

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It seems that this dream is again melding the past and the present. Phil is with me and from a history of interpreting my dreams, I know that he represents security and safety in the dream.  The fact that he is driving his work pick up and my brother is driving his big blak pick up indicate to me that I’m surrounded by safety. Pick up trucks indicate work and since Phil was very specifically in his work truck, it’s a double reminder that while I’m safe, I’m in for some hard work.  Mom selling the house means that I’m going through changes. The childhood house would mean that the issues I’m dealing with issues of the past and the elements of the present means they’re here and they’re real and I have to deal with it.  My cousin, Andrew, is the son of my mom’s brother. Uncle Ed committed suicide.  Andrew also went to college and studied psychology.   This says to me that Andrew has dual representation, he represents my past in that I was very close to him, almost as if he was my own son, and when his dad died, we seemed to have drifted apart. I think in this dream, he signifies coming out of horrible tragedy into healing and the rake again, equals work. Gravel signifies practicality. This first part of the dream seems to be saying that there is work to be done, hard work, laborious work, maybe even tedious work. Raking and cleaning are labor intensive, and the results are quite literal and obvious when the work is finished.  Phil and my brother and their presence along with their pretty trucks (that also work) mean that this past that I’m dealing with, I’m doing so in safety.  Also that my mom would ask Johnny to listen for a problem on Phil’s truck says to me that my brother is aware of the possible problem and acknowledges that “it’s ok.”

These next things all seem to point to the same things. I’m in the midst of spiritual healing. I’m cleaning and bleaching and clearing out the past. The dream ending with a horrific element that is also somehow fun, I think points to my writing.  My creativity flourishes when I write psychological horror. I’ve thought at time that maybe I shouldn’t be writing horror, but I think this indicates that I can work through my past, using elements of it, draw from the emotion and the pain, while still creating something new, something entertaining.  Which is what the wedding and the invitations suggest, that I incorporate all of these characteristics. Since the overall emotion of the dream was jovial, this indicates that my subconscious is ok with all the crap I’m delving into lately.

From Dream Dictionary: To see a kitchen in your dream, signifies your need for warmth, spiritual nourishment and healing. It may also be symbolic of the nurturing mother or the way that you are for your loved ones. Alternatively the kitchen, represents a transformation.

To dream that you are cleaning, implies that you are removing some negativity in your life and overcoming major obstacles. You are moving ahead toward a new stage in your life. In particular, if you are cleaning your house, then it means that you need to clear out your thoughts and get rid of your old ways and habits. You are seeking self-improvement.

To dream that you are cleaning an object, represents an aspect of yourself that is not working or functioning as well as it should.

To see a stove in your dream, symbolizes a developing awareness. If the stove is broken and does not light, then it refers to an emotional issue you are facing in some waking relationship.

To see or use bleach in your dream, signifies a time of healing and cleansing. You are ready to mend past hurts and resolve any unexpressed emotions.

To see or wear gloves in your dream, represent the way you handle things. You are getting a handle on a problem. Alternatively, wearing gloves may mean that your creative abilities are still latent. You need to acknowledge and express that creative side. To dream that you are wearing work gloves, represent a difficult situation that may get your hands dirty.

To see a wedding in your dream, symbolizes a new beginning or transition in your current life. A wedding reflects your issues about commitment and independence.

To see or respond to an invitation in your dream, suggests that you need to join or incorporate certain characteristics into yourself.