A Woman With Male Genitals

image courtesy of karmat.org

This week, we’re looking at a dream which suggests that the dreamer—in her dream—is a hermaphrodite. Yet, as with all dreams, it is important to separate the dream symbolism from daily life and the expectations we have of it. Dreams try hard to attract the dreamer’s attention, and they often do so via odd and upsetting imagery. Fortunately, this dreamer has worked a lot with dreams, and she was not taken aback by her dream’s unsettling content.

A woman with male genitals

I was at a party of some kind. I didn’t get the impression that it was all fun and games. There was certainly a social element, but I also had the feeling that it was also work-related. The first person I saw was a teacher from my past whom I greatly admired. I greeted her, but she seemed a bit preoccupied and turned away from me. Then I saw a man whom I have always considered a kind of spiritual mentor. He said hello, but he, too, seemed busy and did not want to linger and chat. Next, I looked across the room and saw my stepson. He was being friendly and congenial with those he was with, but what I noticed most was that I could see his testicles, and they were enormous. The next person I saw was my husband. He, too, had unusually large testicles, but not as big as his son’s. Finally, I looked straight down and was surprised to see that I had a penis. That’s when I woke up.

Masculine and feminine energy

This would be a good time to review the roles that masculine and feminine energy play in our lives, especially in our dreams.

The feminine within us—whether we are male of female—is the great visionary. It is the intuitive force within us that dreams the dream of how we are to live and what we are to do. Feminine comes up with the “blueprint” of the way we should behave or the goal that we should accomplish next in life. This can be something as simple as what we will be having for supper, or it can be profoundly important, like deciding the principles by which we will live our lives from now on. When the blueprint is complete, feminine’s job is done. It simply hands this blueprint to masculine with instructions to bring the plan into being.

Masculine’s job—again, whether we are male of female—is to receive the blueprint and build whatever is on it. Masculine is the great manifestor within us. He take’s feminine’s plan and does all the work necessary to make certain that the plan is carried out correctly. From time to time, feminine will “peek over masculine’s shoulder” and offer suggestions or engage in a bit of prodding, but masculine is the one whose responsibility it is to bring the whole plan to life.

With that understanding, it is worth taking another look at this dream, even before we formally interpret it. The dream starts with a feminine figure, then goes to masculine, which gets progressively closer and more obviously male, until the male-ness actually manifests on the dreamer, herself.

More on Wednesday.