A sword, a swamp, and some strange little animals

This was a dream fragment I had last week and although I feel I have a good handle on it, I had a second dream last night that seems related.

In the first one, I was standing in some recently flooded ruins. The water was up to my calves and the ground was swampy because of all the water. In front of me, about ten or fifteen feet away, was a man crouched down in the water, shielding his face and head with his arm. The water was only to his ankles. A second man stood over him aggressively, holding an ancient, unadorned sword, poised to strike. The water was up to this man's thighs.
(this is where it gets strange) I saw the sword and knew that I could control it with my mind, so I "called" to the sword and it appeared in my hand. However, my physical strength was insufficient to control the sword and it fought to break free from my grip. I was in danger of being cut. The aggressive man walked over and took the sword from me, keeping me from harm. I was afraid of him, so I "told" the sword to attack him using the color red as the trigger. The man seemed to know what I did because he handed me a red sweater and gestured that I had to put it on. The implication was that attempts to hurt him, would harm me as well.
As an aside to this, we were being observed by sentient animals several of whom had fallen into the water. I walked over and fished them out of the water and set them on the drier land. One of them was an owl.

That was the first dream, the second was a bit long and rambling except for one part that stood out.
I was walking down the halls of my old elementary school. I passed by the empty classrooms and I could hear the normal sounds of classes in session. I turned down a particular hallway that lead to the Pod and I noticed that the Pod was blocked off and the windows were covered. Nearby, a table with a tray full of tiny live animals. I saw chinchillas, tortoises, kittens, mice, as well as others that I did not identify. One kitten fell out of the tray onto the floor and I picked it up. I couldn't put it back into the tray because it would no longer fit and it had developed a keen interest in the mice and such. I turned around to look for someone in charge and saw two offices with their doors open. Both were vacant, but one had a large, fluffy, long-haired, tomcat sitting on the desk. He meowed at me. I looked back at the table and noticed next to the tray, there was a shallow pen that had cats in it and the kitten I was holding would fit in that pen just fine. I put the kitten in the pen and that was the end of the dream.
~
The reason I felt there was a connection between the two, is pretty abstract. The second dream was influenced (I believe) to having the King of Swords under my pillow. I was trying to get an answer to a question and that is why he was there. The first dream had a man wielding a sword and incidently, it was the exact same kind of sword as shown on the card.

These are just the impressions I get from your dream... I could totally be off base, but I thought I'd give it a go..

Flooded ruins - Did something happen where a plan fell through or a dream/hope was shattered due to circumstances beyond your control? Could this have happened to someone close to you?

Man protecting his face and head - Perhaps there's someone who's done wrong (or you suspect them of doing wrong) against you and/or someone else and they are ashamed of their actions, but also fearful that they won't be forgiven if it's found out that they hurt (whether intentional or accidental) someone else? Perhaps this fear is unfounded... the water was only to his ankles... perhaps the person wronged would be angry, but in time they would be forgiven?

Man with sword - Perhaps this is the King speaking to you from under the pillow... maybe he's trying to tell you that you're in control of the situation (the sword) but perhaps you need to rethink the way you're going about it or ask for assistance with this task/decision. Perhaps you're afraid of making a direct decision... that it might come back to hurt you (red sweater) later on. Perhaps he's telling you that if you ask for help, that while you may not have total control (the sword in your hand), you still have the ability to make a sound decision once you get over your fear of doing so... ?

With the second dream....

You're in an elementary school and there are a bunch of baby animals... one falls and you pick it up but are left wondering what to do next... you seek help, but no one's around to help you... until you see the pen with the other cats and place the one that's fallen with it's friends...

Is there a baby in your life? The school and the baby animals suggests something to do with children... that perhaps a child will be in your care, but the child will get sick or hurt and you won't know what to do. It won't be an emergency, persay, but a situation where you would want to seek out the advice of someone who's more knowledgeable (a doctor, another parent) about that particular situation or ailment, but no one will be available to help. You'll keep looking for a solution and will be able to find one on your own and everything'll be fine.

Again... I could be totally off in left field, but I thought I'd try... I'm learning, after all...

Thank you! Another perspective is really helpful

I was thinking about the water and the depth of the water as relating to the players in the dream. The man on the ground just had his feet wet, so if water symbolizes emotions, for this man reason outweighs emotion. The man with the sword was much deeper in the water so he is more swayed or influenced by his emotions. Therefore, the emotional man is in a dominate position over the reasonable or logical man. I am in water to my calves, so I appear to be more balanced than the two men. I intervened to keep the one man from harming the other.
Some "I wonders" I have... are the two men actually different men or are they two aspects or faces of the same man? Is this man separate from me or an aspect of myself (either or both would make sense)?

Your comment on the flooded ruins strikes a cord with me. I was thinking that there hasn't been anything recent like that, but there was an event about a year and a half ago. Then it dawned on me that these were old ruins in the dream, so it wouldn't represent a recent event but more likely an old happening. The water in the dream could indicate that the emotions are still fresh (true). The color red is significant and I can see how that ties in with that past event.


I am single, no children... but I do have pets who are my "babies". I wanted to place the kitten from the dream somewhere it wouldn't do any harm. Once it was outside of the tray, it knew which animals were prey and which weren't, and I was afraid it would harm the remaining occupants of the tray. The pen had other cats in it... the kitten belonged there.
So we had a confined space where there was peace due to ignorance (not sure if that's the word I want). Once outside of that protected/partitioned space the kitten experienced more of the world and could not go back to its previous existence. It had to go elsewhere where it was still sheltered but with others like itself. The Pod was where the kindergarten classes were taught simultaneously...the classes were partitioned off from one another but it was essentially one, big, carpeted room. I just now made the connection between the tray, the blocked off Pod, and my life.
I am no longer the innocent I once was and while I still need shelter, I must seek it with others of my kind... whatever my kind is.

I just thought of something else. If the kitten represented me, then I wonder if the tomcat was the answer to my question (the reason why the King of Swords was under my pillow)?
Maybe that office was the cat's office

Deleted, not acceptable.

Um, sorry. That doesn't make any sense at all, in relation to me. Anyway, the King was not under the pillow for the first dream, only the second. I kept him under the pillow for another try and the dream I had clarified the issue I had questions about. So all in all, it was a fruitful exercise.

Deleted, not acceptable.

I do appreciate your help, it's just that that the superior being and biting off more than I can chew just don't apply to my waking life. Now perhaps, I may have a fear of taking on too much which keeps me from trying.

Deleted, not acceptable.

Oh geez, that's not what I meant at all. I'm just not communicating well lately.

What I meant to say, that your insight helped provide, was that the dream may be pointing out my fear of taking necessary action because of possible repurcussions. I do have a very retiring and sometimes fearful disposition, although I was not always that way.

I'm sorry I offended you. I'll just quit posting since all I do is upset people.