What is this place?

Chu'si

I need some help in figuring out what this place I keep going to in my dream signifies. I couldn't find anything related to it in the dream dictionary Milfoil posted and I'm no dream expert, so please don't bash my head in for sounding lame!

Several times in the past week, I keep starting out in this little boutique or shop that feels more like a cavernous tunnel. Not in a bad or ominous way, but I mean like this: It has no windows, so the only light going in is from the open doorway at the front end, and it's always sunny out in that door, so there's plenty of light and shadows. If you ever went inside a small place or your house with dark walls and the only light is coming from the window or door, you should picture it easily. The store is nothing more than a trinket shop, full of jewelry and coins and little "useless" items that I might enjoy looking at in the mall or in a vendor. Most of it I can't even see clearly, but what really makes this look like a cave is how the counters stick out and up and the strings of necklaces (or whatever they are, all I can really tell are that they're long and shiny silver strings) hang down just like those stalagmites and stalactites in natural caves. And there's really no color inside, just silver and grey of various shades.

Each time this was in my dream, I always started off in this place, then wandered through it and out either doorway to different areas and settings, though the whole entire "world" (through the sunny front end) was set up like a nice colorful little Italian villa street, lined with fancy little shops and restaurants (I only went into a couple of those though). I live in America, so I don't have this sort of thing here, and definitely have not been to Italy, but that's what pops into my mind when I picture the setting.

As for the back end, it's usually a dark courtyard or it splits off into a sort of alleyway, then I somehow end up (how I get there is all a blur) in this dusty, cramped, beige shop that has tarot cards in a box on the back room's shelf. Seems to be the only reason I'm at that place, for those decks. And it was night, or sunset, each time I went out the back end of the cave to this beige little shop.

That's about it, I don't really DO anything in those dreams, nor do any events happen as well. I'm just walking around looking at places each time I go there, and I really don't know what it all means.

My only guess for the cave shop is that, since I start off the dreams there, it's a sort of mental "base" for me, and the tunnel-like structure comes from my strong connections to the fox and snake, both of which use burrows as their home or nesting area. Outside of that, I'm lost. Perhaps I just drank too much coke before bedtime those nights.

Any and all ideas and thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

~Chu'si
 

re-pete-a

Have you been through the front door?like outside? you say you're already in there when the dream starts...........we'll give our first impression,,,,,,decision time,,,,you can stay in the dark,or you can walk through the door,the light is calling,but you need to decide on direction.........thats our view.........some questions for you,,,,,,,,,,what were you feeling when inside the shop,what were you feeling when you saw the front door and it's light,what were you feeling when you walked towards the back section,what were the feelings when viewing the trinkets.......put yourself back into that shop,then, like tarot, feel the first impressions,no matter what they are,jot them down to examine later, when all the thinking work stops,It'll come to you,while your relaxing..
to us feels like the way ahead,the tunnel that one moves through to get to the astral plane/higher plain.........would be good huh!!
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Motorcycle tires
 

Milfoil

You don't sound lame at all, don't worry.

Quite often, buildings in our dreams can represent ourselves, aspects of ourselves and how we both appear to the world or how we view ourselves.

For example, the cave-like shop you keep seeing, could this represent how you feel about yourself? Deep, interesting with lots of resources. The front/your facade to the world is in the midst of a sunny street, bright, vibrant and central to whats going on. Does that sound like you? A shop suggests looking for something you need - does that sound right for your life right now, are you looking for answers?

If thats the case then every aspect of the shop will be a metaphor for an aspect of you, either personality, trait, emotion or skill etc. There will be dark bits, scary bits, lush areas, cold and hot spots . . . you see where I'm going?

Another possibility is that this is somehow literal in some ways, there IS a shop like that which you will recognise when you see it and which will have some meaning to you. Only time will tell on that and to be honest, such dreams are WAY rarer than the symbol/metaphor type.

Have a think, see what you feel.
 

mingbop

If I was lucky enough to have such a nice dream place, I would go inside, make tea, settle down, and wait to see who came into the shop. Bear in mind it might take more than one night. Make a routine of going there every night and sitting a while.. see what transpires !
 

celticnoodle

I believe Milfoil has really struck onto something here regarding your dream. After reading through your dream, myself, I was thinking that the cave and all the areas you were strolling down was the path you are either heading down or will be soon. A path to help you begin to discover what is important for you.

I found it interesting that at the end of this path for you was the tarot card shop. Maybe this dream shows where you've been along the path so far, and you are now just coming to the point in your life where tarot will begin to take a stronger part in your life. Are you just now beginning to read tarot? Maybe this is why your dreams ended there. Just my thoughts.
 

re-pete-a

just another take after re sifting ..........you started off with tarot,that was the start of your forward move, you've seen and tried all the baubles and beads,there's more to come if you stand back in the open light..........the answers are in you,YOUR FEELINGS.
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HERBALAIRE REVIEW
 

Chu'si

Milfoil said:
If thats the case then every aspect of the shop will be a metaphor for an aspect of you, either personality, trait, emotion or skill etc. There will be dark bits, scary bits, lush areas, cold and hot spots . . . you see where I'm going?

That's a really good point, and it does make a lot of sense, though the way you phrased it did make me laugh at first (scary bits huh? I'm sure my legs would fit into that category! No bikinis for me).
Certain traits you mentioned, with it being "deep and interesting..full of resources" describes more of what I would WANT to be, the kind of person I admire and would aspire to be myself.

I don't think it's literal though, not structurally. I have been inside dark trinket shops before, but none of them were ever long and grey like this.

celticnoodle said:
After reading through your dream, myself, I was thinking that the cave and all the areas you were strolling down was the path you are either heading down or will be soon. A path to help you begin to discover what is important for you.

Then that makes the traits milfoil described all the more real. This cave leads me to what I want me to be, what traits I want to gain as I learn and grow.

celticnoodle said:
I found it interesting that at the end of this path for you was the tarot card shop

Well, it wasn't this streamlined path to this shop from the cave. Like I said, how I got there was a blur, but it was clustered among other dark shops/houses on a tiny little street like the front end of the sunny door. Actually, now that I think about it, it was a much more run-down type of area, like a poorer, worn out area of the nice italian villa on the sunny side.

re-pete-a said:
Have you been through the front door?like outside? you say you're already in there when the dream starts

Yes, but only in the first dream. I never went out there any other time, and thats when I saw the other shops and restaurant. I don't remember much from that time, since it was longer ago, but I do remember just window-shopping, and eating at the restaurant by myself. It did feel like I was waiting for someone, like a business interview or meeting over coffee type of waiting, but no one came. I don't think I cared. I also remember looking at an art gallery store that was closing and most of the paintings were gone. The rest of the place was dark, black cloth everywhere, and the leftover paintings were dusty. An older woman was in the backroom shooing me out and then ignoring me. But this was a totally different area than the cave shop, out in the sunny side world.

re-pete-a said:
what were you feeling when inside the shop,what were you feeling when you saw the front door and it's light,what were you feeling when you walked towards the back section,what were the feelings when viewing the trinkets

I felt mildly curious, just browsing through and gazing at the things. I don't think I felt anything else, even when I saw the front door. It was all mostly curiousity, and a bit of fun to explore this place. Of course, the next time I found myself there I felt at home because I recognized it, but also surprised that I was in the exact same place again. It's like I was both in the scene and outside, thinking about it all like one would read a book and be into the story, and yet also think outside the story about what the characters are doing.

As for those tarot cards, they didn't feel like they were a huge part of the dreams, at least on the surface. They were usually just sitting somewhere, like in the cave shop's basket on one of the counters, or just happened to be in the box I found in the beige shop on the dark side.
 

Chu'si

re-pete-a said:
just another take after re sifting ..........you started off with tarot,that was the start of your forward move, you've seen and tried all the baubles and beads,there's more to come if you stand back in the open light..........the answers are in you,YOUR FEELINGS.

No, I don't think I wrote that in there. If I did, I apologize. I just found tarot cards a couple of times in the dreams, but they were not the focus of the first few dreams (in the last one though, funny enough, I headed straight towards the dark end, which turned into that alleyway, because I wanted to see those cards again. However, my mom was there, and I couldn't continue on because she kept following me, and wouldn't allow me out of her sight, like in real life. Why did I not go that time? Because I knew there were also erotic decks there, and she would NOT approve!)
 

re-pete-a

lets explain the previous highlighted quote,,,,,your doing tarot?,,,or,,, would like to do tarot?.....that was /could be,,, the move through the shop,through the trinkets/stuff......but your walking towards the back,the darker,,,,you feel disapproval from others,,,,,,
rather than our dream it's yours,your starting to find the keys to the riddle by feeling the picture ,just like tarot,,,,,,,,,,,,,your feeling that your supposed to meet someone could be true,,,,,,,,,,,,our feelings are that these were some of your old lives,those old shops ,,,,,,,,,,suggestion,,take a browse outside,hold the feeling of curiosity,(no judgements)and browse the shops,FEEL what ever impressions you do ,,,,,jot them down later on ,,,,the answers will surface.
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Wilhelm Maybach
 

Milfoil

Its funny but I was just reading something yesterday about our dreams being very much about what we want and not so much what we are so the idea that the cave/shop is who you want to be makes sense.

The dark end of the cave would be dark, in that case, it is the unknown, the searching deep within oneself, the hidden things we have yet to find out about ourselves.

Keep walking!

:)

Sounds like you are on a path of self discovery. Thats wonderful.