"The glacier knocks in the cupboard, The desert sighs in the bed, And the crack in the teacup opens A lane to the land of the dead."

-W.H. Auden

Thursday, January 30, 2020

The Twelvetide Fortune-Telling Method, Part 2

As promised, here are the dreams I had on each night of the twelve days of Christmas. According to legend, each dream allegedly predicts events in each of the coming months of the year.

This time, I've kept them (relatively) short and (hopefully) sweet, and omitted my attempts at discerning what they might mean, as I'm clearly not good at that, if last year was any indication.

...

Dream, December 26 -
"Last night, I dreamed that an enormous electrical pylon crashed to the ground and started a fire. I could see sparks and flames emerging from the wires."

A few days after this dream (Dec. 28) I happened to drive a few miles out into the country and came upon this:
There were no sparks or flames, but the broken electrical pylon bore a startling resemblance to the scene in the dream. Much like last year, the first dream prediction came (partly) true before the month was even over.

Dream, December 27th - prediction for February
"Last night I dreamed first of envelopes that were addressed with garbled letters and numbers. A sorceress demonstrated a magic spell to sort them out. I was awakened by the sound of a book falling off the shelf - it was The Dream of Heroes by Adolpho Bioy Casares.

After falling asleep again, I dreamed that the word Socialism had been outlawed in the UK.  The country was full of uniformed officers carrying sensitive recording equipment to catch anyone uttering the word."

Dream, December 28th  - prediction for March
"Last night I dreamed of a campfire in the dark woods. In the shadows at the edge, half-seen faces flickered in and out of sight."

Dream, December 29th - prediction for April
"Last night I dreamed I was boarding a plane. The destination was unclear."

Dream, December 30th - prediction for May
"I was wandering around lost in a conference of some type. My husband was off doing his own thing. I tried to befriend a gingery-haired man, but he kept alternating between friendly and cold, so I finally gave up and moved on.

I was wondering what to do next when a white-haired man with blue eyes approached me. He said "I've been looking everywhere for you" and handed me a paper with instructions. I wasn't sure hat the instructions were, but I was glad to have them. I asked the man his name. He smiled kindly and said "Dublin."

I woke briefly, and after having committed this rather strange dream to memory, fell asleep again. This time, I dreamed of a dark and snowy forest - it seemed to be in Russia. I was being told the story of a man who lived there. He had once been a humble goose-herder (though a very excellent one) but had since risen to great fame.

He told me the secret of his success: 'It's not what you are, but what people imagine you to be.'"

A couple of points about these dreams - first, I've come to think that the name Dublin was a reference to "double" rather than the city, and he perhaps represented my animus - a male version of myself.

Second, when looking for information about goose herders, this previously unknown-to-me fairytale called "Death and The Goose Hearder" turned up, which is quite intriguing on its own.

Dream, December 31 - prediction for June
"Last night I dreamed that I was standing on the road at the edge of town, watching a solar eclipse with drnelk."

Specifically, this was the road leading toward Austin, if that has any particular relevance. Dr. Nelk is a twitter pal of mine, and after telling him about this, he did show me photos he'd taken of the solar eclipse last year.

Dream, January 1st - prediction for July
Last night I dreamed of my cousin Nancy. We met at an unknown house on a lonely road. The dream was convoluted though, with no real storyline."

Dream, January 2nd - prediction for August
"Last night I dreamed that I invented a tofu and barley grass powder concoction. It tasted so wonderful that I took to the streets, trying to convince passersby to try it."

Again, if it means anyhing, the streets I took to were again on the side of town leading toward Austin, at the big shopping center there.

Dream, January 3rd - prediction for September
"Last night I dreamed...nothing."

Well, there's always got to be one, eh?

Dream, January 4th - prediction for October
"Last night I dreamed that my spouse and I had split up (amicably) and were moving out of the house. As I was preparing to leave for the last time, I went back in to get my good camera. Suddenly the house was full of rooms I'd forgotten were there."

Note - this is the first time I've ever dreamed of an amicable split with my spouse, though I do sometimes dream of a more acrimonious one.The house we were leaving was not one I'd ever seen before, except in other dream permutations.

Dream, January 5th , prediction for November
"Last night I dreamed the lyrics to She's So Cold by the Rolling Stones. Clearly my inner Mick Jagger is a judgmental prick."

I felt this was taking a poke at my age, or my looks, or both, which I suppose is better than the third option, death.

Dream, January 6th  - prediction for December
"All night I dreamed of wandering through endless shops and supermarkets, passing between automatic doors."

Once mre, this seemed to take place on the northeast side of town, so if there has been any common motif running through these dreams, that would be it.

...


There you have it, Now we wait another year (provided the world lasts that long) and see how everything has worked out.

In the meantime, happy dreaming!

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