Heart Imagery in Dreams: Wildfires of Anxiety & Soothing Water

How does this wildfire come to rage out of control? One stray spark… a forest of parched trees… a wild wind?

If I see this in a dream, I might wonder, how can I douse the wildfire within me, that out-of-control spreading, that flaring of panic and anxiety?

Water, would be my first instinct. Then, when I can think about the long-term, perhaps I’ll ask how I can have better nourished, more moist and supple trees.

Calming the wind might help. Or, creating shelter.

And if I don’t want to extinguish or escape the fire? Maybe I can contain that fire within certain boundaries, so that it can fulfill its creative work: generating ashes, and Earth.

A wildfire is one thing, but what if I dream about a campfire? A fire that gives light and warmth, that draws us together and builds connection, instead of a fire that destroys.

Perhaps I dream of the horse. There is my Heart, too. That wild, free, gorgeous galloping, together, over any terrain.

In Chinese Medicine, the Fire element and the Summer season are understood to resonate with the Heart. So do the color red, the horse, and the flourishing of fruits and flowers. The directional movement of Fire is up and out, a spreading or scattering. These images, when they arise in a dream, can invite us to tend to the Fire element within us, to our Heart networks.

The Heart is a center for connection, spirit, joy, laughter, and gratitude. It can be a place of the warmth, light, and togetherness of a campfire, or a place of the wild, escalating panic and anxiety of a wildfire. Just as Fire must be continually tended to keep it burning AND must be kept in balance so as not to spread destructively, so it is with our Hearts.

Water balances fire. It is the other end of the axis. It is something we can access in our bodies through self-acupressure on the Water channels. This is one reason that a point on the bottom of the foot called Kidney 1 (Yong Quan / Bubbling Spring) is so wonderfully soothing.

What do you notice when you look at these Heart images? Where do you feel them in your body? Leave a comment below!

Want to explore Five Element symbolism in dreams further? I’ve put together a free pdf for you to help you open and deepen your relationship to your dreams and the wisdom of Chinese Medicine. Click here to get it!

Originally published on healgrowthriveflow.com.