Red Man in My Dream

The world has given way to chaos and there's a notion that people are running, seeking refuge of some sort from something I can't see or understand. I'm with a family and we're running on the rooftops of Mexico City finding shelter every now and then in an attic. There's a general fear among everyone though. Something moves and everyone looks at once with raised eyebrows and slightly opened mouths. Warm wind blows hard and we huddle close with the little ones in the middle. Sirens are always sounding and sometimes shots are fired. People run past us and only a few notice. The winds stop and the sirens die after a some time. images of turned over cars and trashcans on fire come across vaguely.

I could see a single man in the distance running towards my direction. He picked up pace and slowed down as his energy drained. When he got close enough, we all hid tightly and breathed incredibly slowler so as not to give our selves away. He walked past us and for the first time, only I was able to see him. This man is Red. Dark red and I can't remember what color his hair was. He held a pipe and wandered in our area for a few minutes until we heard the sirens start up again. The winds picked up slightly and he tried desperately to find shelter. I turned my head back in so I wouldn't be spotted.

We tried to listen but the winds and the sirens overwhelmed the sound of his footsteps. I could feel the thumps of his step getting closer and closer. I clenched my fists, closed my eyes and lifted my head. I couldn't control my breathing pace and I could smell the little beads of sweat that gathered above my lips. Silence broke when a pipe was poked into our hiding area. Screaming kids broke the silence and the red man started swinging with all his might against the tin roof we were under. he took one final heavy hit against the tin and tore a hole in it, rendering his pipe stuck. I pulled it out from underneath and met the red man outside. He picked up a slender peice of wood and could barely hold it in his shaky hands. I couldn't believe I was about to kill a red man. I wasn't scared but I felt sorrow. Not mine; his. I felt the helpless gaze in his eyes fall on me and plead for understanding. It paralyzed me. It paralyzed him too. We stood with our weapons in our hands about to end our selves for a long minute in silence. Only sirens echoed in the background. I felt I was part of the the red man or maybe he was part of me.

An old man emerged from our hiding place with a gun pointed at the red man. I didn't realize this until the red mans eyes suddenly jerked to something behind me. I looked back and jumped between the gun and the red man and spoke something for the first time. I can't remember what I said but it wasn't important. His eyes changed again. This time I saw everything inside him fall. I saw him want to die and I saw him live for the first time.

http://www.mythsdreamssymbols.com/dsdemons.html


Demons/Devil


Devil

Basic Meaning - A fear of those repressed contents of the unconscious that are, when acknowledged the very forces that could bestow a harmonoius and balanced life.

(1) The Satan of Jewish - Christian - Islamic tradition was originally a horned fertility god, a personification of the fertilizing power of Nature {the tradition of God is separate fron Nature}. In pschological terms, a fertilizing agent is something within the psyche that can inaugurate a new phase in the individual's development.

(2) The evil connotations of the devil figure may reflect the dreamer's fear of those repressed contents of the unconscious that are, in fact, the very forces that - if mobilized and utilized - could bestow a new and fuller life. What we repress is invaribly something that had great value for us but on some occasion in the past gave rise to guilt-feelings or a fear of punishment. It is our fears that invest the unconscious with the fearsome characteristics of a dark underworld inhabited by evil monsters. In reality, the unconscious contains all the energy and wisdom we need for healing and wholeness.
It might be said that our fundamental human task is the conversion of the devil within ourselves, that is, converting negatively charged {dissident, destructive} psychic forces into positively charged {life-enhancing and unifying} powers. But you won't convert the devil with brute force, only with love. The negatively charged psychic forces are the ones you neglect and despise or fear. They become positively charged when you acknowledge them and integrate them into your conscious life.
If we do not recognize the 'devil' within ourselves, we shall project him onto others and thereby give more scope for hatred and destruction {the real devil!} in the world.

{3} In certain contexts - if, for example, he has horns or is sexually involved with naked women - the devil may be a sexual symbol. If sexuality is repressed in such a guise in a woman's dream, it is possibly because she has a fear of sexual relations. In a man's dream the indication might be that he has a guilt-ridden attitude towards his own sexuality {which Freud might trace back to anxiety arising out of the normal male infant's erotic feelings for his mother}.

Demons

Demons in dreams probably represent parts of your unconscious mind that have been repressed and neglected and are now threatening to disrupt or mutilate the psyche. They should be approached lovingly, given attention and integrated into your conscious life. This will bring about their 'conversion': They will cease to threaten and will contribute their vital energies to the enhancement of the self.
Self-knowledge - knowing what we are carrying around with us in our unconscious - is the only sure defence against what in ancient times was called demonic possession, which in psychological terms means the conscious ego being taken over by unconscious forces {obsessive fear or anger, or whatever}.

Reference: Eric Ackroyd