I was dreaming about meeting gods and realized something...

I was dreaming one night, and while having this dream, I saw and heard several deities. I met and talked with each of them as if they had been family. This was when I realized they were. They, in a sense, that they came from my subconscious self and were trying to show me important things about the events in my life in my current situation.

I talked with one with horns, which I mentioned sparsely in one of my other posts. He had no definitive name. Just an aura about him screamed nature, growth - in body, mind, and spirit - and masculinity. That enlightenment could be illuminating and would help me grow as a humble human being.

I saw a woman next. Young but not a maiden. More like a mother. She was stern and gentle simultaneously, in that motherly way. She taught me uncompromising kindness like I had been her child. She healed me in a way I thought impossible. Then she sent me to the next woman I would meet.

She was an ever-changing woman. Phasing from maiden, mother, then to old crone as if she couldn't decide which to be. Then she settled into the Crone, and a raven flew onto her shoulder and cawed. She gazed at me wisely and sternly showed me that I had to do things. I had to get up and do it. I could not sit and wait for what I needed. I had to take action. I realized she showed me a form of self-care I had never known. Self-care isn't always gentle baths and soothing cups of tea. Sometimes it's working with the uglier side and being stern and loving. The Crone never seemed angry, just activated and actionable. She was determined to get me where I needed to be.

We got there. The next god I met was a man with curved horns like a goat, hooved feet, and dark wings. When he walked, flowers and plants would grow. He wore a crown of flowers and thorns atop his head like a halo. He didn't speak. He motioned for me to come nearer, and I did - cautiously. He opened his arms wide, motioned me towards him, and embraced me like his child. Then all the other gods and goddesses joined in.

I began to cry in my sleep. When I awoke the following day, I knew because my face had been crusty with the salt from the tears.

Now, what I learned from this dream was simple. Self-care. It can be challenging and powerfully emotional. Or it can be gentle and relaxing. But both are healing. Deeply soul healing.

I also learned that they were my darkness - my shadow selves - and my light selves. And they showed me the way to emotional healing—something I desperately needed at the time. I wouldn't realize this enlightening experience until later.

Upon coming back to this dream and remembering everything, I realize now that is what it was trying to tell me. To take better care of myself for the future and a better, happier future. I had been doing that because the dream, in a way, scared me straight into better self-care and caring for others better. Especially now that I am having another child, it will be a lot easier since I’ve been taking care of our lives and teaching my daughter how to do things in a way she cares about and likes to keep up with.