The dream images representing father are many: God; a god; a giant; a tyrant; executioner; devil; Pan – and of course father. A child is, figuratively, like a growing plant. It takes in lumps of external material and transforms them to its own being. A child unconsciously either takes father or mother as its main model for structuring its behaviour and aims. But also, huge areas of our basic self revolve around mother and father. Even not having an available father leaves an enormous imprint in this archetypal area. Our father in our dreams therefore is most often the overall effect, habits, traits, which arise from our experience – or lack of it – of our father. Father is also the great figure of original authority and strength in our life. He therefore depicts our relationship with outside authority or power. Struggle or seeking to placate father: May show how we deal with authority.
