Dreams about exams symbolism
Back at school in dreams
Dreams about exams symbolism may be unveiled with Tarot language, in this practical exercise of OniroTarology.
I summarize here an OniroTarology exercise I carried out together with the members of the Forum Il Vascello delle Stelle Stelle. The exercise is about linking the Tarot images with dreams about exams.
In the dream we are back at school as a student struggling with an exam to pass. Typically we need to pass a final test. The problem is that we don’t remember absolutely anything and we feel completely unprepared for the test!
Meaning of dreams about exams and Tarot symbolism
Here are the Tarot images that best capture the symbolism of the student’s nightmare.
The Magician Tarot card can represent the pupil as the protagonist of the dream. We see portraited a table similar to a school desk, while the wand with which he seems to tinker in an awkward way, resembles a pen. Being the first card of the Tarot deck we also find correspondence with the image of a child. The Magician de facto is an inexperienced young boy.
The High Priestess symbolism recalls the idea of a teacher. It is the examiner, the custodian of knowledge. We see depicted the textbook which could represent the text to study in order to pass the test.
In a sense, the High Priestess is the complement of the Magician. She is the inspiring and diligent Anima, who must complete the education of the Magician. Indeed, we can think that the test for the Magician is precisely about integrating this feminine component into his psychic development.
Finally, the Hanged Tarot card depicts the traumatic aspect of the student’s nightmare. We grasp the sense of paralysis and helplessness that oppresses him.
Dreams about exams as a rite of passage
In conclusion, we place the three Tarot cards in a spread. In this way we can see crystallized the dream dynamic.
In this spread the Magician stares at the Hanged Man, conveying the fear of paralysis in front of the examiner. Behind him the inflexible teacher awaits the correct answer.
Will the Magician manage to overcome fear and pass the High Priestess exam? Let’s notice that dreams about exams concern an archetypal theme that dates back to the dawn of time, when the individual to become an active subject within the community had to undergo an initiation, a rite of passage. Overcoming the rite the Magician will proceed in his evolution, going up the scale of the Tarot deck that will lead to the World: completeness, wholeness, the jungian Self.
OniroTarologia 