Dream Symbols: Scrolls and Maps

Scroll

The scroll is paper or papyrus wound in a spiral–it carries information that goes “backward” or inwards towards a centre; towards a source, or the beginning. Specific information on a scroll cannot be randomly accessed by page the same way it can in a book. Going back to a point in time requires the “unwinding”, or acknowledgement, of recording that has come after.  It is associated with both cycles (circles) and linear access at the same time. The tracing of a circular path  occurs many times, depending on the thickness of the scroll.

It is an old way of storing information. It does not have a spine like a book does, that indicates what is depicted inside. So it is hidden information.

Obtaining a scroll means the acquisition of old/hidden knowledge. Knowing/understanding the information in the scroll is the knowledge of that old/hidden knowledge.

A scroll is unlike other forms of information storage in that it has a cylindrical center. Reaching that center requires the unwinding of all the stories/records around it.

Map/Map Chest

Maps show the terrain in recorded form. It shows boundaries of land, water, or geopolitical lines. Topographical maps show elevations (ie. changes in level), the rise and fall of the land. This is a mental way of visiting a landscape without being there. Maps are great for orienting ourselves with a place before getting there, or for orienting ourselves when there (and lost), or for strategic planning ahead of time, if coordinating the movement of groups, or multiple targets, and travel arrangements.

Our ability to see/understand the map would indicate our real-life ability to grasp the situation around us.

Map props such as pins, or tokens representing parties, together with the map, show a “bird’s eye view” of a current or planned future situation. If we are placing the items on the map, it shows us as planners, leaders. The nature of the props and what motivation guides our placements will offer further clues.

The map chest  shows our access to multiple “playing fields” or landscapes. A map chest with many drawers may allude to the many different “levels” that we  can access, especially if each drawer has a fair share of maps within.

Rolled-up maps hint at new or old places that we are yet to discover or revisit. The state of the map or the material  of which it is made will tell us whether it is old or new.

More Contexts to Consider

If keepers are present of the maps, scrolls, or books, we may be in the presence of our guides or higher beings, giving us access where not everyone is able to obtain it. Keepers indicate that this is not publicly-accessible knowledge and some requirement, no matter how basic, is needed for the privilege of access.

If no keepers are present but the items are of our own making, it is direct acknowledgement of this information being the result of our own past efforts.

Books/scrolls/maps being stored on the grounds of a college or university would hint at “higher learning”.

What prompted this entry: Dreaming of a specialised school of higher learning, in which I have a private audience with the “map teacher” because I’ve arrived early to her office relative to the other students. Her desk is a grand mahogany custom-built map chest with drawers everywhere. On the top, she has a map of a simple beach, and there are little plastic models of sunbathers and deck chairs on it, which we rearrange playfully, imagining a beach party. There is a drawer open on her desk, it holds three large scrolls. I grab one, thinking that we are going to study it for the upcoming lesson. She lets me unroll it, and it is instead a huge papyrus depicting two grand Egyptian figures (one female, one male), painted in unmistakable “Egyptian style”. It must be a priceless artifact. I am mortified for having opened the wrong scroll, but her manner is that I have not. I return that scroll back into the drawer, and she tells me that the simple beach map is indeed meant for class today. I refocus on that map and ask a question about elevation.

For what it’s worth, I can recall some of my Egyptian lifetime(s) and know that some of my past roles are meant to return in this one. I am also clear that this was a “guided” dream because of the playful “beach party” request I’d inserted before going to sleep: Symbolic humour is big with my guides when they appear.