being a double agent, I’m not supposed to be there and it would be
dangerous if any of the people around me realized who I am.”
The difficulties encountered or ease of travel in her dreams bears
a correlation to the inner and outer obstacles that the dreamer faces
as she attempts to be a self-determined, effective person in the world.
As in her dreams, she feels natural as she determines her own path.
She is being her active, mind-of-her-own self.
When assertive qualities are in the early stages of developing, a
woman dreamer is often accompanied by another figure. This com-
panion can be male or female, an indistinctly seen presence, or a
clearly defined, recognizable person. The sex of the companion is a
symbolic comment that helps to differentiate whether these emerging
capabilities are seen as “masculine” (animus) or “feminine” (virgin
goddess).
For example, if the dreamer is developing her Artemis or Athena
qualities, and is still in the early stages of her education or career,
her most constant dream companion is often a vague, unknown
woman, with indistinct features. Later, her companion could be a
woman whose education or work path is like the dreamer’s, only
further along, or a college classmate who went on to make something
of herself in the world.
When the companion in a dream adventure is a man or a boy, the
dreamer is often a traditional woman, who is identified with the
vulnerable goddesses or, as we will see later, with Hestia or Aphrod-
ite. To these women, men symbolize action, and thus they define
assertive or competitive qualities as masculine in their dreams.
Thus, when a woman hesitantly enters into the workplace or
groves of academia, aided by an animus or masculine aspect of
herself, that aspect may be represented in her dreams by a dimly
perceived man, perhaps a young boy or an adolescent (still develop-
ing), who is with her in an unfamiliar and often dangerous place.
After she has received good grades or a promotion and feels more
confident of her abilities, the dream terrain becomes more friendly,
and the dream symbol is likely to become a familiar man or to seem
familiar in the dream. For example, “I am on a long, complicated
bus trip with my old boyfriend” or “I am in a car, driven by a man
Goddesses in Everywoman