The Blue Iguana

In the spirit of Halloween, I recount a bad dream I had yesterday during a nap.

I was outside at some social function with many people I know.  At this point, what the function was has slipped my memory, but familiar faces were there: coworkers from my day job, friends, some family members, and others.  It seemed like a positive environment.

Spending most of my time with me was a girl from work, but she went off to do what not and I ended up alone.  It was at this time that a blue Iguana showed up.  I remember stopping in fear of it.  It was definitely an Iguana, but much larger than they actually are -- I'd say this one was the size of a small dog.  It looked similar to this, but with spikes on its head:

Now, it was at this point it spat a venom like acid at me, catching my right arm.  It definitely burned, but I didn't bother to look at the injury.  I just started running.  My heart -- racing.  The Iguana moved quickly with lightning speed.  It's focus was on me and only me.  I could tell its focus was set on me, and there wasn't much room to escape.

I caught up with the girl from work, and told her that a blue lizard was chasing me.  At this point, it was nowhere to be seen.  I showed her my forearm, where the injury appeared as charred skin, as if my arm had been on fire. She became extremely worried, and the Iguana appeared and immediately spat venom on her.  She started melting, with mucus spewing from her eyes and nose.

With her screams of agony, I woke up.

The rest of the day I thought about this dream, wondering what it could possibly mean.  There are plenty of websites on the internet that describe what certain symbols in dreams could represent.  I thought about all of the symbols in this dream: being chased, being injured (by acid / venom), the blue iguana / lizard and my coworker being horrifically killed by it, her death being censored from my awakening.

From these websites, I gathered some tidbits to ponder:

Being Chased:  Richard Nicoletti, J.D., a psychotherapist trained at the Jung Institute in Boston said in this Huffington Post article that being chased means that you're "being told by your unconsciousness that you're avoiding an issue or a person."  DreamDictionary.org says that "Psychologists tend to think that “chase dreams” occur when we are unable to cope with our fears and have trouble facing reality."

So being chased essentially is running away from a problem that is occurring in real life.  A fear.  Immediately I think about the dream and ask, "why a blue Iguana? Also, it was able to hurt me and leave me in pain."

Being Injured:  Where was I injured?  My right arm, burnt with lizard venom.  Dreammoods.com says "To dream that your arm has been injured, signifies your inability to care for yourself or your helplessness in reaching out to others. You may have been feeling limited and restricted in terms of your freedom or activities.  The right arm signifies your outgoing nature and is associated with masculine energy."

The Iguana:  Dreammoods.com says, "To see an iguana in your dream represents harshness, cold-heartedness or fierceness. You approach situations or problems with both hostility and unstoppable determination. The iguana may also remind you of someone or some situation in your waking life that you find frightening yet awe inspiring."

Harshness, cold-heartedness, or fierceness.  Why blue?  What does the color blue represent in dreams?

Blue:   "Blue represents truth, wisdom, heaven, eternity, devotion, tranquility, loyalty and openness. Perhaps you are expressing a desire to get away. The presence of this color in your dream may symbolize your spiritual guide and your optimism of the future. You have clarity of mind. Alternatively, the color blue may also be a metaphor for "being blue" and feeling sad."

Now, I know firsthand that dream dictionaries are usually not scientifically accurate.  In the Psychology community, they would most likely be dismissed in a heartbeat although they do vaguely utilize some of Sigmund Freud's theories, such as symbolism in dreams.  Regardless of how accurate any of this really is -- things stand out to me.  A blue Iguana chased me and spat a venom on my arm.  Being chased is a symbol of not being able to cope with fears. Am I afraid of the Iguana?  If the Iguana represents harshness or fierceness, it is definitely something to be afraid of, but it does not explain what the Iguana could actually represent.  The color blue could represent some positive features: a spiritual guide, optimism for the future.  Why would this hurt me?

My right arm was injured.  This supposedly represents my inability to take care of myself and helplessness in reaching out to others.  THIS stands out to me because I have had this problem for a long time.  Even this month, when I wanted to reach out to people when I said I would, I have not -- out of fear.  I have to be honest with myself.


I remember in Psychology that Carl Jung didn't really buy into Freud's theories, but said in his subjective approach that aspects of dreams could all represent parts of us that we didn't think could be parts of us.  The blue Iguana could present a part of me.  My optimism for the future and fierce determination to get there can be meaningless if I cannot ask others for help.  The Iguana chasing me could represent me running from my responsibilities.  Maybe I'm not manning up as much as I should be.  Maybe I'm not facing my problems first hand to be as strong as the Iguana, which represents the powerful strength that lives within.  Possibly thinking that the Iguana could hurt me, could possibly be a fear of success - a fear of being my most powerful self.  Like, if I cannot face the Blue Iguana, I cannot be who I want to become.  I need to do whatever it takes to be the person I strive to be in this life, but I must do it with the help of those I trust.  I can't do it alone.

I wasn't alone in my dream though.  What about seeing my coworker burning from the venom?  I almost forgot about that...

Seeing someone burn to death:  "You are being consumed by your own ambition." 

Honestly, that might say it all.