According to Freud, rocks and stones are obvious phallic symbols on account of their hardness. The appearance of rocks, stones and metals in dreams for Jungians, however, has a different interpretation inspired by Jung’s interest in alchemy. Alchemy is the ancient art of transmuting base metals into gold but it is not just about this transformation. It can also be viewed as a system of self- initiation. Jung was amazed to find that the images and operations he encountered in old alchemy texts related strongly to his theories of psychoanalysis and the unconscious. He saw in alchemy a metaphor for the process of individuation or personal transformation, and the morphing and mutating imagery of that process which emerges from the stream of consciousness. For Jungians, therefore, the appearance of rocks, stones, metals and jewels in dreams are potent and powerful symbols of a person’s basic nature, heart and soul, and of their potential for personal transformation.
See NATURE AND THE SEASONS; PLACES.