(1) A Wise Old Man. figure mav appear in a man’s dream, a Wise Old Woman in a woman’s dream. The Wise Old Man may take various forms: for example, old bearded man, guru, priest or prophet, king, magician, teacher. The Wise Old Woman may appear as Earth Mother /
Great Goddess, Mother Church, priestess or prophetess, teacher. Attend to whatever this figure tells you in dreams: the result could be a transformation of your personality and your life, in tune with your true self.
(2) Such figures Jung called ‘mana personalities’. Mana denotes awesome, mysterious power associated with gods but also with natural phenomena and extraordinary human skills, genius, holiness, psychic powers and supranormal knowledge. These figures may therefore be frightening.
If you find them too frightening, consult a (Jungian) therapist. People may let themselves be ‘possessed’ - taken over - by the Wise Old Man / Woman and become insufferably domineering, self- important and opinionated. Alternatively, failure to acknowledge the ‘divine’ wisdom and power within yourself may lead you to project it on to some authoritarian - but not necessarily authoritative - public figure, or guru, or personal acquaintance. Whatever such a mana figure says to you in a dream will be extremely important and will almost certainly open up a new dimension of life for you.
(3) Should the Wise Old Woman appear in a man’s dream or the Wise Old Man in a woman’s dream, it may be the anima / animus that is being represented (for anima / animus, see Brother / Sister, sections (4)-(6)).
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