I am standing alone. 10-20 miles in the distance in front of me there are several mountains covering the landscape, with white-grey sky above composing the other two thirds of my vision. I think to myself that Satan will imminently appear in the sky. Lo and behold, the sky incinerates in red, grey and black flame with Satan materialising in the centre, stretching as far as the mountains across and filling the entire skyline, a terrifying vision of evil. My first instinct is to fight, flying toward the beast's head at high velocity with my right fist extended. However, halfway across and still in the ascendancy fear takes hold, my momentum ceases and I fail to confront him. Immediately the dream ends.
Analysis: the evening prior I had watched Wyatt Stagg's analysis of 28 Days Later, incisive and brilliant in deconstructing a deeply subversive film but which as usual left me with the feeling that a hostile, sadistic power holds great force over the world. This suggests that Satan in the dream is a metaphor for this seemingly quasi-omnipotent evil.
There are many impressions which may have influenced the dream. As I recall (my memory of the dream is imperfect), this incarnation of Satan looks most similar to The Beast from the Doctor Who episode The Satan Pit or The Balrog from The Fellowship of The Ring. The lone man facing mountains in the distance (a la Batman Begins) and the confrontation with ultimate evil bring to mind the concept of "the hero's journey" and other epic battles such as Batman vs Superman in Miller's TDKR, Batman vs Killer Croc in Morrison's Arkham Asylum, Jaden's Elemental Heroes vs Zane's Cyber End Dragon, Marv facing upwards toward a giant statue of Cardinal Rourke and Hartigan joking about "punching out God" when sardonically contemplating his chances of bringing senator Rourke down. The connection with Superman (flying at Satan with my right first extended) suggests that in my dream, I am a potential ubermensch.
Unlike these stories, where the hero overcomes the villain or at least takes decisive action to foil him, I fail to confront my antagonist in the dream despite having the will to do so initially. This suggests that I do not yet feel I am the finished article, the hero of my story. Yet if I had had this dream in the past while severely depressed, I doubt I would have been able to fly at all, let alone with velocity and I would have likely been consumed by Satan, representing total spiritual surrender to the forces of evil.
If I had the strength and self-belief that I currently lack I would have made direct contact, dealing him a blow to the head (whether it had any effect or was purely symbolic). I believe that had I stayed the course, the most likely outcome is that I would have passed through Satan, revealing his image to be an illusion. For if he largely represents the subversive power of media as the impression of Stagg's 28 Days Later analysis the evening before would suggest, his power is largely based on illusions/images and fear, which can paralyse the will to fight without direct action (as it did in the dream).
Alternatively, the dream could represent an internal struggle rather than an external one. Satan is the archetypal transgressor and seducer, so it makes sense that he could represent pornography and the crippling power of addiction, with the mountains representing my struggle to overcome it and become a better man. My failure when halfway to meet the challenge symbolises that I am still in recovery and do not yet feel that I have overcome the worst effects even though huge progress has been made, or that I am ready but I am hesitating unnecessarily, paralysed by fear and inertia.
Analysis: the evening prior I had watched Wyatt Stagg's analysis of 28 Days Later, incisive and brilliant in deconstructing a deeply subversive film but which as usual left me with the feeling that a hostile, sadistic power holds great force over the world. This suggests that Satan in the dream is a metaphor for this seemingly quasi-omnipotent evil.
There are many impressions which may have influenced the dream. As I recall (my memory of the dream is imperfect), this incarnation of Satan looks most similar to The Beast from the Doctor Who episode The Satan Pit or The Balrog from The Fellowship of The Ring. The lone man facing mountains in the distance (a la Batman Begins) and the confrontation with ultimate evil bring to mind the concept of "the hero's journey" and other epic battles such as Batman vs Superman in Miller's TDKR, Batman vs Killer Croc in Morrison's Arkham Asylum, Jaden's Elemental Heroes vs Zane's Cyber End Dragon, Marv facing upwards toward a giant statue of Cardinal Rourke and Hartigan joking about "punching out God" when sardonically contemplating his chances of bringing senator Rourke down. The connection with Superman (flying at Satan with my right first extended) suggests that in my dream, I am a potential ubermensch.
Unlike these stories, where the hero overcomes the villain or at least takes decisive action to foil him, I fail to confront my antagonist in the dream despite having the will to do so initially. This suggests that I do not yet feel I am the finished article, the hero of my story. Yet if I had had this dream in the past while severely depressed, I doubt I would have been able to fly at all, let alone with velocity and I would have likely been consumed by Satan, representing total spiritual surrender to the forces of evil.
If I had the strength and self-belief that I currently lack I would have made direct contact, dealing him a blow to the head (whether it had any effect or was purely symbolic). I believe that had I stayed the course, the most likely outcome is that I would have passed through Satan, revealing his image to be an illusion. For if he largely represents the subversive power of media as the impression of Stagg's 28 Days Later analysis the evening before would suggest, his power is largely based on illusions/images and fear, which can paralyse the will to fight without direct action (as it did in the dream).
Alternatively, the dream could represent an internal struggle rather than an external one. Satan is the archetypal transgressor and seducer, so it makes sense that he could represent pornography and the crippling power of addiction, with the mountains representing my struggle to overcome it and become a better man. My failure when halfway to meet the challenge symbolises that I am still in recovery and do not yet feel that I have overcome the worst effects even though huge progress has been made, or that I am ready but I am hesitating unnecessarily, paralysed by fear and inertia.
