by Lugus on November 16th, 2013, 1:00 am
It is unlikely that this dream has anything to do with the physical death of your husband (or anyone else). The dream husband’s self-inflected gunshot to the head probably means either (1) his relationship with you or, at least, the dream-you is changing, or (2) it may mean that the “old” dream-husband has or will die to be replaced by a “new” husband.
But who does this dream husband represent? I believe that there are two likely interpretations:
1. Your dream husband may represent your real husband. His shooting himself refers to his ending this stage in your current relationship or his moving to a new and different level of (psychological) development.
2. However, it may mean that he is a symbol of a Jungian archetype called the animus. For a Jungian, the animus is one of many archetypes of the collective unconscious. The animus is always male and is only found in the dreams of women. During the course of a woman’s life the animus has the potential of going through four stages of development:
a. The first stage is the Wholly Physical Man. Examples would be Superman, Tarzan or the Wolverine.
b. Next is the Romantic Man or the Man of Action. The romantic man would be the kind of man that we see on the cover of romance novels. The man of action might be a hunter.
c. Then there is the Bearer of the "Word." This is the man with a message. Typical examples would be a politician or a preacher.
d. Lastly, there is the Guide to Spiritual Truth. In a woman’s dream he might appear as someone such as Gandhi. This Guide will probably not be a man of organized religion but, rather, a man who might be more of a spiritual leader who transcends most traditional religious beliefs.
You also mentioned that there was another person in the dream. If this other person was a woman, she might be a symbol of another archetype – probably the shadow. If the other person is male, he is could be another archetypical symbol or he might be a symbol of the animus at a different stage of development.
In a Jungian interpretation, all of these dream people are parts of the dreamer’s psyche. But, there is one other person in this dream – that person is the dreamer. The dream you represents the dreamer’s ego, which is the center of her consciousness.
Hope this helps and is not too confusing,
Lugus