Jan s, Loughborough

Dear Jan
Dreams featuring characters who might have stepped out of the pages of a fairy-tale or a myth are archetypal ‘rite of passage’ dreams. This means they tend to occur when we are undergoing a major change in some aspect of our lives.

You write that you are 55, a mother and a grandmother. You go on to explain that your marriage of 30 years has been going through a rough patch. Recently, you met a man who is much younger than you, and now you can’t stop thinking about him. Yet you are not sure if he is as attracted to you as you are to him and you doubt anything will come of it. You then mention how much you hate the thought of getting older. Your fear of the ageing process means you have identified for too long with the 'eternally young princess' who rides the horse.

Horses in dreams tend to represent our fundamental energy or libido. Your dream indicates that your 'horse-power' is not functioning at ground level, where it belongs. It is high up on the roof, the part of the house that symbolises aspirations or fantasies. The fact that the horse is controlled by the young woman implies that she is in charge of your sexual energy. Can you see, then, why you are attracted to a younger man? Yet the beautiful rider deliberately sacrifices herself. This indicates that, deep down, you are ready to accept you are no longer a young woman. Please don’t think this means losing your youthful outlook or your sense of adventure. It does imply, though, the need to come down to earth and explore the reality of being a mature individual. What do you have to lose except your illusions?

(Sun Taurus, Moon Scorpio)