ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with a definition of precognitive and premonitory dreams. Then I recount my premonitory dream two months before Elizabeth’s death and describe Jung’s approach to dream interpretation, including amplification of the dream’s setting, characters, exposition, and resolution. The terms archetype, thin place, and transitional object are defined and the works of Jerry Wright, Marie-Louise von Franz, Barbara Hannah, D. W. Winnicott, Joan Didion, and Aniela Jaffé are cited. Jung’s distinction between subjective and objective interpretation of dreams and his concept of the shadow are introduced. The dream images of horses, the beach, the suitcase, the doll, and the drop of blood are amplified. The Greek myth of Hades’ abduction of Persephone and the Russian fairy tale “Vasilisa the Beautiful” also amplify the dream’s imagery. The chapter closes with reference to Jaffé’s suggestion that premonitory dreams prepare us for “an imminent and painful blow of fate.”
