Grandmother's Pet Rats

Dear Peregrin,

My Grandmother lives in a tacky house, (old, broken windows, dirty, falling apart). I go to visit her and discover that her house is swarming with rats. They are crawling all around her house. Its a disgusting sight anyway, but made worse by the fact that some of the rats are sick and have open sores on their bodies. My grandmother is feeding these rats. When I ask her why in the world she is feeding rats, she tells me they are her 'babies'; that she is taking care of them. I am very upset with my grandmother because she is, in my opinion, doing a ridiculous thing. In the dream, my anger and frustration with her lack of awareness is intense.

Jaguar

Good morning, Jaguar.

I might have a dream like this if I were upset with some authority figure in my life. The rats could represent that person's attitudes and beliefs, which I would see as being wrong but they would continue to "feed." Perhaps these beliefs would be prejudices.

Or, the rats could be people that someone you love supports, financially or emotionally, who don't (in your opinion) deserve such support. The behavior of "feeding the rats" seems even worse when the grandmother's own house is so obviously in need of repair.

Look for a situation like this in your life. It's reasonable to make your feelings on the issue known, but keep in mind that the other person may have quite a different viewpoint. I know, for instance, of several people whose actual pets are regarded as disgusting vermin by outsiders.

Pleasant dreams,

Peregrin