Dogs and dreams of water

Tuesday afternoon, as I was waiting for the bus home from work, I was thinking about the altar that I set up for Legba on Sunday and also my hopes that he will help me connect with the other lwa(s) that I should be serving. I’ve been trying to stay open to communications from the spirits, and lately my dreams have been more vivid than they have been in a long time. (For several years I’ve only been remembering occasional dreams, which is not much fun since I enjoy dreaming a lot.)

On Saturday night/Sunday morning I had a long jumbled dream about shopping, a writing workshop and transportation problems. Much of it was not particularly exciting, but one vignette stays in my mind because of its vividness and the fact that it did not seem to have much to do with the rest of the dream.

I was dreaming that I was in some sort of class or workshop being held in a large warehouse or studio. It’s nighttime, and for no particular reason I walked through the large open doorway and into the night.

And then it was bright daylight, and I was looking down at a very beautiful canyon scene. I can see a man (not sure exactly what he looked like: dark hair I think, healthy-looking) standing on the edge of a cliff overlooking a small lake. The water is blue-green and so clear that you can see all the way to the bottom. With him are two dogs, one looks like a border collie and the other is a smaller white dog with longer fur. The man makes a graceful dive into the water.

I decide to copy him and dive headfirst into a smaller pool of the same cool blue water. The pool is deep as I slice in, but it is also buoyant and I surface easily and hop out of the water to go back to my class. Even though I was only in the water for a few seconds, I feel completely rejuvenated.

Water has a very strong spiritual significance in some of my dreams. Some years ago I had a simple dream where I was effortlessly treading water in this gigantic claw foot tub that was the size of an Olympic swimming pool. The imagery seems kind of silly in retrospect, but the feeling in the dream was one of profound peace.

Flashback to an animal communication session I had with Tracy Ann back in April 2008. (I am reviewing my notes as I write this.) Through Tracy, Puck is telling me that I have a lot of help on the other side. One of these helpful spirits is a man who reminds Tracy of an old country doctor. He is wearing spectacles and jeans and has a jovial laugh. He has a roundish head with thinning hair on top and is magnetic to animals. He carries a cane, although he is healthy, stocky. Puck likes him. Tracy gets the impression of the letter “J,” a name perhaps. The man says, “I open doors.”

My notes at this point are a bit unclear. I wrote: “Puck sees him a lot. He’s around, but moving water. Clue?” Also, I seem to remember that Tracy said he had a dog with him, although I didn’t write that in my notes.

Tracy suggested that he could be a male on my father’s side, but I could not think of anyone who matched his description. Since then I have considered him a spirit guide, and talk to him regularly.

I used to be much better at recognizing symbolism and connections between seemingly unrelated things. Heck, Symbolism was my favorite art movement. So when I began connecting the dots between all these things (one of those rare “aha” moments) while I was waiting for the bus yesterday, I had to laugh at myself.

From Kenaz Filan’s “The Haitian Vodou Handbook:”

“At first glance, Legba looks like an unassuming old man. Accompanied only by his faithful dogs, he leans against his cane for support  as he limps down the road . . . He limps not because he is crippled but because his feet are in different worlds–the material kingdom and the land of spirit.”

“Before you ask Legba for any favors, remember that he has a keen sense of humor and loves taking you by surprise.”

From Sharon Caulder’s “Mark of Voodoo:”

“”The deity Legba, the protector and keeper of the life force, stands at the crossroads between the worlds, opens the gates to the divine realms, and communicates with the deities.”

From Ray Malbrough’s “Hoodoo Mysteries:”

“Legba, among the Fon people of Dahomey, is a trickster of entrances and crossroads . . . the symbols associated with Legba are the cross, keys, walking sticks, and crutches.”

Could the man that Puck and Tracy described be Legba? It would not surprise me in the least for him to be about a dozen steps ahead of me. As I review my notes from that session, I feel that funny tingle up my spine (it’s warm but feels like a chill too) that I often feel when something touches my spirit. Especially when I remember his words: “I open doors.”

Perhaps the reference to him being on “my father’s side” is meant to bring to mind the word “papa.” He is often referred to as “Papa Legba.”

As for my recent dream about the canyon, I think the man might again be Legba, saying “follow me” into the spirit realm (water). My brief dip into the smaller lake could be interpreted as a sort of baptism into this new path.