Recently during a conversation I recalled my earliest memory, or at least what I believe to be my earliest memory. It’s actually weird though because it’s not something that actually happened to me in reality—it is a dream I had that I still remember so clearly it’s like I had it last night. And I only remember maybe one minute of it but that’s how memory works. You remember what is important or meaningful to you. But anyway, the dream. In it I was alone in my parent’s first home in Rockford, a white house on 9 mile road. I was looking out the window and everything was all kind of dreamy and foggy and I could see a quilt my Aunt made me out on the lawn and there was a tiger on it. I went outside and walked by the trees at the front of the lawn and the tiger just watched me all contentedly and it was almost somewhat utopian-like. That’s all that I remember but it is so fucking clear. How I felt in the dream and everything. I didn’t feel afraid at all. I felt calm and centered and present and real.
So anyway, recalling this dream recently got me thinking. I am an intense dreamer as is, and I believe really seriously in dream interpretation and other semi-new agey things. So I started wondering what a tiger represented in the subconscious, or at least is thought to represent. Most of what I read said that tigers represent power, emotion, or aggression. This was all okay, but when the tiger thing really got weird was when I saw a horoscope placemat at a Chinese restaurant. I’m sure you can deduce where I’m going with this.
Year of the Tiger – 1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, 2022, 2034, 2046
“Tigers, considered to be brave, cruel, forceful and terrifying, are the symbol of power and lordliness. In ancient times, people usually compared emperors or grandees with the tiger. Court officials often said that ‘accompanying the emperor is just like being at the side of a tiger’. There are also many legends on hunting tigers dealing with struggling against evil might.
People born in the year of the tiger are tolerant, staunch, valiant, and respected. In their middle age, their fate may be uneven, but afterwards will enjoy a bright prospect. Their shortcoming is to project themselves before others. But most women under the tiger sign are intelligent, faithful and virtuous.”
I probably don’t need to tell you I was born in 1986. But I was! What does this all mean? Could this dream really be that fucking meaningful? Yes! Can my first real clear memory actually represent my true self? Who knows?! Does this mean I should get a tiger back-piece? No! Write to me and tell me if this is all in my head.
