I leave a workshop or conference group and walk along a country road with a woman who has been eager to have private time with me. She is perhaps in her mid-40s, with very dark or black hair. She has painted her lips an intense crimson. I don't find her particularly attractive, but she is working the attraction of power. She is expensively dressed (dark suit, or similar, with fancy accessories) and presents herself as a person with tremendous connections who could take my work to a whole new level in terms of money and recognition.She asks me at one point, "Do you still have Cobra-Rattler in you, or do you just do good works for non-profits?" She's goading me to do business with her, propositioning me in a flagrant and sexual way (which may also be part of the agenda).
I tell her I'm going to make a phone call in her presence, so she'll be able to see what and who I value
I call a wonderful editor who is also a good friend, who understands and supports my work. I want to make the woman with the red, red lips understand the depth of my commitment to those who value my work for its own sake, and that I will simply not be distracted from The Work by the seductions of money or power.
Feelings: Satisfied I made the right choice, and did not get caught in this creature's coils.
Reality: Not sure of the location.
The editor friend I call in the dream is someone with whom I have a wonderful creative relationship.
I don't recognize the power-focused woman with the red lipstick. My first associations are with a couple of of "powerful" women who have approached me in recent months, offering ways to money and fame that I have rejected as distractions from my work. I can see that the "devil in red lipstick" could also be a shadow side of myself, since I do essentially spend nearly all my time "doing good works for non-profits" in the sense that money and power are simply not priorities. It's entirely possibe that the dream could also be a rehearsal for a future situation.
I have never heard of a "cobra-rattler". Sounds sexy, and a little sinister. The kundalini force used for a certain purpose?
I proceeded to call the editor friend and told her the dream.This produced a delightful conversation and reaffirmation of values. Dreams help us to navigate by our inner compass, and to avoid being blind-sided by otherwise unexpected events that could throw us-off course. In a workshop this weekend, immediately following my nocturnal encounter with Red Lips, a woman reported a dream in which she was given a compass that always points towards Truth. I was reminded of Lyra's "alethiometer" in The Golden Compass.
