Strong and powerful, the bear takes its prominent place in cultural and mythological symbolism around the world.
Emerging out of the cave (womb) from hibernation with their young, bears carries forth the image of rebirth and resurrection. The female bear raises her offspring alone. Hence, she has come to represent the kind of maternity that is both independent and fiercely protective of her young.
In the Celtic world, bears are the symbol of the warrior class for their protective, brave and brutal attributes. The Ainu people of Japan hold the bear in high esteem and consider it a sacred animal that ties the human world to the spirit world. In China, the bear is a male symbol and is used in fertility practices to bring about the birth of boys. Indigenous Americans revere bears for their healing, protection and spiritual guidance.
Given the numerous facets of the bear’s symbolism, a dream of a bear could have many meanings. As a prominent figure in the forest hierarchy, the bear may symbolize the Self or core of the psyche. Or, it could represent the peril posed by the unpredictable elements of the unconscious.
Images from the ARAS Archive:
TOP LEFT – 1Da.006 – Bear amulet carved in the round from reddish golden amber. Found in the bog of Resen in Viborg, Jutland, Denmark, 9500 BC–6000 BC
TOP RIGHT – 8Cd.130 – Screen of a female brown bear representing the bear crest belonging to a line of Tlinget chiefs. North America, circa 1840
BOTTOM LEFT – Mama bear and two cubs. Getty Images.
BOTTOM RIGHT – 8Cg.401 – George Catlin, Medicine Man, Performing His Mysteries over a Dying Man, 1832, oil on canvas, 29 x 24 in. (73.7 x 60.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum