where the dream is set
Dreaming of stairs
Read two ways. Let them disagree, the truth often sits between.
Artemidorus · Oneirocritica
Drawn up, it speaks of To climb stairs with ease foretells advancement, a rise in standing or fortune.
Drawn down, it warns of To stumble or fall on the stairs warns of a setback in an ambition, a reversal just short of the goal.
Jungian · the collective unconscious
Drawn up, it speaks of Stairs are the levels of the psyche; climbing is the ascent toward consciousness and clarity, descending the return to what is buried and old.
Drawn down, it warns of Stairs that never end, or that crumble, point to effort spent without arrival, a struggle to reach a state of mind that keeps receding.
When it appears with another
Stairs in company
stairs + running
Movement between levels of consciousness. Up or down both matter, note which direction was urgent and which felt prevented.
Did you dream this?
Keep it before it fades
Write the dream down in your journal and the cards will name its symbols for you, or have the whole dream read in full.