The old man or old woman is the Wise One: guidance, experience and the voice of time. Their words in the dream often carry advice.
When the dream feels light
A wise elder who speaks to you brings guidance, protection and the wisdom of the ancestors.
When the dream feels dark
A frail or dying elder may point to fear of ageing, loss of a guide or wisdom ignored.
Ask yourself
What advice am I being given?
Correspondences
- Archetype
- The Wise Old One — Inner knowledge, the counsel that comes when you are still.
- Element
- Earth — body, matter and the real
- Planet
- Saturn
- Tarot card
- The Hermit
- Alchemical stage
- Citrinitas, the Yellowing
The wise old one inside you. Ask for counsel; you already know more than you think.
Words that call this sign
old man, old woman, wise
Related signs
The Raven · The Owl · The Wind · The Eye · The Key · The Temple · The Book · The Clock
The card of this dream
The Hermit. A lantern carried alone into the dark, wisdom found in solitude. The Hermit stands alone on a snowy peak, holding up a lantern in which a star shines. He is solitude, introspection and wisdom found within: withdraw from noise, seek the truth, become your own light.