Two sides that were never equal
Languages have almost always given more value to the right: being “dexterous”, having a “right”, being someone's “right hand”. The left gave the French gauche, meaning clumsy, and in Latin sinister. This imbalance is cultural, but it permeates the images of dreams.
For Jung, in Psychology and Alchemy, the right is the side of the conscious, of what is known and willed, and the left that of the unconscious, of what comes without being chosen. Going to the left often means descending towards what is not yet known. Going to the right means rising back towards consciousness and action.
The direction of movement
A movement to the right often accompanies progress, a decision, a return to reality. A movement to the left tends to accompany a withdrawal, introspection, a return to the past or to emotions. Neither is better: the dream shows which way the work under way is going.
What happens in the dream changes the reading
- Turning left at a crossroads — choosing the inner way, less certain, more personal.
- Turning right — choosing what is expected, reasoned, recognised.
- Something coming from the left — a content that emerges without warning.
- Animals or people moving to the right — an energy heading towards consciousness.
- No longer being able to use your right hand — a capacity to act that is blocked, or a control that must be let go.
- Confusing right and left — a moment when the usual bearings are no longer enough.
A psychological reading, not a ready-made box
These associations are tendencies, not rules. For a left-handed person, the roles may be reversed. The direction of writing matters too: in the West, we read from left to right, which places the future on the right and the past on the left.
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