Safe Representing the Subconscious
Like dreams, art often contains symbols that represent facets of the human mind. There is tremendous similarity in these symbols and their meanings; members of radically different cultures often represent the same things with similar, and sometimes identical, objects. When correctly interpreted, these symbols turn into useful tools for self discovery. Many symbols represent objects, ideas or events that do not exist in the conscious mind, but lurk in the subconscious. Safes, however, frequently represent the subconscious mind itself. This is not surprising; safes are heavy, locked, guarded containers that conceal other objects and only reveal their contents to people who know the lock's combination. The items in the safe symbol may be placed there for several reasons. They may be memories of a traumatic event that the dreamer has shoved out of the conscious mind; they may also be closely guarded secrets. The lock is also symbolically important, and may represent feelings of b...