Civil norms were violated quickly, early and often in the election and during the first year that Trump held office: Name-calling, lying, gas-lighting, explicit racism and misogyny, religious travel bans, threats of nuclear war via social media – Americans quickly learned how fragile their national protocols for conduct and ethics were. What had been taken for granted as normal and expectable civic behavior disappeared in a whirlwind of chaos and aggression:

I had a dream that I met Trump and he threw change at me[i]

It felt like each day something new and flabbergasting was thrown at us. Everything changed. Change was hurled at us all, and culturally established taboos of morality and taste were thrown out the window.

Rumors emerged of violated taboos around sexuality and toileting, and many dreamers seemed to attach to the symbolic implications of shattered norms as represented by the alleged “pee tape” Dreams of being peed on, wet pants, peeing on others, or public urination swirled through the minds of several dreamers. 

I had a dream last night that trump passed a law saying we all had to pee in the top of the toilet[ii] 

I had a strange dream where Donald Trump was hosting some public event as President on TV and he stopped midway to go pee, but didn’t realize the overhead camera watched him peeing and it was broadcast live to the world.[iii]

i had a dream i was at a hotel in the reception and donald trump came charging in looking like a hot mess, climbed up the stairs and then peed on everybody[iv]

had a dream that donald trump visited my house and he got pee on the toilet seat and didn’t clean it up[v]

I had a dream last night that I was having dinner with President Trump and his staff at a restaurant, and in the middle of the dinner the president peed his pants. There was pee all over his clothes…[vi]

 Last night I had a dream Trump was pissing on my car and I was detained for trying to stop him with a spray bottle[vii]

And although in many social circles Trump’s purported sexual kink, or pee fantasies were considered trivial and humorous – dreamers conjured much deeper conflicts and concerns about the president’s unilateral disregard for basic norms and the willingness to violate culturally determined moral taboos. Gaining dominance and pleasure by violating core cultural moral taboos are behaviors that are common to psychopathic personalities, and many dreamers wrestled with immoral impulses symbolized by Donald Trump.

Guggenbühl-Craig, in his book The Emptied Soul, proposes that psychopathy is a universal archetype, instinctive destructive energies, power-driven, anti-social tendencies that are present in each one of us, in some form, to a greater or lesser degree:

One is inclined to ask how, in a democratic country, we may prevent psychopaths from inveigling their way to the top… It seems to me more important that the people be able to see through a psychopath, to see through their own psychopathic side. In most democracies this is ability is well enough developed so that a dangerous psychopath is usually detected when he or she appears on the scene. ~ Adolf Guggehbühl-Craig, The Emptied Soul

 In the aftermath of World War 2, Carl Jung wrote about the interaction between a national leader who appears to manifest and exploit the most dangerous unacknowledged shadow-aspects of an entire nation:

“…he symbolized something in every individual. He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason that they fell for him. C. G. Jung, CW 10, para 454

Here we see a dream of psychopathic cruelty wearing the hat of an iconic, mythic white American “warrior-hero:

He was walking north up Fifth Avenue with a sub-machine gun, shooting everyone. Rocking a Davy Crockett fur hat… ~Anonymous

Many dreams, eighty or so in this dream collection, appear to struggle with the inner and outer manifestations of this anti-social archetype – in dreams which focus on violated taboos and norms, criminal acts and other psychopathic symbols and characteristics.

He cheats, deserts, annoys, brawls, fails and lies without any apparent compunction. He will commit theft, forgery, adultery, fraud, and other deed for astonishingly small stakes and under much greater risks of being discovered than will the ordinary scoundrel. He will in fact, commit such deeds in the absence of any apparent goal at all. ~ Hervey Cleckly, The Mask of Sanity, p. 390

And just as Cleckly describes, in his seminal book on psychopathy in our dreams the president cheats:

Since Sept 2016, I’ve had a recurring/continuing dream that Pete Rose won the 2016 election. At first, the dreams seemed funny, but I think it was my brain cluing me into the very real possibility that DJT could win. ~ Anonymous

My dream last night had Trump loading up a Toyota pickup truck with ballots he had collected from polling places as he said, “I’ll take this batch over… I’ll meet you there…”[viii]

Dreamed last night that I was golfing with Trump and he just could not keep the ball inbounds. Like 90% of it was him taking illegal drops. And then we had to let a group play through and he made a ruckus during everyone’s backswing so no one would embarrass him with a good shot[ix]

So last night I had a dream Trump went door to door and offered to pay me to vote for him in 2020. I said I would if he told me about the Russians. He ran away.[x]

So I had a dream that me and Stone Cold Steve Austin participated in a motor cross tournament. Half way through the race Donald Trump shows up and wins (he cheated obviously) and the crowd started throwing heads of cabbage at him from the taco stand.[xi]

He annoys:

I had a dream the other night about Trump taking us back to the pre-Gregorian calendar just to screw with people.[xii]

I had a dream last night where I had to give Trump a ride. He lit up a cigar. I told him you can’t do that, then I woke up[xiii]

He brawls:

I had a dream that Trump and George Washington got in a fist fight and then they pulled out samurai swords and I’m very upset that I woke up[xiv].

I had a dream that Donald Trump punched a reporter in the face on national TV and the reporter punched him back and Trump was bleeding everywhere and we were all like, “Welp! Just another day in America, I guess!”[xv]

And lies without any compunction:

I had a dream that the Trump administration made up some scandal about Obama so that we would all stop loving him and then I woke up confused bc I can’t say for sure that’s something our current President wouldn’t do. It was weird bc he planted evidence so everyone believed it and our communities were devastated. They declared a state of emergency. People were out in the streets weeping lol. I was apparently the only one who knew the government made it up[xvi].

Dream-Trump commits theft –

My husband woke up this morning and told me he dreamt Trump et al were taken down in the biggest money laundering scene ever uncovered.[xvii]

i had a dream that donald trump had brown hair and tried stealing my car?[xviii]

4YO “I dreamed last night that a bad guy stole all the blueberry muffins. He was like Donald Trump but a LOT nicer”.[xix]

 Had a dream I was meeting w/ pres trump and was like “cool. I’ll be able to judge for myself if he’s an idiot.” In my dream he wasn’t an idiot, but after leaving the oval office, I noticed he had stolen my wallet[xx]

 I had a dream about seven months ago Trump was in the Oval Office talking to two or three other people and he said “Did we get the Bitcoin money?” I woke up right then really anxious, like holy shit. I’ll never forget it. It was very real.[xxi]

He commits adultery –

I had a dream the police forced Donald Trump to resign because he broke the law by cheating on his wife. Which is actually a law in the south. It was a good dream[xxii]

As well as fraud, and any other anti-social deed –

It’s bad that I had to think really hard this morning whether my dream that Mueller was now investigating Trump’s involvement in a heart-and-lung transplant scandal (selling access to them) was real……. It’s not, right?[xxiii]

I had a dream last night – @LindseyGrahamSC was finally overcome w guilt & remorse & spilled his guts live on CNN. He admitted he was being blackmailed over his hacked emails, naming everyone from trump down. [xxiv]

I had a dream last night that Melania split up with trump because she was lesbian so he married his daughter[xxv].

And in our dreams he is not only discovered, in fact, our dream-wishes seem to focus on arresting Trump’s destructive behavior – expressing a desire to see him held legally accountable – although there is sometimes a sense of futility as the dreamer is lucid enough to see that such dream-wishes do not necessarily make things come true.

Picture Donald Trump, in the back of a pickup truck, being detained and questioned by officials. (I think I like the way my mind works when I dream!) He was on his way to an event, perhaps. I don’t know why he had been walking down the sidewalk or street instead of riding in his motorcade. He hadn’t alerted the local officials that he’d be in the area. He didn’t think he needed to tell anyone his business. He was cocky and arrogant. He’s the President of the United States… more importantly he’s Donald Trump. He doesn’t have to tell anyone anything. He’s above the law, above rules and regulations, above common sense and courtesy. The local officials weren’t having any of it. They were determined to verify he was who he said he was and his reasons for being there. They weren’t taking his word for it. They weren’t succumbing to his bullying. The dream was brief and it ended there. I saw it as if I was driving by in slow-moving traffic but was able to catch the gist of what was happening. Even though the dream contained an act by local officials of standing up to Trump, I didn’t feel elated or gleeful or vindicated -in the dream or when I woke or now. I felt and feel numb, sad, mournful, stunned. The fact that the episode was happening at all overshadowed the fact that Trump was being held accountable.~ Anonymous

 Had a vivid dream last night. I dreamed Donald Trump was being led out of the White House with his arms cuffed behind his back by federal agents. This is not a joke. I literally dreamt this[xxvi].

I had a dream that Trump was arrested for drunk driving and driving a multi-axle rig without the proper certification because he decided he wanted to personally move some nuclear warheads to a launching site.[xxvii]

I dreamt Ivanka and Melania Trump singing the Cell Block Tango from the musical Chicago[xxviii]

Last night I had a dream that Trump asked me if I’d take over the presidency for a couple of weeks so he could go on vacation. I did and immediately had him arrested.[xxix]

Another cluster of dreams focus less on anti-social behavior, and more on the horror of glimpsing the psychopathic soul. Cleckly details the “absolute” incapacity of psychopathic personalities to feel empathy or love for others – as a “self-centeredness that is apparently unmodifiable and all but complete.”

I had a interesting dream where the phantom thieves were stealing the heart treasure of Trump…[xxx]

Fairy tales and myths often spin tales of “cold” psychopathic evil, and offer mythological instructions to defeat giants with buried hearts, and the ways we experience such “heartlessness” as supernatural or monstrous. Dreams of the psychopathically distorted soul read like quick cut previews of horror films.

 i had a dream trump was being eaten alive from the inside by mutant butterflies. i just stood there watching, detached[xxxi].

“Psyche” meaning, soul, spirit or the animating principal was represented in Greek mythology by the butterfly. In this dream, drawing on collective and mythological images, paints Trump as a symbol of a distorted, decomposing soul.

Guggenbühl-Craig relies metaphors of emptiness, lack, psychic “holes” and hollowness of soul to describe the psychopathic archetype in his writing on psychopathy – and this dream summons similar imagery:

My dream was less about the president and more on the Vice President. It was just before he announced that he was running with Donald Trump. The dream consisted of him standing there with black holes for eyes and a gaping maw where his mouth was meant to be. It was horrifying. I felt like he was coming for me. ~Anonymous 

And the existential horror of the archetype of inhuman-humanity seems to feed upon itself: 

…once i dreamt trump was a cannibalistic rapist/serial killer who tore open his own head to reveal another identical trump inside[xxxii]

Other dreams frame psychopathy as evocative of demonic possession. In the dream below – the president is depicted as the possessing demon named “Killer Bob” – who takes over the souls of various characters in the television show “Twin Peaks” – in order feed off of the suffering of others:

What does it mean if you wake up fully from a deep, deep sleep after having dreamt that Trump is revealed to be Bob from Twin Peaks and then he murders you slowly with a tiny knife[xxxiii]

Others dream of Trump as the archetypal embodiment of evil, the Devil himself:

This is funny! I had a dream that my Mom (may she Rest In Peace) told me that Trump was the devil! [xxxiv]

The #DonaldTrumpDreamDiary (Day 3): Last night I dreamed @realDonaldTrump was eulogizing #StephenHawkings when Trump suddenly disappeared into an alternative universe, leaving nothing behind but the smell of sulfur.[xxxv]

I had a dream where Trump was at a gala with Melania, they were about to hold each other’s hand to walk and Trump ripped his face/clothes off and he actually had a costume of the devil underneath. He started dancing (without Melania who was starring at him like the entire world through tv like wtf) and then he took off his mask and just laughed saying “just kidding”.[xxxvi]

I had a dream last night NO JOKE that Donald trump was a fly in my bathroom and it died and I was like “mum lol guess the devil isn’t coming on Friday 13th anymore”[xxxvii]

Charlotte Beradt reports a German dream with a similar theme:

I was sitting in a box at the opera, dressed in a new gown, and with my hair beautifully done. It was a huge opera with many many tiers, and I was enjoying considerable admiration. They were presenting my favorite opera, The Magic Flute. When it came to the line, “That is the devil certainly,” a squad of policemen came stomping in and marched directly up to me. A machine had registered the fact I had thought of Hitler on hearing the word “devil”… (The Third Reich of Dreams, p. 25)

Beradt recounts that the dreamer then searches the vast audience for an ally or assistance and is either spat upon or met with blanks stares of the terrified or already possessed.

Intentionally hurting or torturing animals is a symptomatic alarm signal that is strongly associated with the sadistic aspects of psychopathy. Dreams of harm to innocent animals, seems to speak not only of sadism but of damaging environmental policies and the president’s support of the NRA and big game hunting. 

Woke up from a nightmare that Trump personally shot and and killed the last three Northern White Rhinos. Still had to check the internet to make sure it wasn’t just a dream.[xxxviii]

Had a dream Trump kept exotic pets in ill conditions and his children tried to take care of them but he forbade them. Once he was booted out of office the animals were seized and taken to sanctuaries. But his croc ate his monkey because it was starved.[xxxix]

…Last night, I dreamed I was back in math class, and the teacher brought in a therapy elephant, and then Trump walked in and shot it.[xl]

I had a dream that Trump murdered a puppy in front of me & if that doesn’t tell you what I think about his character, I don’t know what will[xli]

I dreamed that Trump killed the red-tailed hawk that lives near my back yard.[xlii]

I had a dream that I had a cat, and Donald Trump started petting the cat, and I was SO afraid he was going to hurt it. Then he turned around and drop-kicked a stuffed animal dog. I asked him, “Do you have anything you love?” He just looked at me and shook his head. [xliii]

I had a dream where I went on a heist to save a ton of kittens from Trump and stole a stack of litter boxes, got caught but they let me go[xliv]

Perhaps such dreams also speak to the aspects of Trump’s public image, or aspects of the dreamer themselves which are experienced by the dreamer as unnatural, against human nature, or alien in some way. The a group of about twenty dreams articulate this “alien” theme explicitly:

I dreamt that aliens put trump in power to outrage people enough that it would wake up the apathetic and change the course of history by endorsing people so they would lose[xlv]

Had a dream that Trump was tweeting on air force one that when he landed he had a big surprise for America. I was starting to feel bad for him. Suddenly huge alien ships came out of the sky and blew us all up. That was the surprise.[xlvi]

I had a dream that some kind of “space package” came down to Earth & the items in the package proved Trump was from another planet & he was trying to eventually have mankind enslaved. Lol. Then the people at the end rose up, picked Trump & others up, and locked them in jail.[xlvii]

Twitter feed/reality is fucking me up. I had a nightmare the republicans were working with aliens who could mind control people, and would murder anyone it didn’t work on. Eventually the aliens planned to kill their republican ‘partners’, too.[xlviii]

Last night my friend had a dream Donald J. Trump was acting so bizarre people started demanding he produce his Earth certificate.[xlix]

Last night j had a dream where trump, his family, supporters, and anybody associated with him got sent to another planet and Barack Obama was president again.[l]

I weirdly had a dream about this couple days before I heard about a gov shutdown. Don’t worry. It’s unearthed Trump is an alien after the gov is shut down. We all rise up in anger, the last straw, & we literally pick him up & throw him/others in jail. We all rejoice, sing songs.[li]

It is also interesting to consider to what degree dreamers are manifesting their associations to Trump as “alien” defined not only as from another planet – but in alien defined as loyalty and political allegiance to a foreign government.

Certainly these dreams of violated norms depict the ways that dreamers feel assaulted, attacked, possessed, infiltrated, invaded, and dominated by the Trump administration. Our next chapter will explore how dreamers respond to the disseminated doctrine of Trumpism.

 

_______________

[i] @WhiteWickWoss

[ii] @memslytoddsly

[iii] @tonyheyl

[iv] @trillestjb

[v] @horrendoustitty

[vi] @ArtistX62

[vii] @allyourdata

[viii] @DickMills

[ix] @Lucas_A_Hubbard

[x] @SMACK64

[xi] @bubba1505

[xii] @bookappreciator

[xiii] @jjschach

[xiv] @jayjayhandcock

[xv] @hankgreen

[xvi] @I_go_by_Mandy

[xvii] @ShazamABlama

[xviii] @jessiehartnell

[xix] @SteveRGrill

[xx] @OhMeadhbh

[xxi] @eviebauer727

[xxii] @JessyEllenB

[xxiii] @CapehartJ

[xxiv] @nakinatalbert

[xxv] @courtneyhook29

[xxvi] @DuplicateBoy

[xxvii] @srosariobarron

[xxviii] @bonmarta_

[xxix] @carlycoop

[xxx] @lady_aniMegan12

[xxxi] @emm_fee

[xxxii] @susurrus

[xxxiii] @IAmLindseyOk

[xxxiv] @HueManBean

[xxxv] @JoelStreicker

[xxxvi] @bravenskai

[xxxvii] @leezapolo

[xxxviii] @Ryanornot

[xxxix] @Jes_Jung

[xl] @weezwrites

[xli] @lyds_reed

[xlii] @AmyMcLelland3

[xliii] @HokyShmokes

[xliv] @GisellyGiselly2

[xlv] @AlluringShrew

[xlvi] @theycallmederk

[xlvii] @Omnistic

[xlviii] @moonklutz

[xlix] @bppfeiffer

[l] @CabelloMinnie

[li] @Omnistic

 

In a chapter entitled “The Everyday World by Night” Charlotte Beradt reports dreams of household objects, lamps, couch pillows, ovens that develop the power of speech and reveal all their owner’s secrets. Beradt uses these dreams to explore the pervasive fear of surveillance in Germany of the 1930’s (as will we when we discuss surveillance dreams). But the sense of infiltration, of intrusion into every crack and corner of everyday living is also of note, and is a common theme in our dreaming. The pervasiveness of Trump generated news into every room of the house and every moment of the day, the inescapable surround of Trump-noise is the subject of about thirty eight dreams in the collection, as if our very homes have been taken over:

Had a dream I bought a house but it was infested with talking termites that all had Trump’s face and sounded like they all inhaled too much helium.[i]

Stretched out on the couch & fell asleep with the news on (just now woke up) dreamed Trump showed up at my apt, secret service told me I had to let him in but then he wouldn’t leave, and kept wandering around complaining because I didn’t have snacks or soda[ii]

And the home invasion seems to often focus on a seeping toxicity that seems to penetrate any boundary that we attempt to set against it:

I had a dream that Trump and his son were hiding in my childhood bedroom and smoking cigarettes with gloves because they were afraid of burning their hands[iii]

I had a drawn out dream last night about Trump. He came into my home with his security guys and took over my house to use for some political event?? He started taking apart our backyard without even asking![iv]

I just dreamt I had to brush my teeth next to Donald Trump. Ugh[v].

 Trump, in these dreams follows us from the cradle to the grave, from birth to death.

I actually had this dream last night: Trump announced it would be a new law that if a birthday cake is purchased before someone’s birthday and it’s just sitting around the kitchen, it’s perfectly acceptable to cut the cake before the actual birthday. He said, “IT’S MANDATORY.”[vi]

I had a dream this morning that Trump wouldn’t leave me alone. To get rid of him, I ran into a cemetery but there were riddles I couldn’t figure out there and then I woke up[vii]

Paying taxes is made even more odious

OMG i just remembered I had a dream that my accountant told me my tax rate was 10% because of Trump but I had to sign a loyalty pledge, and I called my sister crying.[viii]

He disrupts our religious practices, and sacred rituals, disrupting vows and worship:

Last night, I had my first wedding stress dream. I dreamed the wedding was taking place at one of Trump’s golf courses and that he crashed our reception…[ix]

My husband of 42 years (who died in 2008) and I have just gotten married. I wear a long white bridal gown (simple with lace). There are many people celebrating w/ us. I want them to be happy. They drink wine and wait for the banquet. A man I don’t know comes in with a huge flat bowl and a large bottle of champagne. He’s making wedding punch. Everyone stands in a circle holding hands to have a celebratory circle dance. I go to get my husband who is sitting near the edge of the room talking to a close friend and a few other men. He comes with me, but looks upset. The men are talking about politics. My husband is mad about Trump. I grab his hand. “Don’t talk politics w/ your friend,” I say. “This is our wedding.”  He agrees and stands next to me in the circle holding my hand. ~ Anonymous

I had a dream that my old pastor said from the pulpit: “if you didn’t vote for Trump, you don’t understand the Gospel” except the pastor was Trump!!![x]

 I had a dream I went to Easter Mass to check out the scene and low and behold      Trump was at the alter trying to usurp the priest is a semi-hostile takeover.[xi]

In dreamtime he infiltrates and dictates our work lives, and also judges our performance:

My dream was that there was some kind of outdoor event or press conference we were all expecting Trump to show up to. I was holding a clipboard, and was there in some kind of “official” capacity. We were waiting and waiting, and then suddenly I am in the back of a limo with trump himself, on our way to the event. He had a sour look on his face. He talked to me but his face wasn’t really moving. He was berating me and telling me I sucked at my job. I woke up feeling bad about myself and ashamed. ~ Anonymous

A high school friend (male) was back in my life (I have literally not seen him or remembered him for years–which made it strange… I can’t remember his name, but remember his face). He was forced to resign from a job he loved to take on an electrician job which he never trained for. He told me that he had to do this under the new government. In my dream I remember feeling that was really normal and shrugging it off. In the background was the image of Trump on a TV, but no sound…just his pursed lips and angry face. The outline of the TV was red (not like a black framed TV). It was strange and felt so disconnected when I woke up. ~ Anonymous

I dreamt I had to go to a Trump rally for work.[xii]

I had a dream that Donald trump became a manager at my job . Like he was running the shift and I was working that shift too. Apparently he quit being president ( I wish) and apparently people respected him that he works at in n out and I would just give him attitude and talked to my boss on why[xiii]

I had a dream i was working for Mr Trump, Don Jr shows up at my job, gets on the phone with someone he’s hiring to take my place. I lost my job, then i found myself on golf course lawn. I’m so bad I can’t even keep a job in a dream[xiv].

I dreamt of Trump being my boss. Weird.[xv]

I had a dream that Trump fired me and ate my cake[xvi]

I had a dream that Donald trump became my new store manager and fired me and I’m shook by it[xvii]

Our weekend recreations are no more exempt from impingement than our work week. The intrusion into the National Football Leagues policies on taking a knee to honor black lives seem to have provoked several dreams:

A few weeks ago, I had a dream where Trump was on the sidelines of an NFL game. A kicker was practicing kicking into the net. Trump tried to swoop in and kick it first, but missed and slipped into a mud puddle. Then he tried to play it off like it didn’t happen. Great dream. ~ Anonymous

Had a dream last night that Donald Trump came out during an Eagles game with the NFL rulebook and tried correcting an official on a penalty call. He and Pence then sat right in front of me and I yelled at them the rest of the game to til they left.[xviii]

Last night I dreamed that Trump demanded everyone at the #CollegeFootball championship game go through security again & delayed the game[xix]

No recreational activity is exempt:

I had a dream I was taking a class on Shakespeare taught by Natalie Portman, and it was awesome until Donald Trump tried to take over. He literally ruins everything.[xx]

He haunts dreamers on their vacations. There is literally no place left to “get away from it all.” All escape routes are cut off.

I had a dream I was at Magic Kingdom on NYE. Fighting wall-to-wall crowds, only thing open was ITS A SMALL WORLD. 1 minute in, the lights go out. Lights come back on, all the characters were replaced by Showbiz Pizza Band but lead by the Trump animatronic.[xxi]

Dreamt I called a forest ranger to tell him that Trump had broken into a cabin in the woods across from my childhood best friend’s house.[xxii]

I had a dream last night that I was on vacation somewhere and to my complete horror, Donald Trump was there. I accidentally made eye contact with him and I immediately gagged –like as a biological reflex, not on my own volition. That sounds about right.[xxiii]

And even the psychotherapy office is not exempt:

last night I had a dream that Donald Trump decided he was going to be my therapist. tf, my brain?[xxiv]

Of course the psychotherapy offices, above all, are flooded with Trump-talk daily, as therapists listen to clients sharing their hopes and fears, sorting through their losses defining their values, struggling with feelings of helplessness and impotence as those who value introspection feel politically besieged and controlled by those who do not.

 

____________________________________________

[i] @brandy_goslin

[ii] @winestainedlens

[iii] @pregnantmemedad

[iv] @NERDSnROSES

[v] @InvPac

[vi] @DilairSingh

[vii] @sparrowpost

[viii] @bridgetwi

[ix] @drussdamonk

[x] @beccapierpoint

[xi] @Holl_and

[xii] @sarahw12

[xiii] @marybieee

[xiv] @Migxp1

[xv] @dayanerds_

[xvi] @jaflaaac

[xvii] @awitsjocelyn

[xviii] @tholzerman

[xix] @ProRoMo

[xx] @auturgist

[xxi] @Oddernod

[xxii] @w3irddreams

[xxiii] @RaquelTWG

[xxiv] @MxAvren

The Roman trickster god Mercury (the Greek Hermes) “was looked upon as the patron of good luck and fortune, the patron of merchants and thieves,” And the volatile world of of commerce – derives its language “mercantile” merchandise” “market” from the god’s Roman name embedded in the Latin “mercatus” . Approximately thirty three of these dream-narratives focus on the impact of the Trumpist era on their ability to negotiate and fare for themselves in the national marketplace.

I had a dream Donald trump was at the piggly wiggly last night[i]

Some seem to feel themselves profoundly negatively impacted – commerce becomes a battle ground:

I just had a dream that I had a fist fight w Trump outside of a supermarket[ii]

Others make their unhappiness known through boycott:

Had a dream last night that all the lotion in Walmart had “we support trump” stickers on the bottles. Guess who had dry skin for the rest of her dream.[iii]

But no matter the nature of the response – many are dreaming about the Trump effect as it emerges in the marketplace – often represented in dreamtime by Walmart, the nation’s largest employer and retail market:

Last night I had a dream that Trump went on a rampage in a Walmart and a guy had to tackle him down until the police got there. He was a huge Trump supporter but was like, “I’m not taking this shit anymore”. I really hope this dream is prophetic and literal.[iv]

Had a dream where I saw Trump at a Wal Mart trying to return something to Customer Service and he had shit on his nose. I don’t know how you work, brain, but keep doing your thing.[v]

I dreamt that me and Donald Trump had to sit across from each other at a random table in the middle of a Walmart to attend a presentation. I went off on the guy and he gave half assed rebuttals[vi]

I had a dream I met President Trump in Walmart. He was holding a package and exclaiming, “this package is package-sized.” I pointed out his redundancy and wished him luck on his space trip that was scheduled later that day[vii].

Other dreamers experience Trumpism impinging upon their “daily bread” as they try to feed themselves.

had a dream Donald Trump bought me a breakfast sandwich and the sandwich sucked[viii]

Had a dream I went to McDonald’s and Donald Trump was making the burgers[ix]

Now my unconscious has gone political — I finally had my first Donald Trump dream! I met the president at a McDonalds and we had a really awkward handshake.[x]

And Trump sometimes appears possessed by trickster god himself, in his guise as patron of thieves:

Had a dream Donald Trump stole a cheeseburger off my tray at McDonalds, spent the rest of my dream trying to remember my twitter password so I could call him President Hamburgerlar [xi]

One time, I had a dream we were eating McDonald’s with Trump. Trump took one bite out of all the chicken nuggets so that no one else could have them. It was so petty and it’s probably some shit he’d do in real life.[xii]

The president’s known preference for fast-food, combined with an insatiable hunger is also a collective dream theme:

I had the weirdest dream. I dreamt that I went for my interview with the department of education and Donald Trump was there arguing with people over McDonald’s & KFC fries superiority. He was just shoveling fries into his mouth by the handful and abusing people. [xiii]

Holy shit I just remembered that I had a dream this morning that Trump bought all the shares to Wendy’s (is that how the stock market works? Idk) and I had to rush to tell my fiancé to never eat there again[xiv].

 I had a dream that Donald trump owned chicken express and it caused me to roll over in bed over my own glasses breaking them and ruining my sleep[xv]

I had a dream Trump’s tantrums is caused when he find out the ice cream Machine is down at McDonalds &still doesn’t work despite who he is.[xvi]

Many dream of Trump obstructing their ability to feed themselves.

I had a dream that Donald Trump put a wall between me and my fridge once[xvii]

I had a dream that Donald Trump made olives illegal because he thought they were “weird”.[xviii]

I had a dream that the community I lived in was poverty stricken, it was a Dickenson scene. There was a hopeful feeling and everyone was lined up. Apparently Donald Trump was kind and caring. He was handing out food himself on this day. When I got to the front of the line he handed me two grocery bags stuffed full with cold jo-jos. (fried potatoes) That’s what everyone was eating. That was all there was to eat. He was bragging about his philanthropy ~ Anonymous

Some find the president eating off their plates or taking food out of their mouths:

 I had a dream that I was on one of Trump’s advisory teams and we were all out to dinner and Trump just starts digging into my plate of spaghetti with my fork so I woke up pissed off[xix]

I had a dream I heated up my food and set it on a table. I come back and Donald Trump was eating my food! He took a bite out of everything so I wouldn’t eat it. He didn’t want the food he did it to be spiteful.[xx]

I had a dream I was having dinner at the white house, there more people than forks on the table and trump and I fought over the last fork (I woke up before there was a clear winner sadly)[xxi]

If an individual in a psychotherapeutic session presented me a dream about eating or being fed, (or not fed) by another, I might explore ideas around nurturance and nutrients – how does the relationship support or prevent them from feeding themselves emotionally, psychologically, intellectually, spiritually? Who or what type of relationship might the provider or the obstacle to food represent? How well are the dreamer’s essential needs met? Are the food stuffs and supplies in the dream inadequate, toxic, contaminated, or nutritious, healthy and abundant?

Keeping our national larder stocked, our bellies full and our household’s managed rests upon our economic policies and the choices we make collectively between investing in guns or butter. The next two dreams explicitly connect the dreamer’s concerns about putting food on the table to Trump’s economic policies :

I had a dream last night about Trump raising the food tax and THAT was the time people went ‘Okay, that’s enough, he’s out.’ I don’t even think ‘food tax’ is a thing[xxii]

Just woke up from a dream where trump won his 3rd term unopposed, we were

scrounging for matches and food, yet everyone’s lawn had gov’t paid palm trees in their yards….jfc![xxiii]

We seem to be dreaming of a marketplace, governed by a mercurial leader, as unreliable and unstable as quicksilver. As we shall see in the next section, our economic circumstance is not the only aspect of every day living that has been changed profoundly.

___________________

[i] @commit2theC

[ii] @tylerisburning

[iii] @alijhoff_

[iv] @PinkberryFTW

[v] @Ivebendirty

[vi] @AhaThisGuy

[vii] @davidthebennett

[viii] @ryleemccue

[ix] @jumairaahmed1

[x] @Ben_Koltun

[xi] @GavosRancheros

[xii] @PerriFoster

[xiii] @miniestmini

[xiv] @beckashleablog

[xv] @Josh_Be_Nimble

[xvi] @Kamifaine

[xvii] @MeghanWMcCarthy

[xviii] @lunarthelion

[xix] @C_GOMPhairs

[xx] @BasedMoonie

[xxi] @baguettehon

[xxii] @Dragon_Shivers

[xxiii] @dmbfanforlife41