Apache Plaza; Yellow Yin

(Saturday, November 25, 2017) moon first quarter Aquarius / tarot Maiden of Pentacles reversed

When I awake from this very long and deeply visual tale, I realize it is an old recurring dream that I have not had for a couple of decades.

I am at Apache Plaza, the shopping mall in St. Anthony Village that was torn down in 2004. (I visited there often as a child and when I lived in Nordeast.) I am entering a department store, maybe Montgomery Ward (“Monkey Ward” my grandfather called it) or Woolworth’s, with my boyfriend and his friend that I used to date.

We walk up to the hostess counter of the department store restaurant. We are given rectangular plastic devices that are similar to cell phones, but are the outdated versions: walkie talkies or CB radios. They have no batteries (free of charge, powerless). My ex-boyfriend has brought his own batteries. My techy boyfriend has not and this angers me. I grab my shoulder bag, announce that I will go to BestBuy to purchase batteries, and then I fly out of the room. (There was a Radio Shack at Apache, but no BestBuy, which was originally called Sound of Music.)

The dream goes on and on. It feels like I walk for miles and miles in the mall, searching store after store. This is the part that reminds me of the old recurring dream.

I stop at a jewelry kiosk in the Plaza courtyard. Cullan works there with his Chinese girlfriend. I tell him that I am searching for BestBuy. He says his girlfriend can help. She speaks no English, but directs me to an arcade full of small Chinese shops. No one in the arcade speaks English either. It appears I have travelled to China.

On the outside edge of the arcade I come across a huge new Chinese bank called Yellow Yin. It is open to the public but has yet to stock the vaults with currency (no currency – past lives?) Instead, spacious room after spacious room is filled with magnificent statues carved from pale yellow marble. There are hundreds, maybe thousands of intricately carved, life-sized statues, both male and female, unlike the Chinese Terracotta Army, which includes only male warriors. These statues have the detail of Greek or Renaissance artwork. Some are decorated with jewels and bits of fabric and lace. I explore the gallery for a long time.

Finally I return to the center of the mall, in St. Anthony Village. By now I just want to find the restaurant and reconnect with my boyfriend. But I am completely lost. A middle-aged woman with long curly hair, streaked with grey, offers to help me.

We decide that the most efficient way to locate the restaurant is from the outside of the Plaza. We move outdoors. Much of the parking lot is fenced off and under construction. That complicates the search, but eventually we find the restaurant, which has been completely rebuilt and relocated next to the mall. The woman heads off across a field of grass and trees, waving good bye. She says we may meet again through a friend of hers, whose name I do not recognize. I remind her that we are strangers and she nods in agreement. I walk to the restaurant.

Day notes:

This is a dream I could work on for months, if not years.

Yellow in Chinese culture is courage, freedom from worldly cares and the color of mourning for Buddhists. Monk garments are yellow. Citrinitas? Yellow/yin/earth.

I had a similar dream about Jill Purce. Her glass temple was filled with thousands of marble statues. Next year her retreat honors Yellow Tara.

Jung’s dream of the row of statues was about his past lives, say Sabine and others.

I have been emailing Victoria. This dream reminds me of the Plaza in Santa Fe. The Apache have several pueblos in northern New Mexico.

I found a website with historical data and images about Apache Plaza. One photo was of a big CB radio party.

http://apacheplaza.com/apachepage1.html