The Dream Book of Self-Knowledge

Rock

represents an act and its fateful path to consequences; the rock is thus, like a stone, a symbol of karma*²⁶; since rocks represent past acts and their consequences, it is very good if the dream rocks have been worked or are even covered with ornaments, or if monumental edifices have been made from the rocks.
ornaments carved into the rocks (or written, drawn): very important symbols in the field of unification and also often relate to ancient civilizations (see Past and Future Visions archetype).
the bigger the rock, the greater the past act and therefore the greater the effort needed to remove it.
that smothers someone: a past negative act will soon affect the fate of the smothered or victimized person.
basalt or black cliff: not synonymous with hardness and strength as in waking consciousness, but with a burdensome past, synonymous with karmic debt that has now arisen in all its frightfulness; yet there's no need to hang your head since with faith and love in the heart any debt can be paid (climbing every cliff).
the shape of the cliff can offer much help in explaining the meaning of the cliff symbol (see individual shapes).
rocky mountain peak: burdensome, but an achievable life challenge.
on roads or railways: informs the dreamer of the need in the upcoming period to attempt to remove obstacles on the life journey, obstacles that the dreamer himself once created through his own acts.
sleeping on bare rock: the dreamer's subconscious attempt to understand the impact of any of his past acts.
cliff overhang: protection against adversity is now being created from past acts from the depths of the unconscious.
falling: potential consequence has now changed into an act and will soon affect its originator; a falling rock can sometimes cause a change in time and of a view to the deep past or to the far future (see Past and Future Visions archetype).
stairs carved into a cliff: symbolizes a past attempt or past positive acts that formed the foundation for future ascent.
crushing, smashing, making it disappear: a very positive dream since the dreamer's will intentionally eliminates the karmic consequences of past acts; the crushed rock can sometimes uncover an object revealing the period of the rock's creation (i.e. the cause that has now caught up to the dreamer).
moss-covered rock: represents a past negative act, an act that originated from uncontrolled instinctual desire; the appearance of such a symbol is a signal to the dreamer that he will now have to deal with the consequences and that it is only up to him whether he is able to understand karma and to nullify the karmic consequences (Law of Karma*³⁴) through proper actions.
vibrant coastal cliffs (often lying beyond a stormy sea): this image is a symbolic expression of the other shore described e.g. by Greek mythology in the adventures of the Argonauts (the other shore is the final great challenge for a person moving away from earthly ideals to the spiritual).
opening a rock by speaking a name: the unconscious enables the dreamer to enter other inaccessible buildings or areas; it is very positive if this is the dreamer's name since the capability of visiting the hidden nooks of one's psyche is thereby confirmed (the similarity with the magical command "Open Sesame" is no coincidence).
a mountain climber on a rock face: usually the spiritual animus or spiritual anima.
passing through to the inside of a rock where the restrictions of external spaces do not apply: this wonderful image symbolizes ascension to a higher level of consciousness, ascension beyond karmic causes and effects to the paradise of being (see Self archetype).
cave art (cave drawings): part of a ritual and a gateway to higher states of consciousness since these practices can make use of ritual sexual intercourse; phosphenic forms*¹⁷ are a kind of cave ritual art (see Apocalypse archetype).
ledge of a rock formation: usually symbolizes the bosom, less frequently a symbol of karma*²⁶, which represents an act and its fateful path to consequences.