The Archetype of the Crocodile

The crocodile and its alligator cousin appear regularly in the dreams of people far from warm, wet habitats. In ancient Egyptian mythology the divine crocodile Sobek was honored, especially at riverbanks, the threshold of land and water. The Egyptian earth god Geb was depicted as a crocodile guarding the gateway to the underworld. Thresholds mark the entry to the unknown, a realm where usual rules do not apply—an apt parallel to the boundary between the ego and the unconscious. Primordial force, seemingly submerged in psyche’s ancient riverbeds, can erupt to drown, dismember and devour the ego’s claim to autonomy. Moments of dissolution in trauma or periods of psychosis have power as crushing as the crocodile’s terrible teeth and gaping maw. The unconscious source of consciousness also has the power to consume it. Crocodile is danger, death, and life’s relentless urge to realize itself. 

 

References

Erich Neumann. The Great Mother, translated by Ralph Manheim

https://www.amazon.com/Great-Mother-Analysis-Archetype-Neumann/dp/0691166072/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=Erich+Neumann&qid=1638823454&s=books&sr=1-3

The Book of Symbols. Reflections on Archetypal Symbols. Taschen. 

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=The+Book+of+Symbols&i=stripbooks&ref=nb_sb_noss_2