Dolmen

A dolmen is a Neolithic stone tomb, usually with two side stones and a capstone that spans the distance between the side stones. They were, in some cases at least, covered with soil, which has weathered away. They could be considered portals to the afterlife. As a dream symbol, they carry associations with death (transformation) and access to the Invisible Realm. As tombs, they symbolize, for me, the idea that something of myself is entombed, that is, buried in a way that feels permanent and unchanging. The stones evoke the appearance of permanence but also the suggestion that anything built by humans eventually gives way to the passage of time, as stone walls crumble and even dolmens eventually fall. I can’t escape the pun of “dole men”—so maybe my masculine aspect is “on the dole” somehow, living off the efforts of my feminine side without offering work in exchange.