Observations placeholder

I start from no particular place: I am cruising between two horizontal planes. These change from being clouds, seas, fields, star-firmaments, a metal grille, a huge flat ceiling and other images representing horizontal planes.
Barriers and Boundaries

I am annoyed that there is no steady representation of these planes. This creates bad vibes in me. The planes close in and it becomes darker. I want to go up or down to get out of this band. Looking around for a feature that may help me do this I see a large tree in a flat green landscape. I go down to this looking for a way out.
Trees can be portals 

At the base of the tree is a large fabric quilt thick like an eiderdown or duvet.
A very well disguised portal

A woman stands on it legs apart.
Confrontational stance for a woman – given the portal she is probably a guardian despite her attitude

Some kind of being sits on each of her shoulders: fairly small beings quite different from each other. 
Guardian helpers?

I move towards her. As I get near the woman leers rather than smiles and I see an accumulation of snake-like things on the ground between us. They are attached to nothing – just disembodied. The beings on her shoulders leer as well. I step back and the snake-images disappear. The leers cease. I step forward and the snake-images and leers appear again.
 She is quite a good guardian – she does no harm, but makes sure the portal is not accessible

I stand very still and then slowly get onto my hands and knees. I avert my face from the woman and start to crawl forward. As I get close a large number of verticle bars appear, blocking my way.
Locked – access denied, she is doing her job

I look up and see a knotted rope which I grasp and pull myself up to an opening which closes as I get near.
Locked – access denied, she is doing her job

There is an intense feeling of frustration and annoyance. I hold on, and  a creature appears and flies around me. It’s like a bird coloured black.
Crow, raven, blackbird?  See bird symbolism

It comes to my face and I feel something pushed into my mouth. I don’t know what it is but I push at the closed opening with it clenched between my teeth. As I push the opening folds inwards and I climb into it, taking care to remove the ‘thing’ from my mouth and put it in a belt I am wearing. I do not look at it to find out what it is.
The portal key

I am back in the darkened amphitheatre where the red-haired woman is standing. The black bird-like creature has come with me and is circling me ………..

We embrace so that whatever happens we will move together. This is not a loving embrace of any kind. The black bird-like creature circles round us. It goes to my belt and I immediately reach down for the ‘thing’. It is the ‘lollipop’ tool shining brightly now. Its fat end has an image of the sun.
This could be either an orb or a mace both of which are symbols of authority and probably thus give you authority to proceed a number of places like a pass key.  You will need to find out which it is to hold it correctly.

The embrace dissolves and I am alone holding the tool, which seems to be a source of physical power pulling me upwards. Up I go to become awake (and excited!).