A Vivid Dream: Interpretations Encouraged

This is going to be quite a personal post...

I may be knowledgable on many Pagan topics, but I had a spiritually raw experience at the ripe age of four that I still vividly remember. It introduced me to my Power Animal. I'm confident in that. But, the experience can be interpreted in many different ways to the point that it still feels mind blowing to question. I'd like some insight while others may be able to relate to how I feel. I had a dream. No, not the Martin Luther kind of dream, but a vivid dream that involved Astral Projection. Actually (now that I think about it), it was two dreams that happened several months apart from one another. I welcome all interpretations if you'd be interested in discussing the experience with me. You are all also welcome to post about your strange experiences from childhood. I will divide the entire post into organized sections to make my words more clear.

The First Dream

I was laying in my bed in the dream. In it, I was facing my bedroom door when I happened to notice it was slowly beginning to open. I saw the traditional green-skinned witch staring at me. At the time, I recognized witches as what they are portrayed as on TV. This witch resembled the Witch of the West which I feared. Fear plunged within me as she continued to open the door. She looked like she was trying to tell me something.  I jumped out of bed and ran into the hallway. I was headed toward my parents' bedroom, and then I turned around and watched her figure disappear and turn into a bat. I awoke, frightened. 

The Second Dream

In this one,  I had become the same bat. This was an AP dream. I was flying into my basement and I crashed into the wall and it woke me up.

Comments

I feel that my fearful perception of witches as a child was tied to the Bat's involvement in my life. In the dream I ran from the witch, something I adored and feared. As she became Bat, and then as I became Bat, it may have symbolized the vanishing of that view I thought was reality. In Shamanism, they say Bat leads us through darkness in places where you become blinded. Could Bat have been leading me past that fear so I could gain spiritual truth?  Also, Bat has physically manifested in my life many times.

Key Symbol Phrases: illusion, rebirth, dreams, intuition, initation, journeying,  inner depth, communication. 

I feel like my view under 'Comments' is accurate but I still become afraid to think that maybe those dreams were warning me to stay away from Wicca. I used Shaman related beliefs to tie my view together.  Somehow, this fear keeps crawling around me. I just thought maybe others would have good insight and that maybe I could help other people feel secure from having childhood experiences like this as well. Please enjoy the moonlight. I'd appreciate any conversation.