I think it is a very similar mechanism, essentially, a dream-like active imagination.
What often helps these symbols transform, or at the very least "activate" so we can interact with them, is having enough conscious awareness placed on them. In typical active imaginations, we may talk with the image, or prompt it in some way. For me, I was still in a half-asleep state, but I had enough consciousness to focus on the symbol. Perhaps, this mimics a lucid dream state, which has similar flavors to active imagination as well.
My (limited) experience with active imagination is symbolic images can often appear to transform.. is that something different?
I think it is a very similar mechanism, essentially, a dream-like active imagination.
What often helps these symbols transform, or at the very least "activate" so we can interact with them, is having enough conscious awareness placed on them. In typical active imaginations, we may talk with the image, or prompt it in some way. For me, I was still in a half-asleep state, but I had enough consciousness to focus on the symbol. Perhaps, this mimics a lucid dream state, which has similar flavors to active imagination as well.