PART TWO

HOW TO INTERPRET YOUR DREAMS
AND CHANGE YOUR LIFE

 The Magician on the Astral Plane

Make me a wish
Spin me a tale
Throw a gold coin
Deep into the well.

Throw the I Ching
Watch how they fall
Frogs, toads and lizards
The future I call.

Send me a sign
I’ll open my palm
Just tell me the good things
Speak please no harm.

Win me the lotto
You know the score
Give me some numbers
I always want more.

To the north and the south
west, east, high above,
Down under, up over,
Seeking destiny, love.

Exhausted, no progress
No oracle true
I travelled the Astral
Met someone I knew.

Myself in a dream
The wisest old sage:
My Astral Magician
Freed me from my cage.

Jane Anderson

Chapter 9

Universal and Shared Symbols

The Thread That Binds

A baby is born, anywhere in the world, at any time past, present or future, in any culture, yet those present at the birth always see the pain that brings forth a new life, a new beginning. Whether the baby is born into peace, war, abundance or poverty, born to inherit a throne or face death through neglect because she is the ‘wrong’ sex, is irrelevant. One process (pregnancy and labour) has ended and a new cycle has begun.

We share a common understanding in this experience which transcends time, language and culture. Birth can be seen as a symbol of a new beginning, often born of struggle or pain.

We spend around nine months gestating in the womb, bathing, floating, flying, weightlessly swathed in water. Our foetal senses pick up the sounds of music, arguments and laughter. We sense our mother’s anxiety, happiness or anger, we relax as she relaxes, tense as she tenses. Surely this life before birth is one bathed in emotions? Is it any surprise that we are born with a sense that water relates to emotions? After birth, water can sweep us away in a torrent, relax and soothe us, cleanse us, rain down and depress us, overwhelmingly flood us or quench us when we need it most. Water flows and changes shape, speed and temperature according to the demands imposed upon it by vessel, wind and weather, just as our emotions respond to our changing surroundings, moment by moment. Throughout the world it ‘sits right’ with people that water symbolises our emotions.

These shared symbols which resonate deeply with all peoples of the world, giving a sense of inner recognition, and producing a similar gut reaction among us all, are known as ‘universal symbols’. They are part of the common thread which binds us. Many of us, especially those of us raised in Western societies, have lost the ability to raise that touched chord of inner knowledge to the surface, to recognise and label it in waking life. As soon as a dream heavy in symbols is interpreted for such a dreamer, their recognition is immediate. It’s as if the dream speaks to them at a very deep level, and the dream interpreter simply puts that inner understanding into everyday, practical terms. Rediscovering that link between the unconscious understanding of your situation and its practical application in everyday life is what tuning into universal dream symbols is all about.

As the world changes, and the passing centuries see roads, cars, computers and nuclear power becoming assimilated into our universal culture, we acquire new dream symbols to add to the ancient. Some, such as the flush toilet, may become shared symbols (common to many), rather than universal symbols (common to all). An unconscious recognition of a flush toilet as a symbol of somewhere to let go of waste water (waste emotions) or ‘all that shit’ is shared among the world’s more affluent (not effluent!) peoples. Although a toilet may not be a true universal symbol, its evident symbolism is common enough to be seriously considered as a shared symbol.

Sceptics love to attack the idea of universal symbols in dreams. ‘How can a tree mean the same to all people?’ they ask. The answer is ‘It can’t, but on the whole, it does.’ If you work as a water engineer, then the water in your dreams may reflect the fact that you work all day with water. Such personal associations are always more important when interpreting a dream than the universal, or shared symbols, and this is considered in the next chapter.

The common mistake in dream interpretation is to assign a universal meaning to every tangible item in the dream. This is where the old witches dictionaries (still filling many bookshop shelves) come out with entries such as the following two, selected at random from a 1980’s dream dictionary:

‘Mint Julep’: To mix or drink a mint julep in a dream foretells enjoyment through making an effort to understand the viewpoint of others.’

‘Collecting’: A dream of collecting stamps, bird’s eggs, old furniture, etc foretells meeting celebrities of the screen, stage or television.’
(Your Innermost Thoughts Revealed: Dreams: Hidden Meanings & Secrets, Tophi Books, Ramboro London, 1987)

Most words in a dream account can be broken down and interpreted in some way, but only a proportion of this analysis is done using universal symbols. It is vitally important to realise that universal symbols can supply the skeleton, or comment on the general area of concern in a dream, but other methods of dream interpretation must also be used to fill in the fine details or capture the dream’s true essence, without which the dream has no life or individuality of its own. These other methods are spelled out in further chapters.

Occasionally, usually at major transition points in a person’s life, a short dream composed almost entirely of universal symbols will appear. Such dreams should be treated with great respect. They often reflect in symbolic form major changes that the dreamer is experiencing in life, as if in confirmation and comfort for the dreamer in times of personal transformation. Alternatively, these apparently bizarre symbol dreams may emerge as cries from the soul, tempting us to cross a barrier into a new domain, to have courage and move on to the next stage in life’s journey or further along our personal path of enlightenment. The dreams may symbolise our current situation, inspiring us to reject and move forward, or they may symbolise our future situation as it could be, the dangling carrot to reach out and claim. Time almost becomes irrelevant. The focus of these heavily symbolic dreams is on the state of flux which contrasts the status quo with the potential for change.

Practicalities

If you have skipped ahead to Part Two before reading Part One, stop! This book has been designed to lead you through levels of looking at dreams and beginning to understand their nature from page 1. Start at the beginning and journey with the book. What you need to know will unfold to you page by page, calling out and resonating with your own dream memories until everything falls into place. Your deepest dream language is being rekindled, step by step, so that it may burst into full flame and continue to burn brightly, bringing clarity and insight to your dreams. While you will find this chapter useful to refer back to, I it is important that you arrive at the right place at the appointed time.

You might also find it useful to refer to the interpretations of common recurring dreams and nightmares in the next chapter, Chapter 10.

Practising Allegory: Regaining the Wisdom of a Child

The symbolic dream is an allegory, like a children’s fairy tale or mystical picture book. Nothing is at it seems and nobody is who they appear to be, but to the child, all is clear. Paint a picture of a rainbow and any child will tell you it holds promise and riches. The child has never seen a witch, a locked chest or a magic seed, but when you introduce them into a bedtime story they need no explanation.

To understand dream symbols, imagine you are the teller of tales, creatively weaving an ancient magical myth to be passed from generation to generation. Pick and choose from some of the universal and shared symbols described below, then let more fill your mind. Think back to the old legends and fairy tales, and see, in reflection, the symbols they contain and their relevance to our ancestors, ourselves and our future generations as we all experience the same cycles of life. Think of your own situation or the problems and circumstances of those close to you, and transform them into allegory and symbol, whether prose, poem or painting. With practise, you will find yourself gradually tuning into, even thinking or talking in, this ‘new’ language.

Your own dream experiences, whether they originated from your unconscious mind or from external physical or spiritual sources, were captured and recorded in symbol form by your mind. You selected the images to best fit what you experienced or learned in your dream. In all likelihood you unconsciously chose universal symbols, or those shared in common with many others. Some symbols may have more personal relevance. In the end, you were the dreamer of the dream, so you are the best person to break the code. Use the following, therefore, as a guide only.

Basic Universal and Shared Symbols

Note:
Figures in brackets show the percentage of survey dreamers who have dreamed this symbol regularly in the last two years.

Most dreams comment on our journey through life, or on our reluctance to travel further when we opt for the rut of routine in preference to the challenge of personal growth.

1 THE ROAD

Paths, streets, roads and highways generally symbolise the way you are travelling through this part of your life. Is it an easy road, or are there obstacles? Is it level or hilly? Do you walk alone or in company? Do you know where you are going, or are you lost? Do you walk or travel freely, or is it difficult to move? Are you looking for a turning, an alternative route or a way back? How do you feel on this journey? Is there danger? Is the path well travelled or is this a pioneer’s route? Are you travelling in the same direction as others, or against the flow? Are you at a crossroads? Is there plenty of time? How much baggage do you carry? What kind of terrain are you crossing? What kind of information do these observations give you about your present journey?
(City streets 41.9%; Small town streets 29.4%; Back streets 25%; Main roads 23.1%; Highways 15.6%; Village streets 10.6%).

I often have to turn back and find another road.
(Seeker, astrologer)

(Seeker is not getting through and needs to look for alternative paths.)

2 THE LANDSCAPE

Mountains (36.9%) can symbolise the challenging and difficult aspects of your journey, aspects which may also be the most exhilarating. The way may be hard and steep, or you may fly easily to the peak. Is the view from the top rewarding and clear, or misty and cold? Do you look back to see how far you have come, or look ahead? What is ahead of you? Did you make the decision to climb freely or did you feel under pressure? Did the climb present you with danger, precipices, knife edges and avalanches? How did you handle them? What does this say about how you are handling life now? Or did you stay at the bottom, in safety, but without progress? How far have you come on this journey? How does this relate to your waking life now?

Valleys (23.8%) may symbolise the downs between the ups. You may rest and recuperate in a valley or you may feel low, lost, even depressed. How did you feel in your dream valley and how does this relate to your waking life?

Forests (35%) are made up of many trees. Trees usually symbolise our individual or personal growth, from our beginnings in the roots to our new growth at the tips of the branches. The shape, species and condition of the tree gives more information. The tree may also symbolise the ‘family tree’ and our feelings about our family and our place in it, while a forest of trees may show the growth of those around us.

Bush and wilderness (bush 30.6%) are places where the vegetation grows natural and wild. Nothing bears the cultivated touch of civilisation. Dreams set in the bush may reflect your journey into your natural self, that part of you which is untouched by society, manners and expectations.

Jungle (8.1%) territory is where we survive or die. Perhaps you meet the wilder parts of yourself in this dream scenario, or get lost in the tangly vegetation of your deep inner self.

Farms (23.8%) perhaps show life in the raw, natural instincts, or domestication. Compare the dream action with its farm background, and see the connection between the two.

The coast (56.3%) is the place where the sea (34.8%) (the deeper emotions, unconscious and collective unconscious) meets the land (the conscious, practical, more grounded self.) Here you stand or paddle on the edge of your emotions, lingering between delving deeper into your unconscious emotions and playing it ‘safe’ in ignorance.

The sea (34.8%) can symbolise the huge emotional reservoir of our unconscious right down to the way it mingles with the oceans of the world, in the same way that we communicate with all others in the realm of the unconscious.

Water (81.9%), representing the emotions, makes sense when you consider its form in the dream. Look at a river (36.9%), for example. If you encounter a river on your dream journey, is it free flowing, dammed, stagnant, torrential, murky, clear, bubbling, deep, uncrossable or navigable? Does it present you with a challenge in your dream (a river to cross) or a way forward (you can travel on it, go with the flow)? A pond (15%) has stillness and many levels. Who knows how deep it goes? What would this say about the depth and unruffled layers of your emotions? Do you know what is at the bottom of your emotional pond? Play with the feelings the water symbols inspire, match them with the story-line of the dream, and play detective until the ‘truth’ hits home.
(Edge of the sea 55%; surf 31.9%; deep sea 31.3%; swimming pool 24.4%; stream 24.4%; lake 19.4%; waterfall 13.1%; bath 10%; tank 2.5%.)

I am usually involved with a body of water, running river, ocean, pond, underwater lake. I may swim, drown, float or usually observe. Sometimes I see myself watching.
(Mason, unemployed hospital orderly)

(Mason is facing his emotions and working out ways of dealing with them.)

A cliff edge or precipice (cliff 25.6%) gives a view from on high, but may also spell danger if it is narrow or overhangs the water. There may be a danger or fear of falling. Do you feel in control on this cliff edge, or are you subject to the winds with the prospect of falling to your death (an end to something) or of landing in deep water (emotions)?

I had a recurring dream of going down, either into a pit, downstairs, underground in the dark and being unable to get out, or falling into water and all going black, or being trapped by waves, balancing precariously high in the air on something just big enough to support me.
(Pearl,secretary)

(Pearl, at this period in her life, found herself living on the edge, barely able to support herself and fearing being trapped by her emotions. She teetered between keeping her head up and going down into her unconscious where she felt depressed and overwhelmed by what faced her there. She felt she could neither delve within or stay where she was.)

Cities or Towns (city streets 41.9%; small town streets 29.4%) frequently symbolise civilisation and your relationship to other people and society.

Deserts (9.4%) have little water (emotions) so they are often symbols of emotionally deprived areas of your life. They may also symbolise aspects of survival.

Foreign countries (42.5%) especially ones you haven’t visited and have no personal association with, may represent uncharted, unfamiliar territory. Here, perhaps, you find yourself journeying through areas in your life which you do not consciously recognise, meeting new situations which feel foreign to you.

Bridges (20.6%) take you from one area of life to another, usually by crossing over water or a busy road. Bridges often bring a sense of finality, a one-way crossing, or a bridging of the gap. They tend to symbolise age transitions, such as adolescence, parenthood, marriage, divorce, the menopause or older age. Take nothing for gospel though. Get a feeling for the bridge symbol, and apply it to the rest of the dream.

(Other landscapes: park 19.4%; plain 16.3%; rich areas 13.8%; poor areas 10.6%; other planets 9.4%; playgrounds 6.3%.)

 

3 MEANS OF TRAVEL

Cars (73.8%; car park 9.4%) have been accessible to many of us for no more than a few decades, yet they have become a shared symbol because they have become part of our (almost) universal landscape. They represent a means of power-assisted travel and also our ‘drive’ or motivation, since we select, in our dream, what kind of car, how to drive it, where to go and so on. Are you driving (58.1%) (in control) or are you being driven by (controlled, going along with, or following) someone else (36.8%)? Is the car fast and showy, slow and falling apart or average and boring? Does it accelerate well? Do you occasionally lose control? Are the brakes in good order? Can you stop safely? Does the car move forward or slide back? Have you locked yourself out or lost the keys? Is the car burned out? Do you find yourself in the back seat and feel the need to take control from there? Is your way clear or is the traffic heavy? Are you blocked from the fast lane? Are you in the fast lane and unable to exit? Did you miss your turning? What would these details suggest about your drive, motivation and the way you are approaching your journey through life? Your ease of travel comments on your waking life journey. Contemplate the following results from the survey. What would each situation tell you?
(Ease of travel by transport: I drive 58.1%; I reach my destination 41.9%; someone else drives 36.9%; I am chased 35%; the ride is fast and easy 34.4%; I get lost 33.8%; I go uphill 30.6%; I get delayed 30%; I go downhill 26.3%; the transport crashes 21.3%; the ride is slow and difficult 18.8%; I miss the bus or transport 16.9%; the transport breaks down 15%; I am chasing someone else 8.8%.)

I dreamed I was coming home from work and my car crashed. I was crushed in a rolling tossing mess of crushed metal. I heard a noise like a helicopter and a gust of wind lifted me up to safety. One or two weeks later I got sick and gave up my full time job.
(Michealla, natural therapist)

(Michealla’s dream warns of her imminent crash and ending of that part of her life’s journey, yet the helicopter (life-saving transport) shows she can survive in a different way.

Motorbikes (14.4%) may symbolise the new-found power, energy, noise and showy dare-devil attitude, or sexuality, of adolescence or youth.

Bicycles (15.6%) only work when you put in the effort to push the pedals. The faster you push, the faster you go. Riding a bike in a dream may be a measure of self-motivation, of getting there under your own steam, of self-sufficiency. Or perhaps you find yourself, in the dream, wishing you had a car. What would this mean to you?

Boats and ships (33.8%) are means of journeying across water, across the emotions. Is the journey rough or smooth? Is there danger of drowning, or is the boat leaky? Who is in control? Where are you going? What does your dream say about how you approach your emotional journey?

Planes (41.3%; airport 20.6%) frequently symbolise high-flying ideas, or ways of thinking. They may take off, not take off, crash or arrive safely (be completed successfully). They may be big or small, you may pilot or be a passenger. How do you feel about your plane journey? What does this tell you about your approach to getting ideas off the ground, or about how the way you think is serving you?

Trains (31.3%; train or bus stops 23.1%) travel well-worn routes and stick to the rails, so they can be seen as a rigid but safe way of journeying – perhaps symbolising a discipline or established routine you are following, for example. You travel with others as a group, all ‘in it together’. Trains may also symbolise ‘training’.

Buses (27.5%; bus or train stops 23.1%) are similar to trains, although perhaps less restrictive in terms of destination but slower to arrive. They may represent travelling within the safety of numbers, but without individuality or any sense of being in the driving seat of your situation.

Horses allow you to travel with a sense of freedom, in touch with your animal passion: great symbolism!

 

4 PERSONAL MOVEMENT

How do you get around in dreams when you don’t use transport? The ease with which you move gives clues about the way you move through your waking life. Consider the following results from the survey. What does each suggest?
(Ease of personal movement: normal 77.5%; fast and easy 46.9%; stuck or held back 38.1%; slow 24.4%; fast but hard work 22.5%; very slow 8.1%.)

Swimming (31.3%) is a way of moving through water, which is symbolic of your emotions. Are you getting right into the emotions, diving into emotional depths, going against the flow, or barely skimming the surface? Is the going easy or hard? What do these dream situations say about how you handle your emotional life?

Running (45.6%) may be for fun or exercise in a dream, or may be a means of escape. Do you run fast, get stuck, feel your feet glued to the ground, or keep falling down? How does running make you feel?

Flying (55%) may be for pleasure, escape or speed. It can afford us a bird’s-eye view and a feeling of freedom, or it can inspire a sense of potential.

Falling (33.1%) can be a relaxed feeling of letting go, or a panic ridden feeling of falling behind and getting nowhere, or losing out. It may be a fall to death (to an ending of some sort) or falling into depression. Be guided by how the fall makes you feel.

It is a fallacy that you never hit the bottom when falling in dreams, I certainly do.
(Robyn, sculptor)

(Robyn survives to experience the results of letting go. With this information she is better prepared to make decisions based on her dreams.)

(Other forms of personal movement: walk 83.8%; stand still 38.8%, sit still 21.3%.)

5 THE WEATHER

Sunshine frequently symbolises happiness, clarity, light and understanding.

Storms usually indicate inner turbulence and brewing emotions about to erupt. Expect a ‘storm’ in the form of an argument, emotional struggle or breakdown. A storm clears the air. Your dream warning of inner explosiveness may enable you to soften the effect of the waking life storm because you have seen it coming.

Thunder and Lightening stabilise the electrical imbalances in the atmosphere. They can symbolise nervous imbalance, perhaps soothed by taking Vitamin B complex or paying attention to sources of stress. Emotions have perhaps built to flashpoint, and the lightening symbolises the flashes of insight which can accompany the release of pent-up anger.

When I dream of an earthquake it usually foretells a big change in my life or [that of] another person in the dream.
(Jasmine, teacher)

(Earthquakes, rather like storms, tend to symbolise the very ground or foundations of our beliefs or personalities erupting explosively to allow change. Often change cannot occur effectively without this pent-up release, showing that emotions, whether we regard them as good or bad, need to surface and be released [by recognising and owning the repressed emotions] for progress to take place.)

Wind can represent the winds of change, ill winds and so on, depending on the content of your dream, but a tornado tends to be more of a common universal symbol, similar to the meaning behind a storm.

Rain (water: emotions) can be refreshing, a gentle sprinkling of comforting emotional or spiritual support, particularly if you also feel the sun on your back or see the promise of a rainbow. Heavy rain indicates depression, being washed out by emotions. How does your dream rain make you feel?

Floods (water: emotions) generally symbolise insurmountable emotions. You may fear drowning in your emotions, or find your home (symbolising your mind or current situation) overwhelmed by a flood of emotion.

Rainbows may symbolise promise, reminding us not only of their awesome beauty, but also of the sun which shines through rain.

Tidal Waves (19.4%) (water: emotions) usually symbolise huge, inescapable emotional deluges, which are the result of feelings which have been repressed for too long and which can no longer be held back.

Snow and Ice (frozen water) can represent frozen or cold emotions.

Clouds may be fluffy, white dream-like clouds, or big heavy rain clouds. Clouds may have silver linings or bring heavy rain (depression). How do your dream clouds make you feel?

Birth (pregnancy 31.9%; birth 26.9%; cradling an infant 36.9%), basically symbolises new beginnings, often born from pain, or from death of the old. Try to see the baby as a symbol of something new, something to be nurtured, or of your inner child, rather than as a real person. Chapter 15, Who Are All Those People? Will shed light here.

Death (serene death 17.5%; accidental death 27.5%; murder 25.6%), usually symbolises death of the old or endings which make way for birth of the new. Serene or painless deaths or killings show acceptance of the importance of letting the old or the past die to give birth to new growth. Alternatively your dream may be suggesting that you are ‘killing off’ something in your life prematurely. Consider the dream feelings and story-line to understand more. Again, do not focus so much on the person who is dying, for they are usually symbolic too. (See Chapter 15).

Union, marriage, sex (sexual encounter 56.9%; kissing, cuddling 48.1%; marriage, engagement 14.4%), frequently symbolise integration. Look beyond the person you are marrying or making love with, and see instead what they represent to you. Their character (or other aspects) may symbolise what you need to integrate into yourself to progress and grow, or perhaps may warn you that you are integrating aspects which are not so desirable. (Be guided by your feelings in the dream.) Also see Chapter 15.
(16.3% did not recall dreaming of any of the birth, death or union symbols.)

Day, sun By the light of day we see what is around us. Daylight tends to symbolise what we have become enlightened about, what we have moved into consciousness, what we can see clearly. Daylight generally symbolises our conscious self.

Darkness We cannot see clearly in the dark in the usual way. We walk around, not knowing where we are or what is there. We walk the unknown, the unconscious. Dark nights may symbolise our unconscious self, or what we keep in the dark. Intuition would perhaps enable better vision in these deeper realms of the self.

The full moon, if present in the darkness (mentioned above) may symbolise intuition, psychic sense and female-side (Yin) qualities. Dream moonlight opens our eyes to see what has, until now, been unconscious.

Spring usually symbolises new beginnings and fresh potential for growth.

Summer perhaps represents maturity and light.

Autumn can symbolise fruition, harvest and reaping the fruits of your previous labours.

Winter may represent endings and death of the old, or a period of hibernation, in preparation for a new beginning. Winter may also symbolise cold emotions.

Mornings are perhaps fresh beginnings with plenty of time ahead.

Afternoons may symbolise time progressing, perhaps with some achievement. Be guided by the feelings in your dream.

Evenings often represent endings, time running out or time to draw to a close, to retire or to rest in readiness for a new day, and a new beginning.

 

Our house or dwelling place, be it castle, igloo or cave, usually symbolises our state of mind. In waking life, our house, body, clothes and possessions are all extensions of who we are and the circumstances we find ourselves in. Since we arguably create our own circumstances, all these things can be seen as symbolic of our mental state, in waking life as well as in dreams. It is the power of the mind which creates personal material wealth or poverty, subjugation or personal freedom, growth towards full potential or stagnation. Our deepest knowledge of this truth, that it is how we choose to use our mind that creates our destiny, is revealed in dreams by our depiction of dwelling places as symbols of our state of mind. We dwell, or live, within the freedom or restriction of our individual minds.

Dreaming of the house you live in now (28.1%) or houses you used to live in (55.6%), or other houses you know or knew, may be symbolic, but generally tends to refer to time periods (the time when you lived in that old house and you had a particular attitude, etc). This topic is covered in Chapter 11, Personal Symbols and Chapter 10.

(Fiona is going through the same patterns of behaviour, and the dream reminds her of this by showing the interchangeable houses spanning the years.)

Common dream house (dream house 60.6%) scenarios include looking for a new house (considering changing your mind), or moving house (experimenting with changing your mind or thinking in a different way), finding yourself in a huge house with many extra rooms (discovering unused mental potential), or being in a small house with no easy exit (feeling mentally cramped and restricted). Houses that are dream houses but seem to belong to someone you know, may reflect aspects of yourself symbolised by that person.

(Instead, Gillian glimpses herself in the mindset of her relative or friend.)

(Valerie recognises this state of mind since she’s been in this position before.)

1 TYPES OF DWELLING PLACES

Castle May symbolise a defensive or acquisitive mind, depending on the context of the dream.

Historical, old building Most frequently represents old (decrepit?) thought patterns, or a traditional viewpoint. An old building may also reflect a tendency to refer back to the past instead of progressing forward. The historical perspective may indicate a sense of family history and standing in the mind of the dreamer.

Mansion, palace Commonly symbolises huge potential and richness of mind, or, alternatively, excess, depending on the context of the dream.

Derelict house Frequently symbolises a derelict state of mind. Such a mental attitude may be showing up in the dreamer’s physical health, so this symbol may indicate or prelude physical disease in waking life.

Small house Generally represents smallness of mind, or feeling mentally restricted.

Open-plan house Few walls, or a house that is open to the elements, may indicate an open mind unrestricted by partitions between one area of your mind and another, a ‘unity’ of mind. Alternatively, this dream house may suggest that you are easily influenced by your surroundings (open to weather), vulnerable and unprotected. The context of your dream will give the appropriate meaning for you.

Apartment block The symbolism depends on the dream, but can reflect ‘identical units’, uniformity, or feeling the same as everyone else. It may symbolise ‘pigeon holing’ or, depending on the placement of the apartment within the block (high or low?), it may refer to the higher or lower levels of the mind (higher: more spiritual; middle: more mental/emotional; lower: more physical/material). If you used the word ‘block’ to describe your dream building, then it may also symbolise a ‘block’ in your life. If you used the word ‘complex’ it may symbolise complexities in your current situation or approach to life.

Hotel or holiday home (hotel 16.3%; holiday house 13.1%) If the hotel or holiday house is unknown to you in waking life, the most frequent symbolism is a temporary or transient state of mind, or the need for time out or rest, depending in the story-line of the dream.

Shop (shopping centre 22.5%) Usually symbolises a situation where you can make choices.

These symbolic connections should seem obvious to you by now, but if you have difficulty working out the symbolism behind a building or type of dwelling place, go back to the children’s fairy tale exercise outlined earlier in this chapter. Fit the dream house into fairy tale context and its meaning will become evident.

2 ROOMS

Bathroom (16.3%) Usually symbolises cleansing (especially emotional cleansing: water).

Toilet (15%) The toilet is the place to get rid of waste or toxic emotions (water symbolises emotions and urine is waste or toxic water) and ‘all that shit’ that you have been carrying around. Cleansing is suggested, along with (mental) privacy to release old or past emotions and attitudes.

Bedroom (41.3%) Symbolism commonly includes mental attitudes towards, or needs for, privacy, sex, rest and sleep, depending on the context of the dream.

Basement, cellar (cellar 9.4%) Unless you have specific horror of demons in the cellar, these lower areas in buildings tend to symbolise your mental foundations or unconscious self. You may find dead bodies (things from your past) or lost treasures (forgotten gifts and talents) in your dream cellar. Going down can also indicate depression, especially if you feel, in your dream, that you cannot find a way up and out.

Attic (6.9%) The higher you climb in your dream house, the higher the level of mind you are generally experiencing. These higher levels such as the attic may symbolise your higher intellectual self, or your higher spiritual mind (your Highest Self: the wisest part of you). Fear of ascending to the attic, unless you were raised on tales of ghosts living up there, may reflect a fear of meeting or acknowledging these aspects of yourself.

Lift (13.8%) Elevators may symbolise moving you up to your higher mind (or a higher view), or down to lower, more physical levels, or deeper into your unconscious foundations. The ride may be swift, may go in the opposite direction to your expectations, may get stuck or you may not be able to get out at the right floor. Add the story-line to the context of your dream to deduce its meaning. See also Basement and Attic.

Stairs (staircase 25%; upstairs 25%) Similar to lift. See Lift, Basement and Attic.

Kitchen (22.5%) Usually symbolises the part of the mind concerned with nurturing (feeding) and nourishing. We take in food to nourish ourselves and to help us to grow, so food can symbolise what we need for nourishment and personal growth. It can also represent fodder for ideas (food for thought). In cooking we combine various basics to concoct different dishes, so symbolically we are perhaps mentally combining basics and coming up with new ideas or new ways of nourishing, or thinking. The cook in the kitchen is also the provider. What is happening in your dream kitchen and how well are you being fed?

Dining Room (11.3%) As well as the kitchen, the dining room often symbolises the part of the mind which is actively ready for nourishment or sharing and feeding of new ideas if the dream dining is social. Who you eating with (what these people represent to you) in the dream may also give you clues as to what you are ‘chewing over’ or ‘feeding from’.

Lounge Room (33.1%) May symbolise the everyday part of your mind, or relaxation, entertainment or relationship to family and family issues.

We sit in rooms with rivers running through them, except the actual room is like a prison cell that is orange.
(Jill, school student)

(Jill feels emotionally restricted in her family environment. They do not communicate directly, she feels, but across an emotional (water) gulf.)

Study/ Office (12.5%) Generally symbolises learning or studying attitudes.

Garage Since the garage usually houses the car, and the car tends to symbolise drive and motivation, the garage may represent the motivational area of your mind. If you keep your junk in the garage, your dream symbolism may concern your mental garbage heap! Adjust meaning according to the use you make of your garage.

Hallway or passage If the hallway is long and thin, like a corridor, it can have powerful symbolism as a birth canal. To find yourself walking through a passage may represent a mental or spiritual rebirth, so note what you are looking for in the dream, and see where you end up.

Doors (28.8%) Doors and doorways are ways through from one mental area to another, so they can symbolise opportunity and progress, or connection between one area of the mind and another. If your dream doors are closed, stuck, locked, or lead to unexpected places, what does this suggest about the way you approach opportunities? The front door tends to symbolise how we welcome or approach the public, whereas the back door can indicate entrance into our more private self.

Windows (29.4%) We see out and in through windows, so these usually symbolise our outlook or our ability to see deeper or beyond our current position. Windows tend to symbolise a viewpoint or perception, perhaps even how we ‘frame’ things. Note what you are being shown through a dream window. What significance would misty or curtained windows imply?

Garden (dream garden 33.1%; own garden 10.6%) We cultivate our gardens with plants of our choice, or choose to let them grow wild. A dream garden therefore is often symbolic of what we have chosen to cultivate (or leave wild) within ourselves. It tends to represent our personal growth. Is your dream garden fresh, alive and full of colour, or dry and overgrown with weeds? Is it large and sunny, or small and overshadowed? What might these details tell you about the state of your personal growth? What jobs need to be done around your dream garden, and how do you relate this to what needs to be done in your waking life, or to how you ‘garden’ your life? The front garden can symbolise our public face while the back garden usually indicates our more private personal development.

Verandah, balcony Close to the house, yet not quite a part of the garden, these areas may symbolise reluctance to leave the safety of familiar attitudes (the house) and really cultivate our desires (the garden). Alternatively they may represent our outlook on the world from our current position.

3 FURNITURE

Furniture tends to symbolise aspects of the area of the mind represented by the room, so consider the state of the furniture in any room to enhance your understanding of your mental attitudes as portrayed by your dream. Is the furniture old-fashioned, uncomfortable, falling apart or luxurious?

Tables may symbolise relationship with those sharing your table, or a meeting point where ideas are shared. You may be ‘laying your cards on the table’ or ‘tabling an idea’. Frequently a table, like a chair, represents your position in life, particularly if you are sitting at the table.

Chairs tend to symbolise your ‘seat in life’. Is your chair a throne or a cushion?

Cupboards usually represent areas of our minds where we have stored memories away, or where we prefer to keep aspects of ourselves hidden.

I dream of the home where I was first married. I love looking through the rooms, opening cupboards and seeing the changes made to the home and surrounding area.
(Nadine, secretary)

(Nadine compares, in her dreams, her present life to the way she thought when she first married, and observes the mental changes she has made since then.)

Bookshelves usually symbolise our store of knowledge, or access to information.

Ornaments may indicate the pretences we display, or may reflect our personality or the depth and value of our memories. They may highlight other aspects of the dream scene through their placement, or add ‘feeling’ and symbolism through their presence.

Carpets may give an indication of the richness or poverty of our grounding, our mental basis. Or are you ‘sweeping something under the carpet’ or ‘covering’ something up, for example?

Television (10.6%) Watch out for televisions or videos, cinemas or theatres. When a dream is dealing with an explosive or vulnerable aspect of your life which you do not consciously recognise, it will often set you up as a viewer or member of an audience. As an objective observer, you are more likely to see your truth.

D.   The Body

Our legs get us from one place to another, so it is not surprising that we often see legs in dreams as symbols of our direction or ability to make progress. We talk of ‘shouldering responsibility’, so we frequently see our shoulders as symbolic of responsibility, and we describe someone as being ‘spineless’ if they are weak, so we often perceive the spine as being symbolic of inner strength. Our everyday language is pervaded with examples of body parts symbolising the mind. So it often is in dreams too.

In common with many others, my personal philosophy is that our physical body is also a reflection of the mind: that what we believe we also create. Most Western doctors now agree that most diseases and illnesses start in the mind (usually through stress) and are capable of being cured through positive mind techniques such as meditation or a changed belief system. It is but a small step to see your body and everything around you as a physical manifestation of your own thoughts and the power of your mind.

When a dream speaks its symbolic language, we therefore see our thoughts or our minds expressing symbols of what may later become physically manifested (within the body or within our surroundings or future circumstances). It’s as if, in my opinion, the dream takes a step into the future and shows you the potential your current state of mind has to become your future waking reality. In waking and comprehending the dream, you then have the choice of changing your mind-set if your potential future was not to your liking, or of making it happen fast if it looked good.

1 PARTS OF THE BODY

Head Usually symbolises thought. Head as opposed to heart: thinking as opposed to feeling perhaps.

Eyes Tend to symbolise seeing or not seeing. They may represent the ‘window of the soul’ or ‘I’ (myself). See also Right side and Left side.

Mouth, teeth Our mouth and teeth help us to eat and take in food for thought and nourishment, as well as to communicate. When the dream emphasises the mouth or teeth, it may be drawing your attention to what you are, or are not, taking in, or to what you are, or are not, communicating. Losing your teeth may reflect your anxieties over life’s changes or ageing (we lose milk teeth as we change from childhood, and lose our teeth as we get old), but losing teeth most commonly symbolises being unable to communicate what we really want to say. As we lose our teeth, perhaps our power recedes.

Ears emphasise listening and hearing. Take heed of what is being said in the dream, it is important. See also Right side and Left side.

Nose The nose can represent intuition or curiosity, a ‘nose’ for something.

Throat, neck Associated with the vocal chords and mouth, the throat and neck can be powerful symbols of communication. This area is also known to many as the site of the fifth chakra, the communication energy centre. The neck can also symbolise the channel which connects thoughts (the head) with feelings (the heart), again emphasising communication.

Most vivid to me was a man taking me to a field from our house. I was lying down and he slit my throat as I lay there. I was not frightened.
(Jayne A., home maker)

(Jayne’s communication ability was opened and freed.)

Hair Hair grows from the head as, symbolically, ideas also do. In this way, hair often symbolises ideas and ways of thinking, which is why people we know may appear with different hairstyles and hair colours in our dreams. Baldness may indicate a lack of ideas while long, thick hair may show the opposite. Combing your hair may symbolise straightening out, or untangling, your ideas.

Legs frequently symbolise direction and moving forward. To find yourself in a wheelchair without the use of your legs may indicate a loss of direction or a loss of power over exercising your direction. Is someone else pushing you along or are letting someone (or something) else control you? Legs can also symbolise your standing and stability. See also Right side and Left side.

Knees are bent in humility or servitude as well as providing agility to easily move our legs and ourselves forward. Their symbolism in dreams may reflect any of these qualities. See also Right side and Left side.

Hands are used to create, give, receive and handle our world, so they can symbolise our dealings with creativity, our willingness to give and receive, or our handling of our situation. See also Right side and Left side.

Stomach We get butterflies in the stomach when we’re nervous, or vomit back food we cannot accept. The stomach tends to symbolise nervousness, vulnerability and acceptance or rejection of what we take in about our environment.

Chest A knife in the chest is a sure killer. We speak of ‘baring’ the chest when we are being brave, or of ‘getting it all off your chest’ when something needs to be said. The chest can be symbolic of these qualities and generally representative of our strength yet also our vulnerability.

Back We can get stabbed in the back, turn our back on something, put our worries behind us, look back, never look back, have some backbone or be spineless. Look at the context of your dream to gain understanding.

Shoulders Generally symbolic of our ability to take responsibility, wide shoulders in a dream may indicate the bearing of big responsibilities. Someone placing their hands on your shoulders may symbolise an imposition or simply be an emphasis on your responsibilities.

Buttocks tend to come up in dreams as symbolising the ‘seat’ of your power or ego, as these muscles put the power in your walk. Look at where you place them in your dream!

Right side The right side of your body is controlled by the left hemisphere* of your brain, which also deals with what we see as the male-side (Yang) qualities of logic, rational thought, intellectual thought and relationship to the outer world (as opposed to your world within). It is also perceived as being active (giving) as opposed to passive (receiving). Any emphasis on the right side of your dream body (right eye, right hand) combines the symbolism of that body part with the challenges of your outer world. The right eye, for example, may symbolise looking at your outer world, while the right hand may indicate how you deal with work or emphasise what you give to the world. See also Left side and Balance.

Left side The left side of your body is controlled by the right hemisphere* of your brain, which also deals with what we see as the female-side (Yin) qualities of intuition, creativity, emotional nurturing and our relationship to our inner world. It is also perceived as being passive (receiving) as opposed to active (giving). Any emphasis on the left side of your dream body (left shoulder, left leg) combines the symbolism of that body part with the emotional requirements of your inner world. The left shoulder, for example, may represent your emotional responsibilities towards your inner self or the way in which you take on responsibility for the inner wellbeing of others. The left leg tends to symbolise your emotional support (your leg supports you) or your emotional, intuitional, nurturing inner direction. See also Right side and Balance.

The left hemisphere is ‘Yang’ for 95% of right-handed people and for 90% or more of left-handed people. The hemispheres (and therefore the symbolism) are reversed for the remainder.

Balance Each of us, whether man or woman, ideally needs a balance between these male and female qualities of Yang and Yin. In other words, we need a balance between our involvement with the outer world and our inner world. This theme of left and right pervades other symbols as well as body parts. You may notice right or left turnings in your journey dreams (though a right turning may also indicate a correct one), or in the placement or position of yourself, others or objects in your dream. A client once dreamed he sat at the head of a long table. To his right all the seats were occupied, the full length of the table, all taken by men. To his left, only one seat was filled, by a woman, and the rest were empty. This man’s position in life, and most of his dealings, were with his outer world. He had fully developed his male-side qualities, and although he was aware of his inner female-side, he had suppressed her. He had not dealt with his emotions and had tried to sublimate them through his dedication to his highly successful working world, his family’s financial ‘needs’ and charity work. The dream was one of many that signalled a turning point in his life, and a necessity to redress the balance by paying attention to his inner needs.

2 CLOTHING THE BODY

Clothes cover and protect our bodies and also signal our attitudes to others. We dress in business clothes to project credibility in the workplace, wear a long, thin, black evening dress or a dinner suit to give an impression of elegance, or wear slogan emblazoned T-shirts to advertise our preferences to the world. In the same way, dream clothes often symbolise the attitudes we show to others, and behind which we feel protected. Look at your clothes in dreams and ask yourself what they say about your attitudes, given the context of your dream.

Naked Without the protection of clothes we may appear vulnerable. Nakedness may symbolise ‘baring’ the truth, being honest yet perhaps also vulnerable. How we react to our nakedness in a dream is the more telling part!

Shoes frequently symbolise our ‘standing’ or position in life, as we perceive it. What kind of person would these dream shoes belong to? What attitudes would they reflect? Are they appropriate to the dream scene, or are they out of place? Being barefoot in a dream may reflect being ‘grounded’ (in contact with the ground), without pretence, or may suggest poverty, obviously depending on the dream context.

I often dream about clothes and colours seem important in those dreams. Shoes also seem significant and I’m often changing them.
(Jaquelyn, librarian)

(Jaquelyn may be experimenting with how to present her attitudes to others, what position to take in certain matters, or with seeing the point of view of others by ‘standing in their shoes’.)

Jewellery adorns the body and can symbolise our personal riches. It can also appear in a dream to draw attention to a body part and its symbolic meaning. An earring, for example, may underline the importance of hearing, or a soft, amber necklace may ask for a honeyed approach to communication. Rings may have obvious symbolism such as marriage or engagement, but, on the whole, precious jewels generally symbolise precious qualities, talents or gifts. Was the jewellery given to you? Did you discover it hidden away somewhere, misplaced and forgotten, or did you find yourself looking for lost jewellery? What would each of these situations tell you about your talents and gifts?

Baggage What do you carry with you? Do you struggle through your dreams with your own heavy luggage, or are you asked to carry everyone else’s? Do you put your bags down and decide to travel light? How much old baggage from the past do you carry around with you? Do you need to lighten your load?

 

School (some kind of educational place 50.6%; high school 22.5%; primary school 20.6%; university 15%; college 13.8%; short course 5.6%; kindergarten 5%; weekend learning retreat 4.4%) Learning or teaching. What is the lesson in this dream? Going back to an educational institution in a dream may also draw your attention to attitudes you still express which date back to that time.

I seem to be undergoing tuition a lot in my dreams, but never in an earthly place.
(Amanda, astrologer)

(Is Amanda learning about concepts and ideas which are alien or esoteric to her, or is she learning about alternative realities through dream travel?)

Hospital symbolises healing, hopefully! Your dream may perceive a hospital as a place of sickness and death, or it may hold the joy and promise of a maternity hospital. Either way, a hospital is a place dedicated to healing and renewal. Which aspects of your life are highlighted in your hospital dream? How can these be healed? Does the dream give you clues about what you need to do, or about attitudes you need to take, to heal yourself or your relationships in waking life?

Library (9.4%) A place where knowledge is stored and where you perhaps search for something you need to know. What are you trying to discover in your dream?

Prison Prisons generally reflect restriction, subjugation or perhaps feelings of self-inflicted punishment based on guilt. What are you feeling guilty about? Is this appropriate to your life now? Is this valid? What can you do to release yourself from guilt, or to release yourself from a situation in which you feel manipulated or controlled and restricted? How does the dream advise you? In which other respects might you be feeling a severe lack of freedom?

Monastery, church The spiritual or religious aspects of your mind may be symbolised by a monastery or church. A monastery may also represent solitude, peace, meditation, prayer or a temporary escape from outer world concerns.

 

Animals can symbolise our instinctive drives, or animal passions, our inner wildness or drive to live life and respond according to our in-built, pre-domesticated nature. As always, if you have a pet, or a personal feeling or association about a particular animal, this becomes more important than any universal symbolism. Note the species or breed of animal, its behaviour in your dream and the surrounding circumstances to get an accurate picture.

(Annie sees the animal instincts behind her dream characters and how one instinct can give rise to another according to the influences around her and the actions she takes in her dreams. Her caring suggests she needs to nurture these qualities in herself.)

Cat Usually seen as feminine, cats generally symbolise intuition and psychic power, although they may also represent independence, ‘cattiness’, or ‘prowl and pounce’ behaviour. The type of cat should shed light. A wild cat may indicate wild passion, while a domestic pedigree could symbolise expectations of pampering, or eccentric, misplaced affections.

Dog Our natural instincts are often portrayed by dogs in dreams and the breed of dog enhances this self-understanding. A wolf (untamed) or German Shepherd (protector or aggressor) conjures a different picture from a greyhound (eager, competitive?), a Saint Bernard (loyal rescuer) or poodle (fussy, pampered).

Horse Perhaps more than any other animal, the horse inspires us, worldwide, with a feeling of physical passion, particularly the strength and fluidity of sexual passion. Horses in dreams frequently symbolise what we are passionate about.

Insects Little annoyances or irritations in your life can ‘bug’ you and often crescendo to a point where they can drive you wild! A swarm of mosquitoes, or biting ants can have the same effect. While insects commonly symbolise unnoticed irritation which is building up to something big, different species may have specific meanings. Termites or bees may represent altruism and labour. Consider the overall effect of hundreds of workers, each performing their small task to contribute towards a massive structured society which protects its own. Do you feel society treats you as just another worker, or that you are contributing to a greater whole? Or are the termites symbolic of being undermined?

Spiders weave webs which, being almost invisible, can trap the unwary, while the female spider of some species is widely known to eat the male after mating. Spiders are also seen to have tenacity, spinning new webs every time the old is destroyed. They are sometimes associated with the ability, through their webs, to detect distant action, so can be associated with ‘uncanny psychic’ awareness. To be covered in dream spiders may symbolise a feeling of becoming entangled and trapped. Stamping on spiders may indicate an attempt to stamp out a feeling of being manipulated or engulfed by an insidious power. Above all, the notion of the female eating the male tends to leave the spider universally symbolic of overbearing female power. While some dreamers will relate this overbearing quality to their mother, mother-in-law, wife or girlfriend, it may be more helpful to consider issues of expressing their own powerful female qualities such as intuition, creativity and nurturing.

Butterflies are extraordinarily beautiful creatures which start life as creepy, crawly caterpillars. They are perfect analogies of transformation from the grounded, lowly, perhaps ‘ugly’ form into the high-flying, free, transcendentally exquisite form. They symbolise emergence and transformation, and as such, can also be seen as symbolic of the soul. At the same time, butterflies are ephemeral so can symbolise a flighty quality, but perhaps this is more reflective of the ‘now’ moment (no time) of the world beyond form.

Frogs can share a similar symbolism to butterflies, but perhaps on a more earthly plane. They tend to represent change and transformation because tadpoles metamorphose into frogs, and frogs tend to transform, upon the integrative blessing of a princess’ kiss, into handsome princes!

Birds Throughout myth and legend, birds are seen as symbols of the soul (as are butterflies and fish). The bird, like the soul, flies free and high and, seeing far, can assess a situation with the benefit of distance (overview). Consider the species in your dream. An eagle with its high circling and incredible eyesight may symbolise ultimate wisdom, whereas a sparrow might inspire a feeling of everyday ordinariness. Magpies may symbolise possessiveness, ducks may reflect being impervious to criticism (‘water off a duck’s back’), and swans may symbolise the beauty that grows from the ‘poor, ugly duckling’. Is your dream bird free, or trapped in a cage?

Fish Living in water (emotions), fish generally symbolise instincts closer to our emotions, closer to our heart, unable to survive in the ‘air’ of our thought-filled heads. Since water also symbolises the unconscious, the fish can represent the spirit or soul, ‘at home’ in the depths of the great ‘unknown’. The biblical image of Christ and his disciples fishing for souls, and the parable of the loaves and fishes, add emphasis to the soul or spirit symbolism of the fish.

Sharks Bigger, more dangerous fish, have a different and more obvious meaning! It is common to dream of watching the sea and slowly becoming aware of sharks below the surface. Since the sea tends to represent the unconscious, sharks frequently symbolise our fears which lie just below the surface of our consciousness. Consider which particular fears your sharks may represent, given the context of your dream, and work on facing them to make them disappear.

Whales and dolphins Not fish, of course, but mammals, these creatures usually symbolise not only the New Age, but also the huge, gentle, intelligent, soft wonder that resides within our unconscious. These creatures, but particularly the whale, may offer glimpses of our true magnitude and ‘goodness’. Personal association to the cruelty of whaling may give alternative symbolism, as may also the feeling that a whale represents something ‘too big to handle’.

Elephants may symbolise something too big to cope with, something too slow, or plodding, or a memory from the past, since ‘elephants never forget’. Personal associations with persecution through hunting for ivory may also be indicated by elephant dreams.

Lion What nature does your dream lion exhibit? Universally the lion tends to represent strength, but a strength which, as in the legends of Hercules, is better handled with gentleness and respect than with force. The lion generally symbolises your inner strength to overcome adversity.

Snakes Freud’s much discussed symbolism of the snake as the penis (more so than his long list of other phallic symbols!) has left us, today, with a remnant of belief in the snake as representative of male sexuality. This belief alone, because we have taken it on board, does suggest that the dream snake will sometimes carry this meaning.

The snake has enjoyed several millennia of symbolism. For around a thousand years before the birth of Christ, the ancient Greeks took their physical, emotional or spiritual concerns to one of some 300 healing temples. Here they would generally go through various cleansing rituals and meditations, then be sent to sleep in a room alongside harmless snakes. The snakes represented Asclepius, the Greek god of healing. In the morning, the people would recount their dreams to their healers, who were dream interpreters. The interpreters would suggest the cure, based on the dreams. Hippocrates, now known as the ‘father of medicine’, was a student of dream interpretation at one of these temples around the 4^th century BC. He realised that many dreams reflected the physical state of the body, whether it was already diseased, or whether conditions were building which, left unchecked, would result in illness. When Western doctors were required, in the past, to swear the Hippocratic Oath in his memory, they did so under the symbol of the snake entwined on the caduceus.

Many ancient initiation rites involved spending time in a snake pit where the bite of a poisonous snake was believed to be overcome through self-healing. The biblical snake in the Garden of Eden is believed to represent our instinctive urges, presumably our sexual urges, while in Indian Tantric philosophy the snake, known as Kundalini, is a source of spiritual energy which lies coiled at the base of the human spine. Through a number of procedures, including meditation and ritual sexual intercourse, the Kundalini snake is raised towards the head, travelling through and igniting the seven chakras (energy centres) along the spine, raising consciousness towards enlightenment as it goes.

Putting all these powerful snake symbols together gives an overall feeling of the power of the life force to draw healing and transformation through the bite of poison. The bite bestows healing through the pain of facing up to fear or adversity.

Pigs Some cultures revere the pig, but in Western cultures we see the pig perhaps as symbolic of greed, selfishness or male chauvinism.

Rats and mice These rodents gnaw and bite, overrun our space and may bring disease. They may symbolise the gnawing annoyances that chew away at our lives, undermining us, or bringing destruction and disease.

 

This is a complex subject that has been given the whole chapter it deserves. See Chapter 15.

Further Information

If you are interested in a deeper study of universal and shared symbols, consult Carl Jung’s work. One of the few genuine modern dream dictionaries is Tony Crisp’s Dream Dictionary, which was first published by Optima Macdonald in 1990.

Please beware getting too attached to interpreting dreams through universal or shared symbols because this can become a rigid, unbalanced approach which may generate false advice. Whether you are interpreting for yourself or for others, it is vital to remember that the dream always belongs to the dreamer, and that only the dreamer can confirm a feeling of resonance, a ‘Yes! That’s it!’ socked in the guts, maybe even tear-jerking response. It may take several days for a dreamer to reach this stage, especially when they are dealing with deep-seated blocks, but if the interpretation is correct, it will come.

A professional dream interpreter walks a thin and careful line between showing a dreamer the blocks they may not acknowledge, and ultimately bowing down to the dreamer’s personal reaction to the interpretation. The interpreter should beware imposing his or her personal or learned symbolism, and should avoid declaring a sense of finality or diagnosis. The role of the dream interpreter is rather to walk a step ahead of the dreamer, using a more experienced eye, a practised inner knowledge and, if fortunate enough to be so blessed, a dose of psychic insight, to clear the mist from the path so that the dreamer can make his or her own discovery.

With only one set of tools in your dream interpretation bag, it is now time to travel further to gain more.