If you are an athlete and dreamed that you scored the winning goal, a perfect 10 or hit a vital home run in a professional game, such dreams are pure wish-fulfillment. If, however, you have little or no sporting ability, it is likely that your unconscious mind is rewarding you for something you have done in waking life for which you haven’t been recognized. For example, your son or daughter may have recently gained entry to university and your dream is congratulating you on the part you played in helping them achieve their success. See also LEISURE AND ENTERTAINMENT.
STAR/PLANET
A dream of one bright star and your desire to capture it may refer to someone you desire to capture in waking life. A dream of mapping the sky or stars could refer to a number of ambitions you have in waking life—from which you should probably choose one. Dreams of specific planets may also be significant. See also SPACE AND SCIENCE.
TROPHIES, MEDALS AND OTHER PRIZES
These are all symbols of success and achievement, and if you dream of receiving trophies and other prizes, the chances are you are yearning to be recognized and praised for your efforts in waking life. Again the type of prize will give you an idea of the area of endeavor in which you feel you should be rewarded. For example, to be honored with the Nobel peace prize could refer to your peace-making skills
Crowns and Tiaras
Badge
Badges in dreams draw your attention to your right to be part of a team or group of people. It could also mean that you are being singled out for special recognition. The spiritual interpretation is that you need to be accepted, not just as yourself, but as part of a greater whole.
Coat of arms
To see a coat of arms in your dream represents your familial roots and identity.
Crowns
To dream of a crown is to acknowledge your own success and to recognize your ability to forge ahead in life. You may also be about to receive some sort of honor or award. If you dreamt that a crown or laurel wreath was placed on your head or a garland of flowers was placed around your neck, this could suggest that you crave to be acknowledged as head and shoulders above the rest in your waking life. As well as wish-fulfillment, such dreams can also be literal. Perhaps you have recently been promoted at work or been given new authority over a number of people.
Cup
Receiving a cup is less about wish-fulfillment than about the symbolism of the chalice, indicating a receptive state that encourages intuitive development and a go-with-the-flow approach to life. It may be encouraging you to be more open to the feminine side of your nature, and to give and receive in equal measure. A common dream among men is the presentation of the football cup, suggesting they feel as if they should be declared the ‘first among men’.
Diadem/Tiara
The diadem or tiara in a dream suggests mental or intellectual abilities that are not being acknowledged in waking life. It could also signify a desire for the magical and unknown.
Flowers
If you were presented with a bouquet of flowers in your dream, you need to notice who or what gave you the flowers, what kind of flowers they were, and what color they were, as all these messages are significant. The giver may be someone who you already know who holds you in high regard, but if it is someone you don’t know so well, your unconscious may be alerting you to their secret admiration. It is also possible that your unconscious is compensating for lack of recognition from other people and expressing your desire for them to be more demonstrative. If the flowers are dying or have wilted this could suggest that the giver’s admiration is wilting, or that your expectations are disappointed. If the dreamer discards the flowers this signifies bad relations between the dreamer and someone close to him or her, or the people around him or her, both at work and in the family.
Medal
A medal is a reward for bravery or good work, so when it appears in a dream it is recognition of your own abilities and achievements in life. If you give the medal to someone else, then you are honoring a part of yourself represented by that person.
Prizes
Dreams of prizes can denote a feeling of well-being, but they can also indicate financial worries. Gaining a prize can also be associated with winning a loved one’s sexual favors, especially if the prize is accompanied by a bunch of flowers. Prizes can also warn against unwarranted expectations. Jung cites as a universal dream type the Greek myth of Bellerophon, who received the winged horse Pegasus from the goddess Athene, and then presumptuously tried to fly to the heavens—the god Zeus sent a gadfly to sting the horse, and Bellerophon fell crashing to earth.
Shield
A shield is a symbol of preservation and protection. It can appear in dreams as a symbol of protection, or as a barrier between you and the rest of the world. Are you erecting the shield, or is it being erected by someone else?
Trophy
Recognition in your dreams that you have done something you should be proud of and have overcome your fears.
when a feud was about to erupt at work, but no one thanked you for your efforts.
WINNING
If you dream of winning, whether it is a prize, competition or contest, this illustrates your feelings of confidence. It may be a reassurance from your subconscious that you have what it takes to be a success in waking life. On the other hand, dream oracles suggest that this kind of dream can sometimes mean the opposite. If you dream of winning a lottery ticket, this indicates a new-found sense of optimism in your waking life. If you see numbers on a lottery ticket, consider buying a lottery ticket and use the numbers you saw in the dream. Losing or drawing the lottery in the dream, is a warning that you might be surrounded by false friends or that your hopes are unrealistic. See also NUMBERS.
ANIMALS (#ulink_481520df-7ac0-5068-a353-b6ed8a125c0e)
Animals in dreams represent primitive drives and desires, such as fear, lust and anger that can only be really understood on an instinctual level.
Thus, to dream of a certain animal could suggest an aspect of your personality that is instinctual, hidden or striving for recognition. It could also represent a part of yourself you find hard to control. And because we often assign characteristics or personality traits to animals, dream animals may also symbolize gut feelings we have about others. An attacking lion, for example, may depict how we see someone who is being aggressive toward us.
Animal dreams rouse special interest because they contain images that are familiar to us, but at the same time we recognize something that is unfamiliar and obscure. Traditionally, the characteristics of the dream animal are applied to the world of humans, often seeing the animal as a harbinger of misfortune or good luck; for example, a wolf is often thought to predict thieves or misfortune. According to Freud animals in dreams are not predictive of future events but a classic expression of repressed or unexpressed sexual and aggressive tendencies. Jung, however, argued that animals in dreams should be analyzed individually, depending on the character they portray in the dream and the association the dreamer has to them.
Jung believed that animals are sublime and, in fact, represent the ‘divine’ side of the human psyche. He suggested that animals live much more in contact with a ‘secret’ order in nature itself and—far more than human beings—live in close contact with ‘absolute knowledge’ of the unconscious. In contrast to humankind, the animal is the living being that follows its own inner laws beyond good and evil—and is, in this sense, superior and a source of inspiration and guidance.
Although animals are one of the most common dream symbols, dreams that feature them can be complex and hard to interpret. Perhaps the simplest way is to first think about how you feel about the specific animal in your waking life. You may, for example, adore cats and think of them as lovely creatures because you have a much-loved pet cat, or you may associate cats with feeling unwell because you are allergic to them. Thinking about how that animal makes you feel within the context of your dream should help you recognize if that feeling is struggling to the fore, or is already expressing itself in daily life.
If, on the other hand, you have no feelings in particular about the animal in your dream, you need to think about the quality you typically associate with it; for example, a fox with cunning and stealth, an elephant with strength and mystery, or a dog with unconditional loyalty and love. Because animals are thought to represent unedited feelings and drives, it’s possible that your unconscious used the symbol of the fox in your dream to alert you to your own or someone else’s cunning. Thinking about that aspect of yourself—again within the context of your dream—should tell you whether you need to nurture and develop it, tame it or be on your guard against it in someone else.
If you still feel puzzled, it may be that the hidden meaning lies in archetypal, traditional, legendary, mythical or magical associations. Dream animals may also embody a pun. For example, if you dream of a badger, are you feeling badgered or aggravated in some way? If you dream of a zebra, could this refer to your black and white view point?
Dream animals, no matter how problematic, offer us an opportunity to contact and explore both the parts of ourselves that we have shut away and the parts that we have yet to discover. In general, researchers believe that animal dreams mean that the subconscious has woken up and has come to life.
Our dreams will be selective and personal in the choice of animal used to portray our life situation, but as you interpret never forget that animal symbols in dreams typically represent a fundamental push toward life and living it with passion. See also BIRDS; REPTILES, FISH AND AMPHIBIANS; PETS.
Animal Situations
AGRICULTURAL ANIMALS
Neither pets nor wild creatures, agricultural animals often represent personal traits that you may have tamed to a certain extent, although there is always the risk that they will escape conscious control and run wild. It’s important to reflect on the context of the dream involving a working or farmyard animal as it may reflect how you feel about the burdens and responsibilities of your daily life
ANIMALS IN PAIN
To dream that you are rescuing, caring for or saving the life of an animal, suggests that you are successfully acknowledging certain emotions and characteristics represented by the animal. A wounded animal can mean a pain you need to come to terms with that has caused an instinctive reaction, such as reactive anger or terrible fear. To find yourself in the waiting room of an animal hospital suggests a desire to avoid a responsibility or commitment you have in your waking life. To see lab animals in your dream, suggests that an aspect of yourself is being repressed. Alternatively, it suggests that you need to experiment with your fears, choices, and beliefs. Try not to limit yourself.
ANIMALS IN WATER
Dreams about animals in water are symbols of our emotions. Water is a symbol of emotion because water, like emotion, constantly moves and flows. How the animal moves within the water reveals our emotional mood. For instance if the water is calm and beautiful then it shows our emotions are good.
ANIMALS WITH THEIR YOUNG OR BABY ANIMALS
Maternal and paternal instinct; your basic childhood need for love and protection or your own experience of being parented. A baby animal can refer to yourself when young and vulnerable; feelings or memories concerning your childhood; desire for babies; vulnerability; fundamental survival instincts such as crying out for protection and comfort and the need for dependence and bonding. If the young animal is injured or dying, this could suggest problems with maturing or dealing with adult life.
CAUGHT OR CAGED ANIMALS
To see wild animals caged suggests that you are in control of your instincts. If you are in the cage with them, it could suggest a need to break free from constraints. If you dream of an animal tangled in barbed wire or in a trap, this could suggest an unhappy relationship with yourself or someone else. If the animal seems calm, it suggests inner strength during adversity but if the animal panics, unhappy memories or unhealthy habits are limiting your potential for development and growth.
