The Dream Dictionary from A to Z [Revised edition]: The Ultimate A–Z to Interpret the Secrets of Your Dreams

A Christian symbol, representing power to protect against evil. It also suggests anger and fierceness.

Pig/Wild Boar

Pigs are symbolic of a life governed by untamed physical needs and passions; they can also suggest impossible ventures, or inappropriate behavior and neglect of the spiritual side of life. By contrast, among the peoples of the East, a dream about a pig is interpreted as a good dream that attests to prosperity.

Rabbit

The rabbit breeds easily, so in dreams it is often linked to sexuality. It is also associated with the soft, vulnerable part of us that can be easily hurt or hounded. If the dreamer is hunting wild rabbits, this could suggest that they are being criticized, attacked, ‘hunted down’, or hounded.

See also PETS.

Ram

Representing masculine sexual energy, the ram can also indicate a refusal to conform or be part of a group, together with an unconscious desire to lead rather than follow.

Rat

The rat is a symbol of fears and anxieties, or is the diseased or devious part of a dreamer or their situation. It can also represent something which is repulsive in some way. The dreamer may be experiencing disloyalty from a friend or colleague. Other associations are of dirt and squalor, or of time gnawing away at our life and the unacceptable parts of oneself. By contrast, dreaming about a pet rat suggests the opposite: vulnerability and responsibility for caring.

Seal

Dreaming of a seal suggests the dreamer is at one with the life they have chosen to lead. If the seal is wounded, injured, or hunted, the opposite might be suggested.

Sheep

Sheep in dreams represent the aspects of oneself that conforms to social pressures, such as feeling part of a crowd or being herded by others. Dreaming of sheep can also suggest aspects of ourselves that are the same as other human beings, or working hard to accomplish a goal. If the dreamer is caring for sheep, this may indicate a desire to grow spiritually.

Squirrel

The squirrel represents the hoarding aspect of the personality.

Tiger

Similar to the lion in many ways but with an emphasis on uncertainty and unpredictability. For example, tigers in dreams may suggest the possibility of plans changing unexpectedly. It can also warn against trusting a new acquaintance. The tiger can also represent sexuality but, depending upon how it is presented in the dream, a sexuality of uncertain elements – for example, will I be attacked or ignored?

Weasel

The weasel highlights the devious and more dubious side of our personalities.

Wolf

Dreaming of a wolf suggests that the dreamer may be feeling threatened by other people, or may be vulnerable in some situation. The wolf, as suggested by fairy tales like Red Riding Hood, also represents the female fear of powerful male sexuality, and yet might also figure in female sexual fantasies. Wolves are also symbols of repressed sexuality and anger.

Zebra

In dreams, the zebra has much the same significance as the ‘horse’, but with the additional meaning of balancing the black-and-white aspects of the personality into a powerful whole.

ANKLE

See BODY (#ulink_9f2f12e2-5295-5e49-8f1c-8f5fce75fbc2).

ANTELOPE

See ANIMALS (#ulink_a775d833-9744-502e-abbc-300fad53f87e).

ANTS

See INSECTS AND ARACHNIDS (#litres_trial_promo).

APE

See ANIMALS (#ulink_a775d833-9744-502e-abbc-300fad53f87e).

APOCALYPSE

End-of-the-world dreams refer to situations in your waking life that are in the process of some kind of radical change, and that change can be emotional. If your dream is post-apocalypse, this suggests the way you feel about something dramatic that has happened is making you feel emotionally drained or hopeless. If you have this kind of dream it can feel unsettling, but your dreaming mind is using these images to show you that change is inevitable; and if there is huge stress because of big changes happening in your life right now, you will survive. You may feel like it is the end of everything, but whenever something ends something else always begins.

See also CLIMATE CHANGE.

APPLES In Judeo-Christian belief, the apple denotes sin and temptation because of the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden after the serpent tempted Eve to eat the apple growing on the Tree of Knowledge. Greek mythology associated the apple with sexual attraction. So if you are married and tempted to bite or steal an apple in your dream, this could represent the attraction of a forbidden affair. Their association with the Tree of Knowledge means that apples may also indicate the self-knowledge and insight gained from experience. On the other hand, they may also symbolize a desire to return to lost innocence.

To see apples growing in a tree in your dream symbolizes wisdom and that well-earned rewards will be gained in the future. Consider also the common phrase, ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away’; this may imply that you need to take better care of your health. To see green apples represents developing love or love that has yet to blossom. To see a rotten or half-eaten apple in your dream denotes that what you are striving and aiming for may not only be unfulfilling; it may even be harmful to you. A popular image of the comforts of home and childhood, apple pie probably reflects a desire to return to the security of childhood. Old rivalries and resentments may be expressed if you appear to be served a smaller slice of pie than the others present in your dreams.

See also FRUIT.

APPS

See TELEPHONE (#litres_trial_promo).

APRON

See CLOTHES (#litres_trial_promo).

ARACHNIDS

See INSECTS AND ARACHNIDS (#litres_trial_promo)

ARCHETYPES ‘Collective unconscious’ is the term Carl Jung used to describe the part of the unconscious that everyone has access to, a sort of psychic warehouse for all humankind. The contents of this storehouse are called ‘archetypes’: patterns and symbols that can be found within the unconscious of everyone. These archetypes represent the broad human memory within each of us. They appear as mythical images that occur in every culture throughout recorded history – the images appearing in the dreams of our ancestors are those that speak to us today.

According to Jung, dreams are attempts to guide the waking self. He thought that the purpose of life – and for him, dreams play an important role in it – is to understand and integrate all parts of ourselves; dreams are simply one aspect of the self trying to communicate with the conscious part. Dreams don’t disguise the unconscious; they reveal it, through archetypes.

Sigmund Freud disagreed with Jung, as he believed that dreams were disguised attempts to hide, not reveal, true feelings from the waking mind. Freud did, however, recognize a concept of ‘archaic remnants’, inherited – rather than learned – beliefs, through which basic emotions and responses are represented. For example, the mother figure is a universal symbol of nurturing and protection.

Today, most dream researchers believe that we are more likely to see archetypal figures in our dreams at transition points in our lives than at other, more stable times. Change generally brings about anxiety and self-reflection. Going from education to the workforce, singlehood to marriage, or childless to parent are some typical archetypal transitions. Many of these archetypes are very familiar to us already, because they can be found in myths, legends, fairy tales, books, and movies: the wicked stepmother, the authoritative father, and the vulnerable maiden. We are as familiar with the superhero in films like Spiderman or Batman as we are with the character of the dastardly joker or villain. All these characters are archetypes, and enduring representations of basic human qualities, instincts, and experiences.

The first step in analysing an archetype, as with any symbol, is through personal reference. For example, a dream about monsters may refer to our inner fears, but it may also be a carry-over from the horror film you watched the same night. The next step is to take into consideration the other images in the dream, as well as the feelings and general atmosphere.

When archetypes appear in your dreams you will rarely feel indifferent to them and your instinctive response is crucial to the interpretation. Do they make you feel angry, inspired, sad, protective, frustrated, or liberated? Never forget that such images spring from the deepest levels of the unconscious, and it is up to you to discover why they have been conjured up.