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

(DREAM IMAGES: AMAZON, CRIME FIGHTER, GUNSLINGER, MERCENARY, SOLDIER OF FORTUNE, SAMURAI, SOLDIER)

The warrior archetype represents loyalty, physical strength and the ability to protect, defend, and fight for one’s rights. To be unbreakable and to fight to the death is a large part of the warrior archetype, which is also associated with the passage from boyhood to manhood. Such dreams appeal to our fantasies of independence, and the power to defend ourselves and right wrongs. The shadow warrior distorts or abandons ethical principles and decency in the name of victory at any cost. The warrior archetype is just as connected to the female psyche as to the male. In today’s society, the warrior woman or Amazon archetype has emerged in its glory once again through women who liberate and protect others, especially women and children who need vocal and financial representation. The concept of the spiritual warrior directs us to use the classic warrior virtues of heroism, stoicism, and self-sacrifice for conquering the ego and gaining control of our inner lives.

ARCHITECT

See WORK (#litres_trial_promo).

ARGUE Clear indication that you are feeling conflict about some aspect of your life and that you are perhaps not releasing or expressing these feelings of conflict in your waking life.

ARM

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

ARMOR If you are dressed in armor in your dream, do you need to protect yourself against something or someone? In donning such heavy attire, you are better protected but you also restrict your movement; perhaps your unconscious is telling you that it might be better to open up about what is troubling you, instead of keeping it a closely guarded secret. If chains feature alongside the armor, this is a symbol of enslavement and unhappiness with your current commitments. If your chains break or are broken, this is a positive sign.

ARREST If you were arrested in your dream or someone else was arrested this suggests the need for some kind of restraint in your waking life or a fear of authority.

ART Dreams of the creativity of artistic endeavor are as common as action and adventure dreams. Whether you dream of composing a symphony, painting a masterpiece, writing a best-selling novel, singing in an opera or designing a scrapbook, such dreams with yourself in the artist’s role represent the creative or intuitive side of your nature. You may feel a need in waking life to express yourself in some way, to be more creative or to enjoy public recognition. If you are meeting an artist in your dreams, this suggests that you are becoming aware of an aspect of yourself that is creative. If, however, you are watching another artist at work, this suggests that you are recognizing artistic or creative ability in yourself but remain passive about it.

Dreaming of creating something will be less significant if you are a naturally creative person than if you are not. If you have never been artistic or worked with crafts, dreaming that you are a potter making a pot – or an author completing a novel – may carry the implication that you should do so, or at least be more imaginative and creative in your waking life.

ARTIST To dream that you are an artist painting a picture is a reference to the creative and intuitive side of your character. The dream alerts you to talents that you may not know you have. It urges you to recognize the artist within, that aspect of yourself that is in contact with the irrational, creative side of your unconscious.

See also ARCHETYPES.

ASHES If you were raking over the ashes in your dream, upon which aspect of your past are you reflecting? Ashes in a dream often indicate penitence and sorrow, and the feeling that there is nothing more than can be, as the ashes or memories are all we have left. The important thing now is to learn from the experience. And bear in mind that your unconscious may also use the dream images of smoke, ember, and ashes to warn you that you are at risk of physical or emotional burnout.

ASS

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

ASSASSINATION

See MURDER (#litres_trial_promo).

ASTRONAUT

See SPACE (#litres_trial_promo).

ATHLETE

See ARCHETYPES, WORK (#ulink_7580fb76-882e-54af-a4e8-889195229f1a).

ATOM BOMB An atom bomb in your dream may be a symbol of the end of one way of life and the beginning of another. It may also represent fear of the irrational forces of life and feeling at the mercy of external and uncontrollable forces, or a lack of compassion and disregard for life.

ATTACK/ATTACKER If you are being attacked in your dreams, this suggests you are feeling threatened in some way, perhaps by your own impulses, or perhaps by other people and their attitude or remarks to you. If you are the attacker in the dream, who or what are you attacking? Attack is almost always a form of defense, so may also suggest defensiveness about some issue in, or aspect of, your life. There is also a positive side to attack, as new ideas and positive changes can threaten our old way of life and habitual way of thinking about things. If you are attacked by an animal in your dream, this suggests anxiety about aggression in yourself or other people. If you are attacked by a shadowy or frightening figure, this may depict feelings of fear and pain associated with the past. How you deal with the attack is important. If you run from it, the trauma is not being dealt with in waking life.

Dreams in which your anger turns into violence and you start attacking someone usually suggest hidden hostility toward someone or something in your waking life. If you do find yourself punching, kicking or fighting with someone in your dream, try to think about what triggered the violent attack. It is possible that your dreaming mind conjured up the image of an attack as a safety valve through which you can release your frustration. Another interpretation suggests that dreams in which you inflict violence on someone or something may be prompted by a sense of helplessness or resentment in waking life. Perhaps there is someone whose authority you find powerless to resist? If this is the case, your dream may be compensatory by allowing you to exact revenge against the person or object of your resentment. It is also possible that your unconscious was encouraging you to stand up for yourself.

Alternatively, dreams which feature violence can symbolize your hidden desire for power and control in waking life. When interpreting this dream, try to identify whether the target of the violence represented an aspect of yourself, particularly if the victim was a stranger. Or could your unconscious have conjured an archetypal image of the stranger to bear the brunt of your anger?

ATTIC To see an attic in your dream represents past memories and experiences. It can also highlight family patterns of behavior and attitudes that have been handed down to you. To see a cluttered attic is a sign urging you to organize your mind and thoughts, but an overly neat attic may suggest an approach to life that is too formal and timid. Ghosts in the attic represent memories that haunt you, while a jumble of unused clothes and equipment reflects unused energy. In some cases, particularly those in which your dream attic is radiant and heavenly, your attic may represent your higher self but in general, such dreams refer to stored material. Whatever your dream attic contains, consider it a clue to making your present circumstances more rewarding.

See also HOUSE.

AUCTION If an auction figures in your dreams, what was the identity of the object you, or others, were bidding for? Was it a position at work? Was it for a lifestyle change? Was your bid too low or too high, or did you pay more than the object was worth? If so, should you re-evaluate your ambitions in waking life?

AUDIENCE To dream that you are in front of an audience suggests that people you know in waking life are paying close attention to your actions. It could also refer to your fear of having your private thoughts and feelings discovered or revealed. If you are part of the audience, you need to pay attention to the plot of the play. Symbolically, the stage is a representation of your own life play. By observing and being objective about the action being played out, you can gain a new perspective on your life.

Who is the audience in your dreams when you receive or don’t receive recognition? Who is there to see you succeed or fail? How does their presence make you feel? Scared? Supported? Distracted? Proud? Are they cheering you on? Or are they holding you back? Typically the people we choose to watch and comment on our progress in dreams are those authority figures who exist in both our waking life and our memories. Parents and family members tend to be the most persistent authority figures in dreams about success and recognition. It is up to you to work out how much their values and dreams guide and nourish you, and to what extent they keep you from the finishing line. How often does your boss or a work colleague or an old teacher or friend from school appear in your dreams? Chances are when they do, your dreams are about proving yourself.

Is your partner there cheering you on, or are they absent? Which friends are there to watch your moment of glory in your dreams? If it is someone who hasn’t been in your life for years, what do they stand for? We all have authority figures in our dreams and in our lives. They are necessary because they each represent something important. They can guide us, warn us, and give us the feeling that we are supported. On the other hand, they can also undermine us, hold us back when we need to be moving forward, or drive us harder toward impossible to reach goals.

AUDITION If you are attending an audition in your dream, this could refer to feelings of insecurity about expressing yourself in waking life. You may also feel as if you are being put to the test in some way, or that you are in a vulnerable situation. The response of the audience will reveal how you feel others perceive you.

AUNT For Jungians, an aunt may represent the anima (feminine aspect) of a male dreamer and the uncle the animus (masculine aspect) of a female dreamer. Uncles and aunts in dreams can also be symbols of your unconscious feelings toward your mother or father. The most general characteristic of dreams that feature your aunt is that they depict an aspect of yourself. For many people an aunt is a role model, so if she figures in your dream, she is commenting on the success or failure of certain strategies you may be using in your waking life.

See FAMILY (#litres_trial_promo).

AUTOPSY To dream of examining a dead body suggests a need to look within yourself or to search your past experiences for answers or insight. Alternatively, your dream could be urging you to examine what part of you has died or stopped functioning.

AUTUMN Dreams dealing with the autumn mean that a series of ups and downs may be experienced, but the transformations that are felt may be crucial to your personal growth. This time may represent a maturing of your ideas. It is also a time when one cycle ends and trees bear fruit, so it may suggest the fruition of a plan. Autumn may also symbolize middle age. Bear in mind, too, that Keats’ ‘season of mists and mellow fruitfulness’ conjures up images of poetry even in dreams. If you dream of autumn, your dreaming mind is urging you to reap what you sow and appreciate your blessings.

AVALANCHE This dream may refer to oppressive forces within your waking life that are threatening to overwhelm you – an avalanche of responsibility, for example, that accompanies the birth of a new child. Therefore if you dreamed of an avalanche, your unconscious is warning you that the foundations of your waking life are under threat. Or maybe you just feel snowed under by responsibilities, or overwhelmed by the avalanche of work your boss requires of you? If you dreamed of being caught in the middle of an avalanche, this suggests you are feeling overwhelmed by circumstances, but if you witnessed an avalanche, you are currently experiencing a destructive force in your life. The dream is urging you to assume control and take precautionary steps to protect yourself from danger. An avalanche dislodges snow and ice, so your dream may have expressed your fear of someone else’s hostility or emotional coldness, and the impact this has in the real world. Snow is white (the color of innocence), so you should also consider whether you are disguising some action in waking life.

AX This can be both creative and destructive, as it is often used to separate the valuable from the worthless. An ax or hatchet can be a symbol of emotional readiness to cut out dead wood so you can free yourself from whatever is holding you back. If the ax belongs to an executioner, do you have a tendency for excessive self-criticism?

See also WEAPONS.

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BABY If a baby is born or appears in your dream, were you the proud parent? If you were, this suggests a budding talent or creative potential that is just emerging. If you give birth to two or more babies, this may symbolize groups of ideas or personal talents. On the other hand, it could also suggest that you need to lavish extra care and attention on your ‘brainchild’ if it is to be a success; if the dream baby is premature, this message is stressed further.

If you are looking after someone else’s baby in your dream, it could indicate that in waking life you feel as if you have been left ‘holding the baby’ in some way. Did you enjoy holding the baby or feel panicked by the responsibility? If you felt anxious, maybe you are worried about the responsibility that has been placed upon your shoulders in waking life. Pay attention to the behavior of the baby. If the baby is happy, this suggests that you are fulfilling the needs of your brainchild, but if the baby is distressed, this suggests that your idea, project, or talent isn’t being developed or cared for.

If you lost or injured a baby in your dream, this can suggest a loss of confidence on your part and an inability to put in the hard work required to see a project to completion. If you are the parent of a young baby and you have this kind of dream, it could indicate that you are finding it hard to cope with the demands and responsibilities of caring for a baby in waking life. Your unconscious could also be highlighting your sense of guilt about not being a perfect enough parent, and your desperate need for time to yourself.

If, however, procreation in waking life is not at the forefront of your conscious mind, dream babies may be an expression of an unconscious counterpart trying to acquaint you with the baby, or your own inner child, within. This is an aspect of yourself that is dependent on others for financial or emotional support, or the part of you that longs to be reborn and relive your life again. Or perhaps this ‘baby’ is a part of the personality or aspect that has not been ‘born’ or expressed before. If your dream baby is born with an adult body and a baby head, this suggests an approach to life that is still immature. If your dream baby is born with a baby body and an adult head, it suggests adult intellect but emotional and sexual immaturity. If the baby is beautiful, gifted, or remarkable in some way, this represents the emergence of personal insight and previously unconscious elements of yourself.

A baby boy in your dream suggests the birth of a new phase of self-expression and new activities and achievements, whereas a baby girl suggests new aspects of feeling and relationships with others. If the baby is crying, this indicates that your fundamental needs for love, support, comfort, and happiness are not being met. Is there something distressing you at a feeling level that you are not acknowledging? If you drop a baby in your dreams, this suggests carelessness in dealing with your basic needs, especially as it concerns connection with others. It can also refer to a mistake or missed opportunity, or a feeling that someone has dropped or lost interest in you. If the baby is smiling, this suggests a deep level of comfort, security, and satisfaction.

BABY ANIMALS

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

BABYSITTER If you see a babysitter or nanny in your dream this may indicate that you lack confidence in your ability to handle things yourself.

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