Use the explanations offered in the pages that follow for the interpretation of your dream symbols and combine them with your own circumstances to work out an understanding of the likely significance of your dreams. In this way, your innermost feelings, hopes, and fears can be highlighted, hopefully resolving issues in your waking life and enriching it by revealing your hidden strengths and creativity.
Dreams offer you an incredible opportunity to connect to your inner world to illuminate your waking life. They help reveal who you really are, and understanding their true meaning is the beginning of understanding yourself. In the words of Aristotle, ‘knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom’. So, take the time to enjoy the excitement, mystery, wonder, creativity, and pure magic each and every dream brings. Keep your eyes wide open by day and wide shut by night. Dare yourself to discover and believe in yourself and the beauty of your dreams – wherever they may lead you…
A–Z BEDSIDE READER (#ulink_efbb76d8-a898-5bd9-b894-c5be4931f2c2)
(#ulink_e060d2f1-dcbd-5698-9f12-2fd550801615)
ABANDONED PLACES According to Jung, places in dreams where people work or live together, such as villages, towns, and cities, symbolize how you perceive yourself within your community, how well you are fitting in. So if places are abandoned in your dream, like a ghost town or a deserted village, this could mirror feelings of isolation or rejection in your waking life.
See also PLACES.
ABANDONMENT Dream images connected to feelings of abandonment, fear, and loss of control all have some form of conflict as their theme. For example, dreams about missing a bus, train, or plane all point to some kind of tension in the dreamer about failing to achieve a goal. Dreams about being abandoned or left alone by a group of loved ones suggest feelings of anxiety about being left out, or being different from the crowd. Anxiously searching for the right road or path could point to fears about losing your identity. If you are happily wandering alone in your dream, this may suggest a feeling that the source of your problems lies outside yourself. Dreams about anchors and lifeboats also tell of the fight for survival in daily life. If you dream of being lost in dense vegetation, towering trees, or tall reeds, you may feel that your progress is being thwarted by obstacles. As in the tale of Hansel and Gretel, this dream may evoke longing for the comfort and warmth of home.
See also CHILD (abandoned by parents dream) and SEPARATION.
ABDOMEN
See BODY (#ulink_9f2f12e2-5295-5e49-8f1c-8f5fce75fbc2).
ABDUCTION
See KIDNAP (#litres_trial_promo).
ABORIGINAL In dreams, an aboriginal is a symbol of that within you which is unsophisticated and natural. It is the basic, life-affirming energy or intuition within you which may have been repressed by experience; you need to get in touch with this simplicity again to understand yourself or a situation in your waking life better. In short, this dream is urging you to reconnect with your intuition and work with it in your daily life.
ABORTION Dreams about abortion, miscarriages, and stillbirth are likely to leave you feeling traumatized on waking, whether you are pregnant or not. And if you are expecting a baby, such a dream is likely to be a nightmare. If this is the case, your dream was simply playing out your natural feelings of anxiety. However, most dreams about abortion, miscarriage, and stillbirth aren’t to be interpreted literally, as they refer to a concept you may have been mulling over, or an idea that is not realizing its potential or is not supported by your confidence or desire. There may be a need to reject a feeling, emotion, belief, or concept that could be problematic in waking life. Decisions need to be taken which will help you get rid of what is no longer wanted in waking life.
How did you feel about the abortion in your dream? If you were distressed, perhaps someone or something is trying to prevent you from succeeding. If you were relieved, your unconscious may be urging you to change direction or change your mind. Perhaps the concept is too demanding or the idea is flawed in some way. On the other hand, the dream may also have referred to something or someone about which you feel guilty. Dreams that focus on miscarriage may have the same interpretation but they may also refer to a miscarriage of justice, especially if you felt anger in your dream. Is someone in your waking life taking the credit you deserve? Stillbirth dreams are in some ways more devastating and sad than dreams about miscarriage, as the baby has been brought to full term with the only element missing being the spark of life. In dreams, a still born baby may represent a talent you have allowed to die, or a relationship that has died due to neglect.
ABOVE
See POSITION (#litres_trial_promo).
ABROAD If you are going abroad or are abroad in your dream, your unconscious is thinking about your own personal freedom or your ability to move freely around your inner and outer worlds. Your dream is giving you an understanding of your feelings toward the widening of your horizons or the making of changes in your life. Pay attention to how you feel in the dream, as this will help you interpret it. The dream could also be about a need to escape from, or leave, a situation, as suggested by the phrase for having a vacation abroad – ‘getting away from it all’. If someone or something arrives from abroad, this represents a change or something new happening in your life. Someone of the opposite sex arriving from abroad indicates hopes for a new relationship or the need for new life to be injected into a current relationship. The dream may also be slang – ‘a broad’ – expressing desire for a particular female.
ABYSS If the deep, precipitous sides of a chasm or large hole threaten to engulf and swallow you up in a dream, or if an abyss suddenly opens up in front of you, transforming a previously pleasant scene into a terrifying one, could your unconscious have been warning you that your position in waking life is not as stable as you might think and that you could be facing unexpected mishaps or pitfalls? Chasms and holes in dreams always suggest an element of the unknown or something in some way risky, and they urge the dreamer to make a decision one way or another in waking life. Perhaps you dreamed of teetering on the brink of a ravine, petrified that you would lose your footing? Such a dream may be warning you that you are in danger of falling into an emotional black hole, out of which you feel powerless to emerge. Also, because the earth is a symbol of the archetypal mother, devouring chasms may represent a devouring maternal figure in your life, intent on dominating you or dragging you under.
ACCIDENTS The traditional interpretation of dreams involving accidents is that we are receiving some kind of warning to be on our guard against possible danger or hidden aggression, either our own or others’. From a psychologist’s point of view, such dreams may highlight anxieties to do with safety or fear of taking responsibility. Spiritual interpretations of such dreams suggest the need for some kind of intervention from an authoritative source.
According to Freud, accidents in dreams, like slips of the tongue in waking life, are not accidents but dream events with a meaning that can help us to unravel the often incomprehensible maneuvers of our unconscious mind. For Jung, accident dreams, as well as offering insights into our unconscious thought processes, can provide a reaction to a traumatic experience or the fear of it. For example, if you were in a car accident or are anxious about having one, you may dream of being involved in one. People who suffered great trauma, such as rape victims or war veterans, may have nightmares that are exactly like, or very similar to, actual life events.
The most commonly accepted theory is that accident dreams show how your unconscious has noticed things that you may not have noticed in waking life. They are both a reminder and a possible warning. You may, for example, dream of a teenager being hit by a car on a busy street outside a gas station, only to read a few weeks later that a teenager has been seriously injured in just this way. The most likely explanation is that you have unconsciously noticed how dangerous the street was, having read somewhere about the growing number of teenagers killed due to drivers’ use of cell phones and, without realizing it, you have observed that an accident was highly likely. These kinds of subtle clues and subliminal suggestions are around us every day.
Accident to the Dreamer
If you dream that you have an accident yourself, you should take note of the details, especially if it was caused by something you use every day, such as a bicycle, a car, or a lawn mower, and check that it is in good working order before you use it again. On the other hand, an accident dream could also be warning you of potential danger or loss of control if you continue a particular course of action. For example, you may dream that you are hit by a car as you run across the street to talk to a married colleague you’ve been thinking of having an affair with. An obvious interpretation of this dream is that the accident signifies pent-up guilt for something you have thought, said, or done, and that you are subconsciously punishing yourself over it. You could also be harboring deep anxiety over being found out. Dreams of car accidents might be urging you to slow down before you hit disaster, or telling you that you are ‘driving’ yourself too hard. You need to rethink, or re-plan, your course of action and set yourself on a better path. Your accident dream may also represent your straightforward fears of being involved in an actual, physical accident. You may just be nervous about getting behind the wheel, or going on a train, boat, or plane trip.
Whatever happened in your dream, notice how you emerge. Did you manage to rescue something or someone? If you did, this could suggest someone who needs your help or protection. It could also suggest an aspect of yourself that is worth saving. Were you hurt, or did you come out of it unscathed? If you weren’t injured, this could suggest that you have the strength to overcome what fate throws at you, but if you were wounded, you need to take better care of yourself and ‘toughen up’.
Accident in the Home
Dreaming of accidents in the home means tension may be building up in your home life, although it occasionally means you have unconsciously noticed something that might cause a domestic accident. Therefore check whatever it is that caused the accident: if you dream of falling down stairs, is the stair carpet loose? A dream that focuses on your home may also be saying something about your personality and approach to life. It may be that in order to progress with your life you need to make changes, and these changes may involve destroying what you have built up for some time.
Accidents from Above
To see something hanging above you about to fall implies possible danger. If it falls and misses you, perhaps you have had a narrow escape from some misfortune, or your unconscious is warning you to be alert to potential danger.
Accident to Loved Ones
To dream that a loved one dies in an accident indicates that something in your own self is no longer functional, and is ‘dead’. It is also symbolic of your own relationship with that person. Perhaps you need to let go of this relationship, or let go of a particular phase in that relationship and move toward the next. For example, the first throes of passion may have ebbed away, but you can replace them with love, stability, and commitment.
Accident at Sea
To dream of an accident at sea suggests potential problems with those who are close to you, or some kind of disappointment in love. If water overwhelms you, you are likely to feel overwhelmed by emotions. If this is the case, you need to assess how best to manage your feelings and put them into context. If you are trying to save other people in a shipwreck, you need to think about what these people represent to you. For instance, if you are trying to save a baby, perhaps that represents an element in your waking life, such as unconditional love, or wonder and excitement, which you need to develop in your waking life to help you cope with your emotional response.
Accident to Someone Else
This could be hidden aggression toward that particular person or an aspect of yourself that person represents that you recognize in yourself. It could also suggest anxiety about the welfare of the person in your dream.
See also CAR CRASH, TRAIN CRASH, PLANE CRASH.
ACHE Dream abscesses may indicate a site of physical illness that is not yet obvious when awake, but it is more likely that they represent swollen and painful emotions that are repressed and may be causing psychological infection. Aches in dreams indicate places where there may be blocked energy relevant to that part of the body. For example, we tend to refer to nagging problems in waking life as headaches and, since the head represents an authority figure, a dream headache may suggest an unresolved issue with an authority figure in your life. Throat aches may suggest an inability to express yourself verbally, while dreams of injury or strangulation to the throat almost always relate to current pressures in your life. Such dreams do not always urge you to speak your mind but they do remind you to be aware of those dynamics around you that are affecting you, as well as urging you to be honest with yourself about how you feel about what is going on. Chest aches indicate withheld emotions, and backaches blocked anger.
The sensation of pain in a dream may be a warning against taking unnecessary risks or an attempt by your dreaming mind to urge you to take a more positive approach to life. Dreams in which you are fatigued or racked with aches and pains may signify that in waking life you are worrying needlessly over problems that really aren’t that important. Take a more relaxed approach. Sometimes, however, your dreaming mind will inflict a pain dream almost as an act of revenge over some supposed fault or misbehavior in waking life. For example, if you are on a diet and have slipped recently, your unconscious may punish you in dreams that have the sensation of pain. Perhaps one of the most horrifying pain scenarios in a dream is to be impaled. Whether this is caused by a slip from a high spot onto railings or a vampire stake through the heart, such a dream refers to the pain of unwanted intrusion or enemies in real life.
ACID
See NEGATIVE SYMBOLS (#litres_trial_promo).
ACORN
See POSITIVE SYMBOLS (#litres_trial_promo).
ACROBAT
See CIRCUS (#litres_trial_promo).
ACTING/ACTOR/ACTRESS This can suggest a desire for public attention, but it can also suggest not expressing your real self – playing a part. If you dreamed that you were acting on stage, how did the audience react to your performance? We all role-play during our waking lives, projecting a persona that may not be entirely who we are in order to make ourselves more appealing to others; it is possible that your unconscious is commenting on how your performance was perceived. The part you were playing and the scene you were acting could be particularly relevant to situations in your waking life. Were you a tremendous success on stage? Did you receive a standing ovation? If you did, your unconscious may be telling you that the image you are presenting is convincing to others. If, however, your act was not well received, this might suggest that the image you are projecting is unconvincing to others and unhelpful to you.
If you dreamed that you were unwilling to step into the spotlight, this could suggest that your unconscious is mirroring your reluctance to be someone you are not in waking life, or it could simply suggest that you dislike being the center of attention. If you forgot your lines or needed the assistance of a prompter, you could be suffering from a lack of confidence in waking life, perhaps because you feel unprepared in some way. You may also be relying on someone else in waking life to guide you toward success. If an actor dies or is dead in your dream, this could suggest that a particular role you have been playing in life has outlived its usefulness and relevance. On the other hand, dreams about acting may simply be reminding you that life is not a dress rehearsal and that you only have one chance to make a success of it.
See WORK (#litres_trial_promo).
ACTIVITIES/ACTION Activities or actions within dreams are often concerned with hidden motivations and agendas, and – interpreted within the context of your mood and emotions within the dream – are particularly important. The psychological meaning is that action needs to transfer from dreams to waking life in order for progress to be made. Symbolically the action can give an indication of the dreamer’s spiritual progress.
Typically, activities in dreams are associated with moving forward or making progress in waking life. They reflect how well you are doing in your quest to achieve your ambitions. Do you need to move on? Take another route? Speed up or slow down? That’s why it is particularly helpful to take note of the details in your dream. What was the goal you were running, walking, climbing, or swimming toward? Did you feel exhausted or were you in peak form? Were you competing against anyone? Did you reach your destination or achieve your goal? Did you feel satisfied or disappointed? The answers to these questions will help you assess your progress and identify any obstacles or attitudes that may be holding you back.
ADAM AND EVE
![The Dream Dictionary from A to Z [Revised edition]: The Ultimate A–Z to Interpret the Secrets of Your Dreams](/covers/48653382.jpg)
