Ian Wallace Interpretation:
Being kidnapped by a gang in a dream can indicate that you feel forced into doing things that you would rather not do in waking life. This can often happen in family situations in which other family members seem to be trying to control your actions and ambitions in some way. Take full responsibility for your own decisions. You can still be loyal to your family, but the more responsibly you behave, the less likely it is that you will feel trapped through seeking the approval of your family members. In which situations can you feel more accountable to yourself instead of always trying to meet the expectations of your family? Doing what others expect of you against your own inclinations can result in a situation in which you feel that you are losing your sense of self. As your home symbolizes where you feel most comfortable, you may dream that you can’t find your way home.
Opportunity to make my own choices so I can liberate myself from feeling restricted by the expectations of others
Dream: You are overwhelmed by a group of gangsters and they kidnap you, taking you to their hideout where they try to force you to join them. The gang members seem to be familiar with you and your life, and they often attempt to blackmail you. Their pretext is that you owe them some money or perhaps they witnessed a minor misdemeanour you committed. In return for their silence, they often ask you to commit crimes for them. They may place unnecessary demands on you as they threaten to hold you or your family hostage.
Meaning: Dreaming of being kidnapped by a gang suggests you have become involved with a group of people in waking life that seem to be making unfair demands on your time and resources. Although you feel a loyalty towards this group, you also feel they often seem to force you into doing things that you would rather not do. This tends to happen most often in family situations where you can sometimes feel coerced into unwelcome activities and it seems that other family members are controlling your individual freedom in some way. Family members can also try to influence you by playing on your sense of loyalty to them and by making life uncomfortable if you appear to be disloyal in any way. This can seem like emotional blackmail but even though this group seems to be limiting your freedom, it also gives you a sense of security, which is why it can be so hard to escape from them. You can also sense a debt of gratitude to your family and this can make you feel as if you owe them something, particularly if they have ignored indiscretions and mistakes that you have made. The feeling of being kidnapped can also occur if you feel that you are being held hostage by your family’s expectations of you. As well as families, this can happen in other tight-knit groups where you feel the group’s interests are different from your own, causing a conflict of your loyalties.
Action: The message from this dream is that you need to place the expectations and influences of your family into a wider perspective. Although you want to respect your family, you also need to be able to make your own choices and take full responsibility for your own decisions. The more responsibly you behave, the more freedom you will have to be loyal to yourself and to honour your needs. As you realize that you are the person responsible for meeting your own expectations, you will liberate yourself from feeling trapped by the expectations of others.
Background: Although most of us have no direct experience of dealing with gangsters, such as Mafia mobsters, we have a rich cultural awareness through films like The Godfather Trilogy and television shows such as The Sopranos. The basis of each Mafia organization is a particular family or clan and, like the Mafia, many families have their informal and unspoken codes of conduct and honour. These usually involve expectations of unconditional loyalty to one another and often include a code of silence or omerta concerning certain taboo subjects that aren’t spoken about outside the family.