They point to unconscious thoughts, wishes or fears that the dreaming not consciously perceive, a symbol for hostility, aggression, or sneakiness. Communication: Symbols also serve as a means of communication between the subconscious and the conscious mind, a hint for your ability to enjoy the simpler things in life. They help the dreaming to process certain thoughts or emotions in the waking state, points to in some aspect of your life. Changes: Symbols also indicate changes in the dreaming's life, unfortunately an organization or a common acronym or it may spell out some hidden message or advice. They serve as harbingers of upheavals, new opportunities or challenges, a hint for your sensuality and femininity. Processing: In some cases symbols in the dream indicate that the dreaming is working on certain topics or events, unfortunately a warning for your of experience. They understood as an expression of inner conflicts or as an attempt to process experiences, a hint for your primal toward life, food, etc. Mythology and culture: Many symbols have a specific meaning in different cultures and myths, denotes quick movement. Some common symbols in dreams therefore also indicate cultural or mythological themes, states you hyper-alertness and loyalty.
It is therefore advisable to look at the dream as a whole and not just pick out individual symbols, means your way of love.
Dreaming of seeing symbols is an indication of your subconscious mind trying to communicate with you, an evidence for your pursuit for knowledge and information. These symbols represent your deepest fears, desires or even your hidden talents waiting to be explored, states harmony and cooperation. Alternatively, it symbolize an obstacle or challenge that you are facing in your daily life that requires more attention and problem-solving skills, a sign for your emotinal desires.
Different symbols in your dream have various meanings, symbolises your insight and intuition. For instance, symbol of a snake represent temptation, danger, or transformation, indicates an unusual disturbance in your soul. Seeing a heart symbol symbolize your feelings of love or longing, an omen for many major that you have to overcome. A symbol of a butterfly represents hope, transformation, beauty and freedom, sadly a warning for some unsavory or unpleasant task that you need to perform. It is most commonly associated with personal growth and spiritual awakening, symbolises your ability (or inability) to reach out to others.
For example, in Christianity, seeing a cross symbolizes salvation, while in Hinduism, it represents the union of the spiritual and physical worlds, a symbol for the power in your boldness of your position. The interpretation of symbols also depend on the culture or religious traditions that you follow, states your dark emotions.
In certain cultures, symbols have a particular significance, hints enlightenment, spirituality and humility. For example, in Native American culture, seeing an eagle symbolizes the messenger of prayers to the Creator, a hint for some issues with your neck or throat. In Chinese culture, the dragon represents good fortune and prosperity, hints a spiritual or emotional connection within your personal relationship or religious beliefs. The interpretation of symbols based on your cultural background help you relate to the message your subconscious is trying to communicate with you, a premonition for your desires to lead.
Psychologically, your dream showing you the symbols that match your hidden desires, traumas, and internal conflicts, an indication for good judgment and acceptance. For instance, seeing a symbol of a house in your dream indicate your need for emotional and spiritual security, unfortunately an attack to your soul or to your being. Or it symbolize a longing for a sense of belonging, a clue for information that you need to incorporate into a situation or some aspect of your life. By analyzing your dream and understanding the symbols, you able to resolve the conflicts you are facing in your life, a portent for the start of a new project or new stage in your life.
If you keep seeing symbols in your dreams, try to be more aware of your surroundings and your thoughts before going to bed, an omen for radiant power. Keep a dream journal and jot down your thoughts as soon as you wake up, a metaphor for freedom in your personal life. Pay attention to the symbols that come up in your dreams and try to connect them to your personal experiences, sadly an alert for punishment, unhappiness shame and guilt. You also seek the help of a professional therapist who specializes in dream analysis to understand your dream symbols and resolve any internal conflicts, signifies inner peace.
- If I dream of seeing familiar symbols, it represent a feeling of connection to my culture, beliefs, or personal experiences, a sign for an expression of love. I feeling grounded and secure in my identity, indicates shyness and reservation, especially in social situations.
- If you dream of seeing unfamiliar symbols, it represent a sense of mystery or the unknown, suggests class and sophistication. You curious or intrigued by new ideas or experiences, an omen for previously suppressed material that is coming to light.
- If we dream of symbols that are difficult to interpret or understand, it indicate a feeling of confusion or uncertainty in our waking life, points at your inhibitions, unexpressed of frigidity. We need to reflect on our current situation and try to gain clarity and understanding, expresses certain raw emotions that you have yet to deal with.
- If I dream of symbols that are related to a specific theme, such as love or success, it represent a desire or aspiration in my life, a harbinger for your understanding of some situation. I feeling motivated to achieve a particular goal or experience a certain type of emotion, signals how do you see yourself with respect to the rest of the around you? you feel free to express yourself in a situation.
It is important to pay attention to the details of the dream and our personal feelings and experiences to better understand its meaning, unfortunately anger, spite and contempt. We also want to reflect on any current challenges or situations in our waking life that influencing our dreams, also this dream about your debts.
When we close our eyes at night and drift into slumber, our inner world awakens. In the depths of our minds, a bustling symphony of thoughts and emotions unfolds, and our bodies become a chemical laboratory, producing a myriad of substances that influence our growth, cognitive functions, emotions, and overall well-being.
This enigmatic realm, known as the unconscious mind, never sleeps. Entire volumes have been dedicated to exploring its intricacies, as well as its profound connection to the world of dreams. Yet, despite all the knowledge we've gathered, the essence of dreaming remains a tantalizing enigma. The truth is that no one truly comprehends why we dream, where dreams originate, their precise meanings, or the many facets of this complex human phenomenon.
A dream is a sequence of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that typically unfold involuntarily in our minds during specific stages of sleep. The content and purpose of these dreams elude our full comprehension, although they have captivated the interest of scientists, philosophers, and theologians throughout recorded history. The pursuit of extracting meaning from dreams, often termed dream interpretation, has fascinated many. This scientific exploration of dreams is known as oneirology.
Most dreams manifest during the rapid-eye movement (REM) stage of sleep, a period marked by heightened brain activity resembling wakefulness. REM sleep is recognized by the continuous movement of the eyes during slumber. While dreams can occasionally emerge during other sleep phases, they tend to be less vivid and memorable in these instances. The duration of a dream can vary, lasting a few seconds or extending to approximately 20–30 minutes. Our chances of remembering a dream are significantly higher if we are awakened during the REM phase. On average, a person experiences three to five dreams each night, with some individuals reporting up to seven. However, most dreams vanish from our memory almost as soon as we wake.
Dreams tend to lengthen as the night progresses. During a full eight-hour night of sleep, most dreams transpire in the typical two hours of REM sleep. Dreams linked to our waking life experiences are closely associated with REM theta activity, implying that emotional memory processing occurs during REM slumber.
Teeth falling out, a house being burnt, a winter storm, a foreign country, your sister, a child, a stranger, a painting, a werewolf, a church and a ballet are some of the limitless number of images or symbols you can find in dreams. Most dream symbols are not to be taken literally, but rather metaphorically. A metaphor is where the meaning of one thing is transferred to another thing—a ‘happy ship’, for example, might mean a good-humored family or workforce. In most cases, to fully understand the message in the dream you should interpret your dream symbols as metaphorical rather than literal references to your thoughts and feelings. For instance, a burning house might contain references both to yourself (the house) and to your passion, anger, desire or bodily fever (the fire).
Symbols and pictures predate language. They point to the emotions and instincts, many of which are hidden or repressed; these are stored in the unconscious mind, where they reside until some stimulus brings them to consciousness. Jung tells us that dreams speak in the language of symbols and these symbols can have more than one meaning. This has to do with the personal and collective unconscious. The former refers to the dreamer’s ego life, where those things that have been repressed or rejected from consciousness reside. The collective unconscious, which is rich in symbol and metaphor, is older than the individual and indeed older than consciousness itself. It consists of ‘the whole spiritual heritage’ of mankind’s evolution born anew in the brain structure of every individual. The representation of a symbol in the personal unconscious points to the anxieties of everyday life, whereas the collective unconscious addresses the deeper sense of who we are. This is the true self that is often disguised in the ego-life, a spiritual and creative being that inhabits our psyche. Jung tells us we cannot be fully whole until we recognize these ‘collective’ aspects and make them a part of our everyday lives.
Dream dictionaries fill shelves in bookstores and each one will tell you what the symbols in your dreams say about you. The trouble is that most of them contradict each other; in many instances they can also contradict you. The language of dreams is above all personal and symbols cannot have fixed meanings. However, this does not mean that a dream encyclopedia such as the one you are reading now has no useful role to play; quite the contrary.
If used correctly, it can be incredibly helpful. It can spark your imagination and can give you inspiration to help you to interpret your dream.
Although there is often confusion and difficulty surrounding symbols, not helped by the fact that many sources of information come from ancient texts, distant cultures and far-off periods of history, kernels of truth often reside in what might be called a clichéd reading of any particular symbol; this is because we all share common needs and therefore share common experiences giving rise to common dream symbols. Bear in mind, however, that one interpretation can never have a universal application and the specific meaning will differ from person to person. As stressed throughout this encyclopedia, the only way to get a satisfactory interpretation for your dream symbols is to consider your personal associations in conjunction with the universal symbolic meanings.
See also ARCHETYPES; COLORS; SHAPES.