THE INTERPRETATION OF DREAMS

INTRODUCTION:

The area of dreams, dream symbolism, precognitive dreams etc is generally divided into two sometimes opposing, sometimes complementary disciplines – one being the province of psychiatry and related disciplines, the other of Spiritual and paranormal interests. In my experience the most successful dream interpreters are those who pay attention to both.

Therefore, Part one will give a brief insight into the Jungian theory of Dream interpretation; Jung offers a good explanation of where dreams may come from. Without becoming a Jungian therapist(!) one can acquaint oneself with the basic ideas and interpretations as an aid to understanding dreams; it is always good idea to check a symbol out for its mundane as well as its esoteric meanings.

Part two: There are two many symbols and two many meanings attached to each; and these meanings vary too much from culture to culture to make it feasible to attempt a directory of meanings here, but I will give some of the most common symbols and their meanings plus the universal symbols, and archetypes.

Part three: The final part will give the best method of interpretation and some practical examples.

WHAT ARE DREAMS?

Freud, Jung and Religion: Freud saw the unconscious mind as merely the ‘junk room’ of the psyche and dreams therefore as jumbled garbage coming from that part of our minds.

Jung attached altogether more sophisticated significance to dreams; he thought that when we sleep we access the collective unconsciousness; and are open in sleep to messages from the Archetypes, (see below). Religion, from earliest times has attached similar meaning to dreams, as prophetic or didactic; the more shaman and mystical the religion the more attention is paid to the possibility of dreams.

In my tradition dreams are seen as soul journeys; sometimes just flights of fancy, but sometimes harrowing or uplifting journeys into the other realms. Like Jung, we see the

Dreamtime as an opportunity for receiving guidance: for us, from the ancestors, the deities, spirit guides, and our own souls.

THE THEORY OF DREAMS AND THEIR INTERPRETATION:

PART ONE

Psychological Types, including Attitudinal and Functional types; and Synchronicity.

Firstly I want to take a brief tour of the psychology of dreams. This is the boring bit but invaluable in understanding dreams. Even if you choose to read dreams in a solely spiritual or religious context this helps to separate the dross from the gold.

PYSCHOLOGICAL TYPES

Jung divided psychological types into attitudinal and functional types.

Attitudinal types

Attitudinal literally refers to the attitude with which people greet change, challenge, events, etc. People are usually either largely Introverted (reluctant to embrace change or challenges, afraid of new faces, but on the other hand drawing values and ideas from inner world of thought and feelings) or Extroverted (trusting, eager, embracing change and challenge but drawing their values and ideas from outside sources, other people etc)

Functional types.

Functional refers to the way in which you view reality; either intellectually, intuitively, emotionally or through sensation. e.g. if you primarily make sense of the world through analyzing and thinking, then this is your superior function. Jung believed that if thinking was your superior function then feeling is your weaker function and needed to be worked on. In between each of these absolutes, are four intermediate functions, mixtures of four main ones. Empirical thinking (into which incidentally, both Jung and most witches fall) is where your think strongly but with an intuitive element. Sensory feeling, Intuitive feeling and intuitive speculation are similarly mixes of the main types. Again if one is superior, you must according to Jung be weaker in another area.

Persona: the persona is the self -image you create in order to bland the ideals of society with the ideal balance required by your psyche for mental health. Images get distorted by pressure from various sources such as parents society peer pressure.

A good example of this is someone who struggles to be intellectual to please their parents while they are naturally feeling types.

All kinds of things can upset the persona’s delicate balance and Jung saw the role of the unconscious mind as therapeutic, healing, and giving hints towards the healing of the psyche. These hints come in the form of dreams.

Synchronicity:

In ‘On Synchronicity’ (about acausal connecting principles) in 1949 Jung explored two important ideas; the fact that while asleep (in a lower mental or vital state) we are open to universal symbols and archetypes which he called primordial images; and the idea of synchronicity or meaningful coincidence, which in times of crisis opens the doors of our mind to the collective unconsciousness and allows us to access the deep truth of some archetypes or universal symbol. In other times, synchronicity allows us to draw truth from our dreams and experiences. An example of synchronicity would be a person recounting a dream containing a symbol such as a bird only to have a bird fly into the room at the minute, reinforcing the symbolism. Strange feelings, coincidences, feverish or hysterical episodes all can allow us , as with dreaming, access to this collective unconsciousness, where we can find the truth which will heal us.

There are three types of synchronicity:

Where the dreamer experiences something which is reinforced at the same time by an independent event, e.g. the bird entering the room while the dreamer recounts a dream of birds

Where the dreamer dreams of an event, which actually takes place at a distance from them, in circumstances that would be impossible to have known, e.g. the dreamer dreams that their mother is in a crash and awakes to find that while they were asleep, and could not possibly have known about it their mother was indeed in a crash

Where the dreamer dreams of an event which later comes to pass, and which they could not have possibly influenced into occurring.

This is the most generalized potted version of Jung but I have paired away anything not related to the practical application of dream analysis for the magical practitioner; it can be very worthwhile to look up and study Jung further, but I HAVE FOUND FOR ALL PRACTICAL PURPOSES IF YOU GET A GRIP ON THE PRINCIPLES ABOVE THAT’S ALL YOU NEED.

PART TWO:

Types of Dreams, Universal Symbols, Archetypes and General Symbols

TYPES OF DREAMS

Precognitive…the rarest and most fascinating of dreams. This is where you dream of something that has not happened and which you could not possibly know, before dreaming it.

Pre-cognitive dreams come in two types: dreams which warn us of a future we can change and dreams which inform us of a future we cannot change.

Can we Change the Future?

One of the most difficult things to understand is why we are given dreams that are incomplete or whose meanings only strike us after the event, while others are clear precognitive dreams. I think this is because sometimes we are and sometimes we are not meant to change the future.

Where the dreams concern us, and our futures:

Inconclusive dreams are there to flag the event for us as meaningful, something we are to draw an important lesson from, but which is our destiny and not to be shirked. It is our reactions to the event and our growth as a result that is important. For example we dream a strange dream containing very obtuse symbols; we don’t understand it until an event happens and suddenly the dream’s meaning seem crystal clear – it was forewarning us about this very event. But there was literally no way to understand that until we had been through the event. Therefore the event was part of our destiny and the dream a red flag for us, to take notice of this event.

Clearly precognitive dreams are there to enable us to avoid something which is detrimental to us, and which serves no good purpose in our lives, i.e. is not our destiny

If we are able to clearly see and understand the meaning of the dream in advance, we can take steps to avoid the event.

Where the dream concerns others:

There are dreams in which you foresee the future of a leader, (e.g. assassination) or the outcome of an event, or the events which will be of importance to loved ones e.g. pregnancy. Generally speaking, again these dreams fall into the two above categories, whereby you may or may not be able to avoid the event, and for the same reasons.

The Current event dream:

This is another more common dream involving others, usually but not always loved ones… This is strictly speaking not a pre-cognitive dream, because it involves events which are happening AS you sleep, not after you wake up. However they come under the same broad category as pre-cog dreams. In this case you dream events that are actually happening to someone you know; for example, a death or a lottery win, or someone giving birth. You are dreaming them as they happen.

The visitation Dream

This dream falls into both the pre-cognitive and spiritual categories: In this dream a soul known to you literally visits you, on an astral level. The most common pre-cog example is when a loved one is dying, and comes in person to say goodbye. You cannot know in advance of their death, which makes it pre-cog but the nature of the dream can include very personal interaction between two souls as well as a prophecy.

Spiritual Dreams

In the Spiritual category the visitation dream is when a known soul, or a spirit guide, or an archetype (in other words anyone from your auntie Emily, Ashanka the warrior, or Father Time) comes to deliver a message. It is very strictly speaking a message, not a prophecy. Spiritual Dreams are dreams where your spirit guide, angel, etc tries to impart a message; this can range from a warning to a pat on the back, to an up-date on your current spiritual level. Often spirits of dead relatives / friends come to impart the message, but also spirit guides and Archetypes. The Spirit guide is the most interesting phenomenon, as it is least likely to originate in the collective consciousness or our own sub -conscious. This is the most likely case for divine contact. Many people who were not spiritual received a visitation from a spirit guide, of a culture alien to their own, imparting a profound message.

Other spiritual dreams include dreams of involuntary levitation, traditionally seen as a sign that a soul journey or Imramma is necessary; dreams of Warfare, or battle-scenes;

dreams of walking through a forest or along a sea shore: (see LOCATION)

Analytical - the most usual dream. Where the message (either from your own subconscious or from the universe/god/ancestors) has relevance to your present and is intended to help you face either a situation from your past that effects your present or a current situation. The meanings range from the mundane to the esoteric, from work to your soul.

Wish-fulfillment/nightmare dreams.

These are two sides of the same coin. If you dream of winning the lottery and having a great time on the proceeds you may possibly win the lottery but more likely – you WISH! Literally. Likewise nightmares can often be an expression of your fears, not a warning that they are about to come true! Depending on your personality type you will either expect the worst or the best and will dream accordingly

Recurring Dreams, Recurring Themes, Cyclical Dreams and Changes over time.

Some people suffer from one of the above types of dream. These are usually spiritually based dreams, unless they are literally inspired by some guilty secret or childhood trauma. Otherwise they usually chart the emotional and spiritual development of the dreamer.

The Recurring dream is where you dream the same dream over and over, with minor changes, these changes are the important thing. They tell you how you are progressing. The unchanging structure of the dream tells you about your life, your destiny, your Karmic mission.

The Recurring Theme is when you dream different dreams with a very, very similar theme, generally an unusual and dramatic one, like murder. The content of these dreams varies, but the theme is constant. The theme is the most important thing, and the changing circumstances indicate that this is not ‘destiny’ but rather a problem you can confront and change.

Cyclical dreams are very rare and are usually signs of psychic activity or a spiritual vocation, this is where you have a set of dreams, on a common theme, that are dreamt in order at regular intervals. These rare events need careful study, they may take a lifetime to understand and are very elusive to recall in detail.

With recurring dreams and recurring themes it is necessary to note the changes in the dream over time, as this gives you a hint as to the focus of the dream and also how you are progressing.

DREAM SYMBOLS

Universal Symbols

Symbols which appear in every culture and every period, changing in outward appearance but containing the same fundamental truth

e.g. transportation

A man in New York might dream of being on a plane; a villager in the Sudan might dream of his ox and cart. A man from the nineteenth century might dream of steam boats while his twenty-first century counterpart dreams of a space rocket but the basic spiritual and psychological meanings are universal, and have been the same for centuries. Transportation, of any kind is often seen as spiritual traveling, while the mode of transport, (luxurious, fast, dangerous etc) tells us a lot about the persons place on their spiritual journey and the issues preoccupying them at any given moment.

Airplane- flying = being on the way to success, spiritual enlightenment, escape or completion: landing = reality, grounding, responsibility, being thwarted or frustrated, time to stop dreaming and act.

Bus- group activity, need for family, lack of individuality

Car – cruising = not being in control, speeding = self destructive, or panicked, brakes applied = either the need to stop or being stopped, brakes failed = treachery, destructive behaviour, and illness.

Elevator – the balance between your spiritual and mental development, often also work and sometimes the feeling of being trapped (up or down never sideways)

Train – traveling in conservative or preordained lines. Not in control of destiny. If train driver then feels immense responsibility for others. Train wreck denotes fear of control. Train stopped implies someone else is deliberately thwarting your progress either spiritually emotionally or intellectually. Steam train = emotional or sexual, electric train = intellectual or spiritual.

All the above fall under the area of transportation, each has a slightly different meaning, but all refer in some way to our progress through life, and where we are RIGHT NOW.

Below is a list of universal symbols and their accepted meanings:

Archetypal Images

Images older than you, part of mythology, part of the collective unconsciousness

God, Earth, the Feminine, the Masculine, Mother, Death, Birth, are all examples of archetypes, and each can appear in many forms e.g. for the feminine one can dream mother, daughter, a cow, cat, sea, witch, night. It takes experience to recognize each manifestation plus a really good dictionary of dream terms!

Some examples are:

Boss:

a parent, boss, guard, policeman, teacher, Judge, is an archetype denoting authority and insisting that you pay attention; this kind of message usually lays down the law, or delivers a verdict i.e. you are guilty!

Children:

Generally spiritual messengers and gift bearers, much can be learnt from your attitude and other people’s attitude towards, your feelings towards and others feeling about the child in the dream; also, the behaviour of the child and things like if it is in danger, if it is happy, sad, etc.

Children represent projects, and also letting go of the past, or of a pet project. They also represent responsibilities, as do pets, old people, new home etc.

Or they can be the future child, yours or a member of the family, announcing themselves.

Someone close might be pregnant!!

Elders:

Old people, elders, grandparents, are easily recognized archetypes. They are wise, calm, serene, just and nurturing. They can be our conscience, our guilt; they can be the reassurance that we are connected to and watched over by the past, by the ancestors. Often people who have a dysfunctional family or are adopted have the most vivid grandparent dreams. This is because they need to be contacted by the ancestors to reassure them of their place and value. Females nurture and males bring practical gifts, prosperity, concrete advice etc.

Heroes and villains

Did the Cop give you a hard time in your dream? Did the fireman rescue you? Did the dentist hurt your tooth? Did a knight in shinning armour turn up in the nick of time? Were you kidnapped by a Cruella de Ville type? Did a cowboy escort you through the desert? All of these are archetypes, of heroes and villains and they are delivering a message. The Cop is reminding you perhaps, that you have been less than honest in your dealings with someone, and the cowboy is telling you to trust others more. Sometimes we will dream of being in a myth or fairytale that is very familiar to us: in that case we need to examine to role we play in the fable, and what that role tells us.

OTHER DREAM SYMBOLS

Abduction = desire not to take responsibility; to leave behind existing situation without being blamed; feeling of being controlled by another.

Animal

In general,

Attacking = fear of being punished or trauma at having been punished.

Threatening = fear of repercussion, or fear of a sexual situation that has arisen

Non-threatening = taking responsibility for actions and adult responses to challenges

Many animals carry deeply significant meanings for the soul and spirit; many are also spirit guides and otherworldly advisors. The cat and cow both represent goddess, the Bear represents God, and also warriors, the reptile represents wisdom and belief and the rat represents Death.

Individually,

Bird = flying (see airplane) also freedom, delicacy, beauty and soul

Bear= strength, being chastised or rewarded by a deity, support and counsel often from an elder, If threatening beware large institutions or corporations who have influence on your life.

Cat = the Feminine (anima). Independence, trust, its actions in the dream are very important and contain a message

Dog =

Elephant = Spiritual Gift; good fortune and prosperity ( esp. if young elephant) if rampaging your beliefs are under threat, or you have transgressed a deep moral taboo.

Fox = possible trickery or deceit; also the need to apply intellect to an emotional situation

Fish = the water element; sexuality; in fresh water an ongoing relationship in salt water sexuality and casual sex; many fish, lots of problems, thoughts chaotic and panicked. One large fish, a major project or one object of desire. Dolphins, uplifting and spiritual, urge to communicate with the water elements, reaffirmation of your path in life, support. Shark= you or a loved one are under emotional or psychic attack. Or you must face the need to stand up for yourself.

Frog = if at focus of dream note its demeanor and actions. If staring at you, you are under scrutiny from beyond this world, you are approaching a new level. If leaping away from you, you need to slow down and take smaller steps; if not at focus of dream, it represents another person, who is magical. It can also represent the way you are seen, or that a secret about you is being kept from you.

Monster = monsters represent different fears and different people in your life. They also represent different prejudices you are guilty.

Mouse/rat = if you aren’t afraid or it is friendly, something is deeply amiss in your life, you are being deceived on a very deep level. If it attacks, the secret is about to surface or already has. It can also represent disease or a ‘sick’ situation

Reptile = see general above, the reptile is the nearest to the archetypal expression of ‘animal’ . also represent a deep-rooted, almost forgotten situation, coming to light again.

A reoccurring issue has not been resolved yet; for a Christian fear of sin or treachery; otherwise new, strange wisdom.

Wolf = If friendly or relaxed you have learnt or must learn to, live with a dangerous situation; if threatening fear betrayal.

Angels (faeries) = Spirituality, messenger, protection. Can represent your higher self.

Attic = Secrets or hidden memories: usually of an intellectual rather than emotional nature

Broom = .

Birth = New beginnings, pregnancy, restarting a love affair, an new concept for business. A dying, dead or sick child is traditionally considered an omen of extreme good fortune

Baby = Whose baby it is shows who is beginning a new event. The chances are high it could be precognition, as new arrivals like to announce themselves. The condition of the baby, and others’ feelings for it tell us whether a venture will be successful

Blood = flowing, means a resurgence in your life; very very red, a sign of passion; menstrual blood or menstruation in any form fertility and magic; a death scene with blood,; something is or should be at an end.

Chase: unresolved feelings about a past issue; who is chasing is important. Do you want to be caught? If so, you are either guilty about something, or you long for a love affair.

Coffin: The afterlife, going beyond the veil to seek advice. Someone in the coffin: who tells us a lot, as does how they died in the dream. Sometimes person on coffin is the messenger. If someone speaks from coffin pay close attention – it’s an important message. Funerals mark the end of an issue.

Death: DOESN’T MEAN A DEATH! Great change, a secret buried, and mostly, the need to detached from a situation or destructive person in your life.

Direction: choosing a direction mirrors choices in real life. Can’t choose = you’re bogged down with indecision : being given directions, depends on the messenger, usually advice on how to proceed with a problem.

Devil: For Christians a symbol of fear, spiritual danger etc; for other religions with a figure of evil, this figure will appear in place of the devil; for those who believe that all things are good and evil combined this figure usually represents PAN, and therefore Anima, animals, godhead, nature, the hunt.

Engagement : often dreamt of in advance of the real event, precognition. Also wish fulfillment

Fire: the fire element : advocates a fresh approach; cleansing and holy. Fear: you know something is about to end. Hot and roaring; you are in some physical danger. Smoke: a prayer or a sign to praise/pray to your gods. lots of smoke; wake up, you’re house is on fire!

Father = the masculine or anima strengthening if supportive, weakening if antagonistic; can indicate lack of balance in dreamer between feminine and masculine aspects

Forest = deeply magical and spiritual symbol. The spirits, elements and nature herself are represented by the forest. The appearance of the forest and your feelings and activities in it are deeply, deeply important. (SEE “LOCATION” BELOW)

God = one of the stranger dreams and one where details are all important. If God is central to the dream, you are being given a direct message; if not central, then the details of the dream give you the message.

Hill = below it you need to face challenge; on top you have succeeded, and should look for new challenges

House = represents your spirit, soul, mind, persona and psyche. What room you are in is most important: (SEE ‘LOCATION’ Below)

Intruder= This is usually resentment at a situation forced on you or fear of someone trying to ‘steal’ from you e.g. seduce your partner.

Kill = if you murder you are fighting back against fear. You desire to eliminate something, the person you murder gives clues as to what; if you conceal the body and feel guilty, you are carrying too much baggage, emotionally and spiritually, the traces of all your experiences,. You need to sort out the useful from the hindering and let go of the latter. If you are killed you are detaching yourself from a situation; if violently murdered you are being betrayed.

Money: lack of or problems surrounding……..take control of your financial affairs Now! e.g. being lost in a market place with no purse, or similar.

Being given, finding money etc = excellent omen; something good will happen

Naked = you are not prepared; you are vulnerable: you want to be honest; you are having the classic ‘shame’ dream which means you are afraid of public opinion.

Police = see archetypes; either heroes or villains, and either rescue or punish you

Ring = commitment, worship, god-head, faith, alliances = lost rings, betrayal of these things; precognitive of weddings, mergers and alliances

Sex = apart from wish fulfillment! Sex dreams can mean union, alliance and if with a friend, an expression of platonic love; with an enemy, means you should get to know an aspect of yourself that you dislike, and accept your limitations in this matter.

Shadow = another important spiritual symbol; you are trying to achieve balance with your shadow self, acc to Jung; the shadow in your dream helps to update you on this process.

Spirits = Connections with the other realms. Fear, you either don’t like their message or you have unresolved feelings about death/illness Stand up to threatening spirits, accept spirit guides; Vivid images of dead friends/relatives is very definitely a message

Teeth = You are gossiping or have been indiscreet, especially if your teeth are falling out; if you have painful teeth or a dentist pulling teeth you are probably being silenced against your will, or are covering up for something against your better judgment

Window = you will have an opportunity to focus on an important issue; what you see through the window is important.

People

People are usually either messengers or aspects of your own personality. They are either known to us, (we often dream of people we know, but who act out of character in our dreams), or they are Archetypes (A giant, for example or a priest). If they are known, the role they play in your dream, and whether or not this is out of character will explain message.

LOCATION

This is the ‘where’ of dreaming. The location in which you dream yourself is a very important clue to the theme and message of your dream. Below are some of the common places, and their importance

1: Forest = this is a very spiritual setting; it concerns nature and the spirit, elementals and natural magic; it often represents your relationship to the world around you. It almost always gives a very important message.

2: House = the room in which you dream yourself is most important; each room has a separate meaning. The attic represents secrecy, but mainly the hidden depths of your soul; it’s condition shows you the state of your spiritual life; the bedroom is love, sex and childbirth: the living room is society, the desire for marriage or your public persona, your

family in the eyes of others. kitchen is your intellect, your family in private,

your family instinct and loyalty, and your friendships: the hallway is the start of a relationship of some kind, or the need to concentrate on one particular concern: by the fire is your heart and the center of your spirit. Libraries, offices, etc mean work and finances, garages mean journeys, visitors etc; cellars represent the foundation of the issue, it’s basis, plus anything hidden from fear or shame; the atmosphere, aspect, lighting etc of each room tells us a great deal.

3:Seashore = the ocean is the basis of our souls and the meaning of all our spiritual life; it is the primordial consciousness, representing the collective consciousness, the ancestral soul, etc. It is a profound setting and always implies spiritual meaning. To walk along the beach is to feel comfortable with your spiritual development to stand on a cliff denotes fear of exploring yourself and a need to see the far horizon rather than sail blindly.

4:schoolroom/courtroom = standard places to play out authority dreams, dreams of being punished or chastised. Schools represent both familiar ground and safety but also control and restriction. Courts represent justice but also punishment and the system.

5: Street/ alley: a narrow alley represents a restriction you must overcome; a cul-de- sac is a warning to change your ways; your current life is a dead-end: A wide boulevard urges you to go out and seek adventure and travel: a tree-lined avenue suggests that it is time to settle down, or to deal with a family matter.

PART THREE

Techniques to analyze dreams including FAQ and Dream Journals; practical examples of Dreams analyzed.

DREAM ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES.

When analyzing dreams you are not trying to impress the dreamer with your psychic powers! The more you know about the dream the better, the more detail you are given the better the analysis. You want to know their reactions to and feelings about every aspect of the dream that they can recall.

What makes it so much fun and fascinating to boot, is that you have to be imaginative, intuitive and analytical; stretching your own mind while gaining insight into another’s. if you combine the rational and the intuitive approaches you will find that with practice more and more meanings are revealed to you. Once you have hit upon the right theme of a dream, it opens up to you, quite easily, all the pieces falling neatly into place, to provide a fairly coherent whole. If you find yourself forcing and stretching to make a tenuous link, leave it alone for a while and approach it from a different angle until you find the true meaning.

It’s a detective story.

You want to decide what TYPE of dream it is; What the THEME of the dream is; and what the MESSAGE of the dream is.

In order to do this you need to examine the plot or NARRATIVE of the dream; break it down into SYMBOLS and examine the FEELINGS these symbols provoke in the dream.

Dream Journal: To become adept at remembering dreams, it is a good idea to keep a dream journal, where you write down every dream in as much detail as possible. A tape recorder by the bed can be a great way of doing this. If you want someone else to analyse the dream it is a good clear record to give them, with as much of your own reactions as possible; if analyzing your own it will help you be objective, and not conveniently ‘forget’ uncomfortable parts. Dream Journals can be written up after every dream that you can recall, or only after dreams you feel instinctively are important. But do keep the Journal for a minimum of a month at a time, as you need to see if your dreaming follows a cycle or if the same theme reoccurs.

FAQ

Q every symbol has so many meanings, how do I decide which one is relevant?

A Firstly before interpreting the symbols, ascertain from the dreamer their emotions during the dream, and their reaction to each symbol; detail is very important -they may say the overall dream was frightening but under more detailed questioning , say that they didn’t find such-and-such a symbol frightening. This could change the entire meaning of the dream. Try to get a detailed reaction to each symbol, and also whether this symbol has a peculiar meaning for the dreamer. For example, a rat has specific meanings depending on its actions in the dream, but if the dreamer was bitten by a rat as a child, the dream can just be recalling that!

Secondly look at the dream overall. If the theme of the dream is illness, this would affect how you read a symbol, if the overall theme is money or work or relationships, then this slant is the most likely.

Q How do I know whether the person in my dream is real or an archetype?

A You must try to decide is the person or the message they give you what’s important. If the person is behaving typically, in a usual setting, in their usual relationship to you, then it is likely they represent just themselves. If they are atypical, in an odd setting or relationship to you, they are probably Archetypes. The rest of the dream will help also in determining this.

Q What then?

A Break down the elements of the dream into small components and analyze the meanings of each symbol. Then look at the entire dream narrative, and begin to decide which meanings are most likely to be relevant to the dreamer, and whether the people in the dream are real or archetypal.

Now, decide on what TYPE of dream it is. Precognitive? Analytical?

Once you have decided that, try to see what the theme of the dream is. Is it predominantly about illness? Or love? Or fear?

Now begin to decide what the message is. For example if it is a analytical dream, whose theme is Illness, the message depending on the content of the dream could be anything from ‘beware, you will make yourself ill.’ To ‘ stop being such a hypochondriac’. If the dream were Precognitive, and the theme Illness, the message could be anything from ‘you are going to be sick’ to ‘the country may suffer plague’

You have successfully interpreted a dream once you have a coherent ‘story’ starting with the type of dream, exploring the content or plot of it and ending with the message.

TO RECAP

1:Relate symbols to dreamers own Psyche by

A) Asking if any symbol in the dream holds personal meaning for them

B) Gathering details of both dream and the dreamer’s feelings during it

2:Break down dream into components and analyse each one separately

3:Deciding what type of dream it is, and whether the people in it are real or Archetypes

4:Decide what is the Theme of the Dream e.g. Illness and what is the message e.g. take better care of your health.

5:Advise the dreamer

SOME DREAMS INTERPRETED: practical application

THE WITCH DREAM

My friend has had the same dream for years; she is pursued by a witch shaking a broom stick and trying to hold her back from running. Then she herself is flying on the broomstick and terrified of falling, while the witch still pursues her. As she went through her twenties the flight on the broomstick became more and more hair-raising and adventurous and the witch more angry.

My friend is extremely open minded and well aware of that this view of witches is misconstrued; indeed her best friend (MEJ) is a witch, she has no fear of witches except in this dream. Anyone she told this dream to dismissed it as either the result of some scary film / book as a child or immediately set out to lecture her about her prejudices against witches. In vain she protested that she had none, but the dreams continued.

When she eventually told me her dream she explained that she never had before because she thought I would be insulted by it. She need not have worried! In fact her dream had nothing to do with either childhood experiences or prejudices – it was a dream about her relationship with her mother and a plea for her to improve it.

By applying the techniques outlined above, we can break this dream down to its various components.

First I discussed with her, her feelings towards and reactions to the people and symbols in the dream (thus relating the symbols directly to her own psyche)

Roughly:

Witch…….By seeing this image as frightening and threatening, it implies a difficult relationship with an older female authority figure; a distrust of female spirituality, and matriarchal value systems; a fear of being harmed emotionally or spiritually by a woman

To see the witch as ‘evil’ when well aware of the opposite is a willful and deep rooted resentment of female wisdom.

Older woman…..the witch is an older woman so all the above plus it reinforces the Elder of a ‘tribe’ usually the family, is the one with whom she has the problem

Broom…symbol of cleansing, natural medicine and natural wisdom,

Flying …. Development of spirit and soul.

The changes that occurred over time, plus the symbolism in the dream, pointed to the following:

her relationship with her mother pivoted on one ongoing struggle. Her mother while a lovely women and a loving mother is neurotic and tried to impose her fears and restraints on the daughter, who had struggled since childhood to be more outgoing and braver than the mother and to fight this instinct to be timid and never to risk anything.

This struggle was difficult for her because the advice to be timid came from an older woman, whom she was naturally predisposed to see as wiser than her; this struggle against the very symbol of ‘Elder’ produced very conflicting feelings in her. Her first reaction to everything was to say no, then to screw up her courage and say yes. On the other hand at times she was extremely reckless and unthinking. She found it hard to get the balance right.

She respected her mother, and felt guilty for going against her advice and at the same time she was disdainful of her mothers’ neurosis. She resented being held back; however as she grew up, she achieved a better balance between careful and brave; she learned to fly the broomstick and confront issues of spirituality and belief on her own, as well as personal and relationship issues.

The ongoing nature of this dream suggests that her relationship with her mother is one of the most important in her life, and something she MUST address in order to achieve spiritual growth. She needed to reclaim the images of witch and older woman and elder in her heart and embrace them without fear or guilt.

Once she began to implement these things in her life her dream went away and hasn’t yet returned. She actively works on reaffirming the images of wise woman and elder to herself and as her relationship with her mother improves her ambiguity towards female authority figures fades. She has given herself permission to embrace her superior function (analytical Thought) while working on her weaker functions and has accepted that just because her mother is emotional and neurotic at the same time doesn’t mean that emotion is the same as neurosis. By opening herself up to spiritual growth she has redressed an imbalance in her persona.

THE RAT DREAM

A woman dreamed of eating a loaf of bread (large sliced pan) into which had been baked a rat, and the dead rat had been baked into every slice of the bread; understandably this was a rotten dream and thoroughly upset her. The rat / bread held no especial meaning for her; she was sitting in her living room where she always ate tea, and she was with her husband while eating the bread, she had already eaten several slices before noticing the rat.

The living room is the social face of the person and the family, and her husband was there reinforcing the theme of family; they were eating, which also indicates that this is a family matter, breaking of the bread alone rather then with others.

Her husband stoically ate the bread; while she was repulsed. This indicates that she is more upset or concerned by a particular issue than he is, also that she feels he is being unfeeling over this issue.

The rat represents a bad and festering issue; the fact that it is dead means the damage is done, but the woman is being forced – tricked- into swallowing it, literally. This suggests a situation that she is deeply unhappy about, disgusted even, and which she has worried about for a while; her husband doesn’t feel as strongly and because of this she is being forced to accept this situation. This is unhealthy for her spirit, and is increasing her disgust to obsessive standards; she is literally in danger of allowing it to poison her spirit.

When I told her this, she explained that her daughter had done something terrible; her husband and she had disowned her as a result. This girl had recently returned and had managed to win over her father to a degree, something which upset the mother, as she felt he was being disloyal, and also because she felt she was being forced into a position of forgiving her daughter or appearing to be a total bitch.

I pointed out to her that this dream took place in the living room; thus it indicated that she really was concerned about what other people thought of her family, that her intrinsic sense of self worth had not been breached.

She explained that her daughter was known to be disturbed and no-one would really blame the parents or the rest of her family for the girls actions. All in all it was the perceived slight, the surface embarrassment that had upset her. Was it worth it? Also I explained to her that worrying about this issue was sickening her soul and that to a large degree she was doing it to herself. She had to discuss it with her husband, not allow herself to be forced into agreeing, to feel she control of her own actions; She also had to accept that once she had made her feelings known he still had the right to forgive his daughter, if he choose and without it being any reflection on her, or his feelings for her.

There are two areas, which have been skimmed over, of necessity and they are firstly the potted Jungian bits J which anyone who cares to can read up on more fully themselves. And secondly the meanings of symbols; there was only space and time to give a few symbols. there are dozens of websites (just look for dream symbols) and lots of good books; the Collins pocket gem is a very handy reference book; 10,000 Dream Symbols (harper and worth) and any comprehensive dream directory is useful. The only problem with a lot of these books is that they read from a purely psychological point of view, and ignore any deeper spiritual meanings. For example, if you dream of a baby it is seen as merely wish fulfillment. No room is left for any esoteric meaning. That’s why it is important to read as many sources as possible, from both points of view and find as many meanings as possible for a dream symbol, as the human mind, and the human soul are both incredibly diverse

I hope this has been of some interest – I am quite sure that I have left something obvious out, but feel free to ask about anything that isn’t clear; if I have not delved into something fully, I will do so. If anyone has a dream they would like to submit, post away - anyone who likes to post an interpretation can do so, and I will post an official one. And most importantly, if anyone uses different techniques/theories/types of dreams please post your ideas too.