Dream Dictionary

The label brings greater emphasis to the idea of how symbols are used to get a message across during dreaming. Seeing a label brings its message to a higher level of focus. Whatever the label says and its association to the symbol portrayed will describe an aspect of you, of which you are unaware. Designer labels are a type of ‘stamp of approval.’ Wearing a label is your way of being recognized by your sense of style or how you express yourself.

The ladder is used to access higher ground. To dream of a ladder represents your need to ‘get above something’ or ‘climb out’ of difficulty. See Placement and Perspective.

Unlike the ocean or traveling over the choppy waters of changing emotions, the lake is self-contained with definite boundaries. It portrays how you are composing your emotions; how you hold and protect them and how you must release or express them in order to be re-filled or renewed. See Water.

A lamb or young sheep is associated with childhood comfort and the need for protection. It can symbolize being too passive or sacrificing happiness for security. See Animals.

See Earth.

Landscape and Scenery provide details about your relationship to your current environment. The setting can offer messages related to: how you are seeing clearly in the Day (consciously) or you may use a Light (exploring hidden aspects) or whether you are not facing something in the Night or in the Dark (unconscious or unrecognized.) In the forest (subconscious,) you often meet the Characters or guide who can offer clues to your transformative processes. Approaching the forest, which grows from the roots of your beliefs will always represent your attempt to overcome fear and unmask your greater power. Trees are stationary and rooted, suggesting the wealth of your genetic heritage. The jungle is that place within that remains uncivilized.  Often you will dream of jungle patterns or decorations in a house as a way of exploring these natural and organic aspects of yourself. You climb mountains to gain a wider view, while the mountain can also represent how you can remain a prisoner of your beliefs. The desert returns you to an uncomplicated or barren landscape where you can discover the real roots of your sustenance.

Dreams about water occur commonly because water represents your emotions, and how you feel about the changes that you face as you move through life. To dream of turbulent water suggests a sense of emotional crisis associated with moving forward. Any time this type of dream occurs, later, you may dream about being on a similar ship and crossing the water that has become calm. This is representative of the emotional growth that you have achieved. In all of our ancient stories, water is the mysterious reservoir where the hero is to retrieve a treasure. Similarly, raging water often initiates you into a process of self-discovery. Floods and tsunamis demonstrate how emotions break free to undermine the foundation of your beliefs until you are forced to let go. What you thought was solid and what you thought you needed, is washed away as you pursue the basics of survival (well-being.) Water can also represent health and wellness since it is a symbol of the elixir of life.

The Great Sea or ocean is a classic symbol of the home of the unconscious. You may approach its depth to discover its hidden treasures, such as: Fish/Treasure/Sword/Jewels.  A symbol is brought forward as clues to your evolutionary journey. If you are in quicksand or ‘bogged down’ in a muddy swamp, you may feel that your forward movement is impeded in some way. Because it is made of the earth, it represents your own ideas and how they may hold you back.

Natural Disasters, like earthquakes and volcanoes portray the transformative power or your emotions rising to the surface in the face of all that you believed to be static. The Earth can give way in landslides, which can destroy the structures you build. These structures represent the self and how it is evolving to meet the changes in your environment.  Disasters associated with the wind, like tornadoes and hurricanes portray the movement of consciousness, and suggests how the hidden continues to stir within you. To dream of a tornado, signifies urges and emotions that have the potential to overwhelm you, and in a sense you are picked up and placed into another context. You are released from your controlling and protective tendencies, which can only keep you re-creating the past.

All symbolism in a dream is important. As you explore the setting that reveals ‘your current mood,’ you will find a representation of where you currently stand in relationship to the changes you are facing.

When something appears in its unnatural size, it suggests how whatever the symbol represents is growing out of proportion or is moving toward being deficient. Life can teach you about maintaining balance and these type of dreams will reveal imbalances.

It is common to dream of hurrying ‘somewhere,’ while knowing that you are late or about to miss something. This signifies your sense of passing time and not achieving those things that ‘you believe’ are important to you. In some cases, you miss the event as a way of recognizing its importance or non-importance.  See Clock, Arriving and Leaving, Placement and Perspective and Vehicles and Places of Transportation.

If you or someone else is laughing in the dream, there may be the need to take things more lightly. In daily life, you often laugh when you are uncomfortable and laughter in a dream can suggest looking objectively at your defense mechanisms. Other people laughing at you in a dream can be symbolic of your fear of expressing who you really are. Only you know what it means to be fearlessly yourself.

Because clothing represents the costume you wear or your attitude in the social setting, washing clothing can represent ‘coming clean’ or revealing the essence of who you really are. The laundromat is a public place and therefore symbolizes what you are currently doing to gain acceptance. You may need to ‘air your dirty laundry’ because you have no choice.

See Bath and Bathroom under Houses and Buildings.
 

See Garden under Houses and Buildings and Grass.

The leaf signifies the things that grow and fall to the ground from the tree of your beliefs. A dream that focuses on a leaf can suggest learning to let go. It may also have associations with care and pruning. See Tree and Gardener.

Like dreams about Water or faulty Electricity, observing a leak can suggest the first stages of emotions breaking through self-created barriers as you move toward transformation. See also Faucet.

See Arriving and Leaving.

The idea of the left side of anything in a dream will have associations with something that has not been tried before or something different than what you normally do. Since the 'right' is the accepted path, going 'left' shows a new way or new approach 'the road not taken.' See also Arriving and Leaving and Placement and Perspective.

See Forgotten under Clothing and Makeup and also Vehicles and Places of Transportation.

The legs carry you forward in life and can symbolize your current state of autonomy and how you are moving forward in life. See Cane, Crippled and Anatomy and Body Parts.

See Fruit under Food.

See Binoculars, Glasses and Microscopes.

Writing and receiving letters can symbolize evolving communication skills and sharing information in a way that expresses new or unknown sides of you. If a character gives you a letter, there is a need to understand what part of you this person represents. Their communication or message can shed light on this area of you that requires expression.
 

See Houses and Buildings.

The light makes the less visible more visible, suggesting your attempt to become more aware of something. Symbols related to the light will portray your attitude about seeing something clearly. See Day and Night under Placement and Perspective and also, Landscape and Scenery.

As a building that provides a sense of direction to boats moving across the water at night, the lighthouse suggests how you are finding direction within you. This is a symbol of your rising awareness as you search for a safe harbor during times of difficulty. You may have the sense of danger or that something beneath the water (unconscious) might harm you. The other symbolism in the dream can provide additional insight into what this danger may be. Since all aspects represent you, the lighthouse is how you are bringing light to your sense of direction.

This ‘bolt out of the blue’ is a symbol of a ‘charged’ environment and its apparent dangers. The ‘climate’ can be ‘heavy’ and a downpour may be what is required to ‘clear the air.’ Seeing lightning hitting something can represent forces beyond your control that you believe are undermining your ability to build a solid foundation in your life.

This king of the jungle can represent harnessing your passions as a type of strength. As a feline, it can suggest a tendency to avoid domestication or conformity to express the power that comes from fearless expression. As a protector, it can be tied to the idea of parenting and your idea of love and passion learned from being a parent or through parenting.  Its association with the astrological sign Leo as an Archetype shows it to be a highly creative symbol, where the lion often appears to explore issues related to self-expression and artistic expression. See Animals. 

Liquids are usually associated with feelings, sexuality and emotions. The container and the issues surrounding the liquid will shed light on how you are currently expressing these feelings. See Cup and Glass.
 

When you are seeing something that is not its appropriate size, it can symbolize how you are viewing this aspect of yourself as being insignificant. See Large and Small.

See Reptiles. 

See Large and Small and also Giant.
 

Very commonly, you will find yourself ‘looking for something’ in a dream. The fact that you have misplaced it reveals your current insecurities surrounding this symbol. If it is a purse or wallet, it can suggest financial insecurities. Looking for an heirloom or family treasure can signify your insecurities about your genetic heritage or chance to pro-create. Explore the meaning of the symbol for further clarification of what you are afraid you currently ‘do not have.’ See Clothing and Makeup and also, Purses, Wallets, Luggage, Jewels and Keys.

The anxiety of losing something precious can be so disturbing that even when you wake up, you cannot shake the sense of loss. The symbol may appear insignificant in waking life so you need to explore its deeper associations to see what you have currently ‘misplaced’ or ignored. Often it is a clothing item or key. See Clothing and Makeup and also, Purses, Wallets, Luggage, Jewels and Keys.

The anxiety felt when something precious is lost can be so disturbing that even when you wake up, you cannot shake it. The symbol of what is lost may appear insignificant in waking life so you need to explore its deeper associations to see what you have currently ‘misplaced’ or ignored. Often it is a clothing item or key. See Clothing and Makeup and also, Purses, Wallets, Luggage, Jewels and Keys.

See Clothing and Makeup and also, Purses, Wallets, Luggage, Jewels and Keys.