Dream On Dictionary A-C

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Advertisements are designed to reach peoples' inner and asperational self, sometimes to play on fears, dreams, or our self image. If advertisements appear or are discussed in your dream, you are dealing with your intuition and feelings. Just as you receive an impression from a radio or TV ad, either positive or negative, a dream ad will give you an impression - fear, hopelessness, security, confidence.

You should trust your impressions. Don't trust the numbers, trust your feelings, intuition, or impressions in a given situation. You have been given very important information, and perhaps you don't even know how you know, but you do know. How many times do we say, "I knew something was wrong and I should have followed my gut."

Anima/Animus Figures

For a woman, some ‘male’ characteristics, like initiative, aggressiveness, analytical thinking might be a little underdeveloped (Animus traits), and men in her dreams may point the way to acting more forcefully to accomplish goals or take charge of her life. For a man, a dream woman may suggest a need to use their intuitiveness or sensitivity.

If the same person shows up more than a few times, this person is a reflection of your 'inner' husband or wife, the other part of you that is sort of the counter-balance to your waking self, and a source of council and support. The inner animus or anima is not the same person that you see in waking life - the anima/animus person is entirely yours, and part of your whole Self. There might be several figures representing different psychological aspects of your Self.

If you happen to know the person in waking life, this can be confusing - because in the dream, while they may be representing themselves and you could have a dream about that person, more likely, it is your inner Anima/Animus talking communicating with you. That is part of what makes dream such an interesting study.

Antenna

An antenna will literally pluck the information out of ‘thin air.’ Seeing an antenna can signal communication with someone not physical, such as the Spirit, God, you own Self. What color is it in your dream. If it’s white, it’s likely a spiritual antenna. If you had a spiritual antenna, how might you use it to be more spiritually attuned?

Ants

If you see ants in your dream, especially if they are biting you, you may be letting 'little' things bother you too much. It's time to look at the bigger picture. What are your real goals? What should you really be worrying about? Are you having a 'forest for the trees ' moment?

Arms

If you notice that someone in your dreams has unusually strong arms, that indicates that he (probably) is strongly supporting you. The dream character is offering you his strength and experience, sort of psychological moral support. The same kind of support can be indicated if someone appears quite a bit taller than they actually are in life.

Assertiveness

When a dream person meets you in a dream, you will need to think about how assertiveness might benefit you in some way. There should be other clues within the dream that will help you to identify where action is needed. Or perhaps you need to speak your mind, or set better boundaries. The assertive friend may sit, walk, shop

Auditorium

A circular or  semicircular room with concentric rows of seat. This is your own inner sanctuary, the inner source of your spirituality, your soul. What is happening there? is there a lesson being delivered, who are you sitting by? are you singing, listening to a reading? What are you there to learn? be open!

Avoid

If a dream character is dodging and avoiding you in a dream, this could mean either that you are avoiding a situation, or realization, or perhaps the other person is. It would be good to consider both possibilities. It might be that we are the avoiders and if that is true, then of course we will avoid seeing that, and the dream has the job of raising the issue. Most of our dreams are meant to help us manage our own lives, so I would start here.


However, maybe we need to realize that someone we know is our friend or family member is having some difficulty, perhaps we can be more understanding? Perhaps we can help, or maybe we should just let them be. The dream may tell you. I would not assume that we should try and manage other peoples's lives.

Baby

A baby is a symbol of new things coming to life. This might mean new plans, actions or endeavors. If the baby is yours, it is a sign either that the new things are already springing to life, or that a new start is what you need.

Pay attention to where the baby appears and how, and especially what he or she looks like. Does it look like someone you know? That could mean that that person holds a hint as to what the new thing is that you need. Fresh perspective, new job, new adventure.

How old is the baby? What events took place in the time (months) that the dream baby has apparently been alive? The timeline of pregnancy and growth may also give you some clues.

Balloon

If you are rising in a balloon or airplane, this shows that you are rising above a certain situation. You are gaining a better view of the situation from above because as you rise you can see further and the actual lay of the land. You may also be ‘rising above’ in your attitude toward someone or some disappointment. When someone would hurt me as a child, my mother always said “Rise above it,” which meant to take the spiritual high road, not get bitter, angry and pay them back in kind.

Band

There are many definitions of band. However, if you see a band, like a metal band, around boxes or crates, this symbols is about being bound (versus free). What are you bound by? bound to? See Collar, Freeman.

Baptism

Being immersed in water is a powerful Christian theme. It can represent power, change, and deliverance. This can take place in many symbolic ways - you might be walking through a rain or snow shower, fall or dive into the sea or a lake, wade into a rushing stream. All these are positive images that show you are progressing through important spiritual changes, accepting direction, realizing your potential. See Water.

Bar or Bar Room

A Bar room can be a place where strong spirits are served up. Consider spiritual aspects that may be indicated by the people or activities there.

Barefoot

If you are walking in your bare feet, this is a sign that your true self is taking to the trail. See Walk, and Passed.

Baseball Diamond

The field in baseball is a diamond, which is also a square turned on its corner. It can hold the same symbolism of balance as the square or the number four.

Baseball Player or Other Sports Player

If you are a player who is batting,running or fielding, you are taking an active role in the game of life. If you are sitting you need to stand up, find your spot, and get there quickly.

Bathrobe

If you find yourself in a bathrobe in your dream, this is a sign that you are unprepared for some event that is coming soon. Just it was time to go and you were not dressed. This is an important sign that you don’t have a waking situation figured out yet – you may think you do, but your dream is telling you that you need more work, thought, meditation or insight.

Bathroom

If I am searching for a bathroom in a dream, it seems to mean that I need to start dealing with my own 'shit.' Maybe I've been spending too much time looking at others, or dealing with external, non-essential matters and I'm being called back. What does that mean? It means maybe taking an inventory of my faults, dilemmas, and problems and starting to work on them. The dream may highlight the area you need to work on.

Batting

If you are up to bat in a baseball game, that means it's your turn and your time. It's time to swing for the fences and let the world see what you've got. Don't be afraid - you are rooting for yourself, and that is the most important thing.

Bible / Missal

A Missal or Bible means that the good word is coming to you or being revealed to you. This probably will be a message of the spirit. In your dream, are you waiting for it? or has it been delivered to you? Pay close attention to the words in that dream. If the message is not delivered in this dream, it will be shortly and the purpose of this dream was to prepare you and help you open up to a new idea.

 

Black

Black can refer to the Unconscious, that part of ourself that we are not aware of which is unknown and vast. The large Unconscious part of the psyche reaches into the shared past of the human race, as well as unexplored or forgotten aspects of ourselves. The Unconscious also can look into the future.

Black symbols also represent death. Parts of our inner and outward selves die and are reborn all the time. Seasons change, people leave us, we move on in our work, and even parts of ourselves die and are reborn in a different way. Seeing black symbols point to change, transition, and letting go, so that we can move on.

Blinds or curtains

If you see curtains and blinds in a dream, maybe you should take a look behind the curtains. You might find useful things there, perhaps unknown things about yourself, things from the past, sources of support and love.

Blinders or blindfold

If you see another (or yourself) with blinders  there might be something you are not seeing that should be obvious, or perhaps, you need to operate on a more spiritual level, ‘walking by faith, not by sight.’ Is there something that you need to learn, but you are too earth-bound, looking at only the here and now only?

Blood

Blood is the image that speaks most clearly of Love to me. Blood feeds our hearts and our whole body. Love is the very essence of what we are in this world, to each other, and to our God.

Bonds

Any restraint in a dream is challenging you to explore what are the real restraints in your life? Perhaps you are bound by old assumptions, expectations, or plans. Birds, cars, and airplanes let us go where we want. Bonds can be tape, metal bands, fences, collars. See Fences, Collars.

Boulder

The Boulder, Colorado area has been my home for more than 30 years. I fell in love with it as student, got my undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University here. Boulder no doubt means many, many things. But in my dreams, it represents advanced learning, exploring new things, growth, and realization of potential. It is a comfortable place and a place to lauch out from.

See Schools.

Boy Scout

If you encounter a Boy Scout in your dream, you are seeing a person who is compelled to the right thing, according to his view. Generally being a boy scout is a good thing - loyal, trustworthy, considerate, God-fearing. However, there might also be some inflexibility. What part of the Boy Scout are you encountering in your dream and in your life?

Boss

Most of the time, this is a dream boss, not your actual boss. Unless you understand that he (or she) is a dream messenger, you may be very confused for a while. Your dreams will cook up a boss character to carry a message with special authority. A boss figure will usually deliver an important message - it will rarely have anything to do with your job. Consider the personality traits of the actual person (bossiness, resourcefulness, decisiveness, initative, creativity) - one of their main characteristics will be significant to why they were chosen to deliver the message of the dream. Then carefully think about what they do, say or show you in the dream.

Dream bosses can also a King, bearing gifts for you. Is there a gift or experience offered? The gifts are likely to represent learning from their example in some way. You might benefit from applying one of their approaches to a waking situation in your life. 

Finally, you might actually be seeing 'The Boss' as in the big boss, or God. If that is the case, the message has spiritual meaning.

Bridges

If you find yourself on a bridge in a dream, this means that you are transitioning to a new place in your life. Bridges also symbolize beginnings and ends, so the color, size, and other aspects of the bridge are very important to understanding what your psyche is experiencing. Is the bridge small or large? Is it open or enclosed? What color is it? And how do you feel when you are crossing it? And are you alone in your journey or do you have support?

A green suspension bridge would be a hopeful, open and strong bridge. A black covered wooden bridge is a lot like a coffin.That may be a sign that whatever change you are going through may be unwelcome, yet necessary. Many relationships, jobs, seasons end in our lives, so that we can move on to the next stage in the journey.

Brochure

The purpose of a dream brochure is fully inform you of the actual facts in a given situation. It's best to pay careful attention to the main message, colors, location, and graphics in your dream brochure. It may contain facts that are hard to accept. However, its very important to have the facts so you can make the right decisions, and avoid wishful thinking.

Cactus, Succulents

A cactus is a succulent plant that contains its own inner water and resources. Because of this it’s able to thrive even in harsh extreme climates. If you see a cactus, succulents, or cactus garden in your dream, you are being assured that you have the resources, the inner spring of life to accomplish your goals and dreams. If the cactus is in a beautiful garden in a city center, that is a symbol for your Self or Soul, the beautiful, wild, thriving inner you.

Carpet

A carpet and its condition may refer to the state of our personal 'house' or our current state of existence. Is the carpet out of date? old and worn? frayed at the edges? In this case the dream is pointing out the need for some remodeling - out with the old and in with the new.

Carrie Bradshaw

What you meet Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City in your dreams? The Carrie Bradshow character is the definitive expert on modern dating, romance, and love. Maybe you need a bit of her determination to find true love. Or maybe she has some witty observation to make about your romantic life.

Cat

The intuitive, highly perceptive part of yourself. Cats can hear better than we do, and a cat in your dream is offering up extra doses of perceptiveness. Maybe this cat is present to let you know that something is going on that you are not yet aware of.

Sometimes, we know things without exactly knowing how we know them – this happens when our intuition supplies an unconscious source of information, or a back channel. For instance, our reaction when we meet strangers is often a intuitive reaction.

Seeing a cat honors that intuitive ability. A gray cat represents mature wisdom, a white cat, enlightenment. A white and gray cat represents both characteristics.

Cell phone

A cell phone is similar to an antenna in that it uses a non-physical communication link. Communicating with energy or waves through the air can represent our communication with the spiritual world, the Spirit, God, Jesus, our own Self or spirit, or another person.

So, what is happening with your cell phone? Is it lost? Have you possibly lost connection with someone important in your life, God, or even yourself? Is there a message you need to receive but cannot because your phone is lost? Where was it lost?

Could there be some significance to how or where it was lost? at the mall, a restaurant, a lake? was it stolen? Usually losing your cell phone is a pretty big problem.

Has you cell phone been found? Where was it found? Who found it? How was it restored to you?

Chain

If you dream of a chain, or rooms that are linked together, leading you forward or upward, you may be receiving a message about how your life moves from one place on to another. We are all connected to the past by our experiences, relationships, kharma, and collective unconsious. It is very true that 'what goes around comes around.' We don't really move on from the past, we carry it with us and we can chose to let it teach us a better way.

Cheerleaders

Maybe we don’t have a lot of cheerleaders in our lives or we just need some more. These represent us congratulating and cheering ourselves on, or it can be our Unconscious mind showing a lot of approval and support in new steps we are taking or must take soon.

Chest

A chest of drawers, trunk or dresser can be a container for our hopes and dreams, as in a Hope Chest.

Chew

Chewing is related to processing of food and can relate to how we are moving along well, getting through the meat, dealing effectively with tough issues. Or it might be the reverse. Is your mouth too full? Have you bitten off more than you can true? Maybe the time has come to walk away from some things, simplify, prioritize, do what is most important to you.

Cliff

See Overlook.

 

 Cloth

See Threads.

Clothing

Shopping for clothing represents a search for new answers, attitudes, or roles. What were your dream clothes like? Youthful, bohemian, suitable, business-like. Do you like them or not?

Do the clothes fit correctly? If a garment does not fit correctly, what in your life is not fitting you so well? Where do you feel pinched? Uncomfortable? Sometimes things that once served so well don’t any longer.

In your dream did you find another that does fit? Fit is the key to dream clothing. Dream clothing can refer to almost any area of your life where you might be trying on new roles or attitudes in order to grow and find answers. New clothing can refer to progress in relationships, career, inner knowledge, growing maturity, creativity. New clothing allows us to see if things fit, take a small risk, see how we like the new self.

If you are shopping, you might want to branch out of your comfort zone – try something shorter, younger in style, more mature looking, in a symbolic color. A Babydoll dress,  shorter skirt, bikini, or underwear represents a more ‘revealing’ outfit, showing more of the real you. Maybe you’ve been a little scared that you might face some rejection, but all of a sudden you are taking a chance. Life is
about finding out who we are and living our individual reality – it’s a wonderful, freeing experience.

Cobwebs

Cobwebs are left behind when a spider dies or has moved on to a better site. If we are clearing cobwebs from a room or doorway, we are getting rid of (or need to get rid of) old useless things. Or this reference might be to the appearance of cobwebs, fuzzy, indistinct. They can refer to fuzzy thinking in situations where clear thinking is called for. Sometimes our feelings get in the way of our logical thought process, and sometimes the reverse of course. But if the dream action is clearing the cobwebs out, then clarity is called for.

Coffee Shop

Coffee shops are both social and places to get work done. In several dreams, I've joined people to work in a coffee shop. I actually do this in my waking life also. A background or setting of a coffee shop is a place of creative work. The work that I'm undertaking in the dream might need collaboration, a more open atmosphere, a setting with different and unusual influences. I often find that problems that seem difficult to start or envision really take off when I leave the office, retreat from email, and change my outward environment. When a dream includes working in a coffee shop, I know that I need to stimulate different kinds of ideas, seek input from a different set of people, or take an entirely different more creative approach to problem solving.

Collar

A restraint like a collar is a severe limitation to your freedom of movement, speech or thought. Is it a natural bond like a collar on a dog? A collar on a bird would be unnatural confined in a cage not with a collar. A collar might indicate that you are not speaking up for yourself, or speaking your truth.

Colors

Read my blog on Colors.

Computer

A computer is an all-purpose work tool and can signify that you have unlimited resources available for the work you need to do. ‘Work’ does not always refer to a job. Your ‘work’ may be inner work, spiritual work, work in understanding where you are, or where you need to go next. There will probably be other clues in your dream to point you in the right direction.

Conference

If I am going to a conference, I'm going to something that I consider a 'big' meeting, as in a meeting that is very important to me. I'm anticipating the big meeting. Maybe I'm not ready - I have left something behind, like my luggage, or registration. Or maybe I'm looking forward to it with joyful anticipation. Usually there will be rich imagery, people who are helping, accompanying, lending me their example to follow.

Construction Work

If you are in a building or see a building that is in the middle of the construction process, is roughed in, has raw wood, workmen, or electricians, you are being reminded that you have unfinished business or work to do. See Underground.

Corner

When you turn a corner in your dream, this is a powerful symbol of making a significant change or needing to make a change. Often I get frustrated because I feel stuck and don't feel like I'm moving forward in a quick enough way. Sometimes my dreams are even telling me that - I will be late, running behind. So, to see in my dream that you have turned a corner is very encouraging, especially when I see something helpful in front of me. A corner can also mean that you have found yourself in a tight corner and need to find some way out of it. There will be a way out, but you may not be ready to see it. That is great time to ask for dream guidance and be open to the messages.

Counter

A counter is where you go to be served at many restaurants and stores. If you have arrived at the front of the line and are ordering, then your dream is telling you that its important to verbalize clearly to yourself or others what you need and want. It is now your time, you have finished waiting, so be clear with yourself. Often in dreams, it will be a food item, nourishment for the task or journey. The kind of food or shape can also be meaningful. Round foods, a cookie, pancakes, may represent that you are attaining or seeking wholeness. If you are at the counter, the thing that you need is available for the asking.

Couples, Yin and Yang

A man and woman (or boy and girl) who naturually fit together will reflect balance and wholeness needed in some waking situation.  I find the couple will be either be a couple in real life, or they will be sort of a matched set, like a salt and pepper shaker. They will be similar in age and attitude, and often be friends in life. They can be siblings also. They will have some strong association such as:

 - son and daughther, youthful attitudes
 - young man and woman in their 20's, eager to learn, tackling life with gusto
 - husband and wife team, super daring risk takers
 - man and woman managers, balanced, self assured, mature

A couple together is sort of a double dose of the character trait being modeled to you. They also demonstrate that the trait is as appropriate to a man as to a woman. Whatever the trait is, you (and I) apparently need to adopt it.

Crossroads

If in your dream you come to a crossroads, you can continue on the way you are going or you can turn right or left, that means that you should really look at your choices. They may be very important. Part of being a free person is that you can chose. Get all the information you need and don’t be afraid to follow your heart or intuition. If you are unhappy with something in your life, this is the time to really look at options. We are not usually as stuck as we might feel.

If you have a dream and setting is a crossroads, like a building at the corner of X Street and Y Street, and the streets don't seem important, the other content of the dream will probably provide clues. What is the drama in the dream about? What is the happy, sad, or distressing event? If there is one, then you may be 'at a crossroads' in how you deal with a certain kind of situation.

 

Cubicle

If you are in a work cublicle, this dream may refer to your work life or it could refer to inner 'work' that you need to do. It is best to consider both possibilities - hopefully the other symbols in your dream will help out on determining the major subject of the dream. If the office or cublicle are new to you, this might be a hint that you should consider finding a new workplace, career or job.

Curtain

See Veil.

 

Cut Across

 

If you are cutting across a lawn in a neighborhood where you used to roam as a kid, your dream is showing you, that the shortest way to get to where you want to go is to take the short cut. Just like when you were a kid, you knew where the backyard gates were, and you rarely used the sidewalk the whole way. Sometimes as an adult, there are shortcuts too and there is nothing wrong with taking one.

If you are cutting across a street, this may have much the same message. You may need to take the direct path to where you are going.