Journeys

Most dreams have some sort of movement or travel in them denoting the dreamer's progress ( or lack of) as they make their way through life. Walking, driving, travelling by car, bus, train all symbolise the way the dreamer is progressing in life. Difficult routes travelled for example, narrow lanes, winding streets, all symbolise that they way is fraught with difficulties.

Stopping at bus stops, airports, stations all show that the dreamer has reached a staging post or crossroads where they must decide where they are going next. Speeding can be a warning sign to slow down and similarly when someone else is driving, it can be a message that we are not in control of our own life.

Houses

Houses are quite literally the 'mansions of the soul'. The house is the dreamer and different parts of the house symbolise various aspects of our life and characteristics. For example, the kitchen often involves domestic and family matters. Some rooms are locked or inaccessible. Going upstairs represents ambitions and hopes, whilst the cellar or basement can indicate hidden fears and skeletons in the closet.

Water

Water is a symbol of life itself and its image conveys cleansing and emotionality. A lake can symbolise a special haven, but a stormy sea or flood can indicate violent emotions.

Water can also symbolise the subconscious and a dream of diving can indicate a quest for hidden meaning and motives of an emotional matter. Suspension above water can be a fear or an inability to open up to an emotion.

Teeth

Dreams of loose and falling out teeth usually occur when changes are taking place in the dreamer's life. The association between losing teeth in dreams and real life events is the stage in life during which we lose our milk teeth, and signifies the change from childhood to adulthood, a time when responsibilities begin to descend on us. In essence these reflect a fear associated with changes.

Snakes

Interestingly these rarely horrify us in dreams. This is because they are acting out a symbolic role. In Freudian terms a snake represents sexual activity but this is often too simplistic. Snakes can represent the entire range of human energies from physical pursuits through to healing. The British Medical Association has a snake twined around a stick as its emblem.

Some Different types of Dream

Physiological dreams

These are not of great significance and have a simple explanation;

• dreams after over-eating or over-drinking.
• dreams attributable to external conditions such as dreaming of a storm when one is raging outside
• dreams induced by a film, book or television programme.

Creative dreams

This is where the dreamer actually thinks, composes, writes or paints. They are common but can disappear so rapidly they need to be captured immediately upon waking.

Paul McCartney is said to have dreamt the lyrics to 'Yesterday'. Samuel Taylor Coleridge reputedly dreamt his famous poem Kubla Khan.

Recurring Dreams

The same dream is repeated several times. The mind is trying to send a message. This may be a past problem. This may be the root of a fear or anxiety or may relate to a problem in waking life.

The conscious mind is trying to repress very tightly, yet, like a ghost, the knowledge comes back in dreamtime seeking an explanation prompting the individual to heal.

Prophetic or Clairvoyant Dreams

These are fascinating and involve people or things which the dreamer has a strong bond with or they can relate to things which the dreamer has no knowledge of.

The first can indicate an illness or accident. The latter can often predict disasters.

The dreams often use much symbolism of the omen variety.

However this is not controllable and can come out of the blue and cause much anxiety. The skill can disappear if used for personal gain.

Past-Life Memory

This is highly contentious. The dreamer does not usually feel to be themselves and can change sex, religion and complete ways of thinking. The clothing, food, mannerisms and cultural settings are clues.

The function is to alert the dreamer to a problem. It may be that there is a karmic link and it is a warning that the individual is about to make a similar mistake in this life.