There are countless books, guides, and dictionaries for dream interpretation, but they’re victims of their own success. So many books have been published online or offered in bookstores that it isn’t always easy to make a choice.
Why trust one over the other? Especially since the meanings and symbols often have different interpretations depending on the authors. These books, guides, and dictionaries of dream interpretation, of course, are not useless as we’ll see at the end of this chapter, but it’s better to start with your own interpretation of dreams.
Create your own dream dictionary!
Indeed, everything that everyone experiences is unique, including their dreams, which makes it difficult to rely on a standardized interpretation, especially when there are several explanations for the same symbol according to the dream dictionaries!
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You are a unique person. There is no other being like you in the world! Even twins may look alike on the outside (but if you look more closely, you can see small physical differences), but they often have different characters, lifestyles, and passions!
Likewise, your life is unique and no one else but you has had your childhood, a certain type of relationship with your parents, your family, the same professional career, the same emotional journey, has experienced the same failures and successes, has made similar mistakes…
Although you may find some similarities with other people, it’s impossible to find your life twin, in other words, the person who would have had the same life from your birth to now.
Under these conditions, how could a standard explanation aimed at everyone give you real keys to understanding your dreams!
Personal Dream Interpretation Guide
As you can see below, a dream interpretation guide is certainly useful, but it’s advisable to create your own dream dictionary, which will be unique… just like you are!
Nothing prevents you from doing so, except for the prejudices you have to shed. In addition to the point about your uniqueness and the doubt, we may have about the ability of a complete stranger to know you, even if he or she is an expert with degrees, as described in the previous chapter.
Another obstacle, yet another preconceived notion, often prevents people from even thinking about interpreting their dreams: the still too widespread reflex, already mentioned, to automatically seek a “specialist” to help us understand and solve a problem.
Thus, when we’re sick, we’ll automatically see a doctor! When we’re looking to progress in our personal development, we look for a coach! When we want to elevate ourselves spiritually, we look for a guru, a spiritual master, a guide…
Why not trust yourself and do your own work to find solutions to your questions, which are in you anyway!
Anyway, what does an expert, a spiritual guide, a master, a counselor do if not guide us towards our inner solutions?
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By interpreting dreams, you have the chance to take charge of the process of your personal and spiritual development.
Try it! If this doesn’t work, then there’s always time for you to start looking for a guide, a teacher, an adviser, an expert…
In general, people who’ve followed the advice to seek their inner master, especially through their dreams, have generally never regretted it and continue to be proud of it all their lives.
So why don’t you try it yourself: All you risk is finding your way on your own, especially through your dreams
Let’s move on to the practice now, and you’ll interpret your dreams using the analysis as presented in the previous chapter.
To do this, you’ll compare your problems with the scenes of your dreams to find the correspondences between the two.
Dream interpretation and analysis
Start by taking up the scenario of the dream you want to analyze and proceed as follows. You’ll take up all the scenes you then noted and make a parallel with your problem or your desire that you want to satisfy.
First scene: ……………………………………………………………………………
Question about this first scene: “How does this scene relate to the problem I want to solve?”
Repeat this analysis several times if you don’t find any connections immediately.
You did the main thing by writing down your dreams before they vanished. You can now take the time to find out how they relate to your existence.
In addition, you can consult one or more of the many existing dream dictionaries and dream interpretation guides,
Top 10 Most Common Dreams
To help you in this regard, a relatively well-known interpretation of the top ten most common dreams is provided below.
Dreams About Chases
To determine the meaning of this kind of dream, you need to know if you are being hunted or if you are hunting.
If you are being chased by a person, an animal, a monster or any other dreamlike creature… it means that you are trying to escape something; a person you fear, a situation you want to avoid. In this case, once you’re awake, see how it relates to your existence and what this dream might well reflect.
If the person is clearly identified, confront them. If you are being chased by an unknown animal, monster or other creature, he or she symbolizes someone you know and will have to face in real life.
The person who is chasing you may also have a connection to a situation that you would prefer to avoid.
Also, deal with it after waking up by overcoming the fear, anxiety or negative emotions associated with it. It may also be an aspect of your personality that you refuse to accept or express.
If you are the hunter, it means that you are looking for something, a goal to achieve, a meaning to give to your life, a desire to fulfill…
When you dream that your partner or the person you love is cheating on you in a dream… it doesn’t necessarily mean that it is or that he or she is about to do it!
This type of dream of infidelity refers more to your own sense of insecurity about this relationship. This may reflect your own fear that your partner will cheat on you because of a lack of self-confidence, even if your partner is blameless and faithful.
You may also underestimate yourself and symbolize the fact, for example, that you do not deserve him or her, that he or she is too good, too beautiful, etc… for you!
It may also reflect jealousy for the same reasons as those indicated above by underestimating yourself or by consciously or unconsciously thinking that you don’t deserve this other person (difference in age, social background) or because you have the impression that the other person is neglecting you. It can also symbolize a fear of abandonment and being alone.
Dream Interpretation About Death
Don’t panic if you dream about death, yours or other people. As you know, the language of dreams is often symbolic and doesn’t have the same meaning as in life in the waking state.
In the context of dreams, death can have several meanings. The main thing is to signify the end of something, of a part of your life, of some of your ideas. It also means that you’re going to start a new cycle following this symbolic dreamlike “death”.
The vision of death heralds a fundamental change in your life. So, in this case, you should also consider what you need to change in your life. It can be a change of job, professional direction, relationship (such as a separation with your current partner, the end of celibacy, the announcement of a new meeting…
Always relate it to what is happening to you because dream interpretations are often standard. You must adapt them to your situation.
Even if you witness the death of a loved one in a dream, this doesn’t mean that he (or she) will die, but it probably means that you must (at your choice): look at your relationship from a different angle, change the course of a common project, warn him or her of a problem that is affecting you both….
A dream about death or about a person points to the need for a transformation in your life that may concern the other person directly (if you have a problem with them) or indirectly (an event related to what they mean to you or someone they know).
For example, if you see a person in the dream who represents authority for you in real life, it means that you must abandon your submission to people who have power over you.
It can also, quite simply, indicate that you will separate from a person because you no longer need them to evolve and that you can fly on your own… The onus is on you to make the correlation with what’s going on in your life.
Dreams About Falling
Dreams about falling are among the most frequent ones and generally leave a strong impression when you wake up, as the feeling of falling seems realistic or even frightening in the dream in question.
These dreams are so realistic, that in general, we wake up before crashing to the ground.
Dreams of falling imply that you have lost control of your existence in general or in a particular field, that you’re at the mercy of other people or decisions or events over which you can have no influence…
Don’t interpret them negatively, as they are actually positive signals that you need to take control of and/or where you need to shift to a direction that’s more appropriate for you.
In these cases, you need to take a break, analyze things calmly to determine where the problem lies (work, family life, couple, friendly relationships…), and see how you can regain control of your life or a particular situation.
If in a dream, you lose your balance, it means that you have an unresolved problem, you’re hesitating between several solutions, or you don’t know where to start to get rid of that concern.
You will, therefore, have to make a decision after you wake up or in the following days to find a positive solution to this problem.
Falling can also mean that the ground isn’t solid under your feet, in other words, that you lack roots and that you need to review the values that you’ve been basing your existence on so far.
Dream Interpretation About Flying
Alongside dreams of falling, dreams of flying are among the most common dreams. In general, they have a positive meaning and are a metaphor for the take-off you’re preparing to make, i.e. the launch of a project or progress towards success in general or in particular areas.
A dream about flying also means that you’re in a state of transition between two stages of your life and that you have to decide to take off, to become autonomous by making the necessary choices.
You’re the only person who can make them. No one can “fly” for you, in other words, decide or act for your future.
A dream about flying can also mean that you have to get some distance and look at a situation from another angle to be able to change it.
Look at the areas where you feel like you’re going in circles, not making progress, standing still. Your flight in the dream points to the need to make things happen in this area.
It may be that a dream of flying is also a signal that you don’t feel free enough or that you’re trying to assert yourself, to take off in one field or another.
Find out which one, see what would make you more autonomous and act towards greater freedom in this sector. It’s also a suggestion to work towards the realization of a project that you might not have been able to achieve so far.
Dream Interpretation About Teeth
Dreams about teeth can be powerful because they refer to an area where the fear can go back to childhood: that of going to the dentist and suffering. However, these kinds of dreams refer more to problems that need to be resolved with ourselves or with others than to a warning that you’re going to have physical toothache or that you’re going to lose your teeth!
Teeth, as symbols, usually refer to aspects of our personality that we don’t yet know and that we need to discover if we want to progress and improve our lives. The symbol of teeth growing in a dream refers to hidden abilities that we must discover. Pulling out your teeth can mean that you’re looking for an inner solution to a problem you’re facing.
If someone else, known or unknown, pulls your teeth out, it may mean that someone is trying to take something you care about or “pull” information out of you.
In case you don’t know this person in reality, it may refer to an inner problem, to an aspect of your personality that you need to change.
If your teeth fall out or their condition deteriorates, it’s a reflection of negative aspects that you need to deal with, such as stress, fears, fears, anxieties… that you refuse to admit to yourself.
It can also refer to your fear of poverty, poor health or aging if for example you dream about teeth falling out or in poor condition.
Dreams About Tests
Dreams where you see yourself taking a test, or an exam, or facing a challenge, etc. are quite common. They refer, for the most part, to the fact that an important event is waiting for you or that you have an urgent question to solve, that you have a “test” to pass in an area of your life.
Often, you can’t pass this test in your dream or you don’t know what to say.
In general, the dreamer has difficulty passing the exam in his dreams for several reasons. He realizes that he can’t answer the question because he doesn’t have the required knowledge, that he doesn’t have the necessary equipment (a pencil, a pencil, an exam sheet), or he doesn’t have enough time to answer, all situations that are scary for the dreamer.
These events clearly indicate, in general, that the person doesn’t know how to answer a question in his daily life, thinks that he won’t have enough time for it, that he isn’t psychologically armed, that he doesn’t have the necessary abilities…
Often, this translates into the dream of passing an exam where the person has failed in life or has already passed but has to pass again without knowing why. This makes him anxious and makes him feel powerless.
In these cases, you should look for areas in your life where you feel you have failed and/or would like to improve but have had no idea how to do so until now.
This involves passing an exam that means you have to take a new step in your life to reach the next level. Focus on the situations that cause you stress.
Naked Dream Interpretation
Seeing yourself naked in a dream means that you don’t feel comfortable, that you are afraid of something, and that you feel vulnerable at that moment.
In real life, no one wants to be naked in front of other people. So, in the dream, it reflects fear.
In the dream, you panic when you realize that you’re totally naked while, sometimes, the people around you don’t seem to notice it. It means that your fears or problems are personal, only concern you or are illusory.
In a state of nudity, you’re exposed to others, you don’t have any defense and you can’t hide.
This may reflect situations you experience in real life where you feel helpless, at the mercy of others, desperate or hopeless. You must find the corresponding situation in your life and make sure that you resolve it.
If you find yourself in your birthday suit in front of a group of people or a crowd, it means that you’re afraid that people will discover something that you want to hide and/or that you’re ashamed of.
Dreams About Snakes
Dreams about snakes are the most common animal dreams. In Western countries, the snake is often a feared animal, while in Asia it is often confused with the dragon and a symbol of happiness. For that reason, we’ll refer here to a Western interpretation for simplicity.
Consequently, for a Westerner: dreaming about snakes generally refers to fears, worries, anxieties, threats, events that we fear will happen.
Just as the snake can bite quickly and unpredictably, dreaming about a snake is related to the fear of a negative event that may occur in the near future or reflects your fear of the unknown or the future.
A snake can also symbolize a fear of betrayal or a declared or underlying threat that you feel confused about in your surroundings without always being able to know where it will come from or when it can occur.
A snake bite in a dream can also be a warning of danger waiting for you. You will, therefore, need to be vigilant in your waking state, exercise caution and watch your back.
The snake can also represent your unconscious and you need to discover and become better acquainted with your hidden abilities.
Dream Interpretation About Water
Dreams about water are dreams that are very symbolic of a struggle between a person’s conscious and unconscious, between what is on the surface (the conscious) and what is below the surface of his mind (the unconscious).
Water is generally related to our state of mind and emotions. The color or appearance of the water you see sheds light on your state of mind. If the water is clear and calm, it’s a positive sign that you feel good about yourself and are confident that you can start or continue an ongoing project or action or that you’d like to do so.
If the water is muddy and agitated, it means that you’re not in a good place in your life, that you’re having trouble seeing things clearly and that you have one or more problems to address urgently.
It can also indicate that you have difficulty controlling your emotions and reactions, especially violent ones and that you should practice a method of relaxation or control.
If someone waters you, it means you have to pay attention to something, change direction or stop stagnating.
If you see yourself drowning, it means that you’re overwhelmed by your emotions and that you need to learn to control them.
Ultimate tips for Dream Interpretation
If you can’t find a connection between a scene and one of your problems, don’t dwell on it and go on to analyze the next scene and so on. Even if you didn’t find any connections to any of the scenes of your dreams and problems, it isn’t a big deal.
Remember that dreamlike scenes are often in the second degree and that they are metaphorical, in other words, the images, people, sounds, and words that you hear and see… can have a hidden meaning.
Also, if you don’t find a match between your dream and your life, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t one, but that, for the moment, you’re not seeing them!
Undoubtedly, one of the next analyses of your dream will help you to see things more clearly… or not! Give your mind time to analyze the content of your dreams. This is called the dream incubation process.
In general, if you don’t see any correlation after two or three analyses of your dream, don’t push it. However, later, you might find meaning in it, even after a few days or even a week later. Or maybe other later dreams will give you keys to understanding the dream you hadn’t been able to interpret before.
In this case, there are no rules in this area given the volatile and complex nature of dreams. The dream world is so elusive, mysterious, and unfamiliar that we can only give suggestions and indications!
It’s best just to start your process of personal autonomy, which can begin with the interpretation of your dreams.
If you do it with conviction and on a regular basis, you’ll build your own dream literacy and interpretation system over time and eventually develop your own personal interpretation dictionary.
