The Element Encyclopedia of 20,000 Dreams: The Ultimate A–Z to Interpret the Secrets of Your Dreams

ARGUMENTS

If you dreamed that you had a heated argument with someone, try to identify who that person was. Your dream may mirror real-life hostility between the two of you, or you may be consciously unaware of your aversion to that person or their aversion to you. Your unconscious may use the dream as an outlet to release feelings of aggression, or it may use the dream to alert your conscious self to the hidden aggression. If, however, you can find no reason for hostility between the person in your dream and yourself in waking life, then perhaps the dream argument represents an aspect of yourself—this interpretation is even more likely if you are arguing with someone you don’t know. Try to recall what the person looked like and what the argument was about. If the dream focused on a young person arguing with an older person, perhaps the dream represented tension between the part of you that longs to be more spontaneous and the part of you that is a stickler for routine.

ATTACK/ATTACKER

If you are being attacked in your dreams, this suggests you are feeling threatened in some way, perhaps by your own impulses, or perhaps by other people and their attitude or remarks to you. If you are the attacker in the dream, who or what are you attacking? Attack is almost always a form of defense, so may also suggest defensiveness about some issue in, or aspect of, your life. There is also a positive side to attack, as new ideas and positive changes can threaten our old way of life and habitual way of thinking about things. If you are attacked by an animal in your dream, this suggests anxiety about aggression in yourself or other people. If you are attacked by a shadowy or frightening figure, this may depict feelings of fear and pain associated with the past. How you deal with the attack is important. If you run from it, the trauma is not being dealt with in waking life.

DANGER

Dreams about earthquakes, landslides and volcanoes all point to inner turmoil or emotional conflict that is shaking the foundation of the dreamer’s world. The dream may often come close to being a nightmare, but such dreams are warning you about something that is going on in your waking life to which you need to pay attention. A dream about a natural disaster is unlikely to be prophetic; it is more likely to be referring to something dangerous in your waking life. For example, an avalanche dream may refer to oppressive forces in waking life threatening to overwhelm you—an avalanche of responsibility, for example, that accompanies the birth of a new child. If you are swept away in the dream, you are being urged to find something, or someone, to hold onto in waking life to regain stability. If you dreamed that the earth was cracking open beneath you, this threat may be echoed in changes at work or insecurity within a relationship.

An explosion may reflect sudden changes in waking life or the release of emotion. What damage has the explosion inflicted in the dream? If anything was broken, interpret its symbolism; if someone was clinging on to you in the dream, who are they? If you dreamed you were in danger of thunder or lighting, again this may refer to emotional turmoil in waking life; but a dream about being struck by lighting could refer to sudden insight. If you dream that you are falling into a dark hole, is there some situation in waking life out of which you feel you cannot climb?

Dreams featuring alarms may be caused by car or house alarms that go off in the night; if there is no external stimulus of this sort, and your dream features a house alarm, does this allude to your family? Does someone need protection at this time? Was the alarm effective in the dream? If the alarm failed to go off, this is an extremely significant symbol. If your dream features a car alarm, this may allude to some kind of rash behavior and, as men often equate cars with sexuality, you may want to consider it in this context.

Dreams can also often warn of dangers of which we may be unaware in waking life. For example if you dream of overspending, this may suggest you are expending too much emotion on a particular person. If you dream of escaping from a prison to a happy landscape, this may be a warning that you need to relax more. There are other practical warning dreams. For example, you may dream that your car brakes fail and in waking life find that this is indeed the case. There is usually a simple explanation as your unconscious mind may have registered the fault, but this kind of dream should not be ignored (see ACCIDENTS, ACTION AND ADVENTURES). Similarly dreams of bodily aches and pains and other signs of poor health are also worth taking note of. See also SICKNESS AND HEALTH.

DISOBEDIENCE

Dreams that feature some kind of disobedience, mutiny and rebellion are about conflict with authority, such as a parent, a teacher, a corporation or even the government. If you were disobedient or rebellious in your dream, whose authority were you up against? To whom is it that you feel you need to assert your individuality and independence? On the other hand, your unconscious may have simply allowed you to give vent to feelings of resentment in the safety of the dream world. If you dreamed that you refuse to comply with your boss, or with someone who gives you directions in waking life, this may reflect your mounting anger or exhaustion in the face of demands and responsibilities being placed upon you.

If you felt liberated in your dream, perhaps this is a sign that you need to stand up for yourself more in waking life. If you were involved in a mutiny, do you long to rebel against authority? If you went on strike, such a dream may reflect feelings of frustration and exhaustion in waking life. If you found yourself engaged in arm wrestling, are you engaged in a real-life battle of wills? An alternative explanation for dreams of rebellion against an enemy, known or unknown is that you are in revolt against some part of yourself. Try to remember what you rebelled against in your dream and why, and see if you can draw a parallel in waking life.

DROWNING/CRAWLING/FALLING

Drowning in deep water suggests floundering in the depths of the unconscious. As with dreams of pursuit or being chased, this dream alerts you to areas of your unconscious that are creating conflict and need to be examined with care. Falling and jumping in an attempt to escape from hostile pursuers in a dream is a desperate escape mechanism and suggests that you might have more success if you turn at the last minute to face your enemies, having found the strength to confront them. Dreams in which you are trying to run from something or someone but find you cannot—perhaps because your feet are weighed down or stuck in the mud—can be interpreted in much the same way.

Crawling through a narrow space, tunnel or small enclosure, or trying to squeeze through a tiny corridor or hall points to your creative energies struggling to find expression; these are, however, also common-place dreams expressing anxiety about a challenging and imminent event such as a review at work, an examination or even the birth of a new baby. Being chased, not knowing who or what is out there in the darkness, or vainly trying to push through the crowds in a busy bar, street or department store also suggest that certain repressed aspects of your personality, or unexamined aspects of the self, demand to be dealt with. To be trapped in a dream signifies that you feel you are trapped by outside circumstances. To be aware of trapping something or someone is to try to hold onto them, and if you trap a butterfly or animal, you are trying to capture your inner self. Feeling trapped in dreams also suggests an inability to break free from old patterns of thought and behavior without outside help. See also NEGATIVE EMOTIONS.

FIGHTING

If you are fighting an unknown enemy in your dream, this may represent a struggle with the shadow side of your nature and the unwelcome aspects of your personality. For example, there might be a battle between your moral code and your sexual desire, or between your intellect and your emotional needs. Conflict can also occur between your personal drives and social, political and economic drives. The fight may also represent a battle between yourself and another person, and your conscious and unconscious needs. If the enemy is someone you know, perhaps you have unsuspected feelings of animosity towards them. A fight between a younger and an older person in your dream may suggest a rivalry between the dreamer and authority.

A fight between people of the same age may represent the struggle for recognition or sibling rivalry. Similar interpretations can be applied to any kind of struggle in your dream. Such fights usually depict a fight for freedom, independence or the truth. Your unconscious may also be urging you to work out why there is a conflict, and may be suggesting that there is a more subtle way of dealing with it than with fists. According to Freudians, the struggle depicts the battle between your father or mother for the attention of the other parent.

Idioms: fight it out; fight like cats and dogs; looking for a fight. See also BAD DEEDS.

Forbidden desires

Desires that are forbidden in waking life can be repressed by our unconscious, and when this happens, a conflict ensues between the conscious mind and the unconscious drives that are striving for expression. According to Freud and other dream analysts, we can use our dreams to safely explore this conflict and allow forbidden desires a mode of expression. For example, you may have a dream in which your sister falls ill if you have had an argument with her in waking life; if you are attracted to someone who is married, you may have a dream about having an affair with them.

Dreams can also express the conflict between what you ought to do and what you want to do so; for example, you may have a dream where you tell your boss exactly what you think of them. Other conflicts can center on thinking versus feeling, or rationalization versus intuition, and your dreams can be used to develop and resolve this conflict (see ARCHETYPES). For example, if you are a scientist you may have a dream that you fall passionately in love with a stranger. Your unconscious is urging you to develop the intuitive, impulsive, unexplored and underdeveloped aspect of your nature.

KILLING

If you dream about killing a person, an animal or see people or animals being killed, this does not mean you have latent violent tendencies. Instead it can mean the death of thoughts and actions that have been restricting your personal growth. A deliberate act of murder might suggest hostility, with the identity of the victim and murderer assisting with the interpretation. Killing an authority figure typically suggests a desire to escape social or personal constraints. Killing a parent points to unresolved childhood conflicts, perhaps deep-seated resentments that have not been expressed. If the parent was of the opposite sex, Freudians might consider it as evidence of the Oedipus complex. A dream of poison—either poisoning someone or being poisoned yourself—may refer to some underhand action we are taking or which is being taken against us. Look for clues in the dream. Who or what is being poisoned? Is someone you know in waking life poisoning your attitude unbeknownst to you? What is the color of the poison? Are you poisoning yourself in some way?

VIOLENCE

If you have a dream where the conflict contains gruesome, explicit images of violence, try to relate these to your waking life. If you can’t think of any waking parallels, consider the identity of your opponent in the dream? Is this someone you recognize or is it a hidden part of yourself? Was your opponent serious or light-hearted? Was anyone hurt in the dream? Was the conflict resolved and how so? Any violence in dreams is a reflection of your own inner feelings about yourself and sometimes about the situation around you. Seeing yourself as a victim of self-imposed violence suggests self-blame, perhaps related to the end of a relationship or the death of a loved one, both of which you may feel could have been avoidable had you had acted differently. Dream violence towards yourself may also express low self-esteem, self-loathing and destructive urges that should be dealt with before they erupt into waking life.

If, on the other hand, you are lashing out at others in your dream, this may reflect your struggle to fight the undesirable impulses within yourself. Violence towards an old person can indicate resentment against authority. Violence towards a child may indicate the dreamer’s inability to accept and express the child within themselves. If you dreamed that you were attacked or threatened with attack, it may be a warning of an attack in waking life. This may not be a physical attack but an attack on your integrity or character.

WAR

People who have been in a war situation may be plagued by dreams that recall their ordeals, but for those who have never seen war, such dreams usually refer to private battles raging either within themselves, or between themselves and other people. Are such battles necessary, or would reconciliation be better than victory? Are you being too hard on yourself? Carl Jung believed dreams of war to represent a conflict between the conscious and unconscious minds, which is a struggle between the deep instinctive forces and the rules of conscious conduct. However, sometimes turmoil is needed in order for the personality to develop and grow. If you can accept the part of yourself that is trying to find expression, you may be able to draw up a peace settlement. Anger, sorrow or pity are usually found in dreams about war; whichever of these emotions you feel will show the feeling or action in waking life that has provoked the dream.

The clue to the dream’s subject may be found in the identity of the opposing armies, or the landscape, in the soldier’s clothing and the course of the battle may be suggesting a similar action in waking life. Which army did you belong to? If it was a savage army, perhaps your dreaming mind is suggesting that your true allegiance lies with your instincts, but if you belong to a modern, sophisticated army, the dream may be telling you that your inclination is to follow the rule of your intellect. If you witnessed the outcome of the battle in your dream, or admired the victorious army and its winning tactics, this may give you an indication of how best to resolve the conflict within yourself.

Although war and battle dreams may indicate disagreement between two individuals, they may also point to explosive disagreements between certain groups of people in your life; for example, disagreements in the workplace or differing opinions within the family. Your dreaming mind may be warning you that you will soon be entangled in that conflict and this is especially so if a battlefield features in your dream. The battlefield may indicate the area of conflict and your dream may be indicating whether you should take sides or act as peacemaker. A battlefield scene may also represent your working environment or a

Particular weapons

If you can identify the weapon used in your dream and the symbolic meaning associated with it, you can get a better idea of what your real problem might be.

Axe

This can be both creative and destructive, as it is often used to separate the valuable from the worthless. An axe or hatchet can be a symbol of emotional readiness to cut out dead wood so you can free yourself from whatever is holding you back. If the axe belongs to an executioner, do you have a tendency for excessive self-criticism?

Bladed weapons

Although daggers and knives are symbols of violence—indicating concealed hostility towards someone—they are also symbols of male selfesteem and can stand for the secure presence of a father in waking life. But if a dagger or knife is used against you in your dream, this may suggest a threat from someone or a reminder that you are being confronted with a dangerous or precarious situation in waking life, as in ‘being on a knife’s edge’. A knife has the ability to cut into things and perhaps pinpoint what is bothering you or what needs to be cut out.

Swords

Swords feature in legend, religion and mythology and are often wielded to subdue evil forces, representing the triumph of good over evil. Swords can also denote kingship, as exemplified by ‘Excalibur’, the sword of King Arthur, suggesting justice or the highest source of authority. Being double-edged, swords can evoke feelings of guilt or remorse, but they also suggest spiritual strength and, like axes, the ability to cut away what is non-essential. The sword when sheathed may be a symbol of the self within the body. The lance shares the symbolism of the sword, but its phallic shape often points to sexual issues.

Idioms: put one’s knife in; on a knife edge; under the knife (surgery); cut it out; cut the atmosphere with a knife; doubleedged sword; cross swords; sword hanging by a thread (threats hanging over you); Sword of Damocles.

Bow and arrow

The bow and arrow can be a symbol of tension, especially sexual tension, as in Cupid’s bow. If the arrow is fired to the skies, this can express a wish to devote yourself to a higher purpose. Arrows also suggest being pierced by some intense emotion, or being hurt by someone. Were you the target or were you taking aim? Did the arrow hit or fall short? Was it a poisoned arrow? Arrows are also used symbolically to point the way, so an arrow in your dream can direct you to the right choice, perhaps relating to a decision you need to make in waking life.

Bullet/Ammunition

Bullets or ammunition can suggest verbal attacks in the context of dream conflicts. If the ammunition belongs to someone else, this represents things that you feel other people can use against you, such as lies, anger and so on. If you have the ammunition, it can represent assets you have that can build your confidence, things you could say or do to wound others if you had to. If you run out or don’t have any ammunition, you may be feeling hopeless about a situation and unable to defend your position.

Explosive

Bullets, cannonballs, bombs and mines all explode on detonation or impact. If you fired any of these, your dreaming mind is warning you that you are in danger of exploding with frustration or anger. Are you currently on a short emotional fuse and in danger of detonating with burning anger? What was your target in the dream? This may help you understand what triggered your anger. On the other hand, could an explosive situation be building up around you? Again, if your firepower ran out, this could indicate lack of ammunition in a conflict in your waking life; perhaps there just isn’t enough reason for you to be involved.

Gun

Guns, pistols or rifles in a man’s dream typically suggest male sexuality and defenses used against emotions. The unconscious may have selected this weapon to denote his sexual performance and if he fires blanks concerns about failing virility may be indicated. But because a person can feel impotent in other areas of life a misfiring gun may also suggest general feelings of powerlessness. If a gun appears in a woman’s dream, it may indicate her desire to be more assertive sexually. If you are shooting the gun in the dream, you may be behaving in quite an aggressive way in waking life. Are you defending yourself in the dream or shooting for pleasure? If you are shot by a gun, you may be feeling wounded or the target of criticism or hurtful comments in waking life. If you shoot the gun in your dream, this suggests anxiety about expressing emotions or hidden hostility. Bayonets are thrusting weapons used in conjunction with guns, and in dreams they suggest extreme danger and a desire for total control, either aimed at someone else or directed against you.

Idioms: shot in the arm; shot in the dark; shot to pieces; long shot.

Nuclear bomb

If the cloud from a nuclear bomb appears in your dream this is a terrible symbol of utter destruction. However, its shape will be significant; if it appears in mushroom form, it can also be a symbol of regeneration and renewal after the destruction. See also DISASTERS.

battle you are waging with yourself, such as the battle to give up smoking, the struggle to keep to a diet and so on.

If you dream of war, rather than simply a battle, different interpretations are appropriate. War has a more global effect that one-to-one combat or fighting, and this would suggest that you need to be more conscious of the effect your actions have on others. The outcome of war should be the establishment of order, and dreams of wars coming to an end can have a positive interpretation, suggesting that this natural process is taking place on an inner level.

Idioms: in the wars; on the war path; war of nerves; declare war; battle stations; battle your way through; battle scarred.

WARFARE

If, in your dream, you were part of a regiment, this may suggest that you feel safe in numbers, as a part of a crowd or group of people. If you feel sorrow or guilt or resentment, this may reflect your attitude to the group of people you associate yourself with in waking life. Taking part in guerrilla actions suggests secret plans in waking life, whilst a preoccupation with a helmet and protective clothing may mirror a desire to ‘take cover’ in waking life. A dream in which an invasion takes place may be symbolic of an invasion of your space in waking life, either real or psychological. If a tank appears in your battle, this is an aggressive phallic symbol. It can also suggest an attack on convention and an indiscriminate flattening of all those who stand in your way. The torpedo also symbolizes male sexuality but, unlike the tank, it delivers destruction by stealth. High-tech missiles, cannon, field guns and other forms of artillery also present variations on the phallic symbol. On the other hand, they may also symbolize obstacles or ‘hot shots’ you feel are against you as you pursue your goals. This may be particularly the case if you are a woman in a stereotypically male profession.