Learn Dream Symbol Language

Understanding Dream Symbols: Personal and Universal Meanings

Your dream and its symbols speak through the language of dream symbolism. Although that language shares similarities across dreamers, each dreamer’s subconscious mind speaks in its own personal “dialect” of dream symbolism. In the Dream Encyclopedia, you’ll learn about the “standard” language of dream symbols (to the extent that there is a standard one), and also how to decipher your own subconscious mind’s personal symbol meanings (your personal “dialect”). The following three sections introduce the primary considerations for personal dream symbol translation as you explore the symbol descriptions in this book.

TOOL: Dream Dictionary

1. Choose a symbol from your dream that stood out the most.
2. Find that symbol in the dream dictionary and consider the possible meanings listed. Notice which (if any) resonate with you intuitively.
3. While keeping the dictionary meanings in mind, consider the personal meaning the symbol holds for you.

Personal Meaning

What does the dream symbol mean to you? What thoughts and feelings does it bring to mind? Since dream symbol meaning is subjective and personal to the dreamer, consider what the symbol means to you personally. To help yourself better understand its personal meaning, ask yourself:

What thoughts and feelings come up when I think of this symbol?
How would I describe this symbol to someone who has never seen it before?

TOOL: Caveman Explanation

The following technique helps you dive deeper into the meanings that your subconscious mind associates with the symbol:

1. Choose a symbol from your dream and imagine explaining it to someone unfamiliar with it, such as a caveman, child, or alien. They don’t know what it is, how it works, or what it represents.
2. Write down the meanings you used to explain the symbol.
3. Consider which meanings resonate with you as the dream symbol's meaning or relate to a current situation in your life.

Context

A dream symbol’s meaning can be highly specific to its context in the dream. Consider how the symbol appeared and what that may convey about its meaning. For example, think about:

Where was the object?
Was its location or position unusual?
What surrounded it (objects, people, etc.)?
What was its environment like (indoor/outdoor, lighting, mood, weather, etc.)?
If it was an inanimate object, what was happening to it?
If it was a living being, what was it doing and how did it interact with others?
How did you and others relate to it?
How did you feel about all of these elements?

Look Beyond the Obvious

Often, a dream is about something beyond its literal or obvious meaning. A physical event in a dream can represent mental or emotional matters. For example, a rose might represent a real-life flower, but it is much more likely to symbolize something else, like a feeling, characteristic, or event. Ask yourself, “What else could this symbol mean?”

Final Steps

4. Using what you discovered, explore what the symbol represents in your real life—whether physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, or otherwise. If a dictionary meaning resonated with you, look for more clues in the dream that align with your real-life experiences.
5. Write your conclusions about the symbol’s meaning in your dream journal, along with any other realizations about the dream.