According to Freud, a tower is a phallic symbol, signifying in its sturdiness the sexual self-confidence of a male dreamer. In dreams, towers represent psychological constructions you may have built in your life, ranging from an attitude to an entire way of life. For example, a tower may be a defensive erection of inner attitudes, suggesting an imprisonment by your own anxieties or a desire to shut yourself away from the world; alternatively, it may be an attempt to reach the heights of awareness or recognition.
If you are standing at the top of the tower in your dream, observe how you feel as you gaze down at the activity below. Were you relieved to be far removed from other people or did you feel imprisoned? Towers in dreams can also suggest an emotionally impregnable figure in the dreamer’s life, for example an authoritarian father, or male authority in general. There may also be a reference to a ‘tower of strength’, or a person on whom you can rely for support and comfort.
If your tower has no door, you are not in touch with your inner self.
If there are no windows, you can’t see all the good things about yourself.
An ivory tower suggests innocence, but it can also suggest arrogance, intellectual aloofness and the loneliness such an attitude can bring. A square tower suggests a pragmatic, practical approach, and a round tower suggests spiritual harmony.
If the tower is round on top of a square building, this suggests harmony in mind, body and spirit. How you get to the tower in your dream is important in your dream.
If your steps are difficult to climb, this suggests you are a private person.
If the door is jammed, you are not ready to understand yourself.
If the door is bolted, you must make the effort to go in. Once inside the tower, you can use other explanations in this encyclopedia to interpret what you encounter.
[1]See Also: Buildings
1- A tower in a dream usually represents a construction which we have developed in our lives. This may be an inner attitude or an outer life.
To dream of a tower with no door suggests we are out of touch with our inner selves.
A tower with no windows signifies that we arc unable to sec and appreciate either our external good points or our inner ones.
An ivory tower suggests an innocent approach.
A square tower signifies a practical approach to life, whereas a round tower is more spiritually geared.
A round tower at the end of a square building is the combination of the practical and spiritual.
2- Psychologically if we arc to live life as fully as we can, we need to understand our own tower. In dreams it may appear initially as far away and later coming closer. How we get into the tower may be important. Shallow steps would indicate that to explore our inner self may be easy. More difficult steps may indicate that we are fairly private individuals.
If the door is barred we arc not ready to explore our unconscious self.
If the door is closed we must make an effort to get in.
If inside the tower is dark, we are still afraid of our subconscious.
The dreamer, having been given these suggestions, should be able to interpret other symbolism.
The hidden room in the tower would have the same significance as in a house.
3- The tower is ambivalent in the spiritual sense, since it can be feminine in the shelter it affords and masculine because of its shape. It suggests ascent to the spiritual realms, but also descent to the practical.
[2]Something we have built or created in our life. As such it can be an outer achievement or erection of inner attitudes such as defensiveness, isolation, insularity, or an attempt to reach the heights of awareness or recognition. Also male sexuality and drive which may not be expressed satisfactorily, and thus be the source of aggression towards females and society. This also has the elements of insularity and defence. Occasionally heightened awareness, as in the lighthouse dream of Priestley in the entry religion and dreams.
Example: ‘The Devil was trying to force me to make love to a girl. I wanted to leap off the tower and fly away, but it was high, and I was frightened I would fall’ (Quentin C). Quentin is 15 and facing his emerging drive of love and sex.
The woman in the tower is here his idealised relationship with the opposite sex. Actual intimacy is threatening and he wants to ‘fly’ from it but feels this would be failure.
The Devil is his own life pushing to grow, but felt as threatening.
[3]Psychological / emotional perspective: A tower in a dream usually represents the construction of our lives – our inner attitude, outer life or both.
The tower or tall building is such a rich source of imagery that it is feasible to give only the most easily identifiable. Familiarity with our own tower in the waking state will act as a trigger for many other potent images. Thus: to dream of a tower with no door suggests we are out of touch with our inner selves.
A tower with no windows signifies that we are unable to see and appreciate either our external good points or our inner ones.
An ivory tower suggests an innocent approach.
A square tower signifies a practical approach to life, whereas a round tower is more spiritually geared.
A round tower at the end of a square building is the combination of the practical and spiritual.
[4]To dream of being alone in a tower is a sign that the dreamer is NOT in touch with certain circumstances or issues in his life, and needs to understand them thoroughly before taking any action - as in the metaphor, “ivory tower.”
To see a tower against the sky implies true love and friendship either coming soon or already present in the dreamer’s life.
To see a tower crumbling and falling implies upset and perhaps even disaster ahead, like The Tower card in the Tarot deck.
To discern how to avert or deal with whatever is coming, look to other symbols in the dream.
Climbing a winding staircase within a tower indicates that you will have to travel a long way before you reach your most cherished goals.
[5]Material aspects: From a mundane perspective if we are to live life as fully as we can, we need to understand our own tower. In dreams it may appear initially as far away and later coming closer. How we get into the tower is also important. Shallow steps indicate that we have easy access to our inner self. More difficult steps suggest that we are fairly private individuals.
If the door is barred or particularly difficult to open we are not yet ready to explore our unconscious self.
If the door is closed we must make an effort to get in.
If inside the tower is dark, we are still afraid of our subconscious.
The hidden room in the tower would have the same significance as in a house.
[6](Or any similar image such as a lighthouse, obelisk, steeple etc.) The image of a tower represents the personality (the outside walls) and the soul within (the inner space). While there are obvious connotations that connect it with masculinity, the tower is more correctly perceived as the individual being within the wider global or cosmic context. When thought of in this way our attention can focus on other aspects of the tower, such as where windows, doors and staircases are placed. This helps us to understand the spiritual self and how we function in the everyday world. You may also like to consult the individual entry for further information.
[7]Towers symbolize ascending. In the Middle Ages, towers and bell towers could serve as watchtowers, but they had a meaning of a staircase between earth and heaven (in those times, material height was associated with spiritual height). On the other hand, towers also symbolize isolation from the world in which you live, so to speak, the defense from external aggressions. A solid tower signifies that you are confronting the challenges that are thrown at you in life perfectly; a half-demolished tower, in contrast, represents the opposite.
Seeing a very tall tower foretells good luck. But, if you are coming down from it, it predicts failures.
[8]Dreams of a tower are about power.
If you are towering over someone you are overpowering or intimidating them. In fairy tales the princess gets locked in the tower, representing prison, isolation, emotional distance, aloofness from the rest of the world; victimhood, longing, yearning, captivity and unjust punishment. According to the Tarot, dreams of a tower signify that your foundation has been rocked and that you are reexamining your foundational beliefs. Keep in mind that which is solid cannot be shaken.
[9]A tower may be a symbol of vigilance (a watchtower) or a symbol of punishment and imprisonment (a guard tower). Scholarship and abstract ideas that seem to be isolated from everyday life are sometimes said to be the purview of someone who lives in an “ivory tower.” Similarly, the invitation to “come down from your tower” (ivory or otherwise) is an invitation to rejoin life.
As in the fairy tale Rapunsel, perhaps the dreamer should “let her hair down” and become more accessible to others.
[10](See Also: Ascension, Balcony, Climbing, Ladder, Stairs) Freudian: A phallic symbol.
Being rescued from a tower: Getting long-awaited relief from a constraining or cage-like situation. Frequently this assistance is from someone you regard as noble, or who has your best interest at heart.
Where are you? If at the top of the tower, take care that it is not made of ivory, lest your ideals fall short of the reality.
In the Tarot, the Tower card marks ruin and destruction, often self-initiated.
[11]Standing inside a tower in a dream means that one should not feel safe from the blows of his enemy, or expect to be secured and safe in his own environment when someone calls upon him for something. Ifhe is sick, it means that he may die from his illness. Standing on top of a tower or a wall in a dream means that one will conquer or capture a dangerous person.
If one stands over or inside a tower that is no longer in use in a dream, then it represents his grave.
(See Also: Graue)
[12]The tower has duality in the spiritual sense, since it can be feminine in the shelter it affords and masculine because of its shape. It suggests ascent to the spiritual realms, but also descent to the practical.
The inner aspects of the tower represent our inner life, whereas the outer signify the structure we present to the world. Also consult the entries for escape, rescue, shapes and trap / trapped as well as the information on tower in buildings for further clarification.
[13]A tower offers a vantage point in the defending of a fortress, and in this way the symbolic meaning of a tower connects with consciousness that is higher. You may be seeking higher ground in terms of your aspirations. However, the tower is also synonymous with a prison, and as such, you can be locked in the tower if your thinking is too myopic. How has a particular idea about something in your life imprisoned you?
[14]A frequent phallic symbol, particularly in women’s dreams. More perspective is needed (watch- tower).
A symbol of power compare the similarity of the words “tower” and “power.” Being locked up in a tower points to sexual inhibitions in women (Rapunzel), and also is an indication of an unusual and highly developed sexuality that has no outlet.
[15]1. People’s attempts to make a name for themselves;
2. Pride;
3. Christ;
4. The Church/Kingdom of God;
5. Salvation;
6. Refuge; (Strength against the enemy)
7. Watchtower (a prophet’s place of prayer);
8. Place of the watchman; Isa. 3:16a; Ps. 18:2; 144.
[16]To dream of seeing a tower, denotes that you will aspire to high elevations.
If you climb one, you will succeed in your wishes, but if the tower crumbles as you descend, you will be disappointed in your hopes.
See Also: Ladder.
[17]A high tower may represent that you feel exiled or placed in a position that separates you from others.
A tower may comment on feeling isolated or lonely, or it may indicate that your expectations are too high.
[18]To ascend a tower signifies reverses of fortune (Gypsy). Interpretation corresponds with the aversion of the Hebrews for towers, an example of which is instanced in the Tower of Babel.
[19]Dreaming of a tower means you need to get more involved in things around you, and you may need to give more of yourself in personal relationships where you tend to sometimes be distant.
[20]Also see, Mountain, Hill, Skyscraper
1. Prophetic church;
2. Tower of Babel;
3. Watchmen on the wall; Symbol of victory; Ps. 61:3; 103:11; 1 Kings 12:31; Prov. 18:19.
[21]Spiritual power, point of clarity, vision.
If locked in a tower, you are in the ivory tower of intellect, cut off from other aspects of self.
[22]1. A phallic symbol.
2. Strength, protection and isolation.
3. Lofty hopes, goals or ambitions.
4. A long period of happiness.
[23]A symbol of safeguard, protection, watchfulness, i.E. They are a “tower” of strength to others
[24]The higher you ascend, the greater your loss will be.
It is an obstacle dream.
[25]A place of refuge, Ps. 61:3
[26]See Also: Spire.
[27]To dream you are ascehding some high tower, denotes that vou will have to undergo some severe reverses of fortune, until vou are brought very low; but eventually you will be recovered to a state of comparative affluence.
[28]lucky numbers: 06-10-22-26-27-28
at a distance, church: have chosen your path, which uses al of your inner resources.
climbing up a: map out your area of operations.
being destroyed: another’s envy has reached psychotic proportions.
bells peeling, the: make your move, now or never.
coming down from a: your wishes wil not al be realized.
fortress, of a: wil resist your enemy’s obstinacy and drive him until he is compromised.
going up into a: freedom from embarrassment but loss of money.
gun salute being fired from a: wil be cheated in a wasted effort to impress a lover.
locked up in a, being: are so wrapped up in own pain you cannot relate to another’s.
standing on top of the: think with your heart and intel ect before leaping in.
in the belfry: timing is everything; leave before the bel s begin to tol .
others: much affliction when an unscrupulous person swindles you.
overlooking a city: outline the entire project before you begin.
very high, a: wil have a long life and a pleasant old age.
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