The Symbols
The people, places, and things in your dreams are a language. Ninety entries, organized the way you actually remember dreams.
BearAnimalsFierce protection, and the wisdom of winter.BirdAnimalsThe soul's messenger.CatAnimalsThe one who cannot be owned.Deer / StagAnimalsThe gentlest thing in you.FishAnimalsSomething alive from the depths.HorseAnimalsYour life force in animal form.Insects / SwarmAnimalsThe small things that won't stop.Lion / Big CatAnimalsPower that doesn't have to prove itself.Rat / MouseAnimalsWhat lives in the walls.Snake / SerpentAnimalsTransformation and deep instinct.SpiderAnimalsThe weaver at the center of the web.Wolf / DogAnimalsInstinct, from wild to tame.Bridge / CrossingPlacesA crossing.Church / Temple / Sacred SpacePlacesSacred ground inside you.City / Urban EnvironmentPlacesThe built world of consciousness.Fog / MistPlacesAlmost seeing.Forest / WoodsPlacesThe wild, living unknown in you.Hospital / Medical SettingPlacesThe place where the brave face comes off.House / BuildingPlacesYou.IslandPlacesSet apart, for better or worse.Night / DarknessPlacesThe dark that isn't against you.School / ClassroomPlacesLife as the classroom.Snow / Ice / ColdPlacesFeeling, frozen.Stairs / Descent / AscentPlacesMoving between levels of yourself.TowerPlacesHigh above, and apart.Underground / Tunnel / SubwayPlacesThe city beneath the city.Anima / Animus FigurePeopleThe compelling stranger, lover, or guide who feels charged with meaning.Child FigurePeopleSomething new in you, still small.Shadow FigurePeopleA part of yourself you haven't faced, showing up as someone threatening or unsettling.Trickster FigurePeopleThe rule-breaker.Wise Elder FigurePeopleThe one who knows.Bed / SleepingThingsWhere you let your guard down.Book / Library / WritingThingsWhat's written and waiting to be read.Clock / TimeThingsTime made visible.Food / Eating / MealThingsWhat you're taking in.Gift / ReceivingThingsSomething offered from beyond your planning.KeyThingsThe way in.Map / CompassThingsKnowing where you are.MirrorThingsThe dream asking you to look at yourself.Money / CurrencyThingsWhat you're worth, and where you spend yourself.Phone / DeviceThingsYour connection to everyone and everything, in one small object.RingThingsA circle you can wear.Sword / WeaponThingsThe power to cut through.VehicleThingsHow you're moving through life right now.Back in School / Returning to Old EnvironmentWhat HappenedSuddenly back in the old classroom, the old locker, the old hallway: the psyche revisits places where something was left unfinished.Being Chased / PursuedWhat HappenedOften it's something in your inner life that you're avoiding, pursuing you.Being Late / Missing the EventWhat HappenedRunning late, missing the train, watching the doors close: this dream is rarely about schedules.Can't Find a Bathroom / No PrivacyWhat HappenedSearching for a bathroom and finding none, or none with a door that closes: this dream is about needing to let something out with nowhere safe to do it.Can't Move / Can't Speak / Can't ScreamWhat HappenedYou try to move, or scream, and can't.Climbing / AscendingWhat HappenedHeight, earned.Discovering New Rooms in Your HouseWhat HappenedYou find a door you never noticed, and behind it, rooms you didn't know your house had.Eating / Consuming / DrinkingWhat HappenedTaking the world in.FallingWhat HappenedLosing ground, emotionally, professionally, or in your sense of who you are.FlyingWhat HappenedFreedom, transcendence, rising above, but also the risk of being disconnected from ground reality.Hiding / ConcealingWhat HappenedOut of sight, on purpose.Intruder in the HouseWhat HappenedSomeone is in the house, uninvited.Losing Something PreciousWhat HappenedLosing a wallet, a ring, a bag you can't put down the search for: the lost object usually stands for something of real inner value that has been slipping while your attention was elsewhere.Natural DisasterWhat HappenedEarthquakes, floods, storms: forces far bigger than you, arriving whether you consent or not.Phone Doesn't Work / Can't Make ContactWhat HappenedDialing and misdialing, a phone that won't connect, a voice that can't hear you: something is trying to reach, and the line is down.SwimmingWhat HappenedIn the water, and swimming.The Exam You Didn't Study ForWhat HappenedThe test you didn't study for is one of the most common dreams adults have, decades after the last real exam.Being Naked / ExposedMy BodyBeing seen without your mask.BloodMy BodyLife itself, and its cost.Eyes / Sight / BlindnessMy BodyWhat you can and can't see.HairMy BodyIdentity you can touch.HandsMy BodyWhat you can do.Pregnancy / Physical TransformationMy BodySomething in you is growing.Teeth Falling OutMy BodyLosing your grip: on power, on self-image, on the ability to 'bite' (assert yourself).Wounds / Scars / BleedingMy BodyWhere it still hurts, and where healing starts.BlackColorsThe color of the not-yet-known.BlueColorsThe color of depth and distance.Gold / YellowColorsThe color of what matters most.GreenColorsThe color of growing.Purple / VioletColorsThe color of union.RedColorsThe color of urgency.WhiteColorsThe color of clarity, and of blankness.Four / WholenessNumbersFour is completeness.One / UnityNumbersOne is the whole before anything divides.Seven / Completion of a CycleNumbersSeven is a cycle completing.Three / Dynamic TriadNumbersThree is movement.Twelve / Cosmic WholenessNumbersTwelve is the full round.Two / DualityNumbersTwo is the split.Air / Wind / SkyNatureThe realm of thought and spirit.EarthNatureSolid ground.FireNatureTransformation, passion, and intensity.WaterNatureFeelings and inner experiences that are below your everyday awareness.BirthBig EventsSomething new arriving.DeathBig EventsAlmost never literal.Journey / TravelBig EventsYour life in motion.Mandala / Circle / Wholeness ImageBig EventsCircles, wheels, spirals, or balanced symmetrical images that appear spontaneously in dreams.