The Dream Dictionary from A to Z [Revised edition]: The Ultimate A–Z to Interpret the Secrets of Your Dreams

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ANCHOR

See ABANDONMENT (#ulink_a9495c30-831f-59c4-afc8-c2dddb59ebb9).

ANESTHETIC If you dream that you are having an anesthetic or are being put to sleep for an operation, this suggests that you may be trying to escape reality in some way in waking life or attempting to deaden some emotional pain. There may be something in life you don’t want to face or simply want to forget about for a while. The answer may be simple as taking a much-needed vacation.

ANGEL Angels are celestial messengers sent to guard over us. To imagine one appearing is a symbol of spiritual protection and inspiration. If angels give you advice in a dream, what they tell you should always be taken very seriously. Nowadays, with a greater acceptance of the appearance of angelic figures, they are once again accepted as messengers of enlightenment. If you are religious, visions of an angel in your dream may be taken as validation of belief, but if you are not religious, you can take solace in the thought that you have a spiritual protector watching over you. Another interpretation suggests that dreaming of an angel suggests you are searching for this unconditional love and support in waking life, and the dream is urging you to find these qualities within yourself.

See also ARCHETYPES (#ulink_7580fb76-882e-54af-a4e8-889195229f1a).

ANGER In a dream scenario, anger may express the tension between your conscious and unconscious urges. The aggressor in the dream will often represent the part of you that is demanding to be acknowledged. Freud spoke of an aggressive drive which he believed revealed itself in all walks of life and in all types of people. He believed that the aggressive drive was just as much present in sex as in war. Alfred Adler, an early disciple of Freud, believed that anger was the most fundamental force of the psyche and, if repressed, it could express itself in dream images of anger and aggression. Whatever may be the trigger, anger is one of the most common emotions to express itself in dreams, either by physical violence or by using symbols of anger such as weapons. Such dreams are likely to continue until the trigger for your anger is discovered and dealt with.

If a person has recurring dreams in which they are assaulting, raping, or attacking someone, this suggests deep-rooted sexual problems that they might want to talk over with a doctor. A single dream in which aggression, sexual or otherwise, occurs is not so worrying and is actually quite common. Such a dream will be expressing negative feelings of anger, hostility, rejection, embarrassment, or envy that have probably been repressed in waking life. Dreams of assassination or murder have the same interpretation. Dreams in which you are evicting someone from their home or your home suggests that there is something in your life you are angry about and of which you desire to be rid. This may be some characteristic within yourself or another person. Dreams that focus on ambushing may have the same theme, but in this case there may be something about the person or thing being ambushed that you want to possess yourself.

Libel dreams in which you are attacking someone verbally may suggest that you are spreading vicious rumors or someone is spreading them about you. Any dream in which you have a feud, dispute, or attack suggests either a disagreement with someone in your waking life or inner conflict with an aspect of your character. Dreams in which you are rebelling against someone or something have the same interpretation. Pay attention to the atmosphere of your dream as it may reveal much about your emotional state at present. The dream may also be describing your feelings of being threatened.

ANIMA/ANIMUS A part of our persona is the role of male or female we must play. For most people, that gender role is determined by their physical sex. But Jung, like Freud and Adler and others, felt that we are all really bisexual in nature. When we begin our lives in the womb, we have undifferentiated sex organs that only gradually become male or female, under the influence of hormones. Likewise, when we begin our social lives as infants, we are neither male nor female in the social sense until society molds us into men or women.

In all societies, the expectations placed on men and women differ, but in our society today we have many remnants of traditional expectations. Women are still expected to be homemakers and nurturers; men are still expected to be strong breadwinners. But Jung felt these expectations meant that we had developed only half of our potential.

The anima is the unconscious female aspect present in the collective unconscious of men, and the animus is the unconscious male aspect present in the collective unconscious of women. The function of the anima/animus is to help the dreamer establish a good working relationship with their male/female counterpart. This is an important step in the development of the personality.

The anima or animus is the archetype through which you communicate with the collective unconscious generally, and it is important to get into touch with it. It is also the archetype that some researchers believe guides our choice of partner. We are, as suggested by an ancient Greek myth popularized by Plato in the Symposium, always looking for our other half – the half that the gods took from us – in members of the opposite sex. When we fall in love at first sight, then we have found someone that ‘fills’ our anima or animus archetype particularly well!

If someone of the opposite sex played a leading role in your dreams or aroused feelings of deep yearning, attraction, and fascination, then your dreaming self has witnessed the appearance of the anima/animus, the opposite of your conscious personality. This is why if you are an indecisive, shy man your anima may take the form of a party-loving woman who is resolute – or if you are a cautious, rational woman, your animus may take the form of a spontaneous, passionate man. The anima/animus may be either positive or negative, and both can be symbolized by people you know or don’t know in waking life, as well as mythical, symbolic, and legendary characters, or by objects that somehow represent the masculine or feminine to you. Typically, the anima is personified as a single-figure image – for example a young girl, a witch, or an earth mother. It is likely to be associated with deep emotionality and the force of life itself. The animus may be a plurality of figures, for example a band of robbers or a council passing judgment, although it is also often personified as a wise old man. It is likely to be presented as logical, rational, and judgmental.

By introducing the anima/animus, your unconscious is urging you to seek balance and compensate for those attitudes or behaviors that dominate your thinking and being in waking life. Heeding the promptings of your anima/animus can help you become a more content and rounded personality, and perhaps strengthen your relationships with the opposite sex.

ANIMALS Animals in dreams represent primitive drives and desires, such as fear, lust, and anger that can only really be understood on an instinctual level. Thus, to dream of a certain animal could suggest an aspect of your personality that is instinctual, hidden, or striving for recognition. It could also represent a part of yourself you find hard to control. And because we often assign characteristics or personality traits to animals, dream animals may also symbolize gut feelings we have about others. An attacking lion, for example, may depict how we see someone who is being aggressive toward us.

Animal dreams rouse special interest because they contain images that are familiar to us, but at the same time we recognize something that is unfamiliar and obscure. Traditionally, the characteristics of the dream animal are applied to the world of humans, often seeing the animal as a harbinger of misfortune or good luck; for example, a wolf is often thought to predict thieves or misfortune. According to Freud animals in dreams are not predictive of future events but a classic expression of repressed or unexpressed sexual and aggressive tendencies. Jung, however, argued that animals in dreams should be analysed individually, depending on the character they portray in the dream and the association the dreamer has to them.

Jung believed that animals are sublime and, in fact, represent the ‘divine’ side of the human psyche. He suggested that animals live much more in contact with a ‘secret’ order in nature itself and – far more than human beings – live in close contact with the ‘absolute knowledge’ of the unconscious. In contrast to humankind, the animal is the living being that follows its own inner laws beyond good and evil – and is, in this sense, superior and a source of inspiration and guidance.

Although animals are one of the most common dream symbols, dreams that feature them can be complex and hard to interpret. Perhaps the simplest way is to first think about how you feel about the specific animal in your waking life. You may, for example, adore cats and think of them as lovely creatures because you have a much-loved pet cat, or you may associate cats with feeling unwell because you are allergic to them. Thinking about how that animal makes you feel within the context of your dream should help you recognize if that feeling is struggling to the fore, or is already expressing itself in daily life.

If, on the other hand, you have no feelings in particular about the animal in your dream, you need to think about the quality you typically associate with it: for example, a fox with cunning and stealth, an elephant with strength and mystery, or a dog with unconditional loyalty and love. Because animals are thought to represent unedited feelings and drives, it’s possible that your unconscious used the symbol of the fox in your dream to alert you to your own or someone else’s cunning. Thinking about that aspect of yourself – again within the context of your dream – should tell you whether you need to nurture and develop it, tame it, or be on your guard against it in someone else.

If you still feel puzzled, it may be that the hidden meaning lies in archetypal, traditional, legendary, mythical, or magical associations. Dream animals may also embody a pun. For example, if you dream of a badger, are you feeling badgered or aggravated in some way? If you dream of a zebra, could this refer to your black-and-white viewpoint?

Dream animals, no matter how problematic, offer us an opportunity to contact and explore both the parts of ourselves that we have shut away and the parts that we have yet to discover. In general, researchers believe that animal dreams mean that the subconscious has woken up and has come to life.

Our dreams will be selective and personal in the choice of animal used to portray our life situation, but as you interpret never forget that animal symbols in dreams typically represent a fundamental push toward life and living it with passion.

See also BIRDS, FISH, PETS.

Animal Scenarios

Agricultural Animals

Neither pets nor wild creatures, agricultural animals often represent personal traits that you may have tamed to a certain extent, although there is always the risk that they will escape conscious control and run wild. It’s important to reflect on the context of the dream involving a working or farmyard animal, as it may reflect how you feel about the burdens and responsibilities of your daily life.

Animal Noises

If you hear animals making sounds in your dream, you need to consider what these sounds mean to you in waking life and then to make a symbolic link. For example, if you hear an animal barking, wailing, or whining for attention, these sounds could be calling your attention to the qualities that that particular animal represents to you. If you hear ominous growling, roaring, or cackling, it could reflect pent-up anger either within yourself or another person. If you hear braying, it could indicate a need to overcome basic animal instincts. If you hear bleating, you may be taking on new cares and responsibilities that could be positive or negative depending on your attitude toward them.

Animals in Pain

To dream that you are rescuing, caring for, or saving the life of an animal suggests that you are successfully acknowledging certain emotions and characteristics represented by the animal. A wounded animal can mean a pain you need to come to terms with that has caused an instinctive reaction, such as reactive anger or terrible fear. To find yourself in the waiting room of an animal hospital suggests a desire to avoid a responsibility or commitment you have in your waking life. To see lab animals in your dream suggests that an aspect of yourself is being repressed. Alternatively, it suggests that you need to experiment with your fears, choices, and beliefs. Try not to limit yourself.

Animals in Water

Dreams about animals in water are symbols of our emotions. Water is a symbol of emotion because water, like emotion, constantly moves and flows. How the animal moves within the water reveals our emotional mood. For instance, if the water is calm and beautiful then it shows our emotions are good.

Animals with Their Young or Baby Animals

Maternal and paternal instinct; your basic childhood need for love and protection or your own experience of being parented. A baby animal can refer to yourself when young and vulnerable; feelings or memories concerning your childhood; desire for babies; vulnerability; fundamental survival instincts such as crying out for protection and comfort and the need for dependence and bonding. If the young animal is injured or dying, this could suggest problems with maturing or dealing with adult life.

Caught or Caged Animals

To see wild animals caged suggests that you are in control of your instincts. If you are in the cage with them, it could suggest a need to break free from constraints. If you dream of an animal tangled in barbed wire or in a trap, this could suggest an unhappy relationship with yourself or someone else. If the animal seems calm, it suggests inner strength during adversity, but if the animal panics, unhappy memories or unhealthy habits are limiting your potential for development and growth.

Changing into an Animal

Also known as zoomorphism, to dream that you are changing into the form of an animal indicates that you are becoming less civilized and restrained, and becoming more free and instinctive. You may be expressing your new-found freedom and independence. Alternatively, taking the form of an animal can also suggest repressed urges that need to be understood and managed. Consider also the qualities of the animal that you turn into and what happens to you in the dream. According to Jung the end of the dream is particularly significant. Favorable resolutions direct us to the most constructive ways of solving problems, while unfavorable dream resolutions contain a warning of negative changes. Dreaming of animal skin could mean you may have found or need to acquire the traits, power, and wisdom of the animal concerned.

Cold-blooded Animals or Reptiles

The unfeeling, cold, almost inhuman element in some human instincts is often suggested by cold-blooded animals or reptiles.

See also FISH, REPTILES.

Composite or Deformed Animals

To dream of animals mixed up with each other, for example half-animal/half-man, could suggest confusion in finding the best approach to a situation in waking life. Perhaps the qualities of the animals in the dream need to be assimilated and integrated? The dream could also suggest that the dreamer is recognizing their potential for development.

Domestic Animals

Domestic animals symbolize fundamental urges and drives in ourselves which we have learned to meet and direct with reasonable success. They still have to be cared for, though, or they may rebel against what we ask of them. Buying and selling an animal may indicate the need for the dreamer to be aware of possible tensions with the people close to them. If the dreamer is selling an animal, this could indicate delays and frustrations; the need for inner calmness to help the dreamer through until they see the light at the end of the tunnel.

See also PETS.

Killing or Eating an Animal

Attempting to kill the animal within (our lower brain functions) can cause tension, depression, and illness; giving in entirely is no answer, either, as our higher brain functions need expression also. One of the challenges of maturing and growing is to meet and relate to our ‘animal instincts’, and if possible find ways to express them positively. To dream of eating an animal suggests that you need to draw upon your own inner wisdom and energy, but it can also suggest a desire for sensual pleasure.

Neglect of Animals

This is a common dream symbol that typically represents neglect of some aspect of your inner nature. For example, you may have been given an animal to look after, usually somebody else’s pet, while they were away on vacation and then completely forgot about the animal, only to discover it later starving, injured, or even dead. This dream is reminding you that you have a responsibility to yourself and to see that your own sexual, nutritional, and bodily needs are met.

Parts of Animals

These have the same interpretation as parts of the human body (see BODY (#ulink_9f2f12e2-5295-5e49-8f1c-8f5fce75fbc2)). If a four-legged animal has a leg or legs missing, it suggests a personality that is not fully rounded. If you dream of a tail, this could signify a need for balance and adjustment in tough circumstances. It can also indicate sexual arousal or the penis. If claws figure prominently in the dream, this could suggest spitefulness; desire to hurt; hidden aggression; clinging; or ‘getting your claws into someone’.

Watched, Attacked, or Chased by an Animal

Hiding from or being trapped by animals can suggest you are feeling controlled or threatened by your urges or the emotions or feelings of others. If the animal is watching you, your unconscious is reminding you not to forget or neglect the instincts that it represents. If the animal is attacking you, this could indicate that you are in the grip of a rage that you fear you may unleash. Your dream is urging you to express or deal with your anger in a controlled way. If an animal is chasing you in a dream, this may suggest that in real life you are in flight from some area of your personality that wants to be expressed. If you are trying to find refuge from animals – either by building a defense or running away – this indicates a struggle with instincts that threaten your safety in waking life. In some cases dreams of being threatened or attacked by animals may be telling you that you are repressing your instincts – perhaps being too civilized – and you should try and loosen up more. Being bitten by an animal could indicate aggression from someone close to you, or that your own aggressive instincts are not under control. Any threat from a sinister animal suggests fears and doubts you may have about your ability to manage your emotions.

Wild Animals

A wild animal is the symbol of a deep-rooted instinct or the beast within you. Freud suggested that dreams of wild animals represented our most sensual passions, and sometimes the ‘evil instincts’ that lie deep within our unconscious. The more wild and dangerous the beast, the greater the danger that suppressed aspect of yourself will break free from the control of your conscious mind and force you to confront and deal with it in waking life. If you dream of a herd of wild animals, this could suggest you are meeting, or need to meet, aspects of yourself you have not yet learned to direct or usefully integrate. Taming or harnessing a wild animal indicates a need to control your instincts and if possible make them productive and useful.

Wise or Talking Animals

To dream of wise animals suggests important information from your intuition or inner wisdom. This intuitive wisdom is within every one of us and the result of thousands of years of life experience. Many cultures all over the world represent great wisdom and holiness as animals or animal-headed beings. To dream that animals can talk represents a wisdom inside yourself that is innocent and simple. It could also represent your potential to be all that you can be.

Animals A to Z

More than anything else, dream animals represent powerful instinctive reactions to situations; for example, fight or flight, the urge to find a mate and protect our young, the desire to have standing and recognition within a group, and so on. When instincts need to be understood, expressed or controlled in some way animals can often appear in our dreams to symbolize them. By understanding animals in dreams and the qualities they represent, we can approach life in a more instinctive, simple and natural way.

Bear in mind though that there is a huge difference in meaning between wild animals and domesticated animals in dreams. In general, domesticated animals or pets, such as a dog or rabbit, represent those urges we have more control over and are therefore less threatening to our conscious desire to be in charge. The wild animals we dream of are more threatening to our ego, but they are also more powerful, because if we can develop a working relationship with them they offer incredible potential for growth.

Ape/Monkey

To dream of apes, monkeys, gorillas, or baboons suggests a link with the impulsive, imprudent, inquisitive side of ourselves, such as the self-centered grabbing of food, or sexual gratification without concern for the needs of the other person. It can also suggest the ability to mimic or copy, as well the childish, foolish, and infantile side of the dreamer’s character that delights in mischief-making.

On the other hand, to dream of apes or monkeys, especially if they are white-haired, can link in with the dreamer’s own unconscious wisdom: the wonderful experience of existing, of being alive with all the powers of a living creature such as strength, passion, awe, and wonder in meeting life and the stars. Does your dream monkey reveal a wiser side of you? The three mystic monkeys cover their eyes, ears, and mouth showing that they ‘see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil’. Do you need to keep your own counsel?

Badger

Define what you associate with the badger. For most of us, the play on words will feature strongly, as a dream about badgers can often refer to badgering people, or feeling badgered and needing to get away from the influence of other people.

Bat

Bats can see in the dark, suggesting thoughts or influences that emerge from our intuition or inner wisdom.

Bear

Often represents the mother figure in dreams and, depending on the dream, this image can be caring or uncaring, or possessive and all-devouring. If the bear is recognized as male, then it could refer to an overbearing person, or perhaps the father figure in a person’s life.

The bear is largely a solitary animal that prefers to live and survive alone. This, and its human way of standing, may be major reasons for bears appearing in dreams. We can therefore link the bear with feelings about living alone or surviving by one’s own strength. Because of the bear’s ability to hibernate, it can also represent our ability to recreate ourselves after a period of rest and reflection.

Bears in dreams may also link to feelings we have about becoming independent, or meeting strength and independence in someone else, or even wild rage as ‘the bear with a sore head’. If the latter is the case, it could suggest your relationship with someone who is touchy or grouchy or powerfully possessive in a smothering relationship. It could also indicate the danger of sudden unpredictable reactions.

Beast

Many dreams feature beasts or animals that are of no particular characteristic or type. In some cases the beast is terrifying and we awake with a feeling of dread. Such creatures are usually an expression of memories, or instincts and drives, which have been repressed or avoided in our waking lives for one reason or another.

Beaver

Beavers are typically associated with industriousness and independence, although the word does also have sexual connotations with the female sexual organs. If a dam is being built, this could suggest holding back feelings or the need to conserve energy. In Native American tradition the beaver is considered holy, and if a beaver should speak to you in a dream, this may be an expression of your inner wisdom trying to make itself heard.

Boar

Boars are symbols of the magical spirits that protect the woods. If they appear in dreams, they can suggest protection from danger and hardship in waking life.

Bull

When bulls appear in dreams they might refer to powerful instinctual responses that can sweep us along or cause problems if we try to deny them. Such instinctual urges may be to do with lust and desire, anger at people invading our space, paternal or maternal love and protectiveness, or simply an aggressive bullish trait within ourselves or someone else. It can also suggest personal traits to do with being earthy, basic or sexual in our approach as well as strength, obstinacy, and power. If the bull is aggressive, this shows the frustration that can arise from basic drives being thwarted. For example, a person may have a high libido and feel frustrated with a partner who does not care for sex as much. If the bull is wounded or killed, this suggests a killing of natural urges or drives for sex and procreation. If the bull is sacrificed, this can suggest generosity and self-giving. The ridden bull indicates harmony between instinct and decision-making.

In many cultures or myths around the bull there is the theme of the hero confronting and overcoming the bull – for instance Theseus and the Minotaur. Victory over the bull therefore represents the human struggle and victory over instinctual or reactive forces influencing consciousness. From this victory a new life or consciousness can be born.

Camel

Suggests the dreamer’s ability, or the ability of someone the dreamer knows, to face adversity – especially over the dry and barren aspects of life. It may also link with inner strength, endurance, patience, and plodding perseverance. Occasionally the camel’s hump may suggest pregnancy or the desire for children.

Cat

Jung saw cats in dreams as representing the hidden or secretive side of a person’s nature. Cats often feature in dreams of women to represent the urge to care for someone or, in some cases, a desire for sex and the need to reproduce. In men’s dreams, a cat or group of cats may refer to a woman or group of women, or to the intuitive side of men’s nature, perhaps warning him of hidden dangers; cattiness, jealousy in a relationship. On the other hand it can also suggest independence, stealth, and fertility. An alley cat indicates promiscuity. In some dreams, a black cat, depending on what the dreamer associates with it, may indicate good or bad luck, or fear in general. If the dream suggests cats are to be feared, this can indicate fear of the female in oneself, fear of females or a particular ‘catty’ female, or difficulty in meeting feelings and intuition. If you are allergic to cats and dream of one, it might signify a negative and threatening reaction to a situation or relationship. If cats speak in your dreams, this suggests sexuality, femininity, and an ability to express it.

See also PETS.

Stealth, ferocity, power, strength, cunning, and the will to survive are suggested by wild cats in dreams – see below.

Chameleon

The dreamer is recognizing in themselves the ability to change and adapt to circumstances.

Cow

Similar to the bull in many ways but suggesting the female aspect of a person’s nature, in particular a willingness to put the needs of others before one’s own. Cows can symbolize motherliness, receptiveness, nurturing, and the feminine energy that can lead or direct the masculine energy in oneself. They may also indicate being taken advantage of by someone in some way.

Deer/Reindeer/Antelope

The gentle side of oneself that can be hurt or wounded easily by cynicism and aggression or criticism. Generally, a deer symbolizes vulnerability and, in some cases, lovesickness. In a man’s dream, the deer may depict a young woman the man is in pursuit of. If the dreamer is pursuing a deer, this indicates success in overcoming fears. If you see yourself killing a deer, this is a warning dream to indicate the possibility of someone hurting you in waking life through no fault of your own. To dream of a stag suggests male sexual drive and virility, courage, and both life and healing energies. The stag may also represent a man or father figure that the dreamer admires in some way and the dream expresses the dreamer’s desire to become more like the admired person. Finally, a deer or reindeer herd have a strict hierarchical structure and the dream could suggest that the dreamer needs to recognize their own place in the world. Is it time for you to branch out from this place in the world and make new connections? Are you in the process of renewal, or do you need to be?

Dinosaur

The dinosaur indicates the most primitive, unsocialized, basic urges of human nature such as fear, reproduction, and survival. Such instincts are still alive within us and need to be integrated otherwise they remain in a primitive form, perhaps in conflict with our personality. To dream of dinosaurs could also indicate some aspect of our personality or approach to life that is outdated and no longer needed for survival.

Dog

The dog depicts natural urges that are well integrated, but still have the tendency to revert back to the spontaneous or ‘wild’ state quite easily. For instance, our anger might usually be well under control but, if someone teases us, we might unexpectedly erupt with uncontrollable anger. Like the cat, the dog can also represent affection or caring. A black dog suggests depression or fear of death.

See also PETS.

Donkey/Ass

In the Bible, the ass carries Christ and is often thought to represent humbleness and humility but it can suggest the stubbornness arising perhaps out of long-entrenched habits and automatic behavior. Generally the donkey represents the plodding, long-suffering body and its basic needs, and a dream in which the dreamer is riding on a donkey hints at progress, even if it is slow. Do you feel impatient with your progress or overburdened? Are you refusing to give way on an important issue? Don’t forget about Eeyore, of Winnie the Pooh fame. Eeyore is a depressed and sluggish donkey. Are you feeling that way?