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DREAM SYMBOLISM

Many people do just not understand dream symbolism. They do not understand why a dream about your husband is not about their husband but about something symbolic. It is the hardest problem with dream symbolism. But just read this line of poetry - "Her heart wept like a mother who had just lost her newly born baby". The poem builds up a picture of what was happening by comparing it to something else. Poetry would sound silly if each line was written in the following fashion - "The spectacular Sunset was as spectacular as a spectacular sunset". You simply do not compare something to itself

Poetry and dream symbolism are very similar. They both associate one thing with another. So that is why a deam about your grandmother can be about some issue over which you need to use your own intuition. Thats because old people are symbols of wisdom. They have lots of experience and grandmothers are blessed with feminine intuition so can often sense that something is wrong.

Many people read dream dictionaries and read that water means emotion and bathrooms mean something, and then they find that there are even symbolic meanings for things such as big screen TV's. Then they feel an intense desire to run for the hills because the whole thing seems mad. I too was very skeptical about dream dictionaries. But now I believe quite strongly in them. Of course they are only a guide. People make the mistake that a dream dictionary means that you do not also have to interpret the dream. In truth dream dictionaries are a guide. They give us some helpful ideas. But the important thing to remember is that they are based on sound knowledge - though it does of course depend on the dream dictionary in question.

Take for instance water. Water moves constantly. It is never still. So water then is a good symbol for emotions. Emotions never stay the same - they constantly flow in a fluid and movable fashion.

Now think of things connected with water - such as fish, sharks, dolphins, and beaches. Dolphins live in water so they bear some relation to our emotions. They are also very intelligent and spiritual creatures by popular perception. They are also highly sensual creatures. So dolphins could be symbols of our sexual emotions. The combination of water and popular perceptions about dolphins helps us build up an understanding of their symbolic meaning.

Take small fish darting about - they to live in water so they have some connection to our emotions. And the way they move about shows that they could symbolize small problems, thoughts which are darting in and out of our minds - disrupting our emotional thoughts.. So again we have built up a symbolic meaning which is quite specific and perhaps very accurate.

Other symbols have strong and very general meanings. The ground represents earthly matters. So the sky can quite often mean spiritual and heavenly matters. The sky can mean lots of things but when you look up you see things a very far distance away such as other planets and stars. So their symbolic meaning is based on that foundation. The specific meaning could be the ambitions of the dreamer or opinions of theirs on wide and expansive issues - issues which very much look at the bigger picture.

Some symbols represent the emotions you feel. Take for instance flying. When you fly you have a great sense of power - a great confidence and belief. It is extremely exhilarating. So flying can mean that you have great confidence and ability over a particular issue.

ARTICLES ON SYMBOLISM dorians website
Animals in dreams More about animals in dreams
Symbolic meaning of animals in dreams Dorian Pauls view on animals
Staircases, elevators and lifts - Their symbolic meaning
Travel in dreams The meaning of cars, roads, railroads.
Buildings in dreams Buildings in dreams
Music in dreams Dorian Paul on music in dreams
Color and collective conciousness Dorian Paul on color in dreams
Colour and Dreams Urban on colour in dreams
Keep it in the family family members in dreams
Archetypes Dorian Paul on archetypes in dreams
Religion in dreams Faith and dreams by Weiss

DREAM DICTIONARY A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
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DREAMS ABOUT TRAVEL :
Try these in depth essays on travel dreams
AIRPLANE : Airplanes in dream interpretation
ALLEY : The symbolism of alleys in real dream interpretation
BIKE : Cycles in dream analysis - a detailed essay on their meaning
BRIDGE : Bridges in dream interpretation
BUSES : Buses in dreams symbolism
CARS : Cars in modern dream interpretation
CROSS RIVER : Looking across a river and its meaning in dream analysis
PARKING LOTS : Car parks and their dream meaning
RAILWAY STATION : Railway stations as dream symbols
RAILWAYS : Trains in dream analysis
STREET NAMES : An essay on dream symbolism
URBAN : Towns and urban areas in modern dream interpretation
VANS : Dreams analysed for the meaning of vans