Table Of ContentDICTIONARY
A
WITH AN INTRODUCTION TO DREj-M PSICHOLOGY
tiailtihiM
ji
A DICTIONARY OF
Dream
Symbols
WITH AN INTRODUCTION TO
DREAM PSYCHOLOGY
Eric Ackroyd
T
BLANDFORD
To
my wife Judith
and
my children
Paul, Pippa, Vicky, Tobias and Rupert
A BI ANDFORDBOOK
First published in the UK 1W3
by Blandford. an imprmi ofCassell (Sc Co.
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CONTENTS
Introduction 1
Howto Interpret Your Dreams 1
The Unconscious 5
Which Meaning? 8
Freudon Dreams 11
Jungon Dreams 31
Gestalt Psychology 56
In Conclusion 59
Dream Symbols A-Z 61
Bibliography 316
INTRODUCTION
Every image that comes up in a dream means something, but the same
image may mean different things for different people or for the same
person at different times in his or her life. The purpose of this
dictionary is, therefore, to present the various possible meanings ofthe
images that may occur in your dreams; it is up to you to select the one
thatseemstoapplytoyourparticularsituation.
In this Introduction we look at how to work out which of the
meanings given for a particular dream image - person, object, scene,
spoken or written words, etc. - applies to your own external situation
or inner state of mind. For the present, be assured that interpreting
yourdreams is notthe formidable taskitmayatfirstseem; itiscertainly
not a job that must be handed over to some expensive specialist
consultant. It is somethingyou can do foryourself, so long as you have
atleasta respectfijl attitude towardsyourdreams, with abeliefthatthey
may have something valuable to say to you, and a determination to be
open and honestwith yourself. Moreoften than not, the people, places,
objects and events in your dreams represent parts ofyourself: feelings,
fears, desires, attitudes and soon. You may not be consciouslyawareof
these, and one ofthe main ftmctions ofdreams is to make you aware of
these hidden parts and to ask you to give them your attention. You
therefore need to be willing to accept that there may be aspects ofyour
personalit}' that you do not know about or, more important, have not
acknowledged. This is where honesty comes in: being honest with
youftelf means acknowledging those parts of you that, for whatever
reason,you havesofarpreferred toignore.
How to Interpret YourDreams
First, here are a few simple tips for anyone embarking on the great
adventureofinterpretingdreams.
Recordingyourdreams
Get into the habit of writing down your dreams straight away. That
means having pen and paper - preferably an A4 notelxx)k - at your
bedside and the determination to wake up and sit up after a dream and
immediately write it down. It is a good idea to put the day and date at
the topofthe page before going tosleep. This is an outwardexpression
ADICTIONARYOhDKhAMS^MhOLS . ,
ofyour serious intention to take noteofyourdreams; and it also means
that, on waking, you can get straight down to the business ofwriting
out your dream. Anything that mightcome between the dream and the
writingcouldobliterateorseverely reduceyour recollection.
Instead ofwriting, you could use a tape recorder - unless vou ha\c a
sleeping partner whom you would rather not waken. Whichever
method you use, be sure to use the present tense: not 'I was walking
along the road, when a carovertook me . . .\ but 'I am walking along a
road; acarovertakes me . . .' Using the presenttense helps you to relive
the dream more vividly, with the result that you will enter more fully
intothedream and therefore remembermoreofitsdetail.
Ifyou possess a computer and know how to use it, it could be useful
for your dream interpreting. Selea a program that will enable you to
recordyourdreamsand tosortthrough them from tmie totime tosee if
there are any recurring themes. For further information see Calvin
Hall's book. TheMeaningofDreams.
Record your dreams in as much detail as possible. Aimhing in a
dream may be important when it comes to interpretation. What in the
dream itselfseems to be quite trivial or merelv incidental to the main
action may, in fact, turn out to be the key that unlcKks the meaning of
the whole dream. For example, always note the colour and sha^x' of
anything. If there is any movement, in what direction is it - right or
left, clcKkwise or anticlcKkwise, towards or awav from you? Is a person
male or female, young or old, fair or dark, attractive or unattractive,
smiling or frowning? What is he or she wearing; and what does the
p)erson say (exact words, ifpossible)? Is the sundial or bird-bath in the
centreofthegarden orofV-centre? Are the plants in bkx)mor not, and if
theyarc,whatcolourare they? Whatseasonofthe yearis it? How many
women (or steps, or animals) are there? Is the house or other building
old or new, and on which floor of the building dcxs the action take
place?
Don't worry tcx) much ifsuch details do not appear in vourdreams. I
am only saying that, ifdetails are given in a dream, you should not omit
them from your report. And having been told this, you will probably
find that from now on your dreams do contain lots ofdetail that was
either not presentor not noticed in previous dreams.
Lookat severaldreams together
Don't think vou have to work out the meaning ofever\ dream straight
away. Of course, thefe is no harm in joning down what strikes you
there and then as its obvious meaning. However, before finally making
up vour mind about the meaning ofanv single dream, it is best to make
INTRODUCTION
a record ofseveral dreams and look at them together, to see ifthere is a
common pattern. There may be a recurring image, or different images
sayingthesamething.
It may also be enlightening and practically helpful to lcx)k backevery
now and then over the dreams ofthe last year, or twoor three years, or
even longer. That way you may see how much or how little you have
changed over that period. You will see how much you have learned
from your dreams, or how much - or little - notice you have taken of
them inorderingorre-orderingyourdailylife.
Ifyou makeamistake in interpretingadream,you mayfind thatyour
next dream corrects your mistake. Dreams come from the unconscious,
and the unconscious works intelligently and with a purpose. If you
respect your unconscious and show your respect by paying attention to
what it is saying to you in your dreams, your unconscious will
cooperate with you and assist you towards a true understanding ofits
messages.
Thepsychologicalsignificanceofdreams
A dream not only appears within the context of an exer-continuing
seriesofdreams; it alsooccurs within thecontextofyour life as a whole
- your family life, your work, vour love- (and hate-) life. Your dreams
reflect yourdeepestemotional responses to your waking-life experiences.
It follows, therefore, that a correct interpretation ofyour dreams will
onlybe possible iftheyareviewed in thecontextofyouroutward life.
This obviously includes what is happening to you now, the situation
you are in now, your present problems, ambitions, fears and so on. It
may also include, however, the wholeorany partofyourpast life. Your
most deeply seated attitudes, hatreds, prejudices, habits, fears, guilt-
feelings and pains v")fall kinds may stem from experiences in your early
life. Wordsworth's The child is father ofthe man' is hill oftruth: the
adult personality is largely conditioned by childhood experiences or,
more precisely, by the emotional impact of those experiences on the
child. And what doesn't come from childhood comes from traumatic
experiences in our later life: the present state ofour psyche is the result
ofour emotional selfs reactions to the experiences and situations that
life has thrown atus.
What this means is that a correct and useful interpretation ofyour
dreams requires a tlill awareness and understanding of what is
happHrningtoyou now and what has happened toyou in the past. Is this
a tall order? Yes, it is. But don't be daunted bv it. Remember that the
unconscious is ready tocooperate with you and, indeed, lead you. Your
unconscious is a storehouse containing all the emotionally charged
ADICTIONARYOFDREAMSYMBOI^
experiences of your life, and it may be just these decisive emotional
reaaions - fear, hatred, resentment, guilt and the like - that are
expressing themselves in your dreams. All vou need to know about
yourself, past and present, is being supplied to you in vour dreams. In
otherwords, yourdreams will give you allyou requireforunderstanding
them and applyingthem appropriatelyandcreatively in yourlife.
It may be true that the present condition of your psyche, and
consequently the present circumstances ofyour life, have been shaped
more byemotional reactions to events than by intelligent and objective
decision-making on your part. What is equally true, however, is that
you can at any time take control ofyour life and begin to determine
your own future. Your dreams will help here. They can tell you what
has been goingon inside you so far, and theycan also tell you whatyou
need to do or stop doing in order to achieve greater happiness in the
future. Through your dreams, your unconscious will tell you what you
need. Therestisuptoyou,yourconsciousself.
Sequenceindreams
Often the part of a dream that is remembered first and therefore
recorded first is the last part ofthe dream. In fact, the tendency is to
remember and write down all the sections ofa dream in reverse order.
This should be borne in mind when getting down to the business of
interpreting your dreams: sometimes, for instance, the last part of a
dreamgivesasolution toaproblem posedin the firstpartofthedream.
Simplemeanings
What has been said abx)ve about the deep meaning ofdreams needs to
be balanced againstotherconsiderations. Notalldreams have profound
psychological significance. Some are mere repetitions of the day's
events. Nearly all the dreams that young children tell us about are of
this kind: after a day at the seaside or at the fair a three-year-old will
often relive its delights and excitements in dreams; similarly a b>edtime
storv mav retell itselfin a youngchild'sdream.
S<:>me dreams may have straightforward physical explanations. A full
bladder may cause you to have a frighteningly embarrassing dream
about wettingyour pants, forexample.
So do not assume that every dream has a deep meaning. Not every
dream will contain a life-transforming revelation - but any dream
might! Even the apparently most trifling dream story may be trying to
tell you something important about your life. If, for example, you told
me you had dreamed ofan earthquake, I would generally suppose that
m
it was an indication either that your personal world was danger of
