Images that carry messages

Each of our dreams is most often built around one theme, one plot or symbol: a child, an animal, a car … As Carl Gustav Jung, the founder of analytical psychology, believed, these images are born not only in the dreamer’s personal unconscious, but also in the collective unconscious inherited by us, which contains the knowledge accumulated by all mankind.

“According to Jung, the unconscious is much wiser than consciousness and the purpose of dreams is to convey to us certain information that can enrich us, become guides and helpers on the path of personal development,” says Jungian psychotherapist Madina Slutskaya. “In other words, dreams are messages from the unconscious that need to be heard and understood.”

The keys to such an understanding can be the images and symbols of dreams.

In order to correctly decipher the images of our dreams, it is useful to remember a few rules.

“A dream should be interpreted only in the context of the current life situation,” explains Madina Slutskaya. – To understand the actual, exactly your meaning of a symbol or image, ask yourself questions. How does he respond to me? What emotions and memories does it evoke?

What is it calling me to? Then you can turn to the encyclopedia of symbols and think about which of the interpretations listed in it resonates in the soul.

In addition, if you think that you have deciphered a dream, it only means that you have missed its meaning. Symbols are so ambiguous that they can open up new facets after some time.

We have selected seven images that appear most often in dreams, and formulated questions to help figure out what kind of “knowledge” the unconscious sends. But you can find other topics more suitable for your current situation. After all, everyone can intuitively feel what areas of life are illuminated by the images of his dreams.

House

This is a symbol of the body, as well as the inner life – what happens in our soul. The appearance of a dreaming house shows how we perceive ourselves. A neglected, dilapidated house indicates that you do not know how to behave in some situation, or, perhaps, you are ready to reconsider your views, habits, and relationships with people.

Moving around an unfamiliar house may indicate that you do not understand yourself or perceive yourself incorrectly. This image means that it’s time to ask: what aspects of my personality, habits, character traits do I not want or are afraid to realize? Empty rooms may indicate the presence of personal resources that have not yet been disclosed, not implemented.

Own symbolism is also inherent in individual rooms, rooms in the house. The kitchen is a place where coarse matter is recycled. She is a symbol of transformation, evolution. This image tells us that in order to move forward we need to change ourselves or this process has already begun.

The toilet room may indicate the need to release what is burdensome. What would you like to get rid of in life? What beliefs, emotions, attitudes weigh on you?

The bathroom is a place of purification – perhaps you want to update something in yourself and your own life. For example, change habits, clear up deadlocked relationships.

The bedroom is likely to tell about marital and sexual relationships.

Body

In a dream, a certain part of the body often appears, and not the whole body as a whole. The first question to ask yourself is: what is the purpose of this body part? Most often in a dream we see hands, feet, teeth and throat.

Hands are a tool for creativity, communication and contact – from handshakes to caresses. When we dream of mangled, bound, dirty hands, we may need to ask ourselves about the quality of our relationships with people.

Do you feel like you are being mistreated? Or are you the instigator of conflicts? But it can also be a question about your creative abilities: are you ignoring them, are you giving up self-expression due to a lack of self-confidence?

Legs, as a rule, means the ability to move and maintain balance. Paralyzed, sore legs reflect difficulty in making choices, in moving forward, or indicative of an inability to be independent.

Tooth loss is a fairly common and disturbing image that can indicate a lack of “healthy” aggressiveness, an inability to stand up for oneself, assert oneself, and take active steps.

Finally, the throat is a place of concentration of emotions and anxieties. We say: “I have a lump in my throat”, “I took my breath away”. The feeling of lack of air, constriction, the inability to speak in a full voice – all this leads to the question: what becomes an obstacle to self-expression and mental well-being?

Ребенок

This is a symbol of our deepest essence, hidden potential, true “I”. Dreams about birth, childbirth can symbolize the birth of some important part of our personality. For example, a new way of interacting with the world is freer and more conscious; the opportunity to prove oneself in some endeavor; or new, deeper relationships with others.

Beautiful, smiling, cheerful children testify to our ability to take care of our deepest essence, while sad, abandoned children, on the contrary, show that we are ignoring our true self. To understand what this image in a dream signals, it is necessary to answer the question: what needs and desires am I ignoring?

The child may also talk about our relationship with a partner. Depending on how he looks, what feelings he evokes in a dream, this image may indicate a happy or unsuccessful relationship.

The death of a child seen in a dream can speak of the transformation of such relationships. And finally, the transformation of a child into a baby animal indicates the difficulties we experience in expressing our desires and feelings. It is possible that they are suppressed by too strict upbringing.

Animals

If images of animals, birds, insects appear in a dream, then the key to deciphering such a dream will be the main property of the dreaming animal.

The dog is a symbol of fidelity, but also speaks of the manifestation of instincts: maternal, sexual or self-preservation instinct.

A friendly dog ​​indicates that we do not suppress instincts, but we do not follow their lead either. If she behaves aggressively, perhaps we are either afraid of the manifestation of our instincts, or we feel like their slaves. Dreams that animals are chasing us indicate the existence of some kind of problem that we do not dare to face.

A cat is a symbol of femininity, whether it is a dream of a man or a woman. It encourages a greater disclosure of the feminine side of the personality, our emotionality, sensuality, receptivity.

It also symbolizes sexuality. When a cat in a dream behaves aggressively, this may mean that unconsciously we associate sexuality with aggression.

Unpleasant animals, such as a spider or a snake, also often appear in dreams. A spider weaving a web, lying in wait for a victim, suggests a trap, danger.

Mark your behavior when meeting with a spider: are you running away from him, trying to get out of the web? Is your behavior active or passive? The answers to these questions will help you understand how you deal with difficult situations. In addition, the web can symbolize obstacles in understanding unconscious conflicts and motives for your behavior.

The snake is one of the most controversial figures of the unconscious. It may indicate changes that are taking place (snakes change their skin).

Are you starting a new life cycle or do you feel the need to update something in your life? She personifies transformation, transformation. The snake may be associated with the penis, reflecting a person’s repressed sexual desires.

Finally, a coiled snake is a symbol of the universal cycle, the cyclical nature of what is happening.

Death

A coffin, a funeral, a cemetery, the dead … Despite the fact that these images are associated with negative experiences and may cause anxiety in the dreamer, they are positive. For our unconscious, death is a symbol of rebirth. Therefore, such images should be interpreted as a stimulus for development, metamorphosis.

Thus, a dream of one’s own death often indicates that we are in the process of development: some parts of the personality are losing vitality in order to make room for new facets of the “I”.

If such images give rise to anxiety, scare, this is due to the fact that any changes, even positive ones, are always a little scary. The cemetery means the beginning of a transformation: before you change something in yourself, you need to look at the past for the last time, and such an image symbolizes this “intermediate state”.

Автомобиль

It reflects exactly how we “move” through life. Do we drive carefully or take risks? The image of the car is associated with accidents. Who causes them – ourselves or other people? These questions will help analyze your demeanor, how you treat yourself and others.

Are you driving the car yourself or is someone else driving it? How do you feel as a passenger or driver? The place we occupy in the car indicates the degree of our dependence or independence.

Money

Bundles of banknotes, coins, safes… These images speak of inner wealth and how exactly we use our talents, skills, knowledge.

Pay attention to what you do in a dream with banknotes or valuables: spend them or hide them, save up or give them to someone? The answer can be the key to understanding how you feel about your internal resources – neglect them or, on the contrary, try to use them.