Dreams present you with images and feelings. When you dream, you are often finding answers and solutions to the problems that exist in your waking life. Tapping into and understanding this source of wisdom can enhance your understanding of your life issues.

A dream symbol is an image from the unconscious that is important for you to understand in the present. Symbols can have personal associations, and exploring these associations can help you to understand the dream’s message. It is helpful, though, to understand general objective associations of the dream symbol since it may be revealing.

For example, if you dreamed about a blue horse, you may first remember upon waking that your grandmother had a blue horse figurine that sat on her dresser when you were a child. Yet upon looking further into a dream book, you would see that “horse” reflects “travel, power, and freedom.” The color “blue” may be associated with the throat in energy medicine and may symbolize “speaking your truth.” So why did you dream of a blue horse? Perhaps your grandmother herself is significant to you in her role in your childhood, yet it may reflect a need for you to look at your authentic self–your connection to travel, power, freedom, and truth in your life.

Dream symbols and themes are common among people, and even though each dream may have unique meaning for the dreamer, here are a few “simple” dream meanings based on general dream dictionary ideas:

• Teeth (losing teeth or falling out): Loose teeth may relate to changes that are coming and this is considered a common theme in adolescence.
• House: The house usually symbolizes the psychological or emotional self. What is the condition of the house in the dream?
• Being chased: This may mean that you are being pursued by an aspect of yourself–maybe one that another part of you is avoiding.
• Attic: Usually symbolizes your mind or thinking.
• Bath: Taking a bath in a dream or attempting to do so may indicate a need for “inner cleansing.”
• Vehicle: (What type of vehicle—bicycle, car, airplane?) A vehicle reflects our passage or journey through life. What is our method of transportation? The vehicle may indicate the “speed” of the journey.
• Fences: Dreams of fences is said to indicate “boundary” issues: either a need for better boundaries or too much rigidity.
• Death: Your own death in a dream reflects new beginnings!