Intuitive Dream Interpretation: A Beginner’s Guide
Every night, as we lay down to fall asleep, we are given a key which unlocks the magical realm of the subconscious. A deep well of personal knowledge resides here, more intimate and detailed than you could imagine. Through self inquiry, this knowledge can point us towards hidden feelings and agendas which underlie our actions and reactions.
This is the power of dreaming.
Have you woken up recalling strange symbols creeping into your mind’s eye at night? Fire, snakes, or spiders, for example? Maybe you’ve dreamed of losing your teeth or having a baby. What would Freud or Jung say, you might ask yourself.
Those who claim they do not dream are more accurately described as ‘non-recallers’. Dreams happen during REM cycles of sleep, occurring in short intervals (between 10 minutes to an hour) throughout the night where our brain becomes just as active as our waking state.
Since everyone experiences REM cycles of sleep, everybody has the capacity to dream; it is merely a matter of whether you are able to remember them.
There’s even a word, “oneirolysis”, which describes the feeling of knowing you have dreamt, but forgetting the content of the dream save for the vague feelings and impressions it left. These feelings and impressions can leave a lasting impact on the rest of your day, hence the familiar saying “waking up on the wrong side of the bed”.
Ann Faraday, author of ‘The Dream Game’, describes dreams as “watchdogs of the psyche”, constantly on the lookout for vibes, impressions and facts which we miss during conscious waking hours. As we unconsciously register and pick up on our environments constantly in everyday reality, it subsequently gets processed by our subconscious through dreaming.
Learning how to intuitively interpret your dreams is therefore a process of self awareness and self discovery, allowing yourself to become more in touch with your true desires, unpack beliefs/feelings, and integrate shadow aspects of your subconscious.
If you remain consistent with tracking and interpreting your dreams, over time, common patterns, themes and symbols will emerge. This provides incredible psychological insight into recurring problems and fears in your personal life. As a result, you can translate these interpretations into effective actions to make positive changes in your life.
Here’s a beginner’s guide on how to intuitively interpret your dreams and get the most out of the time you spend in your subconscious dreamscape (approximately one third of your life is spent asleep)!
Keep a Dream Journal
You may have all good intentions to remember your dreams, but it’s unlikely to happen unless you get serious about recording your dreams as soon as you wake up. Buy a dream journal to dedicate specifically for writing them down and making notes/interpretations.
Alternatively, you could record yourself talking about the dream with your phone. Whatever you choose, just make sure you get them down! Keep the journal or recording device of choice close by your bed - the longer it takes to find something to record it down, the increased likelihood of it slipping away from you.
Even if you can barely recall anything, just jotting down any random snippets you remember can help to jolt your memory. The good news is it works in a positively reinforcing cycle - the more you record your dreams, the more dreams you will remember!
The other important information you must write down is the main events/feelings/situations occurring at the time, as dreams always relate to life’s current circumstances. What did you do? Who did you see? How did you feel? These will all be imperative to understanding what your dream is trying to tell you.
Take it literally before moving onto metaphorical interpretation
It’s tempting to jump straight into a metaphorical interpretation of a dream, but it’s important to rule out the obvious first. Since your subconscious is constantly picking up on everything around you, you may have overlooked a small detail which subsequently shows up in a dream.
For example, having a dream that your car broke down might have resulted from unconsciously registering the weird noise your car was making earlier that day. Or dreaming about being late to an important meeting or work might just be a reminder to make sure you’re leaving enough time to be punctual.
After you can rule out any direct correlations, then you can move onto a metaphorical interpretation and uncover what the dream might symbolize.
What does the situation, person or object represent to you? What feelings does it evoke? Asking yourself these questions can boil down the general theme of the dream. For example, dreaming of a tidal wave could allude to feeling overwhelmed by a situation or person.
If the characters showing up in your dream are people you currently have direct relationships with, you can assume they probably represent that person. But if it’s someone who’s an acquaintance or who has not been part of your life for a long time, they are likely representing either a current person in your life or a part of yourself. Again, go back to what this person means to you, symbolizes, and evokes within you.
Create your own personal dream glossary
As easy as it would be to have a dream dictionary spelling out universal meanings for dreams, it’s ineffective and inaccurate. Because we all have unique perspectives and experiences, our dreams are incredibly personal. Dream symbols therefore mean many different things to many different people.
You will find that common themes, situations, people and objects will show up in your dreams over time. Creating your own dream glossary of your personal symbols can be a useful guide to refer back to when one of these symbols pop up again, saving you the need to expend energy on figuring out the meaning.
Recurring symbols may also point towards experiences and feelings which are repeating in your life, offering a way to confront and heal them. For example, perhaps you have a parental critic who permanently resides in your subconscious, berating you for not following a particular path or not doing what they expect of you. This could show up in the form of an actual parent in your dream, or perhaps someone else you know who reminds you of these qualities.
You could then work on integrating, accepting and clearing this through waking life, through journaling, mirror work or other energy work (or talking to the parent themselves if you can do so). The outcome would likely result in halting the recurring dream, indicating this part of your subconscious being healed.
Focus on the feeling
Perhaps the most important tip to take away is to focus on how the dream made you feel. If the dream was objectively happy, but you woke up in tears then there’s probably something in there that you have missed.
Often the thing we remember most about our dreams is the feeling it evoked within us and that’s the biggest clue to unpacking the meaning. Use the feeling as an overarching theme to guide your interpretation, seeing if you can frame the events of the dream in context of this feeling.
Looking back over that day’s events, there might be a direct correlation to that feeling or possibly it went unnoticed. For example, say there was a minor conflict with a partner or friend that you brushed off, but then it shows up in your dreams with a strong emotional charge. Likely, the conflict bothered you more than you consciously realized.
Feelings can be looked at both on a macro level (the overarching feeling of the dream) and then, going a layer deeper, looking at the micro level (how individual dream symbols person/event/object make you feel).
After identifying the feeling, try free writing around it or giving the symbol a ‘voice’ (the empty chair technique) to understand where it may have originated from. Surprising and intuitive observations will likely emerge, shedding insight on the dream’s message.
Dreams are incredibly mystical, storing unlimited creativity and self knowledge which hold the potential for healing. Don’t dismiss them! Maybe it “was only just a dream” but that doesn’t mean they aren’t useful for helping with everyday reality.
Dream interpretation largely depends upon your ability to access your intuition and dedication to writing them down. You will know when you hit the correct meaning: you’ll feel a deep resonance and knowing within your bones.
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Chiara Christian is a Gemini writer with a passion for understanding others and the world around her. You can check out her website here and follow her meanderings @ageministory.