Dream reading: what common dreams mean
Dreams are said to show your state of mind, wishes and worries at the time. Dream reading interprets the things and events in your dreams and uses them as hints for facing your own heart.
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1.How dream reading works
Reading dreams was a custom in ancient Egypt, Greece and China. In Japan, too, Heian-period nobles took the content of their dreams seriously: after a bad dream, they would try to turn it to good luck with a charm called yume-chigae, or stay indoors and keep a day of abstinence. In the 20th century, the psychologists Freud and Jung studied dreams as clues to the workings of the deep mind.
Dream reading takes its clues from:
- The things, people and animals in the dream
- The events in the dream
- How you felt on waking (a good feeling often means good luck, an unpleasant one a sign to take care)
2.Common dreams and their meanings
| Dream | Common meaning |
|---|---|
| Teeth falling out | Change or anxiety; losing confidence, or a turning point in life |
| Being chased | Pressure, or a problem you don’t want to face |
| Falling from a height | Anxiety and tension; a sign you need to rest your mind |
| Flying | A wish to be free; flying happily means rising luck |
| Exams, being late | Worry about being unprepared; concern about how others see you |
| Snakes | A symbol of money and vitality; a white snake is a particularly lucky dream |
| Someone who has died | You are being watched over; your feelings are settling |
| Fire | Rising passion and energy; the more fiercely it burns, the luckier |
| Water, the sea | Your state of mind; clear water is stability, muddy water a sign of tiredness |
| A baby | A new beginning; budding talent |
| A wedding | A turning point in life; the start of a new relationship |
| A house or room | Yourself; a large house is possibility, a messy room a need to sort out your feelings |
| Finding money | An unexpected chance, though also a warning against overspending |
| An earthquake | A sense of big change coming; a time when your surroundings change |
These are examples. The same dream can be read differently depending on how you felt in it and your situation now.
3.Dreams said to be lucky
The luckiest first dream of the New Year (hatsuyume) is said to be “one Fuji, two hawks, three eggplants” (ichi-Fuji, ni-taka, san-nasubi). Mount Fuji is linked by sound with buji, “safe and sound”, the hawk (taka) with “high”, and the eggplant (nasu) with nasu, “to achieve”. It even has a sequel: “four fans, five tobacco smoke, six blind minstrels”.
A rising sun, a dragon, white animals and flowers in bloom are also said to be lucky dreams.
4.Keep a dream diary
Keeping a “dream diary”, writing your dream down as soon as you wake, shows patterns in what you dream and when. If a number catches your eye, see angel numbers, and if coincidences keep happening, What is synchronicity?
If nightmares keep you from sleeping or make your days hard, don’t carry it alone; see a doctor.
5.FAQ
If I have a bad dream, will something bad really happen?
In dream reading, a frightening or bad dream can actually be a *sakayume*, a “reverse dream” that means good luck. Think of dreams as a mirror of your state of mind, and take them as a hint for looking at yourself now.
Why do I keep having the same dream?
Dream reading says a recurring dream shows feelings you haven’t resolved inside. If ongoing nightmares keep you from sleeping well, consider seeing a doctor.
Now try a reading for yourself
Free readings related to this article.
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