The Element Encyclopedia of 20,000 Dreams: The Ultimate A–Z to Interpret the Secrets of Your Dreams. Theresa Cheung
on inside out. Red and white flowers together. Hearing a rooster crow at night. Cutting your nails on a Friday. Putting a hat on a bed. Getting out of bed left foot first. Violets blooming out of season. A picture falling. Breaking a mirror. Singing before breakfast. Opening an umbrella indoors. Giving away a wedding present. Stepping on cracks in the sidewalk. An itch inside your nose. Crossed knives. Seeing an owl during daylight. Spilling pepper. Killing a sparrow. Black birds. Dropping a wedding ring. Breaking a plate, especially if it has not already been cracked. Mending a garment whilst wearing it. Signing contracts in the months of April, July or November. Spilling ink. Breaking a bottle. Fastening a button into the wrong buttonhole. A candle falling over. Stepping on board a ship with your left foot. Tripping over when you leave your house.
NEGATIVE SYMBOLS IN DREAMS
Dream symbols can have both positive and negative associations, but some dream symbols do tend to have more negative associations than positive and these include:
Acid: This suggests a corrosive, negative influence in your life. Adder: There may be a situation in which another person cannot be trusted. Atom bomb: Fear that someone else might destroy your happiness. Avalanche: A destructive force in your life. Bad: If you feel bad in your dream, this suggests that something is off balance in your waking life and that your environment is not positive for you. Barbed wire: Hurtful remarks are preventing you moving forward. Bed wetting: Anxieties over lack of control in your life. Behind: To be behind someone in your dream suggests that you feel inferior to them. Bite: Being bitten or biting someone is a symbol of aggression or hostility. Boar: Lust and gluttony. Brutality: The darker, more animalistic side of your nature. Burglar: Violation of personal space. Chain: Restriction. Choke: Inability to express yourself. Crooked line: Insincerity. Devil: Personification of the evil side of yourself. Dirty: Not at ease with your body, or lack of trust in someone or something. Drowning: Feeling overwhelmed. Earthquake: Emotional upheaval. Empty and failure: Lack of energy and enthusiasm. Falling: Lack of confidence. Gall: Feelings of bitterness. Hole: A difficult or tricky situation; can also suggest emptiness. Hood: Deceit. Ice: Frozen emotions. Immobility: Feeling stuck. Leak: Losing energy. Leper: Feeling inferior or unworthy. Maggots: Impurities that can eat away at you; fears of death and illness. Mantis: Something devious within your life. Marsh: Feeling held back or bogged down. Mist: Emotional confusion. Noose: Fear of being trapped. Obscenity: lower aspects of the self. Parasites: Someone is attempting to live off your energy. Poverty: Feelin g deprived of the ability to satisfy your basic needs. Pus: Something which is festering and has gone bad in your life. Sadism: Desire to cause harm to yourself or others. Scar: Old hurts that have not been dealt with. Sick: Bad feelings you need to get rid of. Tar: Emotions have become contaminated. Torture: Trying to come to terms with a great hurt. Traitor: An aspect of yourself that is letting you down. Trespassing: Intruding on someone else’s personal space; lack of healthy boundaries. Unemployment: Not making the best use of your talents. Vampire: Fear of the unknown and negative energy. War: Conflict. Winter: Time in your life which is unfruitful. Wound: Hurt feelings or emotions. X: An error or something of which you need to take notice. Yawn: Boredom, but also a warning against aggression or abuse.
What sets birds apart is their ability to fly and escape the boundaries and limitations of earth.
For this reason, they are a universal symbol of transformation and the progress towards wholeness and harmony. Their association with the element of air—itself associated with aspirations and ideals—means they have also become a symbol of high-flying ambition and the quest for enlightenment. In Greek mythology, birds are often messengers of the gods, so in psychological terms they show that the unconscious is offering you wisdom and insight. Birds can take a bird’s-eye view of the world and are therefore associated with the ability to take an objective overview of a situation.
Birds can also symbolize relationships with other people. For example, thieving birds, such as magpies, may suggest a threat to a relationship and the possibility of an affair; territorial birds, such as blackbirds, might suggest jealousy. Baby birds of all species can symbolize relationships with children or dependents. Freud believed that birds were sexual symbols that represent the penis, whereas Jung believed that birds in dreams were messengers from the unconscious, offering insight and wisdom. Some people call women ‘birds’, and birds in dreams can sometimes denote the feminine principle or the anima in a man’s dream.
Birds in dreams therefore represent freedom, transformation, insight, objectivity, relationships, intuition and the ability to see the bigger picture. If you see a bird alight, appear or take flight in your dream, ask yourself if you are wishing you could escape from pressures and responsibilities. Do you want to be free from a situation and alight at pastures new? Do you want freedom from a particular relationship or an outstanding debt? Or is it an attitude or situation you want to rise above? Do you long to travel or take flight? Alternatively was your unconscious referring to a ‘flight of fancy’, something you were hoping and wishing for in waking life? Or do you need to see the bigger picture and leave the details behind? And finally, because your unconscious conjures up bird images to reflect certain attitudes or situations in life, you also need to consider the symbolism associated with the following bird situations and different types of birds. At all times, the condition or health of the bird is important. If the bird is suffering in any way, this will suggest a certain degree of frustration. If the bird is flying or is in good condition, feelings of freedom and liberation may be indicated.
For centuries it was considered a good omen to dream of birds, but bear in mind that there are also many negative superstitions about birds. Here are some well-known ones that might influence your dream interpretation and your feelings towards a particular bird, or birds in general: albatross, sign of bad luck; black crow, sign of misfortune; buzzard, beware of gossip; cock, if it crows good news; dove, peace; eagle, success in business; goose, improvement in fortune; hawk, a bright future; magpie, a change of plan; owl, disappointment; stork, family problems; and turkey, bad luck, unless you are eating or killing it.
Bird Types and Situations
BIRD COLOR
The colors, as well as the general interpretation for birds, are significant here. For example, black birds represent one’s shadow side and white birds one’s open, expressive and free side, whilst golden-winged birds represent ambition. A display of plumage represents the way you see yourself. Is the plumage a gorgeous display of vibrant color, or a disappointing shade of shabby brown? See also COLORS.
BIRD EGG
Often a symbol of money in dreams, as in ‘nest egg’. The condition that the egg is in will say a lot about your current financial situation, or your dreams of financial success. A clutch of eggs can also express your wish to have a large family, or represent the dawning of a new, exciting idea. If the eggs are smashed, have your dreams and hopes been smashed in some way? If you dream of hatching birds, this may suggest the birth of new ideas, projects and relationships, whilst if baby birds appear in your dreams, they are usually symbols of childhood and new beginnings.
BIRD’S