Dreaming of Snow

 

In dreams, snow is a rich, layered symbol. Its meaning often depends on how the snow appears, how you feel, and what is happening around it. Here are the most common interpretations. 

Stillness & Pause

Snow often signals a natural slowing down. Life may be asking you to rest, reflect, or suspend action for a while. You may be in a between phase,  not moving forward, but not going backward either. This can be restorative rather than negative.

Emotional Coolness or Distance

Snow can symbolize emotional numbness, detachment, or holding feelings at bay. This might be self-protective (you needed space). Or it may point to emotions that are “frozen” and waiting to be felt safely. Are you avoiding something emotional right now or protecting yourself?

Purity, Cleansing, Fresh Start

Fresh snow often represents cleansing, innocence, or a desire to begin again. This could be a clean slate or washing away past experiences representing a kind of renewal. 

Isolation or Loneliness

Snow can create silence and separation. This includes feeling unseen, emotional solitude or being on your own in a situation. While it can mean sadness - sometimes it reflects chosen solitude or sacred alone time.

Dormancy (Not Death)

Just like winter in nature, snow symbolizes life resting beneath the surface. This could mean that Ideas, creativity, or desires are incubating.. Nothing looks active but growth is coming.

This is especially meaningful if you’re worried that “nothing is happening” in your waking life.

How Context Changes the Meaning

• Gentle falling snow -  peace, acceptance, emotional softness
• Deep snow you’re walking through - slow progress, effort, perseverance
• Snowstorm / blizzard - overwhelm, confusion, emotional shutdown
• Melting snow -  emotional thawing, healing, truth emerging
• Footprints in snow - your unique path, past actions leaving a trace

A Reflective Question for You

Snow dreams often ask:

What in my life is quiet right now and is it asking for patience, warmth, or awakening?

Dreaming of Rabbits

 

It's my birthday. I take a cake out of a box. It blows up into a huge, pink bunny. 

I was in my childhood house. My cat changed into a small, white rabbit with red eyes. I had learned a spell to change her back but couldn't remember the right magic word.  So, my cat was this sad, white rabbit hopping around my parents' backyard. I didn't want to lose her.

Dreaming of Animals in General 

Animal symbols in our dreams can symbolize many things. Sometimes, an animal can represent a totem animal or spirit guide. (See Dreaming of A Bear), Animals in dreams can also exhibit qualities about ourselves or others that we might want to investigate further. Recurring animals dreams (See Dreaming of Rats) could happen in order to get our attention and can relate to phobias. 

Psychological Meaning

Freud, of course, saw animal dreams connecting to your sexual nature. Humans have tended to think of animals representing our most base, primitive selves. Carl Jung noted that animals in dreams symbolize our instincts. 

 Symbolism of Animals in Dreams

If you dream about an animal, you should then look at the symbolism of the particular animal. This includes universal symbolic meaning as well as what that animal personally means to you (i.e. Did you have a rabbit as a beloved pet? Or were you bitten by a wild rabbit as a child? ). How you feel about your dream symbol contributes greatly to your dream meaning.

Rabbit Symbol Meanings

A Rabbit has a few different symbolic meanings. The first ones are related to the general characteristics of a rabbit.

• fertility and sexual activity
• warmth 
• shyness or timidity
• hopping (as in hopping from one thing to the next - not staying put)
• loyalty

There are also universal symbols associated with the rabbit.

• good luck omen (the lucky rabbit's foot)
• magical power (the magician pulls a rabbit out of a hat)
• success is coming
• a good omen for love

Why is the Rabbit Considered Lucky?

There is no definitive answer to how the tradition of carrying a rabbit's foot came about or saying "rabbit rabbit" to bring you luck. One thought is related to the old tradition of carrying a dead criminal's  hand as a powerful charm or amulet, "The Hand of Glory" (obviously rabbits' feet would be easier to get than dead criminals' hands!) Additionally, the rabbit's foot might correspond to the good event connected to the place it was taken from (i.e. the location of a battle won). 

Does Colour Matter?

Colour does matter in dreams, as different colours have different meanings. In my case, I think the fact that the rabbit was white was significant. For one thing, it reminds me of the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland who served as a guide for Alice on her adventures. White also represents purity. Red in dreams signifies passion or war but a white rabbit with red eyes is actually an albino rabbit so I don't think the colour of the eyes in this case in significant. It was just a common rabbit type.

Phrases Related to Rabbits

Sometime there are sayings or phrases that literally relate to your dreams. Some common ones that relate to rabbits are:

• Going down the rabbit hole  - being led somewhere or deep diving into the unknown
• Pulling a rabbit out of a hat - you were lucky
• As mad as a March hare - crazy
• Going at it like rabbits - self explanatory:)

Interpretation of My Dreams

These dreams happened on different days. In the first dream, I take the fact that the dream was about my birthday to interpret the rabbit as a good sign for luck in the next year. Big luck! (related to the big size of the rabbit).

In the second dream, there are many factors contributing the to interpretation. First, where the dream takes place: my childhood home. A childhood home can represent your past (See Dreaming of a House).  Secondly, my cat. I see my cat representing a spiritual guide (See Dreaming of Cats). I was uncomfortable about her transforming into a rabbit and the magic involved in that. It did not seem she was happy with being a rabbit and I was afraid to lose her. So, while the image of the white rabbit represents luck coming, maybe I feel like it will not be within my control or that I have to control it somehow? Lots to think about. I should try going back into the dream and seeing where the white rabbit might take me. 

"Depend on the Rabbit's Foot if you will, but remember it didn't work for the rabbit!" - R. E. Shay

Dreaming of a Name

In my dream I lived next door to a man. In real life, it was an old boyfriend, but in my dream he went by the name of Charles Lieberman. In the dream, he was more of a neighbour figure. He had a large house with a hot tub and a big tree. I knew I recognized him from before but I accepted him as this new, unknown person. He said, "Call me Chuck."

There have been a few times in my life where I have dreamt of a name. Usually, when I look it up, however, I can't see the connection. Sometimes it's a full name but other times all I get is an initial or the beginning of a name. (For example, E.... like Ed? Edward? Eric?)

Do Names in Dreams Have Meaning?

We know that in dreams things are never quite what they seem. An image of someone you think you know might actually stand for someone else. Or the person you see in dreams may be a composite of many different people. (When I dream of a man it will often switch between my ex-husband, my dad or a boyfriend and I take that to be "a male figure of importance".) So, it might not seem to matter what your dream image's name is. However, I feel like when the name is emphasized, like you can see it in writing, how it's spelled, that is an important aspect of the dream to remember.

Some Examples of Names in Dreams

Sometimes, names are given to you by someone in the dream. As seen in the photo above,  the angel Gabriel came to Joseph in a dream and told him to call Mary's baby Jesus. The name Jesus literally means rescuer or messiah. I would say the first step in deciphering what a name means, if it does not have an obvious connection to your life, is to look up the meaning of the name. There are all kinds of lists online that will give you some suggestions. Maybe the name in the dream is referring to a quality you or someone else embody? Like Audrey (bravery), John (grace), or Lucifer (the devil) for example.

Also, when a dream images introduces itself to you by name, that's important. The most well-known example that comes to mind is from The Christmas Carol where each ghost that visits Scrooge introduces himself by name -  "I am the Ghost of Christmas Past....". In the story, this helps to set the stage for Scrooge (and the readers) to give it context. And aren't dreams essentially just stories we are creating in our head to make sense of life?

Names give us, and other people, identity. If you dream that you or someone else has a different name, maybe that means the identity has changed or is in transition?

The Meaning of the Name

 I looked up the meaning of the word Charles - it means free man! (I guess that might means he's still single:) I love the urban dictionary definition of the name: "awesome, fucking awesomest person the world, attractive, smart, loyal, best friend you could ever have..." Sounds like the perfect neighbour, right? And the nickname he gave, Chuck, makes him even more so! Then I looked up the last name, Lieberman, which means dear or beloved. Wow, could this guy be any greater!

The reason I am writing this blog post is because when Googled the name I was given in the dream, Charles Lieberman if you remember, I was a little surprised to see what it said. The first person listed ended up being a famous ENT (ears, nose, throat) specialist in the States. This may not mean anything to anybody else but, since I have been struggling with undiagnosed ear issues for a couple of years now, I found it very interesting! I admit I was taken aback actually because my dream was not specifically about my ear issues nor I had even been thinking about them. It was kind of like a gift my dream gave me (so maybe dreams aren't just stories after all?).  I now need to explore this theme and the writings of the real C.L. further. Maybe my reading will lead me to find a cure for my condition? Or maybe I need to investigate the idea of hearing/not hearing more within the dream?   I will keep you posted!

Dreaming of a Tsunami

                                                 Photo by Cristian Vazquez from Pixbay


I'm at school teaching a small group of students. We hear there is going to be a Tsunami so we all head home. My dad/boyfriend/ex (not sure who it is because it keeps changing) is driving me home to our house which is an older style (not really my house). As I look out the left window, I see a Tsunami churning at the bottom of the street. I tell my dad that we have to go up to the second floor. He is resists this idea but eventually we do. I still think we need to go even higher, like to the roof of the house because I can see the water has risen all the way up our house. 
It's the next day and the water has receded. We are outside. The house is soggy and damp but still intact. I wonder if all the school people are okay.


Tsunami Symbol

I have never dreamt of a tsunami before. Generally, this symbol represents repressed feelings or emotions. In my dream, the tsunami was churning which is a good way to describe emotions (the churning feeling in your stomach). In reality, a tsunami is a large, catastrophic event that can cause a lot of damage.

Meaning of the Left Side in Dreams

In my dream, I looked out the left window of the house to observe the tsunami. In dreams, the symbol of a house represents yourself and different rooms mean various things (see articles Dreaming of a House, Dreaming of a House Surrounded By Water, Dreaming of a House, Basement and Hell). When you look to the left side you are perhaps looking at things from a different angle (versus the RIGHT side). On the other hand, the left side of the brain is commonly regarded as the more logical, rationale way of thinking.

Meaning of the Second Floor

Again to do with the House symbol (see above), the second floor represents your higher self, whereas the first or ground floor deal with more basic needs. In my dream, I felt the need to go to this higher place in order to be safe. I had difficulty convincing my dad to do this. After the water reached the second floor I wanted to go even higher. The Roof Symbol suggests ambition (climb to the top) as well as heightened awareness.

School Symbol

Because I am a teacher, I often dream of a school so for me the general symbol of school being a place to learn is also a place of stress, feelings of inadequacy, anything that would generally be related to a job. (You can read more about the school symbol in Naked Teacher Dreams, Dreaming of Being Stabbed and Dreaming of Birds). In this dream, I would see the school symbol first of all, as symbolizing this is a dream where I will learn something important, and second, representing my regular, every day life.

Symbol of the Male Figure

In my dream, the male figure changed from being my boyfriend/ex-husband then finally settling on being my father. The male symbol in my dreams usually means a person judging me. As well, it could suggest the opposite to my feminine side, a more rational way of thinking. Because my father has also passed away, I take dreams involving him to have a special message for me. (See Dreaming of the Dead).

The Interpretation

You can see that this was a dream with many different symbols that contributed to its overall meaning. I know from past interpretations of dreams, that some of the symbols have a unique meaning to me, while others are more general. The message I take from this dream is to be prepared for an event that will cause me some emotional turmoil. In order to face this and have a good outcome, I need to look at it from a different and higher perspective, in fact, the highest consciousness I can.

Dreaming of a House, a Basement and Hell

I am living in a house that is not mine in real life. Two men come to look at it to buy. As I show them around, I realize that I haven't been in the living room for a year because last year's Christmas tree is still there, dead pine needles and all. I also realize that there is major water damage, it is all soggy along the carpet and walls. "You're going to have to get this fixed," the man said. As I continued to lead him through the house I saw corridors and rooms I had never seen before. I was surprised but also delighted by so many cute rooms! One hallway led to the basement which was a huge underground cave, there was a dark beach area with water. Hundreds of people were in the water. I knew immediately that this was hell. I had been living in a house where hell was in the basement...I wasn't that disturbed by it, the people in the water seemed like lost souls but not scary at all. I was concerned, however, when my daughter ventured into the water. I was afraid the people would pull her in so I called her back.

Most dreams feature a combination of images, that when put together, lead to a richer interpretation of a dream. When you dream of a house, it symbolizes your inner psyche and the different rooms represent different areas of your life. 

 Living Room Symbol

A living room is generally a room where families and friends gather to socialize and celebrate. Since, in the dream, I hadn't used the living room in a year, points to the fact that in waking life, I have been neglecting that social side of my life. The damage to the carpet could suggest that my social standing is unstable and needs to be fixed.

Hallways and Corridors

These represent a transition in life, going somewhere, or a journey into self-awareness.

Basement Symbol

The basement is a symbol of your unconscious - things you have kept buried inside you and might not want to acknowledge in waking life.

Hell

Most people would view the image of Hell to be a symbol of suffering, guilt of sin but in my dream, it was more of a neutral waiting place. Water as a symbol can mean a cleansing of sins, which is what these people might have been undergoing. I don't think that I had to take part in this cleansing, in fact, I felt it was dangerous and pulled my daughter out. My daughter, who by the way is very religious, so maybe that represented saving her from religious ideologies such as the belief in hell? There is an idea (as seen in mythology) that once you have confronted hell you have confronted the dark side of your personality. I find the dichotomy between the "living" room and basement of the dead very interesting. This is a dream I will definitely ponder for years to come.

Dreaming Of A Sink Filled With Water

 I dreamt I was in a house that was supposed to belong to me but my ex-husband was there. I was about to go on a trip but I noticed that there were three sinks in the bathroom and they were all filled with water. My ex said that is what you were supposed to do before you went on a trip as a precaution.  It was a way to prepare the house for my departure and my return.

Dreaming of a Bathroom

As I've talked about in a previous post (Dreaming of a House Surrounded by Water), dreaming of a house represents your inner self and soul. The specific rooms of a house relate to specific areas of your life. A bathroom relates to your emotional psyche, the need to cleanse yourself or eliminate.

The Sink Symbol

The sink is usually where you wash your hands, which can be symbolic of getting rid of a situation. (think Lady Macbeth). Water as a symbol, (Dreaming of a Lake) can also represent cleansing.

In my dream, the basins reminded me of the baptism basins in a church where they keep the holy water. This is interesting because there were three sinks, unusual in a bathroom. The number three (see Numbers in Dreams) can represent the Trinity (three in one).

I'm not sure why my ex would tell me to leave the water in the sinks.  I don't usually see him in my dreams as a helpful guide...but it could be a suggestion to keep something filled and prepared for something in the future.

Dreaming of a Wheelchair, Airport and Golf Club

I dreamt that I was in a wheelchair going through airport customs holding a golf club in my hand. There was nothing wrong with me so I don't know why I was in the wheelchair. The customs agent told me I would have to check both the wheel-chair and the golf club so she took them away. I was concerned because they didn't have any tags or packaging so I didn't know if they would be okay or get lost.

There are a few images in this dream - an airport, customs, golf club and wheelchair. To put the dream into context, I have been learning to play golf and have been contemplating taking a trip. The wheelchair image, however, completely baffled me. I don't think I have ever dreamt about that symbol before.


The Wheelchair 

Being in a wheelchair in your dream can mean that you are feeling helpless. Interestingly, chairs traditionally represent female sexuality. The image of a wheel represents the need to move forward.

In my dream, this aid was taken away from me and I was concerned, even though I didn't really need it. This suggests that I have been relying on something that I don't really need to. I need to, literally, "stand on my own two feet" in order to make changes.

An Airport

This image represents a place of transition. Being in departures means new beginnings on a journey. The area of Customs in an airport is a place where you are told what you are allowed to do. Things can be taken from you that you don't want to give up. In this sense in my dream, the customs agent can be seen as a sort of spiritual guide.

The Golf Club

As I said, I have been learning to play golf. In golf, you are basically competing against yourself, so it suggests self-sufficiency. A golf club can be used as a weapon (think Tiger Wood's ex-wife smashing his car...) and in my dream, I was kind of holding it like that. Specifically, the club that I held was a driver, which could represent my own "drive" to move forward.

Putting It All Together

It is so interesting to see how these symbols relate to each other and overlap in meaning. As well, seemingly random images, that I thought were just remnants of my waking life,  actually have meaning too. My takeaway from my dream then is that I am on a spiritual journey or in a transition to something new, but I have to let go of both my drive and feelings of helplessness in order to continue.

Dreaming of French Fries and other Random Things

I am riding in the back seat of a car with my children. My husband is driving in a crazy, manic, manner. Suddenly, my children and I are transformed into giant french fries, in a fast food box, and we are limply flopping around.

Sometimes dreams can contain really random images(see Kim Kardashian's Mushrooms) I can't remember if I had french fries to eat that night, that would explain a lot.

According to many dream dictionaries, french fries can symbolize frivolous things. They could also suggest aspects of the fast food culture like cheap ingredients, cheap prices, or lower class culture. Based on these meanings, dreaming of french fries could suggest that you are experiences these things or feelings in your waking life.

In my dream, I was left with a feeling of being helpless and out of control, like a limp french fry flopping around in a container I was afraid to fall out of. My dream seemed to suggest that I was feeling this way, helpless and without control in a relationship where my husband was is the driver's seat.

What are some random images that have shown up in your dreams?

Dreaming of Kites

I am flying through the air on a kite. My body is the frame, my arms are tied to the corners of the kite but I don't feel bound. I love the feeling of soaring. It is a beautiful, sunny day. When I look down I can see that a man is holding the string attached to the kite, essentially flying me. It's okay, I'm not worried. Then another man takes over. He and his friend laugh as he unspools the string so I go higher and higher into the sky. Now, I'm worried as I look down to the ground. I am way too high, I don't like the feeling. I convince the man to let me down. I land safely on the ground.

Usually, people dream of flying kites themselves. This kind of dream deals with feelings about new pursuits or ventures. You are in control. If the kite crashes to the ground, this may indicate that things won't turn out well. If the string breaks, your venture may not be under your control anymore.

Kites usually represent a playful time in childhood with positive connotations.

It seems to be a variation of a flying dream. In these dreams you feel euphoric, like you can overcome anything. But in contrast, To dream of flying on a kite suggests that something comes with strings attached. Someone is literally pulling the strings behind the scenes. You are not in control.

Dreaming of A Baby

image from wikimedia.org

A friend told me this dream: I dreamed I had a baby I was taking care of. He was covered in excrement. I was trying to clean it off.

When people dream of a baby the temptation is to take the dream literally, especially if you're a woman. Does it mean you're going to have a baby? Not necessarily because the baby symbol can also be interpreted metaphorically.

A baby can symbolize new birth or creation of something new in your life.

People often refer to a project as "my baby" inferring something near and dear to their heart. To dream that the baby is your own suggests you have control over the project. To dream you are taking care of someone else's baby implies that you feel burdened with responsibility that is not your own.

The behaviour or needs of the baby suggest what aspects you may be experiencing with your project. For example, an crying baby could mean you should attend more closely to the project. A baby covered in excrement could represent the feeling that the project needs to be "cleaned up" in some way.

If you've ever had a "baby" dream please comment and share below.

Dreaming of a Cat

Last night both my daughters had dreams about our cat. Here is one:
"In my dream our black cat got out of our house and was on the road. I was afraid my mom was going to run over her. The cat lay down like she was dead but she wasn't. She leaped up and did a star jump and then jumped into a tree. Then a little white cat with one blue and one green eye was helping us find her."

Cats, like other animals that appear in dreams, often take the form of a helper or guide. (See Dreaming of a Bear). The qualities that cats show, like stealth, independence, curiousity, and the will to survive, can suggest qualities that we need to cultivate in ourselves.


Jung saw cats as a symbol of our secretive or hidden nature. Cats most often appear to women in dreams and suggest womanly or goddess like aspects. (For example, Bast the Egyptian Cat Goddess that has two sides - one devious and one helpful).

In my daughter's dream, the cat represented a pet. Pets symbolize unconditional love while a dead pet represents a loss of innocence or the end of childhood. For a child to dream of a pet suggests feelings of dependency or desiring love from a parent.

I think that in my preteen daughter's dream, the black cat represents her ambivalent feelings of dependency on me (her mother). She might feel like she is struggling with these feelings but the transformation of the cat (the star jump and jump into the tree where she can't be found or touched) suggest feelings of independence. The little white cat seems to represent a helper animal (and coincidentally resembles a pet I had in childhood) that could help her to feel comforted and safe.

Has anyone else had a Cat Dream they would like to share? Or dreams about pets?

Dreaming of Hats

I took a crumpled straw hat I owned into the milliner to get fixed. When it was finished I put it on my head and I looked like a Gibson girl, complete with ringlets around my face. I thought I looked very jaunty and nice. image by antiquephotoparlour.com

I think this is the first dream I have ever had of dreaming of a hat but it seems like it would be an important dream symbol.

Dreaming of clothes in general usually have to do with your self image and how you perceive you appear to others. Jung saw hats as a symbol of thought and new ideas while Freud, as usual, saw the hat as a sexual symbol.

Styles of hats can suggest a profession that the dreamer could benefit from learning from (i.e. a nurse's cap could suggest healing while a policeman's hat represents authority). Hats from a different era could suggest to the dreamer that she has, or could develop, qualities that the era is associated with.

In my dream I first thought the hat was in the 1920's style (a period that I have always admired) but when I really looked at it I saw the Gibson Girl. The Gibson Girl was the epitomy of the American feminine ideal of beauty in the late 1800's to early twentieth century. She was upper class and ladylike but also athletic, independent yet tradional. In fact, she would have been the type of woman that the 1920's flapper would have rebelled against with her long, piled up hair and corsetted wasp-waist.

Dreaming of clothing makes sense to me right now as I am feeling judged by my peers. By putting on the Gibson Girl hat symbolizes the qualities that I wish people would see in me (ladylike, traditional) although by nature I identify much more with the twenties girls.

I would be interested to hear other dreams people have had about hats. Please share in the comments below.

Dreaming of Birds

(image by let-it-die)

I am back at my old elementary school, standing on the asphalt and playing a kind of tennis game. In this game someone hits live birds to me and I catch them with my hand. I can feel the soft, warm, fluffiness in my hand and when I move my fingers to look, I see that the bird is a black-headed, white-bodied chickadee. I release each one after I catch them. I feel good.

I am on my backyard deck. One by one three different birds come to land on the railing in a row. There is a pelican, an eagle and a crane. They are all large birds. I wake up feeling like this is a significant symbol.

Since ancient times, birds have been a symbol of transformation and wholeness. The Greeks saw birds as messengers of the Gods and Jung also saw birds as messengers of the unconscious. Freud believed that birds represented the penis (but didn't he see almost everything as representing that part of the anatomy???). To the superstitious, birds can be good omens or bad ones depending on the bird.

Since different types of birds represent different things, in this post I'm going to focus on the birds represented in my own dreams.

In my first dream it is interesting that the colours black and white are representative of ones shadow and expressive side (yin and yang). Chickadees and other small birds can represent children or small miracles. I'm also reminded of the saying, "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." I feel like this dream was speaking to me about the blessings that may be coming my way and I only have to reach out and grab them (and then be willing to gently let them go).

The large birds in my second dream are a powerful unconscious symbol. Eagles can symbolize power and intellect. Cranes represent maternal love and kindness while pelicans symbolize devotion and sacrifice. The fact that these birds came to me in a trinity of three (see my post about "Dreaming of Numbers") is also a powerful symbol of unity and wholeness. Unfortunately, since this is a dream I had many years ago, I can't remember what was going on in my life at the time but I think it might have been a message more about the universe and universal truths than it was about me.

Please share your own dreams about birds in the comments below.

Dreaming of a Lake: Water Symbols and Healing Dreams

photo by MSVG - Michael Gil


In my dream I'm at a lake. Not in it - but I am doing things by it. In one scene, I am in a dormitory by the lake. There are twisty passages that a scrappy young girl leads me through. In another scene I am climbing up a vine covered cliff on the side of the lake. It is hard but I'm with a group of teenage girls who are encouraging me. In the final scene, I am in a golden, forest edged field on the side of the lake. I am playing a running game with some kids. I woke up from the dream feeling thankful and rejuvinated.

Water, in dreams, often stands as a symbol of your emotional state. While rapids or churning water can represent agitation, the still waters of a lake indicate calmness.

In Mythology, lakes are places of healing and spirituality. Both the Lady of the Lake of Arthurian legend, as well as the Greek sea nymph Thetis, were spiritual beings that inhibited the still waters and provided guidance to mortals who made the pilgrimage to see them.

When you dream of a lake you have the potential to access your source of power and deep emotional well being.In my dream, I do think the lake symbolized this and the adolescent girls were there as my guides.

What places in your dreams heal you? Leave me a comment below.