Theresa Cheung - The Dream Dictionary from A to Z [Revised edition] - The Ultimate A–Z to Interpret the Secrets of Your Dreams

See also LETTERS OF THE ALPHABET.

ALUMINUM

See METAL .

AMBITIONAccording to Adler, dreams are an expression of our ambitious desire for power and success, a way of overcompensating for shortcomings in our waking life. For example, if a person is unable to stand up to their boss, they may safely lash out in anger at them in a dream. Thus dreams offer some sort of satisfaction that is socially acceptable.

Although some dreams can be interpreted as wish-fulfillment, most modern dream researchers believe that dreams have another purpose, to periodically present us with reports on our progress to date. Sometimes these updates are purely expressions of wish-fulfillment, and therefore easy to interpret: for example, those fantastic dreams in which you win the lottery, or audition successfully for the lead role in a Hollywood blockbuster. Sometimes, though, dreams are harder to interpret because the dreaming mind speaks in the confusing language of symbols. Understanding such dreams is, however, important because they often contain pertinent observations and warnings – not yet registered by the conscious mind – that can help us achieve our goals in waking life.

AMBULANCEThe appearance of an ambulance in a dream typically suggests feelings of panic and emergency about a specific situation or person.

AMBUSHDreams in which you ambush or abduct someone reflect your desperation in waking life to ward off potential humiliation. If the person you are ambushing is someone you know, you also need to consider if you are secretly envious of this person in waking life. If this is the case, your unconscious may have been expressing your desire to capture or kidnap the qualities you admire and make them your own. Alternatively, you may have a hidden desire to control that person. If, however, you were ambushed, abducted, or kidnapped in your dream, this suggests that someone or something in your waking life is trying to take control of you. Your dream expresses your surprise and uncertainty about losing control.

AMETHYST

See GEMSTONES .

AMMUNITIONBullets or ammunition can suggest verbal attacks in the context of dream conflicts. If the ammunition belongs to someone else, this represents things that you feel other people can use against you, such as lies, anger, and so on. If you have the ammunition, it can represent assets you have that can build your confidence, things you could say or do to wound others if you had to. If you run out or don’t have any ammunition, you may be feeling hopeless about a situation and unable to defend your position.

AMNESIATypically a sign of avoidance or repression of something or someone in your waking life, but can also suggest unfulfilled potential.

AMUSEMENT PARKDreams in which you are visiting an amusement park may be a sign that you may need to incorporate more enjoyment within your life. They can also be symbolic of things that can easily distract you from your tasks. If the amusement park is empty or seems shut down, it signifies the need to stop taking yourself so seriously. Consider also how everything in the park is an expression of some aspect of yourself.

See also FAIRGROUND.

ANCHOR

See ABANDONMENT .

ANESTHETICIf you dream that you are having an anesthetic or are being put to sleep for an operation, this suggests that you may be trying to escape reality in some way in waking life or attempting to deaden some emotional pain. There may be something in life you don’t want to face or simply want to forget about for a while. The answer may be simple as taking a much-needed vacation.

ANGELAngels are celestial messengers sent to guard over us. To imagine one appearing is a symbol of spiritual protection and inspiration. If angels give you advice in a dream, what they tell you should always be taken very seriously. Nowadays, with a greater acceptance of the appearance of angelic figures, they are once again accepted as messengers of enlightenment. If you are religious, visions of an angel in your dream may be taken as validation of belief, but if you are not religious, you can take solace in the thought that you have a spiritual protector watching over you. Another interpretation suggests that dreaming of an angel suggests you are searching for this unconditional love and support in waking life, and the dream is urging you to find these qualities within yourself.

See also ARCHETYPES .

ANGERIn a dream scenario, anger may express the tension between your conscious and unconscious urges. The aggressor in the dream will often represent the part of you that is demanding to be acknowledged. Freud spoke of an aggressive drive which he believed revealed itself in all walks of life and in all types of people. He believed that the aggressive drive was just as much present in sex as in war. Alfred Adler, an early disciple of Freud, believed that anger was the most fundamental force of the psyche and, if repressed, it could express itself in dream images of anger and aggression. Whatever may be the trigger, anger is one of the most common emotions to express itself in dreams, either by physical violence or by using symbols of anger such as weapons. Such dreams are likely to continue until the trigger for your anger is discovered and dealt with.

If a person has recurring dreams in which they are assaulting, raping, or attacking someone, this suggests deep-rooted sexual problems that they might want to talk over with a doctor. A single dream in which aggression, sexual or otherwise, occurs is not so worrying and is actually quite common. Such a dream will be expressing negative feelings of anger, hostility, rejection, embarrassment, or envy that have probably been repressed in waking life. Dreams of assassination or murder have the same interpretation. Dreams in which you are evicting someone from their home or your home suggests that there is something in your life you are angry about and of which you desire to be rid. This may be some characteristic within yourself or another person. Dreams that focus on ambushing may have the same theme, but in this case there may be something about the person or thing being ambushed that you want to possess yourself.

Libel dreams in which you are attacking someone verbally may suggest that you are spreading vicious rumors or someone is spreading them about you. Any dream in which you have a feud, dispute, or attack suggests either a disagreement with someone in your waking life or inner conflict with an aspect of your character. Dreams in which you are rebelling against someone or something have the same interpretation. Pay attention to the atmosphere of your dream as it may reveal much about your emotional state at present. The dream may also be describing your feelings of being threatened.

ANIMA/ANIMUSA part of our persona is the role of male or female we must play. For most people, that gender role is determined by their physical sex. But Jung, like Freud and Adler and others, felt that we are all really bisexual in nature. When we begin our lives in the womb, we have undifferentiated sex organs that only gradually become male or female, under the influence of hormones. Likewise, when we begin our social lives as infants, we are neither male nor female in the social sense until society molds us into men or women.

In all societies, the expectations placed on men and women differ, but in our society today we have many remnants of traditional expectations. Women are still expected to be homemakers and nurturers; men are still expected to be strong breadwinners. But Jung felt these expectations meant that we had developed only half of our potential.