Theresa Cheung - The Element Encyclopedia of 20,000 Dreams - The Ultimate A–Z to Interpret the Secrets of Your Dreams

Animal noises

If you hear animals making soundsin your dream, you need to consider what these sounds mean to you in waking life and then to make a symbolic link. For example, if you hear an animal barking, wailing or whining for attention, these sounds could be calling your attention to the qualities that that particular animal represents to you. If you hear ominous growling, roaring or cackling, it could reflect pent-up anger either within yourself or another person. If you hear braying, it could indicate a need to overcome basic animal instincts. If you hear bleating, you may be taking on new cares and responsibilities that could be positive or negative depending on your attitude towards them. See also SENSES.

The symbol of a deep-rooted instinct or the beast within you. Freud suggested that dreams of wild animalsrepresented our most sensual passions, and sometimes the ‘evil instincts’ that lie deep within our unconscious. The more wild and dangerous the beast, the greater the danger that suppressed aspect of yourself will break free from the control of your conscious mind and force you to confront and deal with it in waking life. If you dream of a herd of wild animals, this could suggest you are meeting, or need to meet, aspects of yourself you have not yet learnt to direct or usefully integrate. Taming or harnessing a wild animalindicates a need to control your instincts and if possible make them productive and useful.

Do animals dream?

It seems that they do, although we can’t know for sure. All we can measure is whether or not they have REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, which is more or less associated with dreams. All mammals have REM sleep, and that increases the likelihood that they do dream.

Because REM sleep is recognizable in mammals and birds, but not in snakes and other reptiles, scientists think that most warm-blooded animals dream. Studies have monitored the sleep of goats, sheep, cats, dogs, rats, mice, monkeys and apes, and all had dream periods and symptoms; all except the spiny anteater, which seems to be a dream-free mammal.

Watch a sleeping dog or cat sometime, and you can tell if it is dreaming of running after something. Its eyes twitch, sometimes it moves its paws—something could be happening in its dreams.

To dream of wise animalssuggests important information from your intuition or inner wisdom. This intuitive wisdom is within every one of us and the result of thousands of years of life experience. Many cultures all over the world represent great wisdom and holiness as animals or animal-headed beings. To dream that animals can talkrepresents a wisdom inside yourself that is innocent and simple. It could also represent your potential to be all that you can be.

More than anything else, dream animals represent powerful instinctive reactions to situations, for example, fight or flight, the urge to find a mate and protect our young, the desire to have standing and recognition within a group, and so on. When instincts need to be understood, expressed or controlled in some way animals can often appear in our dreams to symbolize them. By understanding animals in dreams and the qualities they represent, we can approach life in a more instinctive, simple and natural way.

Bear in mind though that there is a huge difference in meaning between wild animals and domesticated animals in dreams. In general, domesticated animals or pets, such as a dog or rabbit, represent those urges we have more control over and are therefore less threatening to our conscious desire to be in charge. The wild animals we dream of are more threatening to our ego, but they are also more powerful, because if we can develop a working relationship with them they offer incredible potential for growth.

To dream of apes, monkeys, gorillas or baboonssuggests a link with the impulsive, imprudent, inquisitive side of ourselves, such as the self-centred grabbing of food, or sexual gratification without concern for the needs of the other person. It can also suggest the ability to mimic or copy, as well the childish, foolish and infantile side of the dreamer’s character that delights in mischief-making.

On the other hand, to dream of apes or monkeys, especially if they are white haired, can link in with the dreamer’s own unconscious wisdom: the wonderful experience of existing, of being alive with all the powers of a living creature such as strength, passion, awe and wonder in meeting life and the stars. Does your dream monkey reveal a wider side of you? The three mystic monkeys cover their eyes, ears and mouth showing that they ‘see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil’. Do you need to keep your own counsel?

Idioms: make a monkey of; monkey business; monkey with; monkey tricks; monkey’s uncle; monkey on your back.

Define what you associate with the badger. For most of us, the play on words will feature strongly as a dream about badgers can often refer to badgering people, or feeling badgered and needing to get away from the influence of other people.

Batscan see in the dark suggesting thoughts or influences that emerge from our intuition or inner wisdom.

Often represents the mother figure in dreams and depending on the dream, this image can be caring or uncaring, or possessive and all devouring. If the bear is recognized as male, then it could refer to an overbearing person, or perhaps the father figure in a person’s life.

The bear is largely a solitary animal that prefers to live and survive alone. This, and its human way of standing, may be major reasons for bears appearing in dreams. We can therefore link the bear with feelings about living alone or surviving by one’s own strength. Because of the bear’s ability to hibernate, it can also represent our ability to recreate ourselves after a period of rest and reflection.

Bears in dreams may also link to feelings we have about becoming independent, or meeting strength and independence in someone else, or even wild rage as ‘the bear with a sore head’. If the latter is the case, it could suggest your relationship with someone who is touchy or grouchy or powerfully possessive in a smothering relationship. It could also indicate the danger of sudden unpredictable reactions.

Idioms: look out also for possible plays on words, such as bare facts; bearing with something or someone; bearing ones soul; bearing in mind; a bearer of tidings; come to bear; overbearing; getting one’s bearings; bear fruit; bear-hug. If there is a hint of money in the dream, this might refer to a ‘bear market’. Does your dream bear mean that you need to take on the power of the bear? Can you ‘bear’ up—keep your spirits raised—or do you need to enlist help to do so?

Many dreams feature beasts or animals that are of no particular characteristic or type. In some cases the beast is terrifyingand we awake with a feeling of dread. Such creatures are usually an expression of memories, or instincts and drives, which have been repressed or avoided in our waking lives for one reason or another. See also SURREALISM AND FANTASY.