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

Idioms: act a part; act on impulse or information; acting up; caught in the act; get in on the act.

To dream that you are an artist painting a pictureis a reference to the creative and intuitive side of your character. The dream alerts you to talents that you may not know you have. It urges you to recognize the artist within, that aspect of yourself that is in contact with the irrational, creative side of your unconscious.

To dream that you are in front of an audiencesuggests that people you know in waking life are paying close attention to your actions. It could also refer to your fear of having your private thoughts and feelings discovered or revealed. If you are part of the audience, you need to pay attention to the plot of the play. Symbolically, the stage is a representation of your own life play. By observing and being objective about the action being played out, you can gain a new perspective on your life.

If you are attending an auditionin your dream, this could refer to feelings of insecurity about expressing yourself in waking life. You may also feel as if you are being put to the test in some way, or that you are in a vulnerable situation. The response of the audiencewill reveal how you feel others perceive you.

To dream of bookscan symbolize knowledge, wisdom, intelligence, the search for knowledge and the ability to learn from the opinions of other people. If you are surrounded by booksin your dreams, this might suggest that you are more concerned with theory than practice. Depending on the kinds of books that figure in your dream, they can also suggest the world of

Circus

Circusdreams represent the instinctive, passionate, creative sides of our nature. How well are these instincts performing? Have they been brought under control? If you’re enjoying the performance, this suggests that you are expressing your creativity. If you dislike or are bored by the performance, your dream mirrors a sense of frustration in your daily life. If you are performing in the circusit might be a sign that you need a more fulfilling job where you can show off your talents. If an animal escapesor you feel unhappy about the animals being involved in the performance, this could indicate a change of direction in your life or a love interest outside marriage. The circus audiencein your dream is also significant because it suggests how your efforts are being received in waking life. Finally, don’t forget that circus dreams may simply be an observation that your waking life resembles a chaotic circus and has become thoroughly disorganized.

If your unconscious portrayed you as a juggler in your dream, was it referring to the many commitments you have to juggle or manage in your waking life? Did you drop any of your dream balls or did you keep them in the air? If you were walking a tightrope or performing acrobaticsin dreamland, this may suggest that you feel you are treading a fine line to maintain balance in a tricky situation in waking life. If you were dressed as a clown, sporting a huge smile painted on your face, do you feel under pressure to present a cheerful front to others during your waking hours, when you actually feel the opposite? If someone you know was transformed into a clown, they may be the ones feeling under pressure to ‘perform’ in waking life. Also consider if your dream clown was a manifestation of the archetypal trickster/clownwhose jokes have a serious meaning.

imagination and escape. Are you surrounded by literary novels, racy best-sellers or fascinating biographies? If the books are very old, this suggests learning and inherited wisdom. If the books are account books, this indicates a need to take care of financial matters.

Sacred books, such as the Koran or the Bible, signify a search for hidden or sacred knowledge. Dreaming of a sacred book can also represent a need to know you are heading in the right direction. To dream of an encyclopediasuggests a hunger for knowledge and new experience, as an encyclopedia represents collective human wisdom. On the other hand, it can also suggest information overload and a need to find focus. To dream you are searching in a dictionarysuggests a need to find answers to a particular problem or situation in your life. It can also suggest an over-reliance on the opinions of others. If you look up a particular wordin your dream, this can be very significant ( see LETTERS AND COMMUNICATION; SOUNDS). Finally, a poem is the ultimate form of self-expression, so if you are a poet, or a poet figures in your dream, or you are reading poetry, your unconscious is urging you to find a creative outlet in waking life.

In dreams, dancing and skating( see ACCIDENTS, ACTION AND ADVENTURES) usually express a sense of happiness and celebration, or a freedom of movement and emotion. Perhaps you are feeling pleased about a particular project or relationship. You may also be feeling a sense of freedom from restraint. Other things may also be expressed by dance. For example, if you danced with another person, the intimacy could suggest sexual intercourse. If a man and a woman dance together, it could suggest a union of the masculine and feminine aspects of your personality. If, however, the dance was awkward, this suggests a lack of harmony. Animals dancingcan suggest a feeling of harmony with your unconscious drives and sexuality. Skeletons and dark things dancingsuggest meeting what you fear in your waking life.

This could simply mean that you have latent artistic talents that should be given expression. But it can have other meanings. Are you overdrawn at the bank? Are you drawing on inner resources? What you draw is very significant, as it can reveal the issues and problems you are trying to resolve in waking life. An ancient tradition says that if a woman dreams she is drawing with a pencil and then rubs it out, her lover will be unfaithful.

Actors use make-upto help convince their audience that they are not themselves, but someone else. In waking life, are you—for good or bad reasons—involved in some kind of deception?

In dreams, museumstypically suggest old-fashioned ideas or ways of thinking. They can also represent places where we store cherished memories; the living past within us that we can learn from, but also need to move away from in order to progress.

Many of the world’s greatest composers claimed that they heard their greatest works whilst dreaming, or immediately after waking. Mystics talk of the musicof the spheres, the ethereal music that symbolizes the harmony of the universe. In dreams, music represents harmony and the creative potential. Your dream music can also express the emotions you are currently feeling in waking life. Is the tone happy, sad, angry or threatening? If the music you hear is discordant, it may suggest that your creative potential isn’t being expressed. See also SOUNDS.