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

In dreams, doing any handicraft, from embroidery to pottery, suggests that we have situations in hand, but also that we need to take responsibility for our actions. Pay particular attention both to what is being made and to how well it is being made, as it will reflect a situation in your waking life.

If you were knitting or doing crochet, the symbols may be indicative of some waking situation. For example, if you dropped a stitchin the dream, have you been tactless in waking life? If there was a break in your yarn, have you argued with someone? Woolhas from the earliest of times represented warmth and protection, and if you are knitting with wool or see woolin your dreams, it can suggest gentleness or motherly qualities within yourself. Be aware, too, of the phrase ‘pulling the wool over someone’s eyes’. There might be things that you don’t know about or don’t wish to see at the present time.

If you are making a scrapbookin your dreams, or looking through one, this is about making memories. Are you taking the time to treasure the uniqueness of each new day in your waking life?

If you are sewingin your dreams, your dream may be suggesting that your waking life has been taken over by boredom and routine. This is because sewing requires constant attention to detail and much of the work is repetitive. Your dream may be urging you to broaden your horizons. If you are sewing pieces of fabric togetherin your dream, this may suggest that you are bringing aspects of your life together.

A dream of a seed or a pipmay suggest the germ of an idea that will grow into something important, if you find the determination and patience to follow it through. A dream about spreading manurecarries the same implication, suggesting that an idea or notion needs feeding and nurturing. See also NATURE AND THE SEASONS.

If you are a creative person, a dream about making a potmay refer to another aspect of your life that is just as important as your creative work. If you are not creative, such a dream may suggest the need to find ways to express your creativity in waking life. Try to recall every detail of what you are making. To see, or work with, clayin your dream represents the ability to change or shape your mind. Alternatively, it indicates your need to set some goals and plans for yourself. You have some growing-up to do and need to plan for the future. According

Mending

To dream that you are mending a garmentsymbolizes your attempts to fix a problem or situation in waking life. In your dream, are your attempts successful or are you frustrated by lack of resources?

Buttons

Buttonshold things together and are used to open and close garments. In your waking life, are you opening or closing yourself to others?

Needle

In dreams, needlessignify the power to heal through penetration. In other words, some concept or knowledge has to be introduced from outside. This may feel uncomfortable at first but it will eventually make us feel better. Depending on whether or not you are using the needle or it is being used on you, the ability to have penetrative insights can come from within or without. From a Freudian perspective, the needle can also suggest masculine sexuality.

Pins

If you dream that you are pricked by a pin, this signifies a difficult situation or relationship. You may be feeling anxious or feeling the need to hold together a particular relationship. Consider the pun of someone who may be a ‘prick’. Alternatively, to see pinsin your dream may suggest you are feeling stifled or trapped, as indicated by the phrase ‘being pinned down’. If a pincushionappears in your dream, this can indicate stinging or hurtful comments in waking life. You may be feeling manipulated or attacked in waking life, or perhaps you are being hurtful to someone else. For particular materials used in mending, for example, cotton, linen, silk, see also CLOTHES AND IMAGE.

Scissors

In dreams, these can suggest cutting remarks or decisiveness and taking control. They can also suggest separation or independence—as in cutting the umbilical cord—or the need to get rid of someone or something out of your life that isn’t working anymore. The type of scissors may be important for the dreamer. Surgical scissors, for instance, could suggest the need to be more precise. Kitchen scissorsmight suggest a need to be more practical. If the scissors are blunt, this suggests you may be creating problems through speaking bluntly. If you are sharpening scissors, this suggests the need to be more tactful. If you dream of a hairdresser using scissors, this could refer to your fear of losing authority and status. In folklore, clean scissorssuggest that you have nothing to fear from your enemies. If the scissors are rusty or brokenhowever, this is a less favorable.

Tape/thimble/thread

Tapesare used to measure things in waking life. In your dreams they can suggest a need to measure and evaluate the potential of a current project you are involved in. To use a thimblein your dream suggests that you need to be thinking of the welfare of others. Ancient dream oracles say that losing a thimbleis a sign of misfortune but receiving or buying a thimblesignifies new friendships .To see threadin your dream suggests that you need to strengthen commitments and relationships in waking life. Ancient dream oracles say that to see broken threadsin your dream signifies unreliable friends.

to Freudian interpretation, clay symbolizes feces. But to see a clay potin your dream signifies devotion, healing, virtue or purity.

If you are a sculptorin your dreams, you are working on finding yourself and are overcoming obstacles by getting to the core of things. If a sculptureappears in your dreams, you may find it hard to accept things as they are really are. You may also be overly concerned about projecting a positive image. A statue, bust or obeliskoften suggests the desire to put someone or something on a pedestal. If you are doing this, you increase the feelings of remoteness and unattainability of that person or thing in waking life. If a statue comes alivein your dreams, you may revive a long-lost interest or rebuild a friendship. Ancient dream oracles indicate that dreaming of being a statueis a sign that your fortunes will change for the better.

Weavingis taken to symbolize life itself and the way in which we run our lives. Most cultures contain images in which our fate is being woven in a pattern. Although at the mercy of chance, we are supposed to be in control of that pattern.

Any violence or negative action in your dreams is typically a reflection of your own inner feelings.