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

The cocksuggests male sexual characteristics and so the need to be more assertive. It is also the symbol of the new day and of keeping watch. Less positively, it might suggest that you are being overbearing and trying to rule the roost. The hensuggests being totally immersed in the concerns of motherhood. If a hen crowsin your dream, this is taken to represent maternal domination. A group of hensmay symbolize gossip and calamity. It may also suggest being ‘hen-pecked’ or that you feel being picked on, like chicken feed. Chicksrepresent babies or very young children in your life, or your feelings about your own childhood. They can also point to vulnerability. Are you counting your chickens before they have hatched?

Symbol of introspection or inner wisdom. Are intellectual theories and ideas, or your studies in waking life, helping you to understand yourself better?

Symbol of maternal love and of acts of kindness performed by yourself or others. Can also suggest the ability to cope with difficult situations and/or emotions in waking life.

To see a crowin your dream represents darker aspects of your character that need to be managed. Traditionally, crows are symbols of approaching death or bad news but they can also represent wisdom and or deviousness.

Interpreting the presence of the cuckooin your dream is difficult, as it can be a symbol of unrequited love or deviousness, whilst also being the herald of spring and an indicator of change from old to new. Do you need to change your direction or alter your approach in how you approach some situation? Alternatively, there may be someone in your life whose presence is unwelcome or annoying.

The peaceful, calm side of a man’s nature can often appear in a man’s dreams as the dove. To see doves in your dream suggests peace, harmony, and innocence, or the longing for these in your waking life. The dove is furthermore a symbol of the Holy Spirit in Christianity, so if this resonates with you, your unconscious could be urging you to seek fulfillment. In particular, to see white dovesin your dream symbolizes loyalty and friendship. It may also represent a message from the unconscious to become aware of your potential, and let go of thoughts of hate and revenge. A pair of turtle-doves billing and cooing at each otherin your dream may suggest that you are longing to find a gentle, loving person with whom to settle down. Doves that are building a nestsymbolize a joyous home life and obedient children.

To see a duckin your dream can suggest childish behavior. If flying, it can represent freedom from superficiality; if swimming, it can represent the unconscious. Ducks can walk, swim and fly and may therefore represent your flexibility and ability to adapt to various situations. They may also warn against being superficial in the process, especially if you see a white duck. When interpreting the meaning of birds in dreams, it’s always helpful to mull over any meanings that are attached to their names. For example, if you dreamed of an albatross, do you feel as if a burden has been placed around your neck? If a duck waddled in, are you trying to duck out of a situation, instead of confronting it head on? Or is criticism like water off a duck’s back to you? Perhaps have you taken to a new hobby enthusiastically like a duck to water? Alternatively, the dream may indicate that you are setting yourself up or being set up in some way, as associated by the phrase ‘sitting duck’.

As a bird of prey, eaglesin dreams suggest precision, perceptiveness and far-sightedness. They also suggest dominance and supremacy. If you are the eaglein your dream, or associate yourself with it, this represents your wish to dominate. If you feel threatened, someone may be trying to dominate you. Eagles symbolize nobility, pride, fierceness, freedom, courage, and powerful intellectual ability. Eagles also indicate persistence, and the desire to realize your highest ambitions and greatest desires. If the eagle is chained or has its wings clipped, this suggests that you may be feeling trapped in a desperate situation where you feel you can’t express yourself. To discover what is holding you back, consider what the eagle is chained to. To see a nest of young eaglesin your dream signifies social advancement. If you kill an eagle, this suggests your ruthless determination to succeed: nothing is going to stand in your way even it if means upsetting people around you. If someone else kills the eagle, then your power may be taken away from you. If you eat an eaglein your dream, this shows that your strong and powerful character will lead you to success.

As a bird of prey, the falconhas similar symbolism to the eagle and hawk. It is a symbol of freedom and hope over those who feel they may be restricted, but also suggests that your success may make others jealous. If you are hunting a falcon, you may be too aggressive in waking life and this aggression could cost you dear.

If a flamingoappears in your dreams, you may be experiencing or longing for new experiences or situations. You may also be in danger of worrying about how you appear to others too much.

Symbol of potential worry, or of disagreements with friends in waking life.

A symbol of conformity, but also a sign that you are well grounded and practical. Geeseare thought to represent loving relationships and, like the swan, can represent the possibilities of new beginnings. A flock of geesecould be a warning against some kind of misfortune or silliness. Are you trying to kill the goose that laid the golden egg? Wild geesecan represent the soul, the wanderlust and longing for freedom within all of us.

To see gullsin your dream represents the relationship between your emotions and your logic. If the gulls are soaring, you have a clear perspective on things but if the gulls are wounded or dead, this suggestions confusion and struggles between what your heart and your mind are telling you.

As a bird of prey, with all the aggressive intentions associated with this class of birds, could your unconscious be urging you to watch someone like a hawk?

To see hummingbirdsin your dream can suggest concern with the details of your life, or the need to show that concern. Alternatively, it indicates your inability to commit to a relationship or project.

Often associated with the stork, the ibiscan be a symbol of determination and ambition.

Symbol of enjoyment and contentment. If the jaybirdis dead or wounded, however, this suggests domestic troubles.

A symbol of dignity and calm.

Symbolic of a desire to transcend the mundane and fly high, if larks fall during flight, this suggests that your success will be bittersweet. To hear larks singingin your dream foretells of success in business, or happiness in a new situation. If the lark is dead, wounded or injuredthis denotes sadness and gloom. If you kill a larkin your dream, this suggests a loss of innocence.