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

If you see, notice or smell someone’s armpitin your dream, this represents the characteristics and personality that you choose to display to the public. To smell your armpitin your dream indicates that you are hoping for some kind of acceptance in waking life. If you see your elbowin your dream, perhaps you need more personal space in waking life?

Idioms: give one’s right arm; arm twisting; at arm’s length; with open arms; one hand tied behind the back; babe in arms; strong-armed tactics.

To dream of your backrepresents parts of yourself hidden from view, secrets that you are keeping from other people or aspects of your personality you would prefer not to think about. Your dream could be pointing to some aspect of your life that is behind you, or a situation that is over. Maybe your dream contains some other play on words: is someone getting your back up? Do you feel the need for a pat on the back? Do you need to watch your back? Is somebody on your back or trying to dominate you? Are you engaged in a back-breaking task? Is your back against the wall? Do you wish someone would get off your back? Have you been stabbed or scratched in the back? Traditionally, seeing a backin your dream forewarns that you should not lend money to anyone. In particular, lending money to friends will cause a rift in your relationship. If a person turns their back on you, this may suggest that you may be deeply hurt in waking life or that other people may not be ready to share their thoughts with you.

Idioms: backbreaking; back to the wall; pat on the back; stab in the back; turn one’s back on; scratch my back; get off my back; rod up one’s back.

Usually, to be aware of breastsin a dream indicates your connection with the mother figure, and your need to be nursed and cared for. Does a part of you long to again be an infant without responsibilities? Alternatively, breasts represent sexual arousal and raw energy. Seeing naked breastscan also denote a feeling of exposure and invasion of privacy. In particular, for a woman, the dream may indicate anxieties about becoming a woman/mother. If a chestappears in a dream, this indicates a sense of social confidence or good feelings about yourself. Alternatively, it represents feelings of being overwhelmed and being dangerously confronted by something. Consider also if the dream is telling you that there is something that you need to ‘get off your chest’. If nipplesappear in your dream, this signifies dependency. If you squeeze pus out of your nipplesyou may be feeling inadequate sexually.

If you see earsin your dream, this suggests that you could be more responsive or receptive to guidance and assistance from others. Alternatively, it signifies your immaturity and lack of experience. Such dreams may be about the need for the dreamer to listen to their own true feelings and make a connection with their unconscious self. Dream ears may also reveal a concern on the part of the dreamer that someone close to them is not being totally straightforward. If you have more than two earsin your dream, you may be feeling valued and respected. The size of earsin a dream can have important interpretative associations. Small earscould suggest that someone is not telling you the whole truth, whereas large earscan suggest the help and support of a colleague or friend. Ears being pulledin a dream can represent disagreements in waking life. If there has been a dispute, perhaps the time is right to move forward with a sensible solution. If you are cleaning wax out of your ears, perhaps you are not listening, or refusing to listen, to the opinions of others. Are you turning a deaf ear?

Any dream connected with the eyesis associated with observation and judgment. It suggests wisdom, enlightenment and the dreamer’s attitude to, and understanding of, the world. These windows of the soul can give vital clues to the state of your true health and well-being. Are the eyes bright? If they are, this suggests awareness. Are the eyes happy, sad, angry, kind? What colorare the eyes? All this can tell you a lot about your way of looking at things. Darker eyesare linked to emotional and romantic relationships, whereas pale eyesare seen as connectors to the more social side of one’s world.

If the dream eye is wide open, this can refer to innocence or the excitement caused by a new undertaking. Narrow eyeson the other hand may be a symbol of deceit or cheating. Dreams about eyes may also be a pun on ‘I’ or the self. If you dream that your eyes have turned inside your headand you can now see the inside of your head, then it symbolizes insight and something of which you need to be aware. This dream may literally be telling you to look inside yourself, and trust your own intuition and instincts. To dream that you have something in your eyecould represent your critical view and how you tend to see faults in others.

To dream that you have one eyeindicates your refusal to accept another viewpoint. To dream that you have a third eyesymbolizes inner vision and insight. You need to start looking within yourself. To dream that your eyes are closedsuggests your refusal to see the truth about something or the avoidance of intimacy. You may be expressing feelings of hurt, pain or sympathy. To dream that you have crossed eyesdenotes that you may be getting your facts mixed up. Loss of eyesightsuggests loss of clarity, and, depending on which eye is lost, can be the loss of logic (right eye) or intuition (left eye) If eyesight is regained, this suggests a return to clarity or clear-sightedness. Lack of eye contactsuggests avoidance of intimacy.

To notice eyebrowsin your dream represents expressions of disbelief, surprise or doubt. Eyebrows are also thought to reflect dignity and honor, and could indicate the fact that you are about to be recognized or appreciated by some unexpected source. If hair is being shed from the eyebrows, you may be worried about how others view your status. Eyelashesare thought to represent secrets or secretive pursuits.

Idioms: you must be blind; I saw it with my own eyes; all eyes; eye opener; evil eye; sheep eyes; one in the eye; turn a blind eye; easy on the eyes; keep your eyes open.

If you dream of your own face, it may represent the persona you present to the world and not your real self; this is particularly so if you are putting on make-up.A dream face therefore refers to how you would like to be seen. If a beautiful faceappears, this may be connected to feelings of pride and satisfaction. If the dream face is unknown, this suggests a possible change in the dreamer’s waking life. If a dream face is being washed or cleaned, this can have links to guilt or sin, as the act of cleaning indicates a desire for a fresh start. If the faces are familiar, it could be a portent of future social gatherings. To dream that your face is flawed or pimplyrepresents erupting emotions. You may have suffered an attack on your reputation in waking life. If you are blushing, this suggests embarrassment and feelings you do not want to reveal to others. An elderly face may simply be a projection of life in the future. However, aged facesalso carry symbolic ties to the notions of wisdom and longevity.