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

To see your own or another person’s neckin your dream signifies your need to control your feelings and keep them in check. Consider the familiar phrase, ‘don’t stick your neck out’, which serves as a warning against a situation. If your neck is injured, this can indicate a separation between heart and mind. If your neck is thick, perhaps you have been quick-tempered recently. Consider also the following idioms: breaking one’s neck, up to one’s neck, stick one’s neck out, dead from the neck up/down. Shouldersin a dream suggest strength, responsibility and burdens. Do you feel that you have much responsibility to bear in waking life? On the other hand, shoulders can also represent support and your ability to soothe others, as in the phrase ‘a shoulder to cry on’. To see your throatin your dream symbolizes the ability to express yourself and communicate your thoughts and ideas. If your throat is sore, perhaps you are having problems expressing yourself. Alternatively, you may need to swallow your pride. If a graceful, long neckappears in your dream, this suggests good fortune in waking life.

The nosein dreams represents curiosity and intuition. To dream that hair is growing on your nosesignifies extraordinary undertakings needing a strong will and character to be carried through. To dream of a bleeding noseis prophetic of disaster and danger. Consider also the following idioms: have a nose for, nose out of joint, rub one’s nose in, up one’s nose.

Your skinis your shield against the outside world and your dream may be referring to the way you present yourself to others. A skin rashmay be a pun, suggesting that you are making rash decisions or it may highlight concerns about your appearance. Are you thick skinned and reluctant to express your feelings?

Idioms: under one’s skin, a thick skin, skin alive.

Dreaming about teeth falling outrepresents feelings of insecurity or inadequacy, and such dreams often occur at transition times in a person’s life. This is because losing your milk teeth is associated with the loss of childhood innocence. The dream could also highlight anxieties about getting older. According to Jung, if a tooth is being pulled outin a woman’s dream, this represents giving birth and in general it has associations with some kind of painful experience or loss that will lead to a new beginning. Animal teethrepresent aggression and false teethconcern about self-image.

If you are toothless or see someone without teeth, this suggests loss of effectiveness or feelings about aging. Don’t, however, neglect the possibility that the dream may have been triggered by toothache or a recent trip to the dentist. If teeth are rotten or decayedin your dream, perhaps you have said something you regret. Spitting out lots of teethindicates something you need to spit out or admit in waking life. If you are brushing your teethin your dream, this may suggest you are experiencing a hard struggle in waking life; it could also, of course, echo your dentist’s plea to take better care of your teeth. If something is lodged between your teeth, this suggests that a problem which seemed impossible in waking life may be easily resolved.

If one tooth is far larger than the rest of the teeth in your mouth, you may be worried that something in your personal and working life won’t be the success you hoped it would be. Clean teeth or teeth that glistenare linked to strong friendships or financial security. If the rootsof the teeth are featured, you may be thinking about the stability of your waking relationships. If the roots are healthy, you are satisfied with these, but if the roots are twisted or unhealthy, this suggests concerns in that area of your life.

Idioms: show one’s teeth; get one’s teeth into; grit your teeth; teething troubles; long in the tooth; milk teeth; tooth fairy; cutting one’s teeth.

Body wisdom

If you look at the body in your dreams as a representation of your life and potential, the images can translate into a view of your current well being. Don’t worry overly about dreams that seem to be a kind of warning; instead try to be honest with yourself, put the pieces of the puzzle together in your mind and begin to make positive changes.

1or dreams of internal organs, fluids and other bodily functions, see under SICKNESS AND HEALTH.

Carl Jung talked about recurring dreams he had in which he would discover parts of his house that he didn’t know existed.

In these dreams he believed the house represented his personality, and the new things he discovered in the house related to new developments in his work. Many dream researchers subscribe to Jung’s theory and believe that buildings in dreams represent aspects of the self, or constructions we make in our lives. The upstairs represents the conscious mind, and the lower floors and cellars the unconscious, or hidden, mind. Different parts of the building might represent different times in your life, and the attitudes and beliefs you have built from experience. The features of your dream building can also mirror features of your personality; by so doing, they reflect your character, hopes and dreams, and how you feel about yourself.

If you dream of a house or a building, ask yourself what aspect of you the building represents. Does it represent how you see yourself? Is it a symbol of your body, mind or spirit? If the house is crumbling or decaying, are you in need of some kind of psychological, spiritual or physical cleaning and renewal? If the building is burning, does this show your desire to get rid of something that is holding you back? If the building is in ruins, do you feel worthless and manipulated by others? If the building is tall, does this suggest ambitions yet to be fulfilled? Is the house symbolic of your feelings in childhood or other past experiences? What are the conditions like in the house? Ask yourself what personal associations the buildings in your dreams have and what they represent to you.

The environment and your feeling reaction to the building in your dream will all contribute important clues as to its meaning, but it is also important to bear in mind the purpose for which the building is used in waking life. For example, castles and fortresses suggest protection and royalty, whereas factories suggest work and routine. Although high-rise buildings are believed to be phallic symbols, as a type they all have different functions: skyscrapers are homes and workplaces, lighthouses offer hope to sailors at sea, and towers isolate, elevate and imprison.

Churches and religious buildings offer us hope and quiet reflection, libraries and museums supply us with information and stimulate our minds. Courts provide social justice, whilst public buildings symbolize work, tax, bureaucratic or legal matters that need to be sorted. Hospitals are centers of healing and castles are historical icons. Houses, bungalows, flats, mansions and palaces offer different types of accommodation for different types of needs. Prisons are places for criminals to learn the consequences of their actions, and hotels provide a welcome break from home. If any of these buildings appear in your dream, this chapter will help you interpret the meaning; but for domestic buildings, homes and shops you may want to refer to HOME and MONEY AND SHOPPING. For places associated with entertainment, such as cinemas and theatres, you may want to refer to ARTS AND CRAFTS and LEISURE, and for places of work and learning consult SCHOOL AND WORK.