Understanding symbols is a skill which has to be learnt. There are no standardized and generally valid symbol interpretations that can be applied for all dreams. Symbols always have various meanings, i.e. they are ambiguous. Depending on the dream, the symbol may either be a personal association, amplification or referring to fairy tales or myths and one’s individual connection thereto.
In the following paragraphs you will find a few important meanings of certain symbols, but as mentioned above, individual examination is always necessary in accordance to each dream. The dream’s symbols can be worked out and understood using a holistic view of humanity and the world and put into perspective with one’s current life situation. This includes the influence of the unconscious, information not seen by the human eye resp. non-physical realms and the world of archetypes.
Images or parables
Symbols are differentiated as a parable or as an image
When using parables to work out symbols, we take their specific characteristics into consideration, e.g. a donkey represents stubbornness or a pond turbidity. Not all of the symbol’s characteristics are taken into account, only those that make sense in connection with the dream. Other characteristics, e.g. the grey colour of a donkey or the vegetation in and around the pond, are disregarded. Pigs are an important symbol for luck, depicting an abundant food supply.
When working out the symbol as an image, we try to capture and understand its personal significance for the dreamer. An example would be that the spirit of an old and wise shaman refers to the dreamer’s wisdom. In this case, we would examine the dreamer’s life situation in regard to his or her wisdom, analyzing it in comparison to the shaman’s demeanour and behaviour. The image of a river is symbolic for a person’s course of life. The essence of a river is that it flows from its source to its estuary and transports water. Water is the symbol of life, whereas the river symbolizes the course of life from its source (birth) to its estuary (death), all together compiling one’s life story.
Elements
The element earth symbolizes the external world and the human body
The material world, including the four elements earth, water, air and fire, belong to the element earth and is represented by the colour brown. From a psychological point of view, earth symbolizes psychological stability as well as rigidity. Psychological firmness is also called “complex” in depth psychology jargon. A complex, whether positive or negative, is a pattern of behaviour which occurs automatically and usually unconsciously.
Examples for positive complexes are all learned skills, e.g. walking, riding a bicycle, speaking a foreign language or occupational skills. These are trained abilities and now run automatically in the form of a positive complex.
A negative complex is also acquired rather than intrinsic. Opposed to a positive complex, it is not supportive but troublesome and disturbing. For example, I always become nervous when someone speaks to me in a loud voice or I may feel inferior when someone is able to answer a question quicker than me, even though my answer may be better.
The element earth also symbolizes the maternal, the supportive, as mother earth is the nurturer of all life. It represents all that is feminine, because earth can receive and nurture. It is still. In a broad sense, all material things belong to the element earth, such as houses, rocks and stones, furniture, computers, etc. symbolizing the material world resp. the external world. These objects symbolize different aspects of matter and the psychologically firm or rigid, depending on their consistency.
The element water is the symbol for consciousness, for the human body and for life.
From a broad point of view, all liquids belong to the element water, such as oil, wine, sodas, bier, mineral water, a pond, the ocean, a lake, rivers, a spring, rain, etc. and is represented by the colour green. Water and liquids symbolize the human consciousness, because liquids like water contain things, both visible and invisible. Water can be stirred, still or clear, just like our consciousness can.
Water is essential: no water, no life. The same applies for consciousness: no consciousness, no life, as the archetypal or divine consciousness orchestrates all of life’s processes in nature including humanity. Water also symbolizes emotions, especially tears; tears of pain or grief or tears of joy. In many dreams, rivers are symbolic for the course of human life, its energy flow or even the transition from the physical to the non-physical realm.
Fire is the symbol for the non-physical realm, the human soul and for emotions.
Fire devours and needs to be fed. It symbolizes the human soul, whose behaviour is mainly guided and directed by the ego. Emotions are the cause of all behaviour; they lead us to our goals from within. Fire represents emotions where we may burn with desire, glow with joy or be totally burnt-out. The types of fire in the dream indicate the current state of one’s emotions or life situation.
The soul is also receptive to influences from non-physical realms, e.g. through dreams that take place in a non-physical state of consciousness. Fire symbolizes the non-physical realm which reveals itself in the event of visions or premonitions, incredible coincidences or synchronicities, seemingly arranged by a wise and guiding hand or coordinated by divine energies.
The element air symbolizes the world of archetypes, the human mind and freedom.
Air is invisible and moves freely. The human mind also has the capacity to move freely like air. We have total freedom in our thoughts, our fantasies and willpower. The three activities of the mind are free as the wind. The world of archetypes, the creative energies, is also invisible but still has a constant influence and is vital like the air we breathe. God is also invisible. We can only see and experience God’s visible effects, the same way that air affects our surroundings, e.g. lack of air or destruction caused by stormy winds.
Minerals/ Matter
Minerals symbolize the external and material world, in the psyche they symbolize positive and negative complexes
Minerals represent lifeless things. The elements earth, water, fire and air, including anything people refer to as rocks or stones, are all considered to be minerals, strictly speaking. In a broad sense, minerals are also houses, cars, furniture, etc.
Symbols for the material and external world. In our psyche, they symbolize our in depth psychology so-called “inner body” with its firm emotional structures, positive and negative complexes and all activities and skills stored in our consciousness.
Plants
Plants symbolize life and the human organism, feelings, desires, urges and achievements
Plants are the most important symbol for the outer and inner human life with all its facets. They are also symbolic for health and illness, for life force and the state of our so-called “inner organism” in accordance to the outer organism in human consciousness
What C.G. Jung referred to as Anima and Animus is the inner organism where the male and female aspects of the human mind reside. Anima and Animus take on the important role of portraying our emotional relationships between man and woman.
Animals
Animals symbolize the human soul and the non-physical realm
Animals are a symbol for the human soul. The ego is the centre of the soul, to which belong our senses, our emotions and our behaviour. That is why dreaming about animals symbolizes the aspects of human behaviour, emotions and how we take in our environment with our senses. In mythology, animals often portray the non-physical realm of the afterlife. This is no coincidence but mirrors how we relate to the hereafter.
Human beings
People symbolize the various aspects of being human, our shadow aspects and “Anima and Animus”
Same gender characters, women dreaming about women and men dreaming about men are so-called shadows. Shadows mirror aspects of our personality that dwell in the dark, i.e. are not always present and only emerge in certain situations. We differentiate between positive and negative shadows. We recognize our shadow aspects in the personification of the same gender characters in our dreams. When asked the question, “What comes to mind regarding this person? What associations do you make with him/her?” We then recognize our own character traits that are hidden in our shadow.
Dreams about the opposite sex, men dreaming about women and women dreaming about men, reflect the male aspects (Animus) in women and the female aspects (Anima) in men. Emotions, opinions, convictions and one’s relationship to God are all part of the Anima and Animus.
Various archetypal images of people keep appearing in dreams. Here a few examples of their meanings:
A newborn baby: This is an important symbol for new life; something newly born in one’s personality, something new to come into existence. Baby boys tend to stand for new initiative. For women, baby girls stand for new aspects of womanhood, for men new aspects of the Anima, the sensitive female side in man with all its emotions.
Children of various ages: Oftentimes, the age of the child indicates the number of years ago in which an incident occurred. If a woman dreams of a six-year-old boy, she should ask herself what new opportunity came into her life 6 years ago and what has become of it. The circumstances in the dream and of the child show something about a specific opportunity which arose about 6 years ago.
Elderly people: They may symbolize the archetype of the old and wise or the path to wisdom. If you dream about an old man limping, then the walk on the path to wisdom is slow and painful. If the old man is wise, then there is strong potential on your way to wisdom.
People of various age groups: We differentiate between six earthly phases of life, each lasting 12 years and each guided by a different archetype. Depending on the age, the symbol refers to a certain life task along with its corresponding archetype and shows the current state or where there is potential.
Colors
Colours often play a significant role in dreams. They also symbolize various aspects of our psyche and the life situations that we are currently in. In order to interpret the meanings of colours correctly, it – as always – depends on one’s personal associations and amplifications. Here are some examples of colours and their characteristics:
Brown: Brown is the colour of mother earth. It is a symbol for the maternal and nurturing. Brown is also the colour that represents complexes, both positive and negative, that give us structure like the brown firmness of mother earth.
Green: Green is the colour of life as most plants are green. A green light is a signal to move forward, green means “go ahead”. The colour green, like some fruit, may also mean that something is not yet ripe or mature. The expression that a youngster is still green behind the ears means that he is too immature for a certain thing.
Red: Red is an important symbol for the human soul with the ego playing a central role. Red stands for various emotions such as anger and a bad temper, but also for love and sexual desire. Red means stop, just like a red traffic light. The colour red is also related to fire, which is an important symbol for the non-physical realm such as the realm of dreams as they occur outside of our waking consciousness.
Blue: Blue is the colour of the mind. One’s thoughts, fantasies and ideas are all part of the human mind. All that is spiritual and one’s relationship to the divine are aspects of the mind and are represented by the colour blue.
Yellow: Yellow is the colour of awakening. The sun appears in the colour yellow and shines its light on the world for us to see and appreciate.
White: White is the colour of ambition. It symbolizes the pure and pristine; in a figurative sense virginity. In the western culture, white is a festive colour e.g. for weddings.
Black: Black is the colour of action and of unconsciousness, i.e. the root cause of our actions are often unknown to us. In our culture black represents grief and mourning, but is also used for festive clothes, e.g. a tuxedo.
Purple: Purple is the colour of suffering. It is also an important symbol for spirituality.
Orange: Orange symbolizes sensuality.
Nicht selten spielen Farben im Traumgeschehen eine Rolle. Auch Farben sind Symbole für verschiedene Aspekte unserer Psyche und des Geschehens, in dem wir uns befinden. Es kommt auch bei den Farben wie bei allen anderen Symbolen auf den persönlichen Zusammenhang und die persönlichen Assoziationen und Amplifikationen an, um die Farbe im entsprechenden Traum präzis zu deuten. Hier zeige ich einige wichtige, dem Wesen der verschiedenen Farben innewohnenden Bedeutungen auf:
Braun: Die Farbe der Mutter Erde. Braun ist Symbol für das Mütterliche, das Behütende. Braun ist aber auch Farbe für die Komplexe, sowohl die negativen als auch die positiven, für die Gewohnheiten, die wie die braune Erde eine feste Struktur haben.
Grün: Grün ist die Farbe des Lebens. Die meisten Pflanzen sind grün. Grün steht auch für die Gefühle als Symbole; in der Ampel gibt es grünes Licht, wenn man losfahren kann. Grün kann auch Unreife bedeuten, wenn Früchte noch grün sind. Man spricht auch davon, dass jemand „noch grün hinter den Ohren“, also noch nicht reif ist für eine Sache.
Rot: Rot ist ein wichtiges Symbol für die menschliche Seele mit dem Ich im Zentrum. Rot steht auch für die Emotionen, z. B. für die Wut oder den Ärger, aber auch für die Liebe. Rot ist Symbol für die Erotik. Und wenn die Ampel auf Rot steht, muss man stehen bleiben. Die Farbe Rot hat eine Beziehung zum Feuer und das Feuer ist ein wichtiges Symbol für Jenseitiges, somit hat auch die Farbe Rot einen Bezug zu Jenseitigem, wie zum Beispiel zur Welt des Traumes, die sich jenseits des Tages-Bewusstseins abspielt.
Blau: Blau ist die Farbe des Geistes. Zum menschlichen Geist gehören seine Gedanken, seine Phantasien, seine Ideen. Auch das Spirituelle und der Bezug des Menschen zum Spirituellen gehören zum menschlichen Geist und können durch die Farbe Blau dargestellt werden.
Gelb: Gelb ist die Farbe des Erkennens. Die Sonne wirkt gelb auf den Menschen und das Sonnenlicht bringt Dinge an den Tag, man kann etwas erkennen.
Weiss: Weiss ist die Farbe des Strebens. Es ist auch Symbol für etwas Unberührtes, für im übertragenen Sinn etwas „jungfräuliches“. Weiss ist in unserem Kulturkreis auch eine festliche Farbe, z. B. bei der Hochzeit.
Schwarz: Schwarz ist die Farbe des Handelns und des Unbewussten. Das meiste Handeln wird vom Unbewussten gesteuert, man sieht die tiefe Ursache für ein Verhalten häufig nicht oder nicht direkt. Schwarz ist in unserer Kultur auch Symbol für die Trauer, aber auch für etwas Feierliches, z. B. beim Smoking.
Violett: Violett ist die Farbe für das Leiden. Sie ist aber auch ein wichtiges Symbol für Spirituelles.
Orange: Orange ist ein Symbol für die Sinnlichkeit.
Numbers
Numbers are also symbols. Everything in the universe is made of numbers, defining the characteristics of atoms and molecules which the material world is made of. If the number of protons, electrons and neutrons are changed in the nucleus of an atom, the nature of the atom changes.
Here a few of the most important traits of the numbers 1 to 12:
1: The number one is the symbol of unity or oneness, for the unified power of divinity.
2: The number two is the symbol for pairs, togetherness as a couple, duality and opposites. It also symbolizes division, dividing in half.
3: The number three is a dynamic number. It symbolizes the three human activities, to acknowledge, to strive and to take action, as well as the human consciousness.
4: The number four is the symbol for the external world and for the complexes, acquired behaviour.
5: The number five is the symbol for the quintessence. It is also the number for eroticism as it has a connection to the fifth phase of life in which eroticism plays an important role. It stands for all of humanity.
6: The number six is an important symbol for human sexuality. It also stands for wisdom and is associated with the sixth phase of human life in which the archetypes of the old wiseman who guides us from within.
7: The number seven is the symbol for maintaining order.
8: The number eight has to do with infinity. When laid down in the horizontal position it looks like the infinity symbol. It also symbolizes totality and the unity of the external human.
9: The number nine is an important symbol for new life as pregnancy lasts nine months for humans.
10: The number ten symbolizes the union between man and woman and therefore also marriage. It is also an amplification of the number 1.
11: The number eleven symbolizes an unsolved problem because it is a prime number. It is also a double 1.
12: The number twelve is a symbol for a complete cycle as there are 12 months in a year and 12 pieces in a dozen, a unit used for merchandise.
Shapes
Various shapes and forms appear in dreams time and time again. Shapes can also be symbols and can reveal important information about the message of a dream. Whether 2 or 3 dimensional, the shape often has the same symbolic meaning or is at least similar.
The most important shapes are:
Square/cube: It is a symbol for order and balance as all sides are the same, but may also symbolize a blockage or something not easily moved.
Rectangle/cuboid: Symbol for stability, for a foundation. Squares and rectangles as well as cubes and cuboids symbolize the external world with its corresponding laws.
Triangle/pyramid: Symbol for the world of consciousness, for the relationship between three people, for the three activities or acknowledging, striving and taking action, for perspectives and for concentration.
Circle/ball: Circles and balls are symbols for the world of the divine as well as for infinity and the irrational. The ball is also symbol for perfection and unity.
Line/pole: Lines have a beginning and an end and therefore symbolize the human lifespan. They may also reflect what line, resp. direction, a person is following.