Investigating Dream Interpretations

Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a dream as “a series of thoughts, images, or emotions occurring during sleep.” The Cambridge Dictionary defines it as “the activities, images, and feelings experienced by the mind during sleep.” Most people would agree with these two definitions. But what about their meanings?

Over a year ago, I was itching to know what my recurring dream meant. I had learned about Carl Jung and Freud’s dream interpretations in college, but I was curious to see what the minds of today had to say, instead of the psychological interpretation theories from long ago. So off I went to Barnes & Noble to help me figure it out. Or at least I thought it would have helped me.

To my amazement, I found myself lost to the meaning of my dream even more than before I walked through the bookstore’s doors. Out of the three dream interpretation books I came across, I found three separate meanings for my dream. How can this be I thought? Isn’t dreaming of an airplane supposed to mean only one thing? I guess I was naïve. I never really gave much thought to the fact that there could be differing meanings.

This past summer, I decided to really dig in and research dream interpretations that reside in printed books, electronic format, and of course, cyberspace. What I found from my studies is that there is no shortage of dream interpretations in our world today. And there is no shortage of differing opinions in that aspect to say the least.

Let’s get right into it. You dreamt that you were at someone’s funeral. You woke up and wanted to know what it meant, so you went to a bookstore, or your local library, or downloaded an eBook, or even grabbed your mobile device and downloaded an app. Curious to know what you found out? Let the list begin….

1. The Dreamer’s Dictionary: “To see or attend a funeral in your dream signifies cause for a happy celebration, probably news of an engagement or wedding.”
2. The Dictionary of Dreams: “To see a funeral, denotes an unhappy marriage and sickly offspring.”
3. The Dream Encyclopedia: “The unconscious desire to see that particular person dead, or a fear that someone might die.”
4. Dreammoods.com: “You are burying an old relationship and closing the lid on the past. You may be letting go some of the feelings (resentment, anger, hostility toward someone) that you have been clinging onto.”
5. Dream Dictionary App: “Lucky in love.”
6. Dreamdictionarynow.com: “You are letting go of old habits, beliefs or ways that are no longer useful or needed.”

I do want to be fair to the writers of these interpretations. Some do go more into detail of attending a funeral, such as attending the funeral of a parent or a cousin. This of course changes the complete dynamics of the dream interpretation of attending a funeral.

Let’s say you wake up tomorrow morning with a dream about a fork on the dinner table. Well, you pick up your new-found reference materials and start reading….

1. The Dreamer’s Dictionary: “A dream of an eating fork signifies a release from present worries.”
2. The Dictionary of Dreams: “To dream of a fork, denotes that enemies are working for your displacement.”
3. Dreammoods.com: “To see a fork in your dream represents an extension of your reach. You are on the right track toward pursuing your goals. Alternatively, it may be a pun on “fork it over”. Do you feel that you are being coerced or forced?”
4. Dream Dictionary App: “In dreams, a fork denotes duality and indecision.”

Suddenly a light bulb appears above your head, and you have a great idea. You remember this recurring dream that you have been having, and now you want to know the meaning of it. You have been dreaming of a witch….

1. The Dreamer’s Dictionary: “These haggy characters in your dream indicate gay social times ahead.”
2. The Dictionary of Dreams: “To dream of witches, denotes that you, with others, will seek adventures which will afford hilarious enjoyment, but it will eventually rebound to your mortification.”
3. The Ultimate Dictionary of Dreams: “A dream about a witch means that bad news can be expected.”
4. The Dream Encyclopedia: “The meaning of this symbol depends on the tone of the dream as well as how the dreamer relates to a certain kind of witch.”
5. Dreammoods.com: “To see a witch in your dream represents evil and destruction.”
6. Dreamdictionarynow.com: “A dream with a witch can imply that you are feeling misunderstood in some part of your life, or you believe in superstition.”
7. Dream Dictionary App: “Dreaming about a witch means that the answer you seek to a current problem is within yourself.”

So, there you have it. You had a dream about a witch, and now you literally have seven different interpretations from seven different sources. How can this be you ask? Well, the meanings that you just looked at are just interpretations from authors who choose to publicize their opinions and nothing more.

Who’s to say who is correct in dream interpretations? Is Jung or perhaps Freud correct? Is the book you purchased online or at a bookstore correct? Is the app on your phone correct? I believe that is up to the individual who had the dream to decide.

There is just one more thing I want to bring up about dream interpretations. There are several interpretations that I have come across that leaves one scratching their head. For example, The Dream Encyclopedia’s interpretation of dreaming of a witch states that “The meaning of this symbol depends on the tone of the dream as well as how the dreamer relates to a certain kind of witch.” Perhaps you would have better luck buying a winning lottery ticket than understanding the meaning of your dream with this interpretation.

I think it is obvious from these examples that the meaning of your dream is something for the individual person to decide. If the meaning you found on your mobile device makes sense to you, then so be it. It was your dream, and nobody else dreamt it but you.

 

References:

• Robinson & Gorbett, The Dreamer’s Dictionary (Warner Books Edition. 1974).
• Miller, The Dictionary of Dreams (First Fireside Edition. 1992).
• Lewis & Oliver, The Dream Encyclopedia (Second Edition. 2009).
• Goldberg, The Ultimate Dictionary of Dreams (Kindle Version. 2015).
• http://www.dreammoods.com/ (Dream Moods, Inc. 2018).
• https://www.dreamdictionarynow.com/ (DreamDictionaryNow. 2018).
• Mokshyn, Dream Dictionary App (Google Play Store Edition. 2018).