DREAM DICTIONARY
A – Age Dream Symbols & Meanings
DREAMS: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Abandonment Dreams
(see Desertion)
Abbreviations Dreams
(see Punctuation, Writing)
Initials for peoples’ names with whom you’ve had recent important interactions.
According to ancient dream oracles, a portent of the initials for future friends, lovers, or meaningful acquaintances. Look to the rest of the dream for more clarification on which outcome best applies.
Abbreviations for a well known, easily recognized organization that has some symbolic import to your current situation. For example, the AMA (American Medical Association) might relate directly to your health, and possibly the need to seek a physician’s advice.
A series of letters that acronymically relate to a well-known phrase or aphorism. While instances of this experience are less common, the subconscious sometimes reduces information into brief formats, akin to a mental shorthand. Even in this format, however, the dreamer usually recognizes the symbolic phrase quickly. One good example here would be the well-known “TGIF” as an abbreviation of “Thank God It’s Friday,” symbolizing some type of relief or jubilation.
Abortion Dreams
(see Baby, Embryo, Miscarriage, Pregnancy)
Stopping a project in midstream because of personal or external conflicts.
A reflection of pressures or moral struggles pertaining to this issue.
Termination of a relationship while still in its infancy.
A difficult choice from which the outcome may kill all hopes of something you’ve wanted to develop.
Abuse Dreams
(see Fighting, Running, Seduction, Sexual Encounters)
Feeling violated or exploited by an individual, a group, or a situation.
If you are the abuser in the dream, this may represent pent-up displeasure toward yourself or antagonism toward another.
A memory surfacing. Some abuse victims have uncovered their memories through dreams. However, caution must be issued here. Since this topic is widely covered by the media, what you experience in a dream can reenact some of these stories, engendered by your emotional response (fear, indignation, outrage, etc.).
Abyss Dreams
(see Alley, Bridge, Cauldron, Chalice, Cliff, Hole, Sky, Space)
Standing at the edge of: Your own subconscious, things you’ve long buried, hidden talents, or other matters that often get overlooked. The abyss goes on seemingly forever into darkness, and can be very frightening, even as discovering your own true nature can be frightening until you take the first step.
Experiencing spontaneous inspiration for a new project, as if it comes out of nowhere. Alternatively, a limitation to be overcome.
Ancient meaning: The primordial womb; a deep cavern of fertility and the gate of life through which we all pass.
Real or perceived dangers. The size of the abyss indicates how “big” you believe the hazard to be. Alternatively, following a route that goes nowhere, or one that may eventually prove self-destructive.
A bridge appearing across: Personal, dramatic changes in lifestyle or beliefs that imply some risk. For example, if you’re thinking of getting married, the risk might be vulnerability or failure.
Unseen or unrealized potential. In Greek mythology, the black abyss gave birth to all cosmic matter. Similarly, in the Tarot, the Fool stands near the edge of a huge cliff before starting on his path toward enlightenment.
Accents Dreams
(see Announcements, Conversations, Languages)
Accents in dreams, especially those portrayed as overly heavy or nonsensical, may reflect cultural or societal prejudice of which we may be normally unaware.
The inability to communicate effectively; feeling as if people aren’t hearing you correctly.
Acceptance Dreams
(see Judgment, Notarization)
This is a very positive dream in which you welcome various aspects of self, others, or the Divine without expectation.
Accident Dreams
Causing an accident: Guilt surrounding a situation for which you feel directly responsible, even if that feeling is unwarranted. Alternatively, working out hostility toward a person or situation through dream imagery.
Becoming seemingly helpless due to: This expresses feelings of defenselessness-as if one is totally at the whims of fate (see Lameness, Numbness, Paralyzation).
Being too trusting of others, or inattentive to potential dangers, causes painful results (see Blindness).
Accusations Dreams
(see Conversations)
Self-blame or guilt manifesting through the dream.
Feeling unjustly accused by others.
A moral conflict. Uncertainty over the true motivations for one’s actions, or those of other people.
Acorn Dreams
(see Nuts, Seeds, Trees)
Male virility. In ancient times, these were an emblem of the testes, and often carried as amulets for fertility among men.
Potential. The acorn grows into the mighty oak.
If a woman is eating the acorn, an emblem of abundance and fertility.
Shaking acorns from a tree: Releasing your own potential or making efforts for improved abundance in your life (figurative or literal).
In Native American symbolism, this represents the beginnings of a rigid personality developing in yourself. Take time to correct it by being more open-minded and tolerant.
Acquittal Dreams
(see Acceptance, Judgment)
Forgiveness toward self or others for behavior that’s considered socially, legally, or religiously unseemly.
Discovering information about a person or situation that erased any question of liability.
If given by a judge, jury, or clergy-person, this can indicate forgiveness from others, including authority figures, or even the Divine regarding actions for which you are penitent.
Acrobatics Dreams
(see Dancing, Jumping, Running)
Balance, initiative, and sustained energy through physically trying circumstances.
Feeling as if you’re jumping through proverbial hoops to please others or meet their expectations.
Walking a tightrope: A delicate situation with some implied danger, depending on your level of skill.
Contortionists: Having the truth or your sense of reality somehow twisted.
Tumbling: Being able to “roll with the punches” and still land on your feet. Alternatively, if being performed with another person, this may be the type of sexual dream (e.g. “taking a tumble”). Also, the ancient Minoans used tumbling as a type of fertility rite.
Acting Dreams
(see Costumes, Masks, Theater)
Life’s roles: Shakespeare intimated that life was a stage, making dreams the theater of your mind. Here, you can act out various “parts” to literally walk in someone else’s shoes, try out options, or get different perspectives.
Sensing that you, or someone you know, have been putting on airs instead of being real with people.
The various important “characters,” “sets,” and “props” in and around your life.
Adoption Dreams
(see Baby, Orphaned)
If you see yourself being adopted by a group or family, this means acceptance among the people pictured, or self-acceptance with regard to your perceived roles and responsibilities to that group.
Seeing yourself alone waiting for adoption is an alternative type of desertion dream. Alternatively, this reveals insecurity about not being accepted or loved, or feeling totally out of place in your surroundings.
What exactly is being adopted? This symbol can represent an aspect of yourself-an idea or a characteristic with which you’re becoming more accepting and comfortable, thereby adopting it into your being.
Adultery Dreams
(see Sexual Encounters)
An unresolved fear that your partner is being unfaithful.
An unexpressed desire for someone outside your current relationship.
Feeling cheated by someone, or a situation, you trusted intimately.
Turning your back on something once regarded as sacred and incorruptible. This can include relationships, but may also pertain to ideals, beliefs, and work situations.
Advertisements Dreams
(see Billboards, Signs, TV)
Agate Dreams
(see Crystals, Gems, Jewelry, Stones)
Divine favor. In the 16th century the bishop of Rennes in his book, De Lapidum, a treatise on the mystical uses of gems, recommended agates for attracting divine blessings.
Protection from negativity. Agates were historically favored as amulets against the evil eye. What negatives surround you right now, from which you need to be distanced?
Moss agate in the Orient represents communication, specifically verbal eloquence. If you’ve been worrying over your ability to get an idea across, the concern is unwarranted.
Muslims feel this stone brings improved spirits and calms bizarre behavior. So if life has been a little tumultuous lately, it should soon subside.
Among sailors, a lucky stone that ensures a safe voyage. If you’re traveling soon, an excellent omen.
Age Dreams
Elderly people in dreams represent authority figures, and the accumulated wisdom that comes from living a long life. They may also represent members of your family or friends who are aging.
Seeing yourself at younger ages is likely a memory surfacing that somehow affects or taints present circumstances.
Dreaming of specific ages, like the occasion of a birthday, may be an alternative type of number dream.
Matters pertaining to our own morality, like the wish to go back and relive our younger years, or a fear of growing old.