Dream Interpretation: Why Garden Dreams are Particularly Fascinating!

Le Pont Japonais a GivernyDreams about vegetable, flower, or herb gardens are absolutely fascinating for dreamers and dream analysts. What’s more, the dream interpretation can give the dreamer a lot of insight into their lives… and minds.

If you’ve had one of these dreams, the most important thing to do is to determine the condition of the garden, itself.

Here’s why: The garden is a symbol of our life, or more importantly, how we view our life.

If the garden in your dream is lush, beautiful, and causes you to feel at peace, content, and happy – it’s a sign that you are at peace with your life right now. The way the garden makes you feel in your dream mirrors your attitude toward your current life as well as the person you perceive yourself to be.

If, on the other hand, the garden in your dream “needs work” or “requires attention,” your subconscious mind could be trying to make a point – in a decidedly colorful way.

If the garden is in ruins, with dead/dried vegetation, weeds, and overgrown plants and leaves you feeling discouraged, angry, or even sad – your dream interpretation would be that there’s regret or disappointment somewhere in your life.  Generally speaking, whatever emotion you feel in the dream is the emotion you feel about this REAL life situation.  If you feel remorse or regret, you possibly have undealt with guilt in your life.  If the situation causes you to feel angry, you obviously have an underlying anger that you haven’t fully dealt with.

If, in your dream, you feel angry at someone else for the state of the garden, as opposed to yourself, you are possibly harboring resentment and finding it difficult to forgive someone for something they’ve done or said (or failed to do or say, for that matter).

If the garden’s required work seems too much for you, it reflects a feeling of being overwhelmed in your life.

In the dream, if you find yourself simply observing everything that needs to be done… and then rolling up your sleeves to do the work, it’s a sign that you know there are things that you need to do in your daily life. If, in the dream, you don’t possess any negative feelings or emotions, it’s a sign that (deep down), you’re anxious to get started on the work you know needs to be done.

In fact, you may even be excited about the challenge!

Photo Credit: The beautiful picture used in this post is available as a poster on Buy This at Allposters.com.

What Does it Mean When You Dream of an Operation?

Dream Interpretation: Operation Dreams!

I was recently asked, via the contact form, “What does it mean when you dream of having an operation?“  This type of dream actually depends on whether or not you have an upcoming doctor’s appointment or trip to the dentist.  If you have an upcoming exam, procedure, or even a check-up, dreaming of an operation is simply a matter of your mind “acting out” anxieties you may have. It most definitely doesn’t indicate that anything is seriously wrong with you.  You’re simply anxious about the appointment and/or procedure.

If you do not have an upcoming appointment, dreaming about an operation indicates something different, all together.  Operation dreams (or even dreams of having your teeth pulled or your hair cut) indicate the subconscious desire to REMOVE something from your life or for someone (sometimes even yourself) to CUT something out!  For example, many people who are struggling with overcoming a bad habit (overeating, smoking, etc.) or correcting an undesirable trait (bad temper, dishonesty…) will have operation dreams.

It’s their mind’s way of processing their desire to REMOVE something from their lives.  And, yes, sometimes this something might be a specific person! If a relationship has gone very bad, you may dream of an operation, symbolizing your desire to remove either the trouble or the person from you life.  Only the dreamer knows for sure which is the case.

If you dream of another person having an operation, you must be very careful about your dream interpretation.  The dream analysis could go one of two ways:

  • The operation in the dream could symbolize something you want THEM to cut out of their life or remove from their personality/disposition.
  • The dream could indicate something in your own life – something that’s related to this particular individual in some way.
  • The dream could have nothing whatsoever to do with the person having the operation in your dream!  It could be that they were on your mind recently and their appearance in the dream has nothing to do with the interpretation – the only thing that matters is the operation, itself.

When you think back to the dream, pay close attention to the emotions you remembered having in the dream.  If your dream involved someone else having surgery, the more you focused on THEM in the dream, the more likely they have something to do with the interpretation.  However, if the main focus of the dream was the operation, it’s likely that they were simply a “stand in.”

As with all dreams, only you can get to the real analysis.  Think about the things in your life that you’d like to change.  What thing(s) would you remove from your life if you had the power to do so? When you come up with an answer to this question, you’ll have the analysis of the dream.

What Does it Mean to Dream About Snakes?

Snake Dreams

Snake dreams continue to be the most popular type of dream here on Dream Prophesy.  The reason for this is pretty clear and totally understandable, however that’s of little comfort when someone has such an unsettling dream!

The reason snake dreams are so popular and common is this: Snakes are (deservedly or not) a universal symbol of everything evil, wrong, scary, frightening, and bad.

Thanks, Eve.

Snakes represent, to most of us anyway, great fear and uncommon anxiety.  Granted, there are those who love snakes with the same type of adoration the rest of us have for our cats, dogs, birds, guinea pigs,  rabbits, hamsters, and so on.  As a matter of fact, when a lot of people talk about their beloved pet, they’re referring to a snake.  And when these snake-lovers have dreams about snakes, they usually symbolize something entirely different.  When they dream about snakes, they’re no more alarmed that I would be if I dreamed about cats.  As someone with four cats, this is completely common for me and I never give it a second thought.

For most of us, however, snakes do represent BAD (fear, anxiety, frustration…).  Common symbol for BAD = A common dream.

Here’s something that I find to be extremely fascinating.  I’ve been a dreamologist  for over 10 years.  That’s a lot of dreams to be analyzed and studied! I’ve noticed something over the years that fascinates me.  MANY adults who work with kids, particularly teachers, frequently have a similar dream involving snakes:

They’ll confront a snake (or another representation of evil) that they’re trying valiantly to destroy.  Many will even say things like, “I know it’s going to hurt a lot of people and I want to stop it…”  However, they can’t get anyone to get on board with them and help out.  The frustration of the dream stays with these dreamers as much as the image of the snake or snakes do.  One of the reasons I believe this is so common is that teachers, undoubtedly, often feel very much “up against it.”  They love kids and sincerely want to help them.  They’ve dedicated their lives to them, so they obviously feel very strongly about young people.  However, they can’t do everything.

They feel very overwhelmed, at times, due to a lack of parental support and/or a lack of support from the school system, principal, school board, etc.  Teachers aren’t even paid as much as they deserve – no doubt the frustration sometimes gets to them. How could it not?  Although most handle it admirably and you’d never really know the lack of support they sometimes encounter, their subconscious mind ALWAYS knows.  the subconscious mind realizes just how much the individual sometimes feels as though he or she is fighting for a child or children without anyone backing them up.

Enter the snake.

Honestly, this is such a recurring theme for people involved in education and kids that books could be written.   Needless to say, the theme is actually beautiful – the thought that people who are in charge of kids care so much about “saving” them and protecting them that it carries over to their dreams.

Snakes, for most people are dream symbols for something (anything, really) that’s evil, bad, scary, or undesired in any way. When we have things on our mind during the day that are negative, to put it simply, they show up in our dreams dressed as snakes.

Appropriate attire for evil.

Whether you work with kids or not, snakes symbolize something that you are afraid of, intimidated by, anxious about, or worried about.  It may be a tiny seed of fear deep inside of you – one that you barely even know exists.  The thing is, your subconscious mind knows it’s there.  Dreams are its way of getting the fear out into the open, allowing you to confront it and deal with it.

If, like teachers, you find yourself trying to do something about the snake but can’t seem to find any support or help – your dream interpretation is similar to the teacher’s.  You feel, in your waking life, a lack of support from the people around you.  You often feel that you’re fighting a battle alone.

Snake dreams will usually subside once you realize that this fear, and possible isolation, exists.  A word of caution, however:  As with all unsettling dreams – try very hard not to dwell on them, especially right before going to sleep.  Doing so only invites the dream to RECUR, and when it comes to snake dreams, that’s the last thing any of us want.

What Does it Mean to Dream About Your Own Death?

Easily, one of the most disturbing dreams you can have revolves around your own death. Some of these dreams involve just KNOWING that you’re about to die. Other dreams actually take the dreamer to Heaven, allowing them to visit with loved ones who have previously died. Many times, when this is the case, it simply indicates that the dreamer has been missing at least one of these loved ones. It can also mean that the dreamer is missing a period of time in their life – one that they shared with this person. Many times we’re kind of nostalgic for our childhoods and we’ll either dream that people from that period of time are still with us, or that we’ve gone to Heaven to see them.

Similar to illness dreams, dreaming of dying isn’t so much about sickness or death as it is about TRANSITION, LOSS, or CHANGE.

Here’s an example:

Claire, from Detroit, e-mailed me about a troubling dream she had about a week ago. She dreamed that she knew she was dying. In her dream, she was watching her husband and children play in the yard and wondered how (after she’d died) she could let them “know” that she was watching over them. She decided that she’d give them “signs.” They each knew that she loved the color orange, that roses were her favorite flower, and that her favorite bird was the oriole. She decided, in her dream, that she’d take these forms every day for her family – to let them know she was still with them.

As it turned out, Claire and her family were going through a lot of changes. Her husband had recently been laid off, their oldest son had been diagnosed with asthma, and a close family member had moved several states away. As the family dealt with many transitions, Claire undoubtedly felt stressed and anxious. She wanted to keep her family strong and do her best to help everyone deal with the changes positively.

When we go through transitions in our lives, we realize that we need to CHANGE inside as we cope with the changes outside. Sometimes we simply have to change the way we look at things – as well as changing our expectations and goals. Death dreams are simply a by-product of these transitional phases of life. They’re entirely normal – and actually kind of therapeutic. For one thing, they remind us that we can handle anything…. after all, we’re still alive!!!

One other cause of death dreams is guilt. Sometimes we say or do something we really wish we hadn’t. The guilt can overwhelm us if we don’t do everything in our power to apologize and make it right. Many times this guilt will become symbolized in our dreams as self-inflicted harm, illness, or even death.

If you’ve had dreams about your own death, rest assured, they are not prophetic – they are simply an indication of stress, change, transitions, or even anxiety. Dreams do not tell the future – they tell the present.

What Does it Mean to Dream About Dolls?

Dreaming about dolls, in one way or another, symbolizes childhood. It could either be symbolic of the dreamer’s childhood or could symbolize a child (or “wanted” child) in the dreamer’s life. Many couples who are trying to have babies often dream about dolls.  These dreams are simply the mind’s ways of handling the intense desire to have children.

Many people will dream about dolls when they have been thinking and/or talking about their childhood.  The mind sort of goes back in time to “revisit” the magical time of childhood.

Dreaming of dolls can also symbolize children in your life -either your own children or other’s.  If the doll is broken or lost, the dreamer is most likely quite worried about a particular child. If the doll is in perfect condition and (in the dream) brings about positive feelings, it’s simply the mind’s way of expressing love for a particular child (or children).

If – somehow – the doll is associated with negative feelings in the dream, the meaning could be altogether different.  Many people will have negative dreams about dolls… even nightmares… when they have negative events in their daily life.  Due to the fact that there is a doll present in the dream, these negative events either involve a child OR childishness.

Adults who are either dating or have married an individual with a child or children from another relationship sometimes feel jealous or “left out.”  These unfortunate feelings can carry over into dreams and, quite often, star dolls or toys.

In yet another example of doll dreams, we often symbolize someone’s actions (or even our own!) through symbolism in our dreams. If we think someone is acting childish, we’ll find child-like symbols in our dreams – such as dolls.  Even if we’re the one who has been acting childish!

Finally, I remember one particular dream where a woman dreamed that she had a doll that looked JUST like her.  It turned out that she felt like her husband and children never listened to her.  She felt as appreciated and acknowledged as a doll, basically – hence the dream.

What Do Knife Dreams Mean?

I have gotten a lot of e-mails lately about knife dreams.  It’s perfectly understandable why these dreams unsettle the dreamer.  Many times the dreamer dreams of cutting themself – or, worse, they dream of cutting other people.

Knife dreams leave the dreamer wondering if they’re harboring rage, aggression, or anger.

I’m always happy to assure them that this isn’t the case.  You see, knife dreams are what we call SYMBOLIC dreams.  In dreams, knives are dream symbols for one or more of the following:

  • Wanting to remove something from your life
  • Wanting to remove something from someone else’s life
  • Wanting to give up a habit
  • Wanting someone else to give up a habit
  • Wanting to get someone out of your llife
  • Wanting to get someone out of someone else’s life

Knife dreams simply mean you want something or someone gone…. like yesterday!

Ironically, they do not imply that you are angry or aggressive – rather they imply that you allow things to go on around you without saying as much as you’d like to say.  Very often, the most laid back, easy-going people in the world will dream about knives.  I suppose it’s symbolic of wanting to “cut” things out the easy way!

Dreaming About Fire: What Does it Mean?

If you dream of fire, a lot of the dream interpretation rests in the situation.  For example, is the fire a “cozy” fire in a fireplace or is it a raging fire threatening anyone and anything in its path.

If the fire in your dream is a controlled fire (bonfire, fireplace, candles, etc) and there aren’t negative emotions connected to it in your dream, the fire stands for a type of renewal or regeneration in your life.  Maybe you’re feeling better about a situation that had been troubling you or perhaps you’ve recently made a very important change that you feel good about.

In dreams, fire is often symbolic of cleansing and renewal.  It is also symbolic of “warm” feelings and emotions.  If you dream of a fireplace, these warm feelings are probably of a romantic nature.  Many people believe that if you dream of lit birthday candles, you are excited about the future – maybe not, necessarily, your next birthday – but something in the future, or just the future in general.

If the fire in your dream is threatening or scary in any way, the symbolism is different.  Rather than indicating renewal, passion, romance, and warmth, this type of fire represents a feelings frustration and of being out of control (more likely than not emotionally).

Many people, after an argument in which they acted out in a way that left them sorry and embarrassed will dream of a raging fire.  Truth be told, it could also symbolize “cleansing” as they wish they could wipe the slate clean.   They feel as though they lost control and are frustrated that they couldn’t extinguish their emotions before they took on a life of their own.

Many people who are overwhelmed at work or school will also have fire dreams – because often their lives feel somewhat “out of control.”

If you dream of a wildfire that’s out of control, you’d be wise to really examine what’s going on in your life because this is your brain’s most extreme dream symbol that something is out of control in your life.  It’s pretty much telling you that you need to get a hold on the situation because it’s in danger of getting out of hand.

This is kind of cool:  If you dream of a fireman, a firetruck, or anything associated with putting out fires, you have recently overcome a negative passion, habit, or thought and feel pretty proud of yourself!

Keeping a Dream Journal

Dream Journal

If you have a legitimate interest in your dreams and truly want to uncover what they’re trying to tell you, the first thing you need to do is buy a dream journal. You could probably even find an old notebook around your house that would work beautifully – without spending a red cent.

Most people think they will simply remember every detail of their dreams without writing down the details right away.  Unfortunately, this just isn’t the case.  Many times, important details are forgotten. In mere hours, large chunks of valuable dream details… just ripe for dream analysis… are lost forever.

It’s like priceless dream symbols flying out of the bedroom window!  Opportunities for self analysis, self growth, and self help lost forever.

Not good.

Another benefit of keeping a dream journal is that you’ll be able to see trends.  If you dream about lost loved ones, snakes, losing things, death, or clowns on a regular basis – it’s information that will prove valuable to a dreamologist (dream interpreter).

Dreaming about snakes once in a while will hold a different analysis, for example, than if you dream about them 2 or 3 times a week.

Whether you want to use the information to interpret your own dreams or you want to have the information, in full detail, handy for a dream interpreter such as the one on Dream Prophesy – a dream journal is absolutely KEY.

Below are top 10 most important things about keeping a dream journal:

  1. Keep your dream journal and pen near your bed. You’ll want to get the dream out of your head and onto paper as soon as possible. If you have to search around the house for the journal or the pen, you run the risk of “losing” valuable details.
  2. Keep your dream journal away from prying eyes! Even though the dream about Angelina Jolie or Brad Pitt (or both) may actually hold an entirely different interpretation than expected – you might not be able to explain that to a certain someone!
  3. Write down every person who appears in your dream. Even if it’s someone you think isn’t at all important, write them down.  If you’re unsure who, exactly, the person was “supposed” to be – go with your gut feeling. Sometimes dreams are confusing, to say the least.
  4. Write down the feelings you experienced in the dream. How you felt during the dream is extremely important to its analysis and interpretation.
  5. Write down how you feel when you first wake up. Are you anxious, sad, mad, confused, elated?  How you feel, initially, also carries  a lot of weight in dream analysis.
  6. If you remember any particular phrases or “key” words in the dream, jot them down, along with who said them. You’ll know which words or phrases are “key” simply because they’ll stand out.
  7. Right before you fall asleep, remind yourself to remember important details about your dream(s). Doing so will help, over time, train you to better remember your dreams and help you to retain the information for longer periods of time.
  8. If you can’t remember an entire dream or you’re foggy on certain details, don’t sweat it! Write down what you can remember. DO NOT assume or try to fill in blanks with what you “think” happened in the dream.  If you don’t remember, you don’t remember.  Think about it this way, if it were truly that important and if it were extremely “key,” you’d probably remember!  Just write down the things you remember.
  9. Write down colors you recall from the dream.  Colors in dreams are very important! I’ll be adding a dream color chart to Dream Prophesy in a day or two.  You’ll be able to see the different interpretations for the different colors.  Write down each color that you remember. If you’re wearing a white top, write that down. If someone in your dream is angry at you and they’re wearing purple, write it down.
  10. Remember the importance of Dream Symbols. When  examining your dream and writing down the details in your dream journal, be sure to list any objects and/or animals that you recall – cats, pillows, birds, toasters, turtles, flowers, etc.

Start keeping a dream journal as soon as possible – it’ll change the way you look at dreams. The information in your journal, combined with the tools and information you’ll find on Dream Prophesy will help you analyze your dreams.  Dream analysis can help you in more ways than you can even begin to imagine.

It can open up a whole new world for you – so grab your pen, you won’t want to miss a thing!

The gorgeous Dream Journal Classic Journal pictured at the top of the page can be bought from Amazon.

Dream Interpretation: Why It’s So Important and How to Approach Dream Interpretation

Our dreams can have a great impact on our lives and offer us wonderful insights into our minds. All we have to do is analyze them and find out exactly what it is they’re trying to tell us. Dreams can hold valuable secrets to our lives and the dream symbols can help sort through many problems and dilemmas in a way no self help book in the world could hope to.

I hope you’ll bookmark Dream Prophesy.com and subscribe to our e-mail alerts and/or rss feed so you can learn how you can interpret your own dreams and learn how they can help you get more from life.

Below are a few guidelines for interpreting and analyzing your dreams:

  • Make the meanings of the dream symbols in your dream line up with your real life.  If you are terrified of snakes, a snake dream will have a different meaning for you than it would someone who keeps snakes as pets and loves them the way the rest of us love our cats and dogs.
  • Submit your dream to Dream Prophesy.com for your own personalized dream interpretation and dream analysis. Our contact form is on the site.  Unless you mark your dream as private, we do share the dream with our readers.  This way, many people are helped by your dream interpretation.
  • Write down your dreams, as soon as you wake up. It doesn’t matter if it’s a regular dream or a nightmare.  Even the most, seemingly, insignificant dream can hold a wealth of information and insight.   Don’t worry about trying to analyze it at that exact moment – simply write down what you remember.
  • Even more importantly, write down how you feel when you first wake up.  The emotions you have at that moment are the emotions you were experiencing in the dream and are absolutely vital to the dream interpretation.
  • Make sure you write down all of the symbols in your dream.  These are things such as knives, brooms, cats, birds, snakes, planes, and even people you recall.  Basically, anything or anyone you remember is a dream symbol.

At the end of a week, go back and examine your dream journal.  If you see a series of troubling and upsetting dreams, you can rest assured that your mind is troubled about something.   Your mind is begging for you to find a solution to the drama and the trauma so that it can find peace again.

If your dreams seem to be a series of fear and panic, you are experiencing a great deal of worry and concern in your life.  There is at least one thing you are afraid of happening (or not happening).  When the worry is resolved, your dream self will be less anxious!

Again, please use Dream Prophesy.com as a guide and resource as you begin to study and make sense of your dreams.  If you have a particular dream or dream symbol that you want interpreted, use our search box to find articles and posts related to this subject.  If you still have questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to e-mail me or use the contact form.

How Well Do You Remember Your Dreams?

Dreams II

If you’re serious about dream prophesy, dream analysis, dream interpretation, and really getting to the heart of what your dreams mean, you’ll need your dream recall to be on the absolute TOP of its game!

  • How well do you remember your dreams?
  • Do you remember your emotions and feelings during your dreams?
  • Do you recognize most of the people in your dreams?
  • In the morning, can you recall at least one of your dreams?
  • Do you recall the various “symbols” in your dreams?

If you feel that your dream recall needs a little work, I have the perfect solution:  A Dream Journal.  While you don’t absolutely have to run out and buy a new notebook or journal to serve as your Dream Journal – it would be a cool idea.  You could use any notebook you have around the house, of course, but the more “special” you make the entire experience, the better.

Even if you simply go to one of those amazing stores where everything is $1 and buy a notebook in your favorite color – you’re making  a point of taking the entire enterprise seriously, and that’s what’s important.  My first Dream Journal was actually a wire notebook with colorful Lisa Frank dolphins on the front.  Seemed appropriate enough!

Here’s another idea that adds to the adventure.  Find a pocket folder (for mere pennies) to keep with your dream journal.  I’ll tell you what it’s for in just a minute!

Get Started With Your Dream Journal

Once you have your dream journal, go ahead and enter a recent dream.  Include the people who were in the dream, what you were doing in the dream (what you hoped to accomplish or were trying to avoid), the symbols (knives, snakes, balloons, candles, fire, clouds – anything that stands out) in the dream, and most importantly – HOW YOU FELT DURING THE DREAM.  Also, list any and all colors that you remember. List only the top 3 colors you remember – 4 at the most.  Oddly enough, this is very important!

A typical journal entry might look something like this:

I was driving  an old beaten up red pick up truck.  My beloved basset hound, Honey, was in the passenger’s seat.  We were in a huge hurry to get somewhere and Honey could talk.  In fact, she talked practially the whole time.  Her collar, instead of being her normal hot pink one was white.  I couldn’t make sense of that in my dream – though her talking didn’t shock me.  I was confused as to why the collar changed colors.

We were in a huge hurry and I was driving really fast.  We were on dirt roads and passed by a lot of farm houses and brown horses.  At some point, my cat Lanie joined us and could also talk.  He wasn’t in a hurry and wanted us to slow down and get something to eat.  Then I woke up. Hungry.

Main Colors:  Red, white, brown

Emotions:  Rushed, confused, anxious, hungry!

The above dream is actually one of the first ones I ever recorded in a dream journal.  This is actually the VERY dream that began my study of and fascination with dreams.  When I was thinking about this dream the next day at school (instead of listening to my Algebra teacher!), I realized that, underneath it all, I was feeling many of the same feelings in my real life as I did in my dream.  By the time the class was over, a lifelong fascination with dreams and heartfelt belief in the importance of their interpretations had taken hold.

Be sure that you enter your “feelings” as accurately as possible.  Here are a few suggestions:  joyful, sad, anxious, worried, depressed, helpless, surprised, ashamed, agitated, frustrated, curious, confused, powerful, unloved, ignored, furious, hopeful, optimistic, sexy, ugly, brave, etc.  Even if the emotions seem to have NOTHING to do with one another, write them down.

Remember the Folder?!

This exercise adds even more fun to your dream recall and analysis.  Cut out or draw/color pictures that symbolize your dream.  If you have room in your dream journal to tape (or draw) them onto the pages, do so.  If not, clip the images together with a paper clip, then add a little piece of paper with the date of the dream.

Having visuals of the colors and symbols can really help put you in touch with your inner feelings and emotions.

I have many more articles and exercises planned to add to the site that deal with Dream Journals and Dream Recall – with plenty more about images and, even, collages.  So, please grab an rss feed and/or sign up for e-mail updates, so you’ll know what’s been added as soon as it’s here for you.  I just wish I could open up my notebooks (and brain!) and pour everything out at once.  Kind of impossible, though, so I’ll just take it steady.

I’m actually working on a downloadable Dream Journal template for the site, color charts, and a visual guide to dream symbols.   So much to do!

Have a glorious weekend – if you need me, I’ll be right here, typing, thinking, and tweaking away with coffee and chocolate fueling me along.

A Few of the Best Dream Journals We’ve Found:
Adventures in Wonderland Dream Journal
Dream Time Journal

The Dreams II Fabric Poster at the top of the post can be bought at
AllPosters.com!