Anger
Who are you angry at? Why are you angry? What is the outcome of your anger in your dream? Being angry in a dream often represents an emotion we want to have in waking and will not allow ourselves to experience. This reflects the fact that anger can be destructive and sometimes ends up being treated as a taboo in our personality. The fact that it comes out in dreams may be attributed to the id.
People who dream of being angry often have difficulty expressing the emotion constructively in waking life. Anger is a reaction to a perceived threat. As such, anger reflects our feeling that we are being denied what is ours by necessity or by right. Dreams that contain anger may often serve as an insightful beacon into our waking relationships. Sometimes, you may find yourself dreaming of being angry at someone who never angers you in waking life. This may simply be an indication that they are not perfect; a sort of check that reminds you that they are human. |
Ravens, crows, and vultures could share in this task. However, the gift of flight has retained a sense of majesty for birds as a genus, and certain birds in particular. Note that the phrase Soaring on eagles' wings has been a sign of hope for twenty-five centuries.
The visual acuity of many birds (i.e. the eyes of a hawk) also conveys positive perceptions, while ravens and owls are also stereotyped as vessels of wisdom in myth and literature. The ability of some birds to speak places them in a special category as far as non-human creatures are concerned. Some people may be characterized as bird-like in your dreams. If you speak with birds in your dreams, you probably have some communication issues to consider. This is true even when the birds do not speak in reply. As with other animals, the bird and its underlying image in your experience are crucial to discerning the meaning of your dream.
In addition, persons whom you characterize as being particularly wise, predatory, or visionary may be represented to you in a bird form-not necessarily as a bird with that person's head or face, but more as a metaphorical appearance.
The symbol can have either great attraction to the dreamer or revulsion and avoidance. To avoid the cross may indicate either judgment, shame, ambivalence about traditional values, or a memory-dodging consciousness. This memory-dodging is a defense mechanism to prevent looking all the way into the implications of choices or experiences tied to religious symbols in your life.
On the positive side, the cross can feel very redemptive or provide a sense of security. Many religious icons operate as a positive taboo for us. Just as dark taboos are symbols, practices, or icons we do not mess with out of fear, certain positive symbols carry positive taboo power. We are secure because of the power of the symbol. Christians who encounter the cross in dreaming may experience a sense of inner healing, renewal, or reconciliation in the dream.
Who is with you when you encounter the cross and what are the activities immediately prior to or subsequent from the cross experience? These questions may give clues as to whether the cross is an internal healing symbol or external one for broader reconciliation.
Hawk
Hawks are interesting dream figures. They aren't quite eagles, but they definitely rank above the crows. Like the eagle, hawks are common symbols in many cultures.
Native American dreams revere the hawk and eagle the way the Greeks revere Zeus and Hermes. The hawk is the warrior-visionary while the eagle is the sacred wisdom and power. To dream of hawks is to see oneself as engaged in, but outwitting, opponents through the ability to perceive more completely. It may also be a dream of providing adequately through skillful acquisition or insightful maneuvering. Do you see yourself as soaring with the hawks or pecking with the pigeons in waking life? This may be wish-fulfillment or concern over the direction your life is heading. |
Did someone else make you cry directly?
Were you crying for a particular reason, or was it for a general emotional release?
Did the tears make you feel ultimately better or worse?
If you are visiting these places, note the feeling they arouse in you.
Leopard
Spotted animals are interesting symbols because of their nonconformity to a uniform color. Often we may see people as spotted or as leopards if we suspect them of shiftiness or insincerity.
To see a leopard mauling a kill, especially if it makes eye contact with you, likely means that you have been dealing with someone who you do not trust, and that you should take stock of recent dealings with that person and others like them. |
Walls
In psychoanalytic technique, walls are generally held to be a symbol of the male personality, with a focus on power. This thinking seems to stem from the impressions a young child would have of dominant male power in the home (which is a fortress surrounded by walls and dominated by the patriarch). In dreams, many people encounter walls as a random barrier and/or a projection of power.
In your dream, do you come upon a wall in your travels, or do you find yourself immediately surrounded by walls? Do you try to scale the wall, find its end, or simply ignore it? |
Infestation
Being overrun, even by a desirable commodity, is an undesirable experience. Even good things can get carried away. Many times, we feel as though our lives our out of control. In dreams, having an infestation of a particular person, object, insect, or animal may be a pictorial representation of feeling overwhelmed.
If the infestation comes from a positive event, it may be a warning from your subconscious that other necessary obligations are being neglected due to your consumption by a singular activity. If the infestation is a categorically negative image, such as rats or mosquitoes, it may be that your life is getting severely undermined. Is the infestation happening in your home, car, or other intimate place? Are there any others present? |
Usually, this is a very symbolic event in a dream.
A 34-year-old man reports: I dream of being in a situation where I need to act resourcefully to help a stranger avoid danger. Suddenly, I go blind for no apparent reason! It is very frustrating.
Becoming suddenly impaired in this way is different than being injured in a physical accident. The lights just seem to go out without explanation. With a dream like this, it is questionable whether or not the dreamer feels competent to fulfill his duties in waking life. However, this can also refer to his reluctance to accept the challenge of the hero self.
Seeing oneself as a hero is kind of daunting, and the fact that it is your dream doesn't mean that you will necessarily and easily assume that role. Suddenly, the awareness of caring for those to whom you have no obligation is quickened. It's a hassle. Many of us can barely fulfill responsibilities to the people around us in ordinary situations.
Another scenario for loss of a sensory ability is to exchange it for something or someone else. The old saying, I'd give my eye teeth for ... articulates the human willingness to exchange one ability or attribute for something else of value. There are many times when our minds use the principle of exchange to help us verify the relative worth of relationships or objects.
There can also be a distinct martyr image attached to this kind of loss. This is especially true when the dream includes loss of ability through some potentially painful means. The loss may be seen as an exchange for something that was gained during the dream or in waking life.