The Key to Dream Analysis

A useful source of everything you will need to know concerning your dream life.
You will be led to many of the categories through a system of cross-references.

General Information Paragraphs

Archetypes of the collective unconscious

The concept of the archetype was formulated by the famous pioneer psychiatrist Professor Jung, and expressed in his system of analytical psychology. Jung could see a tendency common to all people, to understand and regulate their lives in a way conditioned by the whole previous history of mankind. This tendency involved a series of shared experiences which grouped various aspects of their collective psyche into recognizable forms intuitively understood. These primordial images remained basically constant, though in their form and detail they could vary widely to suit the individual's understanding and cultural background. These subtle manifestations of intuitive perception rose to awareness and made their presence known – often by way of dreams – usually at times of exceptional importance, when something momentous or awe-inspiring was taking place, and in particular if a change came about or was due to come about in the individual's psychological orientation.

Whether we call them 'bundles of psychic energy', or emotional constants on which people pin their faith, these archetypal images still rise to our awareness to warn, or advise, or admonish, or reassure us. When this happens, we usually feel duty-bound to take heed of their messages. They leave a lasting impression on our minds, so that we are left in no doubt as to their psychic reality, their sincerity of purpose. Though they usually remain below our surface of awareness, they could be called collectively the highest part, the pinnacle, of our own individual selfhood. Because they are shared in common with the rest of humanity and originate from the sum total of human history, in the advice they offer they carry the strength and weight of all human wisdom and experience.

The most commonly experienced archetypes include: the Self, often visualized as an innocent child experiencing the world and observing our every move, watching that we do not act in a way harmful to ourselves; in men there is the anima, and in women the animus, representing the feminine element within a man which enables him to understand and relate to women, and the male element within a woman which gives her an intuitive understanding of men and their needs. In both men and women there is the archetype of the Wise person, available to offer good advice in times of stress; the Hero or heroine; and the Personal shadow which occupies the darkest part of our own Personal unconscious mind. There is the Persona, which indicates the 'face' we like to present to the world for our own self-preservation. Though primordial and archetypal, the form and function of all these stems directly from our own life experiences, and can give us valuable information about ourselves when we heed their message.

Theme Moods

If you experienced any strong emotion during your dream, or afterwards when you
awoke, this will be very important. Try to relive the dream and recall all your feelings
about it. The theme mood sometimes changes during the course of the dream, perhaps
from worry to relief, or from puzzlement to reassurance, and this will be very significant.

Tearfulness

Sorrow as the background to a dream is usually referring a psychological block - a refusal on the dreamer's part to accept his or her own contents. We each have our own nature, our own unique inheritance giving us a basic character over which we have no control. When we feel that our 'true nature' is less than acceptable we may try to hide it. We may unconsciously strengthen our Persona at the expense of truth, forever putting on a false front in case others think badly of us. There is an ancient saying: In vino veritas, which implies that when we drop our guard or lose our inhibitions we may be seen without disguise. The inner feelings have no inhibitions, and see things as they really are; in sleep we drop our guard. The dream may be telling us to be more open and accept our own true nature.

Dream Symbols

Anything identifiable in your dream will most likely be a symbol. Look up the meaning of this symbol and think all round it very carefully. You will be led by cross-references to any further categories which may prove helpful in your final interpretation. The book includes well over 200 common dream symbols which are analysed in depth to discover their true meaning.

ACCIDENT An unexpected disruption to your progress

If you dream of an accident while going about your everyday business

If in the dream you are on the move, by foot or bicycle or public transport, this has the nature of a Warning dream. An accident or near-accident implies that you are in danger of suffering some sort of material loss, or of running up against financial or legal problems. Analyse the dream and if necessary use your Association of ideas to help you think round the possibilities. Take careful note of your feelings and note the theme mood during the dream or immediately after waking; powerful emotions may contain a hint about the severity of the dream accident should it prove to have a counterpart in waking life. To be forewarned is to be forearmed.

If you have an accident while driving

Most dreams of accidents involve driving, especially if a car is your usual mode of transport – and even more so if it is your usual way of getting to work each morning. Cars, mechanical travel in general, or even simple metal objects, are all symbols of materiality, and in dreams they usually represent your own normal progress through life. When you dream there is an accident, or a near miss, or if there seems to be a strong risk of a possible accident, the implication is that either you or those who depend upon you are at risk of facing material loss. This is certainly a Warning dream, though its implications may be purely abstract. If you have been pursuing a risky course in real life, use the dream to good advantage by taking heed of the warning. A railway crossing or road junction is often the scene of a dream accident, and this implies that someone else, possibly someone in competition with you, will be closely involved. A car crash or near miss involving a train at a crossing implies that your 'private' vehicle has run up against opposition from a 'public' vehicle. In this case you may assume that legal difficulties are a distinct possibility.

If you dream that someone else has damaged your car

This kind of accident, caused by others but involving your own means of travel through life, implies that people who rely on you in some way are entangling you in their private problems. You may have let your property or goods out to some other person, and the implications then will be fairly obvious. Or if someone related to you, a son or daughter perhaps, is involved in some enterprise that you have struggled to build up, there is a grave danger that they will cause harm to your affairs through their negligence.

See also: CAR; DRIVING; ROAD

Let your dream be your teacher, but be honest with yourself. Avoid the temptation to alter or gloss over any details even though you may find them unflattering. Your dreams may refer to your conscious everyday experiences, but they also provide access to the contents of your unconscious mind. If you heed the deepest messages of your dreams, they will certainly have sound advice to offer – advice which will help you along the path of life to achieve higher self awareness and psychic fulfilment.

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