Should I use a dream dictionary?

The allure is strong: you have a mystifying nighttime dream and then you open a magic book that de-codes the symbols and, voila, the meaning of your dream is revealed.  Nice and clean. Cut and dry. Easy peasy. Too bad it doesn’t work like that…

Do I use dream dictionaries? Absolutely. They have their uses as reference points, as sparks of inspiration, as clues along the path, but they should not be used as a primary resource about the meaning of your dreams, and I’ll tell you why.

Every image, character, archetype and action point in your dream is personal to you. It has a unique meaning—layers of meaning, actually—that no one else could possibly know because they haven’t lived your life. If you jump to a dream dictionary and get a “this-means-that” answer, you have missed every ounce of nuance being offered to you by your dream.

The first thing to do is always to check on your own associations with a dream image. If you dreamt of water, what does water mean to you? What kind of water was it? How do you feel about water? What memories do you have around water? What was the feeling quality of the water experience in your dream? What does it remind you of? Ask yourself these questions first before looking anywhere outside yourself; the primary answers already reside within you.

Next, look at larger archetypal stories and images about the dream symbol. What does water mean in your culture? In the landscape where you live? In the places of your ancestors? How does water show up in mythology or universal stories? Have you dreamt of water before, and is there a theme? Get the larger context.

Now, you might start to look things up, but I recommend starting with well-known resources in the realm of archetypes and mythology. Man and His Symbols by Carl Jung is a classic in this realm. See what a resource like that has to say about your dream symbol.

Then, only then, do I recommend checking a dream dictionary, and I would use it as a source of ideas and reflections rather than a source of definitions and fixed answers. If you look up “water” in a dream dictionary, see how you respond to what you read there. Does it resonate? Does it give an “ah-ha” moment of greater insight? Does it make sense in the context of your life? If it does, great, follow that.

If it doesn’t, consider the possibility that it’s not the right interpretation for you. Trust your own associations and mythological research first. The dream dictionary can be a useful tool for expanding your thought process around your dreams, but it is not diagnostic and if you treat it as such you risk missing out on the richness of your own, personalized message from your dreams.

If you'd like to learn more about working with the archetypes and symbols your dreams, check out this introductory workshop.