own unconscious wisdom: the wonderful experience of existing, of being alive with all the powers of a living creature such as strength, passion, awe and wonder in meeting life and the stars. Does your dream monkey reveal a wider side of you? The three mystic monkeys cover their eyes, ears and mouth showing that they ‘see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil’. Do you need to keep your own counsel?
BADGER
Define what you associate with the badger. For most of us, the play on words will feature strongly as a dream about badgers can often refer to badgering people, or feeling badgered and needing to get away from the influence of other people.
BAT
Bats can see in the dark suggesting thoughts or influences that emerge from our intuition or inner wisdom.
BEAR
Often represents the mother figure in dreams and depending on the dream, this image can be caring or uncaring, or possessive and all devouring. If the bear is recognized as male, then it could refer to an overbearing person, or perhaps the father figure in a person’s life.
The bear is largely a solitary animal that prefers to live and survive alone. This, and its human way of standing, may be major reasons for bears appearing in dreams. We can therefore link the bear with feelings about living alone or surviving by one’s own strength. Because of the bear’s ability to hibernate, it can also represent our ability to recreate ourselves after a period of rest and reflection.
Bears in dreams may also link to feelings we have about becoming independent, or meeting strength and independence in someone else, or even wild rage as ‘the bear with a sore head’. If the latter is the case, it could suggest your relationship with someone who is touchy or grouchy or powerfully possessive in a smothering relationship. It could also indicate the danger of sudden unpredictable reactions.
BEAST
Many dreams feature beasts or animals that are of no particular characteristic or type. In some cases the beast is terrifying and we awake with a feeling of dread. Such creatures are usually an expression of memories, or instincts and drives, which have been repressed or avoided in our waking lives for one reason or another. See also SURREALISM AND FANTASY.
BEAVER
Beavers are typically associated with industriousness and independence, although the word does also have sexual connotations with the female sexual organs. If a dam is being built, this could suggest holding back feelings or the need to conserve energy. In Native American tradition the beaver is considered holy and if a beaver should speak to you in a dream, this may be an expression of your inner wisdom trying to make itself heard.
BOAR
Boars are symbols of the magical spirits that protect the woods. If they appear in dreams, they can suggest protection from danger and hardship in waking life.
BULL
When bulls appear in dreams they might refer to powerful instinctual responses that can sweep us along or cause problems if we try to deny them. Such instinctual urges may be to do with lust and desire, anger at people invading our space, paternal or maternal love and protectiveness, or simply an aggressive bullish trait within ourselves or someone else. It can also suggest personal traits to do with being earthy, basic or sexual in our approach as well as strength, obstinacy and power. If the bull is aggressive, this shows the frustration that can arise from basic drives being thwarted. For example, a person may have a high libido and feel frustrated with a partner who does not care for sex as much. If the bull is wounded or killed, this suggests a killing of natural urges or drives for sex and procreation. If the bull is sacrificed, this can suggest generosity and self giving. The ridden bull indicates harmony between instinct and decision making.
In many cultures or myths around the bull there is the theme of the Hero confronting and overcoming the bull; for instance Theseus and the Minotaur. Victory over the bull therefore represents the human struggle and victory over instinctual or reactive forces influencing consciousness. From this victory a new life or consciousness can be born.
CAMEL
Suggests the dreamer’s ability, or the ability of someone the dreamer knows, to face adversity—especially over the dry and barren aspects of life. It may also link with inner strength, endurance, patience and plodding perseverance. Occasionally the camel’s hump may suggest pregnancy or the desire for children.
CAT
Jung saw cats in dreams as representing the hidden or secretive side of a person’s nature. Cats often feature in dreams of women to represent the urge to care for someone or in some cases a desire for sex and the need to reproduce. In men’s dreams, a cat or group of cats may refer to a woman or group of women, or to the intuitive side of men’s nature, perhaps warning him of hidden dangers; cattiness, jealousy in a relationship. On the other hand it can also suggest independence, stealth and fertility. An alley cat indicates promiscuity. In some dreams, a black cat, depending on
Big cats
Stealth, ferocity, power, strength, cunning and the will to survive are suggested by wild cats in dreams.
Jaguar
Assertiveness and fierce anger.
Leopard
The
