DREAMCATCHER: A terrifying encounter in the dark

Claudia’s Dream:

Sarah and Lucy were walking up Poppy Lane in the dark. We passed a man on our left standing next to a bike, looking down at something. He ignored us but we felt he was a threat. We just walked past but he was still felt to be sinister.

Then we saw two women hanging from a lamp post on the other side of the road and a little further up another three women hanging by their necks, dead.

We walked away into a wooded area behind the wall on the left. We tried to keep focused and move forward to get away/move on, but remained quite anxious, trying not to show it too much in case the guy who we think may have killed the women came for us.

Dream Interpretation:

There is an unresolved and disturbing issue currently in the dreamer’s life and she is concerned that although she has tried to ‘move on’ and ‘ignore’ it, there is a real potential for the issue to catch up with her.

The dreamer is ‘anxious’ about the situation but has not really faced up to it yet. She may fear being hurt and has made efforts to divert her attention and almost hide away from addressing it.

The hanging is represented in this dream as an issue that has been ‘hanging around’ for a while and the freedom afforded by a bicycle is used to signify a wish to be ‘free of the problem’.

The escape from a perceived threat in the dream represents the need to be rid of a strong negative influence in her life.

The dreamer continues to feel threatened throughout the dream but as this issue is not being addressed, it is not fading away and attempts to pass it by and not show anxiety is failing.

This dream is a warning or reminder that the dreamer needs to stop avoiding the problem and consciously face up to it. The emotional impact and fears associated with this issue have probably escalated recently, hence the brutal imagery of hangings in the dream. If the dreamer fails to tackle the issue, it is likely that she will experience similar dreams in the future.

If the dreamer would like to provide feedback about the interpretation, please send it to ACDreamcatchers@mail.com.

Interestingly, we have found it is not always possible to interpret your own dream, probably because it often represents the sublimation of feelings or thoughts that we are trying to avoid in our waking lives. However, with a little assistance from the dream interpreter, the symbols and themes can start to make sense and help us to move forward.

If you are interested in having a particular dream analysed, please send us an account of your dream to the following email address: ACDreamcatchers@mail.com

We only have space to interpret one dream a week which will be selected from those received. Please refer to the guidance provided to describe your dream as this will enable us to provide a full interpretation.

Guidance for the Dreamer:

• Record your dream in writing as soon as you wake up with as much detail as possible.

• First of all ask yourself who is in the dream.

• Where are you, what is happening to you and what is happening around you?

• Record how you are feeling about what you and/or others are doing.

• Are there particular symbols or objects in the dream that are unusual?

• Are there any sounds and is the dream in colour or black and white?

• Are you watching yourself in the dream or are you experiencing it first-hand ie: through your own eyes.

Alex Hossack and Catherine Aubrey are Public Service professionals with years of experience as practitioners and managers in the Criminal Justice System.