DREAMCATCHER: Alex Hossack and Catherine Aubrey interpret your dreams

John’s Dream:

The dream began with me waking during the night needing the bathroom. My bedroom door was open and I could see the bathroom door across the landing in the dimness of the night.

I noticed there were shadows of snakes on the floor leading to the bathroom door but decided to go anyway. I carefully stepped my way through the snakes, the image of which were becoming clearer with each step.

On leaving the bathroom I made my way back into bed anxious that I might step on a snake. As I got into bed the anxiety remained due to several of the snakes that had followed me and were now on the duvet.

I thought I felt a snake on my foot in the bed and was startled when one appeared in my face. However, I went back to sleep. When I awoke in the morning I remained anxious for some time.

Dream Interpretation:

This dream has little content. Nevertheless, there is enough of a particular theme to make an analysis.

The theme is one of a constant state of anxiety and vulnerability, represented by the feelings of attack he fears.

Snake dreams develop when the need to express basic instincts such as the libido, fear, love and hate are prevented expression by the conscious mind. Only by accepting the need to satisfy or at least acknowledge such instinctual demands will he have the opportunity to resolve the conflict and stop this type of dream.

Although snakes are a universal dream symbol, it is not true that they always represent male genitalia. This was originally given as an example of how dream images can be depicted. In fact, such images can represent many different objects, thoughts, feelings and emotions. It depends upon the dreamer's life experiences.

When the power of instinctual demands are finally understood and harnessed, the dreamer may be released to make sense of his thoughts and behaviours and make use of the energy that becomes available.

This dreamer has a retentive personality, one that deals with problems by suppression or denial. The question remains for this dreamer, what is it that he wants to suppress, to remain unacknowledged in his life. This dream is a cry for help.

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.