DREAMCATCHER: Alex Hossack and Catherine Aubrey interpret your dreams

Vera’s Dream:

I’m at home, which in fact was an old home, the home I raised my family in but left following a divorce. My son-in-law and three children were there.

I was getting ready for work and busy thinking “I’ve got to go to the market before I go into work at the hospital”, which was the place of my old job. I thought that last time I did this I was very late getting into work and so I didn’t want to do that this time.

I said I had to leave very early to get to the market and then to work. I did go very early, at 7.30am. I checked my watch and everything was OK, there was plenty of time. However, I was still worried because I’d done this before and got into work late and I didn’t want to be late again. So I left and have been in this place before, it wasn’t a market but a railway station with shops.

I realised I had dreamed of this place before, there were big buildings and people were saying go this way and that way, confusing, giving misleading directions, lots of entrances to platforms, it was like a maze.

I Iooked at my watch but still can’t find the station (market) and start feeling anxious because I am going to be late and I had set out early.

I came across somebody who had a big urn pot a couple of feet high. As I walked along the way trying to find the station, there was still a lot of people around. I bought the urn and looked inside thinking to cook in it but the bottom was still grubby.

Meanwhile I was still worried about getting to work by which time it was 10.30am. I thought “never mind, I’m going to be late but I know what I’ll do, I’ll work my lunch hour”. I did find the station in the end but I remember the buildings closing in on me. The whole dream was in black and white.

Dream Analysis:

Dreaming of early morning can be a symbolic representation of the earlier part of the dreamer’s life.

This dreamer is concerned about being late for a deadline which is an indication that she feels time is running out for her. Her anxieties may be linked to a period of reflection about her life, while there remain pressures to attend to currently competing demands.

Symbolically, no matter how early she leaves her home, she is unable to arrive at work on time ie: reach her goal.

She considers alternative solutions, but becomes distracted and confused.

The urn represents something in her life that is not fit for purpose and the dreamer is left feeling that she is carrying a dysfunctional, heavy load. This may relate to her emotional state. An urn can also represent death, negative feelings or thoughts which are represented in dreams as grubby or dirty items.

The dreamer does not find the ‘market’ in the dream ie the destination or solution that she was looking for originally.

The shops at the railway station have the same significance as the market, as it represents the existence of her energy to carry on with life. However, this symbol is associated simultaneously with feelings of distress and confusion. There may be issues of conflict in the dreamer’s life currently which need addressing before she can reach her goal and an ultimate state of emotional stability.

The dreamer describes the potential lateness in the dream as a repetition of a past situation where, symbolically she did arrive late for work. This suggests a continuing issue which remains unresolved. The dreamer is looking for alternative approaches to ‘problem solve’ toward a solution, however she is currently just as confused about the issues represented in the current dream as she was previously.

In the end, by ‘working her lunch hour’, the dreamer convinces herself that she has found a compromise which avoids any negative feedback. Symbolically, this represents her decision to avoid directly addressing the specific issue which is at the root of her dream.

It is possible that the dreamer feels she has no option but to compromise herself or her circumstances, rather than directly address the issue that is causing her confusion and distress.

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.