Thorsons
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
Original edition first published as The Element Encyclopedia of 20,000 Dreams 2006
This revised and updated edition published by Thorsons 2019
© Theresa Cheung 2006, 2019
Cover design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2019
Cover illustrations © Kathleen Edwards and Shutterstock.com (stars)
A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library
Theresa Cheung asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Find out about HarperCollins and the environment at www.harpercollins.co.uk/green
Source ISBN: 9780008366476
Ebook Edition © November 2019 ISBN: 9780007484096
Version 2019-09-24
C ONTENTS
Welcome to a Whole New World of Dreams
Introduction: Prepare to Dream
10 Common Dreams You Should Never Ignore
W ELCOME TO A WHOLE NEW WORLD OF DREAMS
I dream, therefore I exist.
– J. August Strindberg
Dreams are timeless, but books written about them aren’t. That’s why I’m delighted this Dream Dictionary has earned itself a reissue. The images that appear in our dreams are informed by enduring archetypes and symbols, but also by what is current and relevant to our lives today. Being given the opportunity to update the Introduction and endmatter, and add some additional entries, close to fifteen years after this book was first written, ensures its relevance. I hope this updated version will remain a classic bedside dream companion for many years to come.
Night Visions
We’ve all woken up from dreams that have felt incredibly real, as if what we experienced actually happened, but then we wake up and can’t make any sense of whatever it was that we felt and saw. We wonder what it all meant.
The majority of dream researchers today believe that dreams are not random and meaningless but rich in messages from our unconscious. They are inner communications that, if we know how to interpret them, can be powerful tools for personal growth. Sadly, many of us forget our dreams when we wake up, and this is a great loss. According to the Talmud: ‘A dream which is not interpreted is like a letter which is not read.’
If you are to recall, understand, and work with your dreams, you first need to learn how to make sense of them. This Dream Dictionary is an illuminating guide to the most common symbols that are likely to appear in your dreamscape, a rich resource to help you unlock the wisdom of your night visions. Use it to find out what your dreams are trying to tell you. But before you submerge yourself in the intoxicating world of your dreams,