Dream dictionary: meanings of 78 common dreams
A dream speaks of you and of what you are living: find your dream and what it may mean, without any omen.
The 78 dreams by theme
Animals 23
Snake, cat, dog, spider: dream animals often carry a strength, a fear, or an instinct.
- Dreaming of a snakeFear · Instinct
- Dreaming of a catIndependence · Intuition
- Dreaming of a dogLoyalty · Protection
- Dreaming of a ratDistrust · Dull unease
- Dreaming of a spiderPatience · Creation
- Dreaming of a crocodileDistrust · Depth
- Dreaming of a mouseSmall worry · Discretion
- Dreaming of ants and insectsWork · Infestation
- Dreaming of a horseDrive · Freedom
- Dreaming of a wolfInstinct · Pack
- Dreaming of fishDepth · Emotions
- Dreaming of a bearStrength · Withdrawal
- Dreaming of a waspIrritation · Vigilance
- Dreaming of birdsFreedom · Height
- Dreaming of a lionCourage · Power
- Dreaming of a tigerPower · Agility
- Dreaming of a butterflyMetamorphosis · Lightness
- Dreaming of beesWork · Community
- Dreaming of a cowNourishment · Patience
- Dreaming of a rabbitGentleness · Fragility
- Dreaming of a sharkThreat · Unknown
- Dreaming of wormsTransformation · Shadow
- Dreaming of a henHome · Care
Body 6
Teeth falling out, hair, blood: the body in a dream speaks of self-image, never of your physical condition.
- Dreaming of losing your teethSelf-image · Loss of grip
- Dreaming of bloodVitality · Bond
- Dreaming of losing your hairSelf-image · Others’ gaze
- Dreaming of vomitingRejection · Relief
- Dreaming of being nakedExposure · Sincerity
- Dreaming of handsAction · Bond
People 11
An ex, a mother, a person who has died, or a stranger: each figure can say something about you.
- Dreaming of your exMemory · Longing
- Dreaming of a deceased personBond · Absence
- Dreaming of your motherBond · Care
- Dreaming of your fatherLandmark · Authority
- Dreaming of your sister or brotherSiblings · Closeness
- Dreaming of a childFragility · Responsibility
- Dreaming of a babyBeginning · Fragility
- Dreaming of your crushMomentum · Desire for connection
- Dreaming of a celebrityAdmiration · Ideal
- Dreaming of your familyBelonging · Roots
- Dreaming of someoneEncounter · Mirror
Places and journeys 10
House, train, car, moving: the places and journeys of a dream say where you stand.
- Dreaming of a housePrivacy · Refuge
- Dreaming of stairsPassage · Progress
- Dreaming of an elevatorControl · Undergone change
- Dreaming of a mountainObstacle · Ascent
- Dreaming of the seaEmotions · Immensity
- Dreaming of a carDirection · Control
- Dreaming of a trainPath · Deadline
- Dreaming of a tripDeparture · Change
- Dreaming of a suitcaseLuggage · Preparation
- Dreaming of moving houseTransition · Sorting
Elements 7
Fire, water, snow, tsunami: the elements give a dream its climate, from momentum to submersion.
- Dreaming of firePassion · Anger
- Dreaming of waterEmotions · Movement
- Dreaming of snowPause · Silence
- Dreaming of a floodOverflow · Too much
- Dreaming of a tsunamiUpheaval · Emotion
- Dreaming of an earthquakeLandmarks · Change
- Dreaming of rainOverflow · Relief
Objects 6
Key, mirror, jewelry, money: an object found or lost often shows what matters to you.
- Dreaming of jewelryValue · Precious bond
- Dreaming of moneyValue · Security
- Dreaming of a mirrorSelf-image · Gaze
- Dreaming of shoesPath · Step
- Dreaming of a keyAccess · Control
- Dreaming of a knifeCut · Conflict
Scenarios 7
Falling, flying, being chased, not being able to scream: the most frequent scenarios, and often the most distressing.
- Dreaming of flyingFreedom · Perspective
- Dreaming of fallingLoss of footing · Control
- Dreaming of fightingConflict · Defense
- Dreaming of drowningSubmersion · Overflow
- Dreaming of being unable to screamHeld-back word · Blockage
- Dreaming of a burglaryPrivacy · Boundaries
- Dreaming of an accidentLoss of control · Speed
Life events 8
Wedding, pregnancy, birth, goodbyes: life passages that speak of change, without announcing anything.
- Dreaming of being pregnantProject · Waiting
- Dreaming of a weddingCommitment · Union
- Dreaming of giving birthFulfillment · Effort
- Dreaming of a birthBeginning · Renewal
- Dreaming of deathEnding · Passage
- Dreaming of your own deathTransformation · End of a cycle
- Dreaming of a funeralFarewell · Ending
- Dreaming of a birthday or a partyRecognition · Passing time
Reading a dream in three steps
- Write down what staysOn waking, write the strongest image, what was happening, and what you felt: the feeling matters as much as the setting.
- Look for what the image evokesBefore any dream dictionary, ask what this snake, this house, or this person makes you think of: your association comes first.
- Link it to your daysLook at what is occupying you right now. A dream often takes up a concern from the day before, in a more vivid form.
Interpret my dream Choose its images, the scene, and your feeling: the reading is put together on the page, without sending anything.
Understanding dreams
- How to interpret a dreamThe method, step by step
- Lucid dreamingDefinition, history, and techniques studied
- Precognitive dreamsWhy we believe we dreamed the future
- Freud and dreamsWhat The Interpretation of Dreams says
- Jung and dreamsCompensation, archetypes, amplification
- Why do we dream?What sleep science says
- Remembering your dreamsRemembering dreams: why we forget, how to write them down
- Recurring dreams and nightmaresWhy they come back
- Common dreamsThe dreams almost everyone has
- Dream dictionariesFrom Artemidorus to modern dream books
Where dream interpretation comes from
Interpreting dreams is a very old practice. In the 2nd century, Artemidorus of Daldis wrote the five books of the Oneirocritica, the oldest surviving Greek treatise; the Muslim tradition ties this art to Ibn Sirin. In 1900, Sigmund Freud proposed reading a dream through the associations of the person who dreams rather than with a dream dictionary, and Carl Gustav Jung saw in it a dialogue with the unconscious. Sleep research, finally, observes that dreams often take up the worries of the day before. Each page names these readings without mixing them.
What a dream is not
A dream is neither a prophecy nor an assessment of your condition. Dictionaries that promise a dream “announces” a birth, a breakup, or a death sell a certainty that no one holds. What remains solid is your own reading: the feeling of the dream, what the image reminds you of, what you are living right now. If a dream keeps coming back and weighs on you, talking about it with someone close often helps more than a ready-made meaning.
A dream is read as a mirror of what you are living, never as an omen: no reading here predicts anything at all.
Dream interpretation: your questions
How do you interpret a dream?
Start from yourself rather than from a list: write down the dream, the feeling it leaves, then what each image evokes for you. Then compare with what is occupying you right now. The dictionary pages offer suggestions and the readings of Freud, Jung, and research, to be taken as questions, not verdicts.
Do precognitive dreams exist?
Many people report a dream that seemed to match an event that happened afterward, and that experience deserves to be heard. No study has shown, however, that a dream foresees the future. Versana’s pages therefore make no prediction: they read the dream as a reflection of what you are going through, which is often the most useful lead.
Why do I keep having the same dream?
A recurring dream often goes along with a lasting concern: an exam, a relationship, a change being put off. Writing it down each time helps spot what triggers it. If it becomes distressing or ruins your nights, talking to a professional can help, without there being anything serious to read into it.
Does a dream mean the same thing for everyone?
No. A cat does not say the same thing to someone who adores cats and to someone who fears them. Each page gives the most frequent meaning, then invites you to adjust it with your own associations and the feeling of the dream: the last word is yours.