There are deep meanings of dreams that we can find in our nightly trip away from reality. Most people find their dreams to be unintelligible scrambles of mixed messages and cryptic symbols from things they encountered in their day. The subconscious mind is a much more remarkable machine than it is given credit for. Precognitive dreams are dreams that are designed by your subconscious mind to make you feel a certain way or even tell you something.

Disturbing dreams are often linked to tragic or traumatic incidents in your life. Situations involving trust can cause you to have bad dreams. However, a disturbing dream can also be tied to a significant risk you are taking. It is possible you are realizing just how bad a particular situation could become. Some dreams might just be reflecting your fundamental fears but others could be warning you that action is needed to prevent the worst from happening.

Some time before he was assassinated, it is said that Abraham Lincoln had a dream that there would be a funeral at the White House. In his dream, he asked an onlooker who was the person that had died. The onlooker replied “The President of United States has died.”

When Lincoln told his wife about having this dream she told him that he was going to be killed while he was in office. Two weeks later, Lincoln was assassinated.

The precognitive power of our minds is a very real phenomenon. The subconscious mind often relays these precognitions through our dreams. Our different interpretations of these dreams may adversely affect the outcomes of the situations they inform us about. The symbols in our dreams can have direct or indirect interpretation when it comes to the meanings of our dreams. That is to say that a symbol can be interpreted directly as it appears or it can be used metaphorically. Most often it is the latter which is true. In any effort to interpret what the subconscious mind is telling you in your dreams, you must be aware of the margin for error within the realm of dream interpretations.

Some of us are as different as night and day. As such our subconscious minds may communicate with us in different ways. Some people fear snakes. Within their minds a snake may be a symbol for fear or danger, where in the mind of someone who respects and idolizes snakes, a snake may be a positive symbol reflecting future accomplishments. What we make of our dream interpretations may reflect the way we deal with challenges in our normal lives.

Because our minds often work differently from person to person, it can be difficult to gauge the meaning of a particular symbol appearing in the dreams of one person to the next. However, there are many inherently similar common dream symbols with distinctive and sometimes surprising meanings. In order to help you understand some of the hidden meanings in dreams, here are eight commons symbols which appear in dreams and their different meanings.

1) Dreams of Death

To dream of your own death or the death of a family member can be very upsetting. If you believe the dream to be prophetic it can seem like cause for concern. Your subconscious mind often looks at death as a stage or phase that is part of life. A dream of death often symbolizes the end of an era or phase in your life. People who are approaching a graduation or certification often have dreams involving their death or the death of a loved one. Likewise people who are considering separation and divorce often have similar dreams.

2) Drowning and Dreaming of bodies of Water

Many people think that if they are drowning in their dream that it may be a precognitive dream and they should avoid exposing themselves to anything involving water or possible drowning. Water is a symbol in your subconscious mind for the portrayal of emotions. Dreams of drowning may in fact signify that you are overcome or ‘drowning’ in your emotions.

3) Fire

Fire is one of nature’s most destructive forces. People who dream of fire may believe there is some form of disaster approaching. They may even have fears that they will be burned to death. Although it is true that fire destroys, it also acts as a cleansing and purifying agent. Fire can often symbolize passion, intense desire and even sexual arousal.

4) Predatory Creatures

Although we often associate animal predators with fear or danger, different animals may have different interpretations. If you dream of a wolf which is in a peaceful state it could signify coexistence with a potential threat. However, dreaming of a wolf on the prowl may indicate possible treachery. Some creatures indicate a clear threat and the best way of judging the type of threat the symbol represents is by the attributes of the predator itself. A shark is a clear indication of an emotional threat, as their natural habitat is water and water represents emotion. Spiders, though they have the power to harm you, are tiny creatures who’s bite typically produces an irritating effect. Therefore a spider can signify small annoyances or irritants going on in your life.

5) Cats and other non-threatening Animals

Cats often represent femininity. A large cat, such as a lion or tiger can symbolize a woman in your life who holds a position of power or respect. With some animals it might be a simple metaphor. Dream about a rat: I smell a rat!

6) Falling in your Dreams

Almost everyone has had the falling dream in different forms. Some people have all different forms of falling dreams and there are several ways to interpret what it means. Falling can symbolize the loss of something. It can symbolize the loss of control or it can mean the loss of a material object. You might feel like you are losing out on a significant bonus at your job or you might be more deeply affect than you think about the loss of your teddy bear.

7) Cheating Spouses

It is more common than you think to dream about your spouse having an affair or cheating on you. Your first instinct might be that your dreams are telling you to suspect your lover of cheating on you. These dreams can actually be your subconscious mind’s way of reaffirming your commitment to this person. Your dreams could be telling you that you care about this person by invoking one of your strongest and most primal emotions: Jealousy!

8 ) Sleeping with your Friends

We’ve all had weird sex dreams about someone we know and felt strange or even creeped out about it. People often wonder what a weird sex dream means. Sometimes you dream about sex as a way of expressing certain affirmations in your mind. It can often indicate that people on some level satisfy an emotional need for you.

An important thing to understand is that you experience hundreds of dreams every night and you could very well go through all of these dreams in one night. When you go to sleep you have three stages of sleep. The first stage is a period between awakening and unconsciousness. You may start to dream a little in this phase but you can be awakened easily. The second phase is REM sleep. REM stands for rapid eye movement and this is the phase where your subconscious mind is rapidly showing you dreams. The third is a phase of sleep is a deep sleep where your body rejuvenates and replenishes itself. During sleep you frequently drift back and forth through the latter two phases of sleep. During REM sleep very detailed and seemingly lengthy dreams are experienced in a manner of seconds. You could potentially dream up to a thousand times a night.

The dreams you remember are the ones which are most significant to whats going on in your life. When you are deeply affected by a symbol in one of your dreams it can likely be telling you of a major problem in your life that needs dealing with. Either physical or metaphysical.

What weird dreams have you pondered the meanings of? Have you ever dreamed of your spouse cheating or had the falling dream in a more extreme than usual way? Have you interpreted any of the dreams you’ve had?

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