How to Interpret Your Own Dreams
Dream interpretation is so much more than memorizing a list of definitions and meanings and putting it together; dream interpretation is the exploration of your internal conversation via your unique symbolic language—of which there are over 8 billion different versions on the planet.
Your dreams and nightmares are the subconscious communications from your core self and, therefore, are the essence of you. The language in which the subconscious communicates is unique to each individual soul and is formed through the totality of your life’s experiences, emotions, thoughts, choices, and soul signature. No human being on the face of the earth has the same combination of totality, therefore, no human being has the exact same dream language. That may sound like it makes interpreting your dreams and nightmares incredibly difficult but, in actuality, it makes it a million times easier because no one understands yourself better than you!
In this post we’ll discuss how to interpret your own dreams, my personal dream interpretation formula, and how to use your dream interpretations in everyday life.
How to Interpret Your Own Dreams
The simple answer is to observe the many facets of yourself.
Dream interpretation consists of 3 main parts: imagery definition and personal experience, emotional understanding, and reflection. Together, these 3 parts are woven together into an “interpretation,” or the explanation of your internal conversation that resonates the most.
Imagery Definition
Have you ever googled “what does x mean in dreams” only to find a million different definitions that don’t seem to fit? Don’t worry, you’re not alone! While many pieces of dream imagery do have a common definition (or 5), most of them don’t mention the importance of personal experience.
Let’s take the imagery of a dog as an example. I personally LOVE dogs and currently have the honor of loving a big pittie mix we named Daruk (after a Legend of Zelda character). In my personal dream space the imagery of a dog usually represents the concept of something that I care deeply about or that I feel responsible for. But if someone who had been viciously attacked by a dog as a child dreamt of one it most likely wouldn’t represent the same thing to them as it does to me. For them, it also wouldn’t represent the googled definitions like loyalty and truth. This is because their personal life experience with dogs is the main definer of its imagery meaning. To them, a dog would most likely represent something they fear, something that can cause pain, or something uncontrollable.
Observing your life’s experiences is a major component of interpreting your own dreams!
Whenever you’re trying to define a piece of imagery, ask yourself the following questions before googling or using a dream dictionary:
Have I ever had an impactful moment or experience with this piece of imagery? If so, what was it and how did I feel about it?
If I haven’t had a direct or impactful experience with this piece of imagery, let’s look at it’s purpose. What does it do, why does it exist, or what do I commonly associate with it?
What are the characteristics of this piece of imagery. If I were to describe it to someone, how would I do so?
The key to interpreting your own dreams is not academic accuracy, it’s personal resonance. The piece of imagery really does exist just for you so trust yourself with what you think it means! You can always look up some definitions in an online resource or dream dictionary later for ideas.
Emotional Understanding
Have you ever gotten into an argument with someone over a memory? They say something like, “No, that’s wrong! You were doing xyz…” or “Wait, didn’t it actually happen like this?” You both remember the exact same moment but the memories are different! How the heck does that happen? You both valued different parts of the original experience so when your memories formed, you formed them around the parts that mattered the most to you in that moment. You formed them around your emotions!
Our emotions shape our reality.
This doesn’t mean our memories are incorrect or that anyone is wrong, it just serves to point out the two very different views or perspectives you have of the same event and we can learn a lot about who we were (and who we currently are) by piecing together what we valued (or currently value).
Our dreams are a reflection of our totality and, therefore, really take our emotions into account. In every dream you have, there’s an underlying emotion you can find somewhere within it. This emotion is not like the ones we use to help us determine individual pieces of imagery (like in the previous section), this emotion is the overarching focus of the dream.
Using the dog example again. I dreamt about a dog having puppies and carrying for those puppies. The imagery of the dream (in my personal context) could mean either:
Something I love deeply has multiplied into many things I love deeply. OR
Something that I feel responsible for has multiplied into many responsibilities.
For clarity on the dream’s interpretation and meaning I look to the overall emotion of the dream which I will identify as ANXIETY. Based on the feeling of anxiety, I would go with the second definition.
The overarching emotions of the dream can help you further define the dream’s meaning.
Reflection
Reflection is all about asking questions for context.
Continuing right on with the dog dream example in which it had multiple puppies and I felt anxiety, it’s time to reflect on the dream to give it full meaning. I’ve determined that the overarching emotion of the dream is anxiety and that the dog most likely represents something that I feel responsible for (and the multiplication of responsibilities). In reflection I would ask myself, “Where in my life do I feel like my responsibilities could (or already are) becoming overwhelming?” Or I could ask myself, “Where in my life am I afraid that my responsibilities will explode beyond what I can handle?”
This is the best part of dream interpretation—finding meaning in waking life! When I had this dream I was in the middle of taking on some new commitments. In my waking life I felt like I could easily handle them but underneath the surface I realized I was pretty apprehensive about it. This dream (and my interpretation) helped me to acknowledge the part of myself that was trying to ask for help in finding a new way to balance these commitments without feeling overwhelmed (instead of just ignoring my needs and pushing through like many of us are taught to do).
I was able to use this dream to say, “Hey, I think I need to ease into this more slowly and ramp up my capacity.” I prioritized one commitment and informed the people affected by the others that I’d get to that commitment at a later date. As I worked on ramping up my dedication and habits to these new commitments I didn’t feel as pressured because I acknowledged my needs and then communicated those needs to others. The honesty of my dream helped me to avoid burnout!
Meg’s Dream Interpretation Formula
Imagery List + Definitions + Weave = Interpretation
After I’ve written out my dream in my dream journal or typed it to myself in Whatsapp (which I honestly use more these days) it’s time to break it down with an interpretation and find meaning.
For this section, let’s use a different example. Below is a dream I had in February 2024:
“I was a small bird and I told my friend I felt like I should migrate this year. I felt that I was ready. I started flying up to a higher altitude but it was hard to get loft and my wings weren't strong enough yet so I got into a tree and rested. Then I flew to a taller tree. It went on like this until I was able to start the adventure.”
Now let’s implement the formula for interpretation.
Imagery List
I begin by listing out each piece of imagery in a numbered list.
Bird
Friend
Wings
Trees
Definitions
Next, I look at these individual pieces and define them for myself:
Bird: A creature that has the ability to fly and experience freedom, see from the “bird’s eye view” and travel across great distances.
Friend: A part of me that represents camaraderie or the concept of companionship. Potentially also accountability (telling your friends something to keep you accountable).
Wings: The mechanisms of flight. The part of the bird’s body that allow it to travel.
Trees: In the context of this dream, they represent stepping stones and form a path to take me higher.
Weave
I weave the pieces of imagery and their definitions with the emotions, non-physical aspects, and intentions of the dream to form a story or personal narrative that explains more than just the dream.
“In this dream I’m the bird, meaning that I have decided I’m ready to move forward in life. I’m ready to experience more freedom and see the bigger picture. I’m ready to “migrate” or move in the direction of nature’s divine call. I tell this to my friend, communicating with the people in my life that I’m ready to try something new. I spread my wings but recognize that I need to build up my strength and form some habits before I’m able to truly take off. I take one step at a time until I’m able to get up into the sky and move forward. I’m taking the steps.”
Interpretation
We could technically stop with the Weave above but I like to really make the messages of my dreams clear for myself so I continue on explaining things until I find what resonates within me.
“In my waking life (and back in February this was totally true for the time) I’m branching out into new territory. I recognize that there’s more I want to do outside of dream and nightmare interpretation. I am about to explore writing a book, connecting with galactic beings, and spiritual expansion. I know I’m ready and I know I want to move in this direction but I really do need some practice first.”
This ended up being true and I listened to the advice in this dream and followed through with it. In March I developed a daily writing habit that eventually led to a Eureka! moment in April where I finally understood how I needed to write my book which is now complete and slated for publishing this winter! I also began practicing galactic connections through meditations and dreams and learned several tools to help me. All of this can stem back to the moment I knew in this dream that I was “ready to migrate” and that I was going to climb up and up the trees (the stepping stones and habits of success) to work myself into a space of strong flight.
Today, I’m soaring!
How to Apply and Use Your Dreams Everyday
Everyday I wake up and see what dreams I can recall. I don’t need to interpret a dream to apply and use the dream for daily support, I only need to acknowledge the emotion I wake up with.
The emotions of the dreams that we have show us where we truly are internally. When we acknowledge where we’re at, we can meet ourselves there with grace and support, shaping our day accordingly.
When I wake up from a nightmare or a fear-based dream I recognize that something troubling or difficult is on my mind. For me, this usually indicates that my emotional capacity for others will be low that day. I use the acknowledgement of that emotion to rearrange my schedule as needed. If I have a lot of meetings with people where I’m supposed to be bubbly, I ask if we can regroup at another time. If I can’t reschedule them, I lead those meetings by stating where I’m at and setting expectations. These are the days I put extra emphasis on meditation, taking a nap if I can, or relaxing a little more than usual. It’s a self care day.
And there are many other ways to apply the emotions of my dreams to the day at hand:
When I wake with a ton of excitement and energy I look at my to-do list and see what additional items I can tackle.
When I wake with a lot of love from a dream I make sure to spend extra time with my partner and give them the fullness of my attention.
When I wake from a super imaginative, sci-fi, or hyper-realistic dream I try and apply my creativity wherever I can that day.
…you get the point.
I’ve found that when I step into my day based on the emotional space of my dreams, I’m better able to utilize the particular focus of energy I’m already sitting within (or that I’m able to recover when I need it). Not all dreams need to be interpreted to be beneficial to your waking life. Sometimes, it’s just about the personal observation!
Meg 🐝
