Carl Jung was a 19th century psychotherapist most known for his archetypes and the invention of the so-called collective conscious. According to Jung, looking into dreams is essentially opening a door to the unconscious and the spirit world, which means that there’s a whole science behind sleep.

Recently, a team of scientists from the Computational Neuroscience Laboratory from Kyoto, Japan, examined brain scans in order to detect the visual imagery of dreams. The scientists concluded that we all see our dreams exactly as the waking world. In order to analyze our dreams, we need to study how we take part in our daily activities. The biggest question is – are our dreams a visual representation of the visual stimuli we perceive during the day or are they guided in another way. What do the symbols we dream of mean? Are they some kind of message? Here are the 10 common dream symbols and their meaning:

 

Death

Dreaming of death is fairly morbid, we have to admit. It usually symbolizes the ending of something, most likely of an ego. However, death may also represent the death of anxiety, anger or ideathat is usually followed by the birth of another idea. According to symbolists, death can be a representation of some psychological aspect and big emotional changes.

 

Being pregnant

Dreaming about being pregnant means development and personal growth or a relation to future projects and desires. If you dream being pregnant often, ask yourself – what are you trying to fulfill? Do you have some kind of possibility laid out before you?

 

Naked

Dreaming of yourself or others naked may be connected to the fear of being exposed. These dreams often represent the “naked truth” or a situation of an illegal affair or loss of respect. Dreaming of nakedness also means accepting imperfections and flaws.

 

Flying

If you’re flying in your dreams, you have the need to reach ambition. Ask yourself – where are you going? What are you doing with your life? Are you troubled navigating through life? Flying represents freedom and the ability to overcome any kind of obstacle.

Waterfalls

Dreams of waterfall signify your emotional state as well as cleansing and purity. Waterfalls are a powerful omen that represents a new beginning. If you’re dreaming of waterfalls, try to remember if it’s on a beach or a dark juggle and ask yourself how do you perceive your obstacles.

 

Teeth

Dreaming of teeth usually symbolizes aging, but it can also represent something that needs to come out to the light (if your teeth are being pulled) or fear and anxiety (if the teeth are rotten). Dreaming of falling teeth symbolizes a stressful situation, fear of loss, lack of power in your relationship or hidden lies.

 

Fire

Dreaming of fire can have different meanings and depends on the context. For example, if you dream of playing with fire it symbolizes a warning, while seeing fire from a distance signifies transformation and desire. Sometimes, dreaming of fire can indicate repressed anger.

 

Houses

Houses in dreams signify the self and different personality aspects. Depending on the type of house or rooms, the interpretation can vary. Houses indicate security and comfort – an attic symbolizes hidden and repressed memories, while the basement indicates the unconscious. If you’re seeing houses often in your dreams, ask yourself if you’re taking care of your body, and how do you perceive yourself in the outside world.

 

Money

Dreaming of money is about our self-worth and luck and how we perceive ourselves. Money also symbolizes fear of loss, and experts claim that money dreams pertain to the core of our emotions towards financial stability, which is a big part of our lives. If you’re dreaming of money, you are probably stressed about losing your job or being in debt.

 

Adultery

Dreaming of adultery symbolizes repressed sexual desire as well as abandonment and fear, self-worth issues and the acceptance of a problematic relationship. If you’re dreaming of adultery, ask yourself – are you afraid of losing your partner? Are you unhappy? How do you feel about the sex?

 

As you can see, the dreams are an episodic representation of our lives and can be analyzed in different ways. Each dream is related to the person who dreams it, and the aforementioned examples are only a handful of the dream symbols you might experience. Our body, mind and spirit are intertwined, and the way we think about ourselves plays a part in our sleep. As Carl Jung once said, “Dreams…are invariably seeking to express something that the ego does not know and does not understand.”