Dream of Caves - Interpretation

If you have ever watched the old Kung Fu TV series, you might remember the powerful beginning sequence: 


"Grasshopper (David Carradine) is in a cave. He seizes the smoking cauldron and burns the tiger and dragon images onto his skin as he carries the cauldron out into the sun. Upon doing so, his initiation is complete and he is an official Taoist monk."


The cave is the archetypal place of initiation. Caves are the first and most sacred of human dwelling places. As such, people may often feel a primordial sense of attraction to caves in their dreams. Initiation is the Jungian term for becoming a Self in the transition from childhood to maturity. Jung contends that there are rites of passage that need to be completed. The cave is often the place this is done. For much of human history, caves have been sacred places of shelter from the world; the place that became the extent of a person's kingdom in the face of uncertainty and peril. While the cave itself may not be a central image any longer, we have many metaphors for it.


These include small rooms with a sacred or significant object of our past in them, small bedrooms or studies, basement workshops, or other places of solitude and silence. There is also something in such a space that confronts you-not necessarily in an endangering way, but an existential one. This grappling is the business of the cave. To make peace with the object of your grappling is the act of initiation.


If your dream includes leaving the cave, you will probably feel a new unity with the world upon your departure. It's a far cry from being disillusioned; the peace you feel comes from a fuller sense of participation and belonging in the cosmos.

Dream of Kissing - Interpretation

Kissing is often associated with youthful love. It is teenagers, and not parents, who kiss until they are weak in the knees on the escalator in the mall. You can be kissing another, watching others kiss, or experience that I'm about to be kissed moment. Kissing another is often wish-fulfillment or sexual acting out. The wish-fulfillment may not be to kiss per se, but to experience the youthful energy of love. Kissing in this sense is the desire for the awakening of passion, not necessarily the passion acted out.
Watching others kiss may be a sign of knowing too much about them personally or participating in their lives at too personal a level. The exception here would be if you are watching your partner kiss another, which is an obvious herald of infidelity or a desire for voyeurism in the relationship.
The about to be kissed moment is an interesting one. Often, it occurs as we wake up. This is the dream that may most accurately reflect a desire for actual passion with another. The reason we wake up is the taboo feeling that perhaps, while we want this, it would not be beneficial to actually participate in it.
Is the kissing comforting or threatening to you?
Is it something you sought after, or was it forced upon you?
Is your general experience repugnant, romantic, or passionate?

Dream of Department Stores and Malls - Interpretation

The department store is the personification of capitalism. Many people enjoy just wandering through stores and malls to experience the numerous choices. However, they can be a little overwhelming. Dreaming of these places reflects a feeling of having choices or even too many choices. It may also be a reminder that you have not been careful with your money of late.

Depending on your status as a potential buyer, being in a mall may reflect your sense of power or competency given the choices you have. If the choices all reflect items you would find in a waking-world store or mall, the items you are most drawn to may be the objects of central meaning in a dream. The salespeople you are bumping into may be significant if they are familiar. Perhaps you feel as though you owe somebody something or someone expects particular actions from you.

Are the items that you want missing or available in abundance? This may be a metaphor of the balance, or lack thereof, in facets of your life. Are clerks unable to assist you in finding your needs? Perhaps you are looking outside yourself for growth that can only come from within.

Dream of Zoo - Interpretation

Zoo dreams are often similar to museum dreams. The actual content of the zoo may be true to life, or it may contain some nonsense inhabitants such as co-workers, past romantic interests or relatives. You may also be a display, rather than an observer.

If others are on display, you may feel as though these people need to be confined or that they draw too much attention to themselves. If you are on display, you may feel that your life is somehow abnormal and on display for others to observe and critique.

Do you feel as though others keep you on-display or caged-in? Perhaps you are uncomfortable with a particular sense of notoriety you have attained.

Still, a dream that takes place in a zoo may have to do with ecological concerns, memories of childhood or a sense of adventure.

Dream of Trains - Interpretation

Trains are the cross-country transport of antiquity and therefore are often perceived as romantic. Dreams of this nature often reflect a hope for liaison on the part of the dreamer. The dream may unfold with the object of romance as a companion.

The train station, like the subway station, is the place of life choices in the dream.

Dream of Circles and Rings - Interpretation

Circles and rings are archetypal symbols. They can manifest themselves as circular rooms, the magic circles of shaman or other soothsayers, circus rings, or even circular driveways.

 While circles are usually positive dream symbols, it is important to note the characters that accompany them and the emotions that surround them.

Did you experience the circular object yourself, or watch others doing so? Was the circle broken or complete?

Dream of Feeling Lost - Interpretation

Many times, life feels like a journey. Not surprisingly, in dreamland, the journey becomes confused. This may be a simple reflection of a dream that did not make sense or a dream story that did not seem to go anywhere.

However, there are two ways to become lost, both of which say a lot about how we view ourselves in waking. First is being lost because you have choices and lack the ability to know which one to make. This may include dreams of driving a car, mall dreams, amusement park dreams, or other dreams where opportunities become uncertain. The other version of feeling lost is isolation, or a sense that motion is not leading to progress. Which image of feeling lost most accurately conveys your awareness in the dream?

If you are lost due to choices, you may be at a point in life where you are unsure of what you want. This may include vocational, relationship, or personal values that seem up-for-grabs. It may also reflect an inability to see where a particular choice will take you if you make it.

If you are lost due to motion that does not lead to progress, you may be pretty ambivalent about whether your waking life is meaningful. Your ability to feel effective in life is being compromised in some area that needs a little examination.