Because of these widely-feared characteristics, the dreaming mind often uses a snake to represent the dangerous, venomous behavior of  someone close to you, and most often, of someone who is typically male.  Yes, the phallic shape of the snake plays a big role in its meaning.

I recently dealt with a snake dream in my nationally syndicated newspaper column The Dream Zone. This is a really good example of how the low down people in our life can show up in our dreams as a low down, slithering snake…

Dear Lauri,
Last night I dreamed there were lots of snakes in the carpet and they were fighting spiders.  I was watching from another room.  I could see hundreds of them.  I knew that during the day they hid in the room but at night they took over the rug. I could see hundreds of them, not lethal, just swarming. – John, Chicago, IL

Lauri:  You’re a spectator in the dream so it may be connected to an issue in waking life where you are watching things go down, so to speak, rather than getting involved.  Or perhaps you are feeling disconnected from something you feel you should be a part of.

Snakes can represent health issues but more often they can represent someone with lowdown poisonous behavior. There were lots of snakes so that can mean that the waking issue is either multifaceted or that this issue involves lots of people that you feel are toxic.  And sometimes, the more there is of something in a dream, the more space the issue is taking up in your head.

The spiders suggest that this is something that has really been “bugging” you and that you may even be conflicted about since the snakes and spiders were in a conflict.  The snakes and spiders only coming out at night makes me think that this is about people you feel operate in a dark and shady manner. Since you had the dream last night, something from yesterday triggered it.

I think the main message from this dream is that the snakes weren’t lethal, which is a good indication that this seemingly poisonous situation – while unsettling – is not going to kill you so do not feel threatened. Be at peace.

John replies:  I am in the media and I talked to a friend yesterday who is also in the media. We were discussing our frustrations with how people operate in this field of work and how we are in the same boat, sort of in limbo, as we were both recently passed over for respective opportunities.  It really bugs me the way the media is and it’s so easy to take it personally. I am so over it and do feel I should disconnect from it. That is a daily feeling, actually. Thank you.

The snakes in John’s life are the people in the media he’s been dealing with for quite some time, which is why there were so many snakes… lots of poisonous people over many years (as there are in practically every industry). I love how his dream was showing him two important things: Detach yourself (emotionally) from the situation and it will not harm you.

Our dreams are full of comfort and advice, and when you can understand your dreams you will be able to obtain that made-for-you advice, advice that is best for you because it is coming from you! It’s not that hard to figure out your dreams. My latest book  Dream On It will give you all the tools you need to understand your dreams. You’ll wonder why you didn’t get this book sooner.

“Wow, what an amazing book so full of information! I will definitely be keeping this one on my nightstand and refer to it often!” – Kristi Roach, Angola, IN

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In my research I have found that there are two main meanings behind a horse in a dream. The most common meaning is the ability to get back in the saddle when life knocks you down. And man, oh man, life can really knock you down, can’t it? The second most common meaning behind a horse in a dream is your health. Remember the old saying, “I’m as healthy as a horse?” Yep, we naturally equate horses with having a good, strong healthy body. That’s why, whenever we have a health issue, the dreaming mind will often refer to the health issue in the form of a horse.

Last night I was a guest on KPAM 860 With Terry Boyd. His traffic gal, Nicole, had quite an interesting dream about a horse on an elevator and it beautifully illustrates both of these meanings. This was actually a VERY interesting to me…

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Ever dream about someone that seems so random or from left field that you are left scratching your head, seemingly, all day?  Happens to me all the time!  Last night I dreamed I was in a knock down drag out with Tom Cruise of all people! Had I not spent the past 15 years of my life researching the dreaming mind, I too would have been scratching my head all day over that one.  But since I’ve been doing this a while, I knew that Tom wasn’t playing himself and that I did not have a secret desire to give Mr. Cruise a beat down! Instead, I knew that he represented a part of myself that I am battling… but we’ll save that for another time.

Here’s what you need to know about what random people in your dream really mean. Everyone in your dream represents a part of you.  You play all the characters in your dream productions because your dreams are messages from you, to you and about you.  So when you, seemingly out of the blue, dream about the head cheerleader from high school, it’s not about her… it’s about you and how you took on that role the previous day or how you need to take on that role right now.  Maybe you were able to cheer someone up or encourage them, or your dream may be telling you that YOU need to cheer up, that things aren’t so bad. Do you see how it works?  Remember, every person in your dream, whether they actually exist or not, is a part of your personality and is there to show you how you are currently performing a particular role in your life.

Below is a great example of how this works.  This is from my nationally syndicated newspaper column The Dream Zone…

Dear Lauri,
I dreamed I was having dinner with President Bush and my parents.  I wanted a cup of coffee but my mom wanted me to wait until the president had his first.  The president got up and started doing the dishes.  Someone let his dogs in and I was playing and cuddling them and getting lots of dog kisses.  The dog I was cuddling was green! Then my alarm went off and I sat up in bed wondering who has a green dog? And why President Bush?   – Lori 53, Council Bluff, IA

Lauri: Bush is a president that is no longer in power so he may represent a part of yourself that is no longer in charge. Have you relinquished your authority or power over someone or something recently? Is there something you are no longer presiding over? Bush having the coffee first suggests that it is time to wake up this part of you so you can start presiding over your life again.  Bush is also doing the dishes. This is typically a mom activity so this may have to do with your own role as mom, if you are a mother. Or, it suggests you are doing some sort of mental cleansing, clearing away frustrations, something like that. The dogs may point to a relationship, someone you have loyalty and companionship with… but one is green! Most often green points to jealousy and less often points to growth. Since this dream seems positive and you are receiving lots of kisses, I’m betting this is about a relationship that is growing and rewarding you.

Lori replies: Wow! This is amazing. Several relationships in my life have been growing. My husband has been recovering from a painful addiction and is making amazing progress! We are closer than we have ever been. I was completely powerless over his addiction. I do feel like I have been woken up about my life in general. The mom issue… I have been reconnecting with my daughter after a long absence and it’s really nice.

Dreams are so very powerful and have so so much information inside of them, when you know how to read them. My latest book Dream on It is very thorough and will teach you how the dreaming mind works. It’s been so effective that it has been featured on Dr. Oz, the Bethenny Frankel Show, Fox Business and more! It also includes a chapter on animals in dreams and how they are connected to our behaviors and instincts. Once you’ve read Dream on It you’ll never look at your dreams the same again! It also makes a FANTASTIC gift for anybody on your Christmas list!

Want to read Dream on It right now? It’s available on Nook and Kindle!

“I have purchased all three of your books for myself. I could NOT put them down! I have even given them as gifts to friends and family to help them! I would HIGHLY, TOTALLY recommend these for yourself or a gift for ANY occasion! After all…. We all dream, right?!?! ?”  – Kim Johnson Brush, Muskegan, MI

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Patty, for example, was getting back into a relationship that had gone wrong before. Little did she know, the dragon in her dream was telling her, “Don’t do it!” The following is from my nationally syndicated column The Dream Zone…

Dear Lauri: Last night I dreamed my foot was in a desk drawer, one of those old metal gray desks, and there was an iguana in there sucking on my big toe! Though in my dream it was a dragon and I knew if I moved it would poison me and kill me. – Patty 39, Canby, OR

Lauri: The old desk may mean this is about an issue that is somewhat old but that you need to work on, just as we work on our desks… and in which you need to “put your foot down!” But instead it may be that you are allowing the issue or the person to suck off of you, your time or your energy. The iguana/dragon, I believe, represents that this is about someone that you may describe as cold-blooded (or perhaps your fear that you will come across as cold-blooded if you put your foot down). The fact that you felt this reptile was a dragon means you also feel that this issue has begun to “drag on” and on. If you can find a pun or a play on words in a dream, you have found a good deal of the message. Your fear of moving in the dream implies that you are afraid to make a move about this issue in real life for fear of backlash, perhaps. So just remember, no movement means nothing changes.

Patty replies: Oh my God! My ex just came back into the picture. And I AM afraid to put my foot down. I’m afraid I won’t be able to pull out if I decided that’s what’s best. We have only talked about the surface problems of why we broke up. Nothing “real” has been really talked about yet. Holy cow that fits to a tee. Thanks!

Update: So I had a conversation with my ex. After what you said and dreaming last night about big huge worms crawling out of fruit I had just taken a bite out of, I figured I couldn’t let it drag on anymore. Thanks again!

Lauri: Now it makes even more sense as to why the dragon was sucking on your toe. We use our toe to test the temperature of the water in a pool or lake, etc. You were obviously “testing the waters” of this relationship. Good thing your dreams came in and warned you before you got in “too deep!”

Your dreams will never steer you wrong. They are the part of you that truly knows what is best FOR YOU. You just need to be able to understand the language they speak so you can get those warnings, and answers that you need every day! Just think of all the mistakes you could have avoided up to this point in your life if you had been able understand your dreams’ warnings.

 Fear not. I can totally help you understand your dreams. You can set up a private and personal dream reading with me here or you can learn to figure out your dreams for yourself with one of my dream books. They also make great gifts for the holidays (hostess gifts too) AND I’ll autograph them!

“A listener just called in to tell us that she has Cracking the Dream Code and brought it to work. Everyone in her office calls it the Bible because they refer to it every day!” – Jay, morning show producer WOMX Orlando, FL

“Your books have been so helpful. I’m seeing my dreams in a much different light. I can’t believe how simple the symbology is once you get the hang of it. BTW, your drawings are incredible. You’re a fantastic artist!”   – Patricia, Chico, CA

The post How a dragon in a drawer helped a woman avoid a big mistake appeared first on Lauri Loewenberg | Dream Expert.

Dear Lauri,
I had a dream the other night that there was this ugly black dog in our house.  It was attacking my children, my dog, and me.  The strange part is, even though he seemed very offensive and was biting us, it was not graphic (none of us were bleeding), but I could actually feel the dog biting me.   –Barbara, Oshkosh, WI

Lauri: Has some ugly situation invaded your peace of mind recently? The biting dog suggests this may have to do with the fact that a relationship or friendship, someone that ought to be loyal to you – symbolized by the dog – is offending you in some way, with criticism or harsh, “biting” remarks.  You feel the bites in the dream because it hurts you emotionally in waking life. Whatever this ugly situation is, your dream is warning you that it is beginning to affect your children too.

Barbara replies: Actually, it’s kind of funny Lauri. My sister and I have both been sharing similar stories lately of how our mom is playing us against each other. Or that she is using us (me in particular) as a butt of jokes to boost her own self esteem. What’s worse is I haven’t really even had a conversation with her since Christmas, as I haven’t done the calling. I (and both my children as well) have even unfriended her on Facebook and she didn’t even notice. Yet I am constantly hearing how she bashes me and my kids. So, yeah, I guess that makes sense. Thanks!

Now that Barbara can see her mom’s behavior as that of the ugly black dog in the dream, she has a clearer picture of the situation and therefor a clearer head when figuring out how to handle it. This is what dreams do for us, give us clarity and understanding we can’t really grasp while awake.

Want to know what the different animals in your dreams mean? Just about everything you dream about can be found in my instant dream decoding dictionary. It’s like having an electronic version of me available to you anytime you want. You’ll NEVER have to wonder what your dreams mean EVER again! When you can understand your dreams, you can change your life!!

“I used your instant dream decoding dictionary to look up the symbols in my dream and WOW….  I had no idea that dreams could tell us so much.  It’s so great to have this understanding and I wanted to thank you again!!”   – Patty, Toledo, OH

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Last night I dreamed a little yellow butterfly came and sat on my head.

I was on a bus, headed somewhere. The girl behind me said, Oooh

The butterfly started walking around, flapping its wings, the other girl, sitting beside me, said, Ooooh.

I didn’t like the way it felt to have a butterfly up there, walking on my head, But i kept quiet.

Because the girls were enchanted.

Still, I had to make adjustments. I reached up to
gently coax it away from my ear, where it was walking, in a tickly and annoying way.

But it panicked, and its legs got tangled in my hair.

It started to struggle – which i really didn’t like.

So I flipped my hair upside down to free it, which, in hindsight, was not the best idea.

The girl behind me gasped. No!

Here, said the girl beside me. Flip your hair back up – but very slowly.

Which isn’t really possible.

So i did it wrong.

Of course.

And the butterfly was more entangled – and a little piece of its wing broke off.

More gasping.

Eventually, things worked out. The girls worked together on the top of my head to free the butterfly’s legs – and someone held up a mirror so I could see how lovely it looked there, behind my ear.

Once i could see the butterfly, I calmed down. It did look nice. I felt good about it.

I held out my finger and it crawled along my hand, which was also tickly but I didn’t mind it. I could see where the wing, hanging on a little hinge of wing cartilage, had broken.

Then, I guess it flew away.

Because somehow, in a piece of dream i can no longer recall, the butterfly dream turned into a bird dream.

A little bird with the most adorable face and spotted yellow and gray wings.

I loved that bird.

It flew around. It landed on things. It looked at me. I named it – and if, during the day, the name returns to me, I will add it here.

It was adorable. We had long loving conversations.

I talked. It cocked its little head to the side, listening.

Then, one day, it dropped its tail feathers, flew up to a small mound of dirt beside me and started to molt.

Is this okay? I asked and the people around me assured me that it was.

Still, I sat with it as it puffed up and its feathers went all fuzzy.. It seemed to be sleeping but it was NOT dead. I could see its little chest, now covered with white speckled fluff, rise and fall.

Then, the fluff fell away.

I held my breath.

And new wings started to grow.

I clapped, delighted and then…

A huge tree burst through the soil right under the bird.

Terrified, I tried to reach for the bird but iI couldn’t find it.

And, by the way, Where did that tree come from?

Then, from under the tree, with a huge rumble and roar, a huge, loud bright yellow earth mover- a tractor – rolled up from the hole, burst through to the surface and drove off.

And I was like, huh?

Cuz it made no sense, even in a dream.

And then, I looked down and there was my bird, pierced through the heart by a slim branch.

I woke up.

Lauri: It seems this dream is about freeing yourself from something that has been on your mind. That’s why that butterfly got tangled in your hair, it represents what you haven’t been able to get off your mind or out of your thoughts. Perhaps it was writer’s block since the girls around you were enchanted by it… and your writing, which comes from your head, is very enchanting (smile). The bus suggests this was an issue that was taking a long time to get anywhere (buses are one of the slowest means of transportation).

The butterfly turned into a bird because birds in dreams are all about freedom and one’s ability to soar and rise above what had been you down or holding you back. The communication with the bird is lovely. That is reflective of the communication you were finally able to have with yourself once you were freed. I think the molting may be about you having to shed some ideas or something you don’t need anymore. And that is why, at that point, the tree grew there as that is the growth that began to happen, the branching out that ensued.

The tractor is interesting, and also yellow. Lots of yellow in this dream. It is usually the color of fear. Anything going on that you have been a bit concerned or fearful of? Anyhoo, you described it as an earth mover. What have you been moving around in your life lately? Your priorities, your thoughts??? The way it suddenly burst onto the scene and then suddenly left is connected to something that feel the same way in your recent waking life. Perhaps something that suddenly preoccupied you, causing you to lose touch, momentarily, with your inner conversation (you and the bird).

Whatever it is, it is now gone and you are left with the aftermath. The piercing of the heart may point to a recent heartbreak you have suffered and now have to nurture, now that the chaos has left you. OR perhaps this is letting you know how heart-touching your work will be… despite all the frustration you went through.

Amy replies: Thanks, Lauri – you’re usually right on target and some of this, much of it, makes sense to me – and corresponds to my own interpretation.

Essentially, it’s about a breakthrough in my writing – and my sense of myself AS a writer/author. There’s been a great deal of movement in this area lately, so yes, as if the earth is literally moving under my feet. And the way that things suddenly burst through the surface in this work. It can be pretty unsettling. I work on something for a very long time and then, it SUDDENLY, comes to life outside of me. An example of this is when a book that’s taken two years to write, a completely internal, insular process, is published – which requires me to come out, show myself, ’sell’ the book.

One thing I’d adjust in your analysis is that the bus is a school bus and represents, for me, the journey of this mystery school I’m enrolled in. The one that sends dreams like this to challenge me and make me think symbolically.

Oh, birds and butterflies are very powerful totems for me – so they have other, layered meanings. But your interpretation works, too.

Lauri: The butterfly is my absolute favorite dream symbol! Wish I dreamed of it more. But my dreams are filled with cats and Oprah… always!!

Archetypically, butterflies represent ones ability to break out of a shell or some sort of confining state of mind and transform into a better, wiser, higher self. Is that a meaning you have for yourself?

Amy replies: Yes, they mean that to me, too. But ultimately, for me, because I work with angels for a living, butterflies mean that my life is graced by signs from the angels who love and support me in all things.

The butterfly in this dream told me that the project and ideas related to it that have been trying to ‘break out’ from my head to the page were ‘good.’ It symbolized also another phase of awakening, a lightening of the heaviness around my book project and the arrival of grace.

Lauri: That is really neat.  Oh I just love it when animals and creatures speak to us in our dreams!  Last night I dreamed I had a fish in my pocket, and he was telling me jokes! Not quite as prolific as your butterfly… but still. 🙂

Dream books make GREAT GIFTS!!  Why not give someone you love a copy of one of my books?  They’ll think of you every time they get an “Aha! moment” from being able to understanding their dreams. It’s the gift that keeps on giving!

“Just wanted to let you know I ordered two of your books for Christmas presents and the two people I gave them to were so excited. I was like their hero. They said I find the best gifts, so just wanted to say thanks.” – Paula, Mentor, OH

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Tigers, lions, panthers, any sort of predatory animal that prowls into our dreams will symbolize our own predatory behavior, our ability to “hunt down” and catch what we want in life, whether it be a job, a relationship, a promotion, etc.  Predatory cats are particularly popular in women’s dreams because we gals identify with their feminine, feline nature.  The dream below is from my nationally syndicated column, The Dream Zone…

Dear Lauri,
I have a recurring dream that my mother had a lion in her bed wrapped up in a blanket! There were two holes in the blanket where I could see his eyes looking at me. When the lion started to get up, I started running! – Laura 43, St. Louis, MO

Lauri: Your dream suggests you are keeping your inner power, your courage, represented by the lion, under wraps. Why is the lion in your mom’s bed, of all places? If you’re a mom – particularly a single mom – then you may need to go out on the prowl and get yourself a worthy man who would be a good father to your children. Or perhaps you need to have more courage in disciplining them. If this doesn’t seem to be the case, then in what way are you like your mom?

Laura replies: I am a single mom, but my daughter is 21. Going out on the prowl for a man makes sense! I feel that, like my mother, I am a weak person. She is very giving, always doing for others and not for herself.

Lauri: In that case, your dream is showing you that you need to get out of your mothers comfort zone (symbolized by her bed) of being too nice and giving and awaken and uncover your inner lioness. It’s time to roar!! When you do, the dream will stop.

Fascinating Dream Fact: Whether she is still on this planet or not, our moms show up in our dreams, on average, about once a week!

Animals in dreams, sex dreams, death, weird things happening to your body PLUS way cool dream art… It’s ALL in there!  Grab your copy of So, What Did You Dream Last Night? and understand your dreams like never before!

“I have both of your books. I love them!!  It is so much fun to look up what my dreams mean in the morning.  I don’t know what I would do without them!” – Amy, Clearfield, UT

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