When I first began studying and researching dreams, I was surprised how often snakes slither into the collective dreamscape.  All these years later it still amazes me how many snake dreams are reported to me daily, and the majority of them are rather frightening… with good reason.  Snakes evoke fear in most of us, even to the point of phobia!  They have sharp teeth, a demonic forked tongue.  They can strike at lightning speed and inject you with their poison.  Shudder.

Because of these widely-feared characteristics, the dreaming mind often uses a snake to represent the dangerous, venomous behavior of yourself, or more often of someone close to you who is typically male.  Yes, the phallic shape of the snake plays a big role in its meaning (the following is from my nationally syndicated newspaper column The Dream Zone)…

Dear Lauri,
I was on a boat tour in the jungle. It was a canal with trees hanging overhead. They told us about these really venomous snakes in the trees, and almost immediately, one fell on me and bit me. It happened two or three more times, and even though the boat was full they only bit ME. The bites turned into these giant cysts. I started squeezing one on my hand and squirting my dad with what was inside. After that I was in a really cold setting and kept jumping in this pool even though I could get hypothermia. But I swear it was helping the bites heal.   – Teresa 25, Fort Wayne, IN

Lauri:  Is there a man in your life that has been poisonous to you? Perhaps striking at you with biting criticism or other poisonous behavior? And is it someone in your family? Someone who is “above” you like an older brother or… your dad? I ask because trees in dreams tend to represent family and snakes tend to represent men with low down, poisonous behavior.  The cold setting tells us that things have become very icy between the two of you.  It seems that you have to continually keep yourself cold and uncaring towards him so that the emotional wounds he inflicts upon you don’t get too deeply under your skin.  It’s a shame that is the situation but your dream is letting you know that it is working for you.

Teresa replies:  This makes perfect sense, actually. My father is a condescending jerk and last night was being just that. I got into a little tizzy with him and finally just left the room because there’s no arguing with him. This isn’t anything new and the cold feelings have been there for quite a long time.

Our dreams have a really cool way of giving form to our deepest thoughts and feelings. Teresa feels her dad is a snake in the grass and has exhibited venomous behavior towards her for a long time. Giving form to our thoughts and feelings allows us to better understand ourselves and how we react to the people and world around us on a much deeper level. Having this deeper understanding also allows us to make better decisions, improve our relationships and improve our behavior. Teresa’s dream is also showing her that she is effectively dealing with her emotions regarding her father. She is not allowing his biting remarks to fester. Like the cysts in her dream, she releases what is inside.  Good job Teresa!

Your dreams are trying to help you with your difficult relationships too. In fact, every tough issue life throws at you, your dreams will assist you and advise you… you just need to be able to understand them. My book Dream on It will help you understand this magical language, easily! You don’t have to wonder what your dreams mean anymore!! Nor do your friends or family. Why not give them the gift of being able to understand their dreams this Christmas? They’ll think of you every time they get an “Aha! moment” from being able to figure out their dream. Dream books are the perfect gift because they keep on giving and giving and giving…

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