ON-LINE BOOK : Hundreds of real dreams
A BASIC INTRO to what dreams are about
BASIC TECHNIQUES to interpret dreams
DREAM DICTIONARY A to Z of symbols complete with essays on symbols in everyday real uses
BASIC SYMBOLISM - DREAM SYMBOLS : Basements - Your boss - Best friend - Babies/pregnant - Brothers - Cafes - Cars - Castles - Children - Creative dreams - Clothes - Churches and cathedrals - Deaths - Demons,witches and goblins - Dogs - Drink and drugs - Farms, gardens and plants - Factories - Fathers - Faucets/taps/pipes - Food - Earthquakes and volcanos - Foreign Countries - Grandparents - Guards - Guns and knives - Horses and animals - Hauntings - Hospitals - Hotels + huge buildings - Houses - Locks - Men(unknown) - Military - Money - Mothers - Monster - Mountains - Movies - Music - People - Police - Phone - Politics - Planes and flying - Prison - Rivers - Rapists and intruders - Railways - Roads - Schools - Sea - Sex - Shops - Sisters - Skies in dreams - Skyscrapers and tall buildings - Snakes and spiders - Space - Sports - Street - Teeth - Tidal waves - Time - Toilets in dreams - Towns and streets - Trees - Water - Weddings and engagements - Windows - Work
OTHER SUBJECTS: external causes of dreams : Music in dreams : Premonitions : Telepathy : Specific dreams : Synonyms in dreams : Children's dreams and dreams about your child : Recurring dreams CASE STUDIES : 1 2 3 4 5
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CASTLES : Castles in dreams are actually quite tricky symbols. They may mean an awful lot of things. The main link seems to be caution. If you have acted cautiously in someway during the day before then the dream may have been triggered by that. But castles also symbolise strength and your wish to develop an approach which is a strong as possible. Castles also have strong defensive features and may symbolise how you have been very defensive about an issue and feel that the world is against you. The castle may also capture moments when you have put up a stiff defence against someone who is trying to force you into something.

KEY WORDS(Pick a quote which captures your feelings right now. Think especially of the day before the dream) :
- "very defensive and sensitive"
- "stiff resistance "
- "acting cautiously"
- "a need to feel safe"
- "strengthened my confidence"
- "as strong as possible"

HOW TO USE THESE SYMBOLS : CLICK HERE
FULL DREAM DICTIONARY : CLICK HERE

ESSAYS
CASTLES in dreams : A detailed essay on the symbolism of castles using real dream interpretations
PRISONS in dreams : What actually do prisons mean in real dream interpretations
MANSIONS : Mansions and their symbolic link to dreams
GUARDS in dreams : Real dream studies have revealed exactly what guards mean
Dream Dictionary : An A to Z of symbolic meanings with every meaning for each symbol

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DREAM STUDIES : Real dreams about castles
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THE DREAM This was a dream of Carl Jung. I was walking along a countryside road through a valley. It was lit by the evening sunshine. On the right hand side was a castle stood on a steep hill. There was a woman right at the top of the castle sat on a bench. In order to get a good view I had to look right up. I felt the pain in my neck as I was looking up so high. I recognized the woman as a patient of mine. When I woke up I figured out that because I was looking up to her in the dream I was looking down to her in reality.

THE REALITY The dreamer (Carl Jung) was treating a patient. He was unable to understand her dreams. In reality he realised that he had been looking down on her. Instead he needed to respect her more and after that he found her dreams much more accessible.

DREAM MEANING The dream captures the following feeling within the dreamer - "I really cannot understand this woman's dreams. I just sit there and they make no sense whatsoever. I have been thinking about this and perhaps I have got to stop looking down on her and have to respect her more as a person"

THE INTERPRETATION The dreams meaning seems beyond doubt. The dreamer had been trying to understand why he did not understand this woman's dreams. The bending of the neck back left him with a clear association - he had been looking down on her. Such associations coming from the dreamer should not be ignored. They are usually the key to understanding the dream.

The other symbols can also be understood in the dream. The dreamer has obviously made the conclusion that this woman was difficult to understand. Two symbols tend to support this idea. The countryside for one is symbolic of the woman's inaccessibility. The countryside can link with anything that is remote or inaccessible. Her it is his patient who he finds difficult to understand. The castle is also associated with this as it too is difficult to get inside. You have to scale huge walls to get inside.

Symbolic Meanings
CASTLE : "The dreamer was difficult to understand - difficult to access - possibly defensive"
COUNTRYSIDE : "The dreamer did not understand his patient. He was cut off from her. Her mind was inaccessible"
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DREAM TIP : The dream mind is a conceptual mind. So whatever is contained is likely to be ideas and conclusions about situations you have been thinking about. So instead of trying to work out a dream through complex symbolic meaning try to understand what types of things you are likely to dream of. Think of quotes which encapsulate your thoughts such as "My students are really not working hard enough. I have maybe got to stamp down on this by being tougher with discipline. It may just send a message to them". With some practice you can learn to spot issues which stuck in your mind from the day before.
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THE DREAM I dreamt that my friend Jan saved me from a castle.

THE REALITY The dreamers friend had become very close and they found that they were able to talk about most subjects freely and openly.

DREAM MEANING The dream captures the following feeling within the dreamer - "I do not feel on the defensive with Jan. I can talk openly and we share secrets. I feel like she is a true friend"

THE INTERPRETATION A castle is a fortress. In dreams it can link to many things. But often it can symbolise caution and defensiveness. In this case the meaning is quite straightforward. The dream is linked to a good friend so in some way its likely to link to their relationship.

So here the dream shows that the dreamer feels she has been able to break down barriers and talk in ways that she does not normally do. She was able to share secrets and problems. There was a strong bond of trust between them. Previously she was more likely to just talk to her friends in a guarded way - showing that she did not truly trust them.

Symbolic Meanings
CASTLE : "The dreamer was able to be less defensive and openly was able to talk about problems with her friend"
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DREAM TIP : Think about dreams carefully. Look for associations. The following dream seemed to place great emphasis on the dreamer bending his neck. This led the dreamer(Carl Jung) to conclude that because he was bending his neck to look up he realised that he was looking down on one of his patients in real life. He therefor deduced from this that he needed to respect his patients more. Think about little moments in dreams which stick out. Take note of any associations you make. They maybe the key to understanding a dream.
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THE DREAM I seem to be observing a competition. There seems to be around four castles. There is a competition to see which one is the best. It is about which is the strongest. Each castle has a king and the different kings and queens all give different reactions.

THE REALITY The dreamer had been thinking over his approach to his work. He had devised one or two new ideas. Now he was wanting to see in practice if one approach was better than the others. He was going to judge which was best by the reactions that each approach received.

DREAM MEANING The dream captures the following feeling within the dreamer - "I am trying to find out what is my best approach. I am going to test out several different approaches and see which gets the best reaction"

THE INTERPRETATION If you take dreams as linking to new thoughts emerging on the day before the dream then this dream is easily explainable. The dreamer had been thinking about how to get his approach to work exactly right. He needed to know how much information to allow people to make a decision. He had around four identifiable approaches each of which were different in slightly small ways.

Buildings in dreams often link to your approach to some issues. So four different castles could easily link to the four different approaches. Castles are special types of buildings. They link to strength in some way. In this case they symbolise the strength of the approach.

Competitions are symbolic of some form of standard you are trying to achieve. It shows that you are measuring the effectiveness of something in some way.

So welding all these symbolic meanings together this dream could easily link to this subject. The dream captured the dreamers feelings on this issue. He had several slightly different approaches and wanted to see which was the strongest and most reliable.

The dream concentrates on the king and queens reaction. This directly captures the dreamers thoughts. He was going to judge how effective each approach was by the reaction that it received. He was testing his approach out in practice.

Symbolic Meanings
CASTLE : "Strength - in this case the strongest approach. The dreamers has been thinking through his approach to a work task"
COMPETITION : "let differing approaches compete against each other"
KING : "a wish to see which is the most commanding approach"
REACTION : "the dreamer is looking for the best reaction"
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DREAM TIP : Think of a castle in a dream as representing a word such as 'cautious'. Then think of the rich and varied ways in which that word can be used in the English language such as "My girlfriend thinks I am too cautious", "My friend is less defensive and cautious nowadays" and "There was definitely a need for caution yesterday". Dream symbols are used in equally rich and varied ways by dreams. Do not make the simple mistake of saying that dreams about castles have simplistic meanings such as "you are feeling very cautious". Look for ways in which the theme of caution is applying in your life right now.
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THE DREAM - I outside my childhood home. I am looking around the neighbourhood(they are all bungalows) and see a house has a large painting of a castle in the window. You can see right into the house. I then look around and see more houses and they too have big paintings and they all appear to be of castles. Some are big and some are small. They are all beautiful paintings. I look in my childhood home. There appears to be some pictures of an abstract nature. They seem like an amoeba. I then appear to have a cold. I am trying to sleep and my airways are blocked up. I am then in my bedroom and say to my sister that death will come this year. I think of my grandfather.

THE REALITY The day before the dreamer heard that bird flu had spread to North Korea. This was a deadly strain of bird flu and many scientists have said this will result in many deaths in a major flu epidemic. The fact that the epidemic had got to North Korea set the dreamers mind thinking - North Korea is a highly inefficienct communist country and once it has reached there there is no hope of resisting this. It is inevitable.

DREAM MEANING The dream captures the following feeling within the dreamer - "Yesterday I heard in the news that bird flu had hit North Korea. They have no chances of keeping this under control. Its only a matter of time before bird flu mutates and spreads into the human population. When that happens people will just lock themselves behind their doors."

THE INTERPRETATION The obvious connections with death maybe link straight away with the dream. The cold is another obvious link. The castles in the houses maybe signify the way the world will become if there is a deadly outbreak of killer flu - in 1919 people just stopped going out in the streets. The same happened with the SARS outbreak in Hong Kong and china. They made a fortress of there homes and sought safety and sanctuary there. Amoeba means an ever changing shape. That signifies the way that the flu virus is ever changing. It resistant and only a matter of time before it breaks out with a new strain. One which will become highly infectious to humans. Part of the dream takes place in my bedroom - a symbol of something which is highly personal and affects the private world. A major world outbreak would hit us all very personally - affecting us deeply.

It is not so much a premonition dream as a dream anticipating the future. It is about the dreamer thinking about the possibility of bird flu and the consequences. The death of the dreamers grandfather maybe simply relates to fears thoughts that any outbreak of bird flu would kill many old people so his grandparents were most vulnerable.

Symbolic Meanings
AMOEBA : "continuous process of adaption and change just like a flu virus which continually mutates"
BEDROOM : "something affects you very much - the dreamer wonders what bird flu will mean for him when it breaks out"
BUNGALOW : "something that exists on one level - only the facts are important(how people react)"
CASTLE : "people will simply not go out - they will turn their homes into fortresses "
GRANDFATHER : "the passage of time - time is running out"
PICTURE : "see something in a particular way - imagine something in a certain way"
SISTER : "think openly and freely on a subject"
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DREAM TIP : Think about the actual day of the dream. Have you been thinking about some important event that is happening then? Have you been thinking about how you are going to put some plans into action. Dreams may focus on the day to come and how you are relating to problems you wish to solve.
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THE DREAM I am looking at this medieval castle. Its like a miniature. I am pulling things out of it including a woman who is sexually attracted to me. Later I am in a car park and I am having to move very quickly as cars are been driven at me. There is one car which is a beetle. It comes straight at me and I skillfully avoid it by jumping up

THE REALITY During the previous few days the dreamer had had several questions from a woman at work. She kept asking him direct questions about a project he was working on. At first the dreamer was quite defensive about this and thought she was being directly critical towards him. But actually she was quite in agreement with his ideas. The dreamer had misinterpreted her direct questions. The woman in question was also a fan of the Beetles pop group.

DREAM MEANING The dream captures the following feeling within the dreamer - "Well I think I have totally misinterpreted this woman at work. I thought she was being critical of me but she actually agrees with everything I was saying. Its just the endless questions that I was facing from her"

THE INTERPRETATION With a dream its important to make associations. In the dream there is a beetle car. In real life the dreamer immediately associated that with a woman he knew at work. He thought over the word beetle and associated it with this woman. The dreamer had been thinking a lot about this woman recently. She had been asking him a lot of direct questions in connection with his work project. So its quite possible that the dream could link to this.

Firstly the castle could be seen as a symbol of the dreamers initial attitude. He felt quite defensive towards this woman and her direct line of questioning. Castles often symbolise a cautious nature and a defensive attitude towards something. Thats because of their thick defensive walls.

Here the castle is also a medieval castle. That is also relevant in catching the meaning of the dream. The dreamer is recognising that his own attitude towards this woman was not based on fact it was rather medieval in that it was based on feelings and rumours. He had little information or experience of this woman and so did not know how to read her actions.

The woman was sexually attracted towards the dreamer because sex can often link to agreement. It shows how she was attracted to the dreamers ideas.

The car park section is interesting. The cars driven at the dreamer captured an emotion within the dreamer. He felt how this woman had been rather direct in her questioning. He was rather put off by this.

So overall all the symbols capture some feeling connected with this situation. They capture his overall feelings about this woman over the last few days that "at first I was a little put off by her direct lines of questioning. I was rather defensive towards her and felt a little threatened. But I had misinterpreted the situation and her direct questions represented a strong interest and simply were part of her questioning nature".

Symbolic Meanings
BEETLE : "the dreamer associated beetles with the woman at work who drive a Beetle car"
CAR DRIVEN AT DREAMER : "the woman was direct in her questioning"
CASTLE : "The dreamer initially was very defensive towards this woman at work"
MEDIEVAL : "overall the dreamer was basing his initial perceptions on a very small amount of knowledge"
WOMAN SEXUALLY ATTRACTED : "the dreamer realised that the woman was attracted to his idea---------------------------
DREAM TIP : The link between dreams and the previous day is really quite strong. During the day we store up thoughts in short term memory. Then at nighttime we start to work through these memories and transfer them and integrate them into long term emotions and feelings. So because of this dreams do tend to link to the previous day and important feelings and incidents which have caused shifts in our feelings.
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CONTACT : This web site is attempting to build up a bank of hundreds of real dreams that are correctly interpreted. If you feel you can link a dream with something in your life then please e-mail me at hairybobby2000@yahoo.co.uk (please try to give as many details as possible. Explain each person in the dream and your feelings about them. Give background details about major issues affecting your life right now and especially any strong feelings you felt on the day before the dream).