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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SHOPPING : Shops symbolise two things - the options available to you and the things that you want and how to go about achieving them. The dream may concentrate on some change in the options available to you - do you have time problems or has some health issue suddenly changed the options available to you. The dream may also be making a point about the things you want. Has some interest ceased to be as important as it once was? Shops do not just consider your own desires but they also refer to group decisions and the need to convince others to follow your choices. For instance the way a committee has to deliberate and choose.

KEY WORDS(Pick a quote which captures your feelings right now. Think especially of the day before the dream) :
- "what I want from a friendship is..."
- "I want to ..."
- "everything is possible right now"
- "what I would really like is "
- "what I want and what he wants from a relationship are maybe very different"
- "I really want to find some time to do this"

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

THRIFT SHOPS : Shops in dreams often symbolise our options. If you are going to a thrift shop or to a market then it may show that you have few options and that you have little time or few resources to complete the tasks you wish to complete. In another sense it may show that you wish to complete some task as quickly and with as little effort as possible.

ESSAYS
SHOPS in dreams : A detailed essay on the symbolism of shops in dreams.
THRIFT SHOPS in dreams : What is the symbolic meaning of thrift shops in real dreams
GIFT SHOPS in dreams : If a gift shop appears in a dream what does it mean
SHOPPING BAGS in dreams : What is the symbolism of shopping bags in dreams
MONEY in dreams : What is the symbolic meaning of money in dreams
Dream Dictionary : An A to Z of symbolic meanings with every meaning for each symbol
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DREAM STUDIES : Real dreams with shops in them
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THE DREAM I was buying bras in a shop

THE REALITY The dreamer has been looking for help and support from her friends recently. She had tried talking through some issues with her friend but felt that she did not really understand her at all. She told her this but her friend just laughed.

DREAM MEANING The dream captures the following feeling within the dreamer - "I have been thinking about what qualities I require in a friend. My friend does not understand me and does not seem able to support me. What sort of a friendship is that?"

THE INTERPRETATION Short dreams like this can be difficult to interpret. But this dream takes place in a shop. Shops in some way link to our needs and desires that are being unfullfilled right now. A bra could be seen as a symbol of support. The dreamer is feeling as if she is not been given personal support and help from her friends.

The trick with dreams such as this is is to understand the way dreams operate. Most dreams symbolise feelings that are very prominent in your mind from the day before the dream. In this case the dreamer has been feeling unsupported for a few days. So the symbols match up with the feelings in her mind. Its a fair assumption to link the issues together.

Symbolic Meanings
BRA : "A wish for personal support from friends"
SHOP : "The options available to the dreamer - the friends that she has looked too for support"
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DREAM TIP : When we go into shops we tend to be looking for things that we want but at present do not have. But also our shopping is very much linked to our options. Think of some way in which your options have changed recently.
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THE DREAM I am walking down the street. I am walking past the shopping centre and see that the camera shop has closed down. There seems to be a pathway into the building and the shop is been fitted out for something new. I was curious about what the shop would turn into.

THE REALITY The dreamer had been interested in photography for a long time. But recently this interest had dropped off and the dreamer was thinking that this hobby no longer held the interst it once did.

DREAM MEANING The dream captures the following feeling within the dreamer - "My interest in photography has tailed off. I wonder what is going to replace this."

THE INTERPRETATION Shop dreams are often about our options. This shop was once a camera shop but now in the dream it was closed down. The dreamer was curious about what the shop would become. The shop symbolised the dreamers former interest in photography and its conversion symbolises the dreamers own curiousity about how his energies would be diverted into something new.

Symbolic Meanings
CAMERA SHOP : "The dreamers own hobby in photography"
SHOP CLOSURE : "A recognition that this hobby is losing its appeal"
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DREAM TIP : Dreams link very much to the things that are dominating our thoughts. Shop dreams link to our own needs and a wish to satisfy them. Think about all your interests and relationships. How have they been lacking. How have you been shopping for something new?
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THE DREAM - I am on market street. I see a small department store but it is not in its correct position. It has moved. It is actually just down the road. I go into it and this department store has become a small shop There is a car park there in front(which does not exist in reality) and there seems some major opening... like a door for deliveries. That is where I need to go

THE REALITY The day of this dream the dreamer pulled a muscle in his back and was in bad pain.

DREAM MEANING The dream captures the following feeling within the dreamer - "I think this is a premonition of the day of the dream when I injured my back."

THE INTERPRETATION The movement of the shop was mimicking the movement of the dreamers body - something is not in the right place. The car park represented the lack of movement that day. The deliveries may symbolise some new set of choices available. And the shop itself had transformed from a department store into a set of three small shops. That represented the reduction in choices available to the dreamer.

Symbolic Meanings
CAR PARK : "life is at a standstill - unable to move due to backpain"
DELIVERIES : "a new set of choices available to you "
DEPARTMENT STORE : "having lots of options available to you"
SHOP : "the choices available to you at present"
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DREAM TIP : Try to make simple associations in dreams. If a man behaves in a way which reminds you of how your father acted yesterday then the dream may relate to your father. If the dream features technology think of everything that involved technology the previous day. Look for any connection at all.
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THE DREAM - I am somewhere near eastfield estate. There is a fish and chip shop. A teacher from art school was there. I was nervous and worried about going there.

THE REALITY The art school represented the dreamers urge and interest in art. The chip shop was a symbol of how this was an essential part of his life.

DREAM MEANING The dream captures the following feeling within the dreamer - "I never seem to find time for my artistic interests. I always used to be interested in art and photography. I wonder why it is I never seem to find time?"

THE INTERPRETATION The shop represents some wish within the dreamer - some unmet need. The dreamer does not go into the shop showing that at present that need for creativity is not been met. Not going into the shop shows that the issue is even completely off the agenda.

Symbolic Meanings
SCHOOL : "learning something about yourself"
SHOP : "the dreamer is looking at the things that he wants in life and how he is pursuing them - in this case its about how he is pursuing (or not in this case) his interest in art and design"
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DREAM TIP : The dream mind is one where concepts are formed. This is where we build strategies and form emotions. Try to encapsulate your own thoughts in quotes. For instance right down two or three quotes which capture your emotions from yesterday such as : "I am not enjoying work as much as I used to!"; "I am trying to resist pressure from my mother to have children" ; or "I have a busy schedule tomorrow".
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THE DREAM - I am with my partner and we are passing the biggest makeup store in the world! I beg to go in. It is bright and full of colours and brands I have never seen before. I am in seventh heaven. I test out a few colours but get pissed off with the assistants interfering with my browsing, I want to just look and enjoy it by myself. I love all the colours but keep being drawn to a very simple new product which is a gold eyeshadow. I have seen it in my dreams before. I realise that as much as all the other colours are beautiful and inspiring, browns, gold and earth tones are the colours that suit me best. I was also applying a tester of foundation but was rubbing too hard and was damaging my skin.

THE REALITY The dreamer had had an ugly argument with her sister recently and she saw no way of 'making up'.

DREAM MEANING The dream captures the following feeling within the dreamer - "I want to make up with my sister yet at the moment I see no easy way of doing this. Perhaps I have to wait for the right moment. "

THE INTERPRETATION In this case the eye shadow probably represented the way the dreamer was trying to make attractive her way of thinking. She was trying to get something through to her sister. However, this was sometimes causing upset. The way the foundation rubs and damages her skin was symbolic of how the dreamer was sometimes touching on sensitive issues.

Symbolic Meanings
BEAUTIFUL : "an idea of perfection - in this case aiming for a perfect relationship or perfect time"
FOUNDATION : "a good start towards some goal"
MAKEUP : "a play on words - making up with her sister"
RUBBING : "the dreamer realises that applying too much pressure is not good for her relationship with her sister"
SKIN : "a symbol linked to sensitivity - the dreamer knows her sister is very sensitive "
STORE : "we go into stores to buy the things that we want but presently do not have - in this case the dreamer wants to make up with her sister"
TONE : "sending out unconscious signals when you speak"
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DREAM TIP : Think of dream symbols as words. For instance a shop could symbolise your own 'needs'. Then think of how the dream interacts with these symbols. If the shop closes down that may suggest that some need you used to have has now ceased to be as important. For instance an interest or hobby maybe less important to you. Dream symbols then are like words and the complex way which our dreams interact with these symbols show how the dream language is as rich and varied as the english language.
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THE DREAM I left university and went to this little shop that I usually go to, to get something to drink before I leave. Anyhow, the shop was huge in my dream and I got confused when I went inside. I was really hungry but found nothing that I would like to eat and just as I was about to leave, I saw this huge stand of fruits. So I went there and saw four mangos, I took a plastic bag and put a mango in it but the mango was rotten, so I took it out, and replaced it with another mango. The second mango was also rotten. So I took out the second rotten mango and saw with bright red mango that looked so juicy and impressive. So I picked it up, and put it in the plastic bag. When I picked it up, some cherries were attached to the red mango which I didn’t remove. And I bought it.

THE REALITY Over the previous three days the dreamer had been thinking a lot about her University. She wondered if it was best to transfer to a better one. If she did so she would lose her double major and need another two years to graduate and lose credit for a couple of her courses. But on the other hand this would be a better university in a better country and getting a better degree away from the troubling people she was having to face. If she doesn’t transfer she will graduate with a double major in a year, but have to live in an area she does not like living in on her own. But she also has a third option which is a double major and 18 months to two years and living on her own in a good place.

DREAM MEANING The dream captures the following feeling within the dreamer - "I am having to transfer universities. I have been thinking through the various options. "

THE INTERPRETATION Shop dreams are generally about options.In this case they do not have many clues. The best strategy in such dreams is to look at the last few days and see how your options have changed. How have you been thinking about your goals. In this case there is a direct and easily identifiable situation involving the dreamers options. The dream may be confusing in that it just seems linked to mangos.

The dream seems to draw attention to the third mango. This is maybe emphasing how this is an option. Maybe the debate has been about the two options or staying where she is or moving with her family.

Symbolic Meanings
FRUIT : "the fruit of the dreamers education - different degrees and universities"
SHOP : "looking at your own options - in this case options involving education"
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DREAM TIP : Think of dream symbols as words. A shop could represent the word WANT. Then think of how you may have used that word to express your own emotions recently. Think of any phrase such as "I am not sure what I want any more" or "me and my girlfriend both want different things from our relationship"
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THE DREAM I had some strange dreams last night. The first one my boyfriend and our roommate were being mean to me in the grocery store, then my boyfriend and I went to some guys house, we were walking up to the garage and a black guy was yelling at the white guy, something about drugs, the black guy some how fell and hit his mouth on the little step part as you walk into the garage, busted out his 2 front teeth then blood started pouring out, you could hear it falling from his mouth hitting the ground, sounded like rain, it was ALOT of blood.

The next my boyfriend and I were at an Astros game, they were playing UofT and won, after the game I was talking to my boyfriend then heard a noise from the field, which was now an arena. A UofT football player was on the field trying to lasso a bull, then another UofT player came out to do tricks with it, but something went wrong and someone in the crowd yelled at him to just leave it alone and run away, he yelled back that he didnt know what was going on and he was about to do that, thats when he fell over the edge of the arena. It was like an orchestra pit, he hit the concrete and people started laughing until he started crying, and someone (sounded like my aunts voice) said oh he broke something, I looked over the edge and there was blood everywhere, he was laying face down, so I made my boyfriend go down there to try to help him. Then the thunder woke me up.

THE REALITY The dreamer wished for a closer relationship with her boyfriend so he could share more emotions and feelings. She sensed that beneath his male exterior he had problems that perhaps needed to be talked out. But the dreamer faced opposition from a largely male household. The dreamer feels that their home is too male in its outlook and needs some female emotions.

DREAM MEANING The dream captures the following feeling within the dreamer - "I am living in a flat with my boyfriend and his roommate. Its a very guy environment. I keep trying to introduce some female energy into the place but its really not working at all."

THE INTERPRETATION Shops are symbols of what we want in life. In this case the dreamer is been ridiculed in the shop. That suggests that her desires are not been taken seriously.

The dream also features a lot of pain and violence. That perhaps suggests that the two are connected. That the dreamer feels overwhelmed by her boyfriend and roommate both who are male. That she is perfectly aware of the largely male atmosphere and so any attempts to show feelings and emotions are shunned. But she also senses that they probably need to talk some issues out. That frustrations tend to be aleviated through male aggression. The two black guys, the bull and the sports arena all tend to link to male attitudes.

Symbolic Meaning
BLACK GUYS : "a very male orientated outlook - inability to express frustrations "
BLOOD : "the dreamer senses pain and frustration in her boyfriend that she feels should be talked out"
BULL : "male aggression and attitudes"
LAUGHING : "her wishes are ridiculed by her boyfriend and roommate"
SHOP : "what the dreamer really wants from a relationship"
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DREAM TIP : The major relationships in our lives are very linked to our general mood. The way we feel about our boyfriend may link to the way that we feel about life. Often the two get mixed up in dreams. If we feel unhappy then we may take out frustrations on loved ones. Dreams are about moods and feelings many of which are not related to any specific issue. Some days we just feel good and then the next day we just feel bad. Dreams will often link to these general 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).