Dreams and What They Mean to You

by Migene González-Wippler

Learn to decipher the symbols and messages in your dreams with the help of this trusted guide. Dreams and What They Mean To You begins by exploring the nature of the human mind and consciousness, then discusses the results of the most recent scientific research on sleep and dreams. The author analyzes different types of dreams, telepathic, nightmares, sexual, and prophetic. In addition, she presents an extensive dream dictionary which lists the meanings for a wide variety of dream images. Besides interpreting your dreams, you can learn to control them. This book presents techniques to remember dreams easily, dream more effectively, recall your dreams, and even learn to become aware that you are dreaming. This can greatly enhance your dream experiences and intuition and also lead to prophetic dreams. Through a language of their own, dreams contain essential information which can change your life. This fascinating book gives you all the information needed to begin interpreting―and even creating―your own dreams.

Genres: Nonfiction, Psychology, Reference, Religion, New Age

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

Migene González-Wippler es una autora puertorriqueña de temas como la Wicca y una líder experta en la religión afro-caribeña de la santería. González-Wippler nació en Puerto Rico y tiene grados de psicología y antropología de la Universidad de Puerto Rico y de la Universidad de Columbia.

Reviews

[Mark Rundle]

Dream interpretation is an unstable art, which may be part of its appeal. Migene González-Wippler begins with the mind and consciousness before turning toward sleep research and the different kinds of dreams a person might experience. That structure gives Dreams and What They Mean to You a wider ambition than a simple symbol dictionary. Telepathic, sexual, prophetic, and nightmarish dreams all enter the discussion, allowing the subject to remain psychologically and psychically unsettled.

I appreciate the attempt to place scientific and esoteric accounts beside one another. Sleep research can describe conditions in which dreams occur, while a prophetic or telepathic dream raises a different question about what an experience might mean. González-Wippler gives readers permission to take unusual dreams seriously, which is valuable for anyone who has had one that refuses to remain merely private. My reservations concern the movement from possibility to interpretation. A symbol may carry personal significance without possessing a fixed message, and some of the categories invite more certainty than the dreamer’s actual circumstances can support.

The most useful approach here would be to treat the book as a prompt for attention. Keeping a dream journal, noting recurring images, and distinguishing emotional intensity from predictive force would give the material a stronger foundation. González-Wippler’s catalogue can offer possibilities, though it cannot replace the slow work of learning one’s own symbolic language. The book is an accessible introduction to the many ways dreams have been understood, with enough breadth to interest a curious reader and enough looseness to require a discerning one.

[Brittney Traudt]

This book is really only 8 chapters long, with the rest being a dream dictionary. It is a little science-y, but that is to be expected when learning about the mind, conscious, and subconscious. Starts off with psychology and theories, touches upon different types of dreams and dream ‘language’, and includes steps on how to interpret your dreams as well as control them.

Given that this book was published in 1992, I’d say some of it is outdated - especially the dream dictionary. Some aspects of it just seem very traditional or surrounding one main thought. The book does note multiple times that ultimately interpretation is dependent on the personal dreamer, but at the same time does say that there are certain symbols, or motifs, that have a fixed meaning.

Overall, I thought this book was still interesting and fun to read for someone who personally LOVES dreaming. The actual literature was just much shorter than I anticipated it to be.

[Ashira (Savannah)]

It was very informational and for that I give the book a good 4/5, but if you read this because you want to understand your dreams better you're looking in the wrong place. The Dream Dictionary in the back of this book is nearly worthless - I suggest buying one separately while you're out getting this one - and that you don't skip through.

It's a good starters guide to learning about the brain and very generally about the meaning behind dreams, but you'll need more if you're interested afterward. Like...maybe pick up a good book on Astral Travel after you read this one, then get one that covers both topics. After that you can try and get to the bottom of "that dream" or try to solve a more recent one, or maybe just figure out if you were unconsciously on the AP (astral plane).

But anyway, this book was very interesting, informational, and a good start. To those who already know a lot about the sleeping brain and trying to find out more...this book is just a repeat.

[Big H]

One-third of the book a brief review of psychology and its reference to dreams, how to remember and analyze them, and how to lucidly dream. The rest is a dream dictionary.

[Blue Caeruleus]

A fun glimpse into psychoanalysis.