Decoding Your Dreams

Some say that dreams are the body’s way of processing the subconscious. Others claim that the soul leaves the body and wanders a realm called the astral plane. Dream work can be tricky, even for witches. Even if you can easily recall every detail, decoding your dreams and how they translate to your life is another challenge. There is no set method that explains why we dream, but many suggest it could be to help process emotions in our daily life, like therapy, or to manifest hidden desires. Other theories suggest it helps with our memory, allowing the brain to process and consolidate information. And we are told in our waking lives to ‘never stop dreaming’ and to ‘dream big’, which is interesting since dreams are often so and unrealistic.

Unless we find out what that dream means in our waking life, then it remains this arbitrary concept that makes it seem out of reach. However, since mermaids deal in both emotions and the astral, I have gotten a crash course in decoding my dreams that has become vital to my practice.

DISCLAIMER:

Everyone dreams, though not everyone is able to readily recall their dreams. If this applies to you, dream recall meditations can help tap back into those nightly visions. If you only remember your dreams for a short amount of time, keep a notebook or the notes app of your phone nearby. There are many nights where I’ll wake up from one dream in the middle of the night and write it down, often because I have another dream on top of the first.

What should you be looking for in your dreams? 

This will depend entirely on your current life circumstances, your hopes and wishes, and yes, your stressors. My mermaids do not always make an appearance in my dreams, but they play a big role in sending me messages of things I need to be made aware of. When they do appear, it’s rarely in the form of someone I know in my real life. Instead they are represented as something I have to learn. From my own experience, their preferred form is often that of an adversary or challenge I have to overcome. 

When decoding your dreams, a single entry may not make sense at first. You’ll want to look back at your journal often for the things that stick out. People, places, situations, and even the weather can tell a hidden story. Below, I have provided some examples of my own dreams to help flex your intuition dream decoding.

DREAM #1: Sirens & Sailboats

I’m wandering around a small cruise ship with a friend, and she is asking me about how I get underwater footage when I swim in my mermaid tails. Just then, we noticed two girls with mermaid tails in a pool near the railing of the boat. They were prosthetic, much like the ones I swim in, and one of the girls with auburn hair and amber eyes offered to lend me her orange tail. The other mermaid, with green hair and a matching tail, gave me an encouraging smile. For some reason, I decide not to go into the water, and give the tail back. My friend and I continue on our way, but the girl approaches us a few minutes later. She is disgruntled and holding the tail up. The plastic monofin on one side of the tail was snapped, and she starts to blame me, even though I knew I returned it to her in perfect condition. She demands I apologize and pay for a new one. 

I can feel myself shrinking back into my friend’s back, unsure of what to say. The girl was clearly angry, but I know I returned that tail to her in perfect condition– I didn’t even swim in it! 

So that’s what I say to her, just barely a whisper. The girl sneers at me and barks ‘then how do you explain how it broke?”. But even as she was talking, I feel my resolve sharpen and my confidence rise. I am right in this situation, and her anger is completely unjustified. I square my shoulders, look directly into her amber eyes, and tell her it’s her own fault for not taking care of her property after it was returned to her in perfect condition, and if she wants to pin the blame on someone else for her own mistake, then I can pin her…to the side of the boat. 

The girl huffs and storms away. She was so close that her curly hair tickled my nose, but she glances over her shoulder, and I swear I see a flash of acceptance and pride in her eyes. It’s mimicked on the green-haired girl’s smile, who is still lounging in the pool. Even my friend looks impressed, and I wake up feeling alert and ready for the day.

Decoding the dream:

Now this dream was pretty straight forward: I was at a point in my life where I felt like I couldn’t stand up for myself. No matter what I did in this situation, I would’ve been seen as the bad guy, and I had been looking into spellwork and spending a lot of time at my mermaid’s altar at this time. It is also obvious that my mermaids had directly intervened in this situation, presenting me with a similar version of this problem. By doing so, they showed me the lesson and the way out.

Other key points and symbols in this dream: 

Being on a boat- no way to escape the situation, having to face it head on. Could also reference traveling somewhere new while still carrying old baggage.

The mermaids in the pool- very much ‘little fish in a big pond’ energy. There were bigger problems out there, but I wouldn’t be ready for them without solving the little issues first.

DREAM #2: Skunks & Second Chances

I’m back in a dorm room, college setting, but I’m the same person as I am in the present. I see some familiar faces from college, friends, professors, and my old roommates as well, but I’m heading out to lunch with someone in a group from my more recent past who I had recently reconciled with, so I’m a bit nervous.

I sit down for lunch and I get the sense that this person is wearing a mask. They are walking and talking awkwardly, like they are trying to fit into the skin of this person.  

We are in a quaint, outdoor terrace seating area, with a glass roof and heaters. This is important because it began to snow while we were eating. There are two little boys, twin redheads, as our servers. Our conversation went down similar to how it had in real life, but I continue to think that there is something amiss, and there is the energy of malice from someone else we both know that is hanging in the air between us during this conversation. I didn’t feel that they were being genuine, though everything they were saying was spoken with sincerity and I’m kind of buying into what this person is saying. I think that maybe they really are being sincere. 

Well, the next thing you know a skunk wanders inside as there is no real barrier from the nature around us, and my lunch compassion freaks out. The skunk actually hops up onto the wooden bench beside me, clearly looking for food, not aggressive or agitated whatsoever. I’ve actually held a pet skunk before, and I find them absolutely adorable, but my companion was NOT into it. 

They began screaming for the servers. The two boys come for the skunk, and then they comically start fighting over who gets to hold it, holding the animal under the armpits like a teddy bear. The skunk is completely unfazed, not even close to spraying. 

Decoding the dream:

I believe my water spirits may have made an appearance, but not in an obvious way. I learned a very valuable lesson about giving people second chances, and I interpret this dream as a reminder to, quite literally, trust my nose! The skunk was a key role in this dream because of that. It didn’t spray us, but I got the sense that it could have if provoked. It was another warning that everything that this lunch companion was saying was, frankly, BS, and it was not a surprise that the little guy came to my side of the table.

Other key points and symbols in this dream: 

The college scene I started in, then walked out of for this lunch meeting- college is a time of exploration, but it was also a time in my life where naivety was ripped away and I faced a lot of hard truths. 

The snow- Snowfall represents peace, new beginnings, and clean slates, but the barrier over the café meant that it didn’t hit us, neither did the cold because of the heaters, so it felt more like a false sense of security, interrupted by the appearance of…

The skunk, which–get this– beyond the previous interpretation of their spraying, they also represent HUMILITY WITH CONFIDENCE, the ability to assert and express yourself without aggressiveness, and being confident in yourself and your choices. 

The two red headed waiters/boys- I personally believed these were sea spirits, specifically Tritons. They are described as mischievous entities, and they very well might have placed the skunk in our path to stir things up, and give me a reality check at the same time! 

In Conclusion:

This method of decoding dreams is one I have used MANY times over the years, even going back to dreams around times in my life with hindsight to see if the interpretation matches up. It’s like a puzzle, and a great way to practice using and trusting your intuition. I sometimes enjoy it even more than tarot! 

Below is another one of my dreams you can use as an exercise. Remember, there are no right/wrong answers here- go with your intuition! 

DREAM #3: High Schools & High Tide

I’m in some kind of high school play rehearsal, where I keep having to shift seats cause the cast is using the whole theater. I get so uncomfortable that I get up and leave, but when I pass through the doors, I’m now entered into a princess contest– like a high-school miss USA– but my sister is a judge, so I automatically win. When she puts the crown on my head, I mutter to her ‘this feels like nepotism’. 

The crown itself is too big and made of felt with a head adjuster made of Velcro in the back. I take the thing off and leave it in the bathroom, but when I leave the school, it’s graduation and a party at the beach. Everyone is partying in semi- normal clothes, and I feel awkward in this huge ball gown sitting on the sidelines. 

Everyone decides to go for a swim. I feel how warm the water is, and I want to join them, but I need someone to take my phone so it doesn’t get wet. I ask a friend of mine, but she doesn’t have any good pockets, so I take off the ridiculous ball gown, and wrap the phone in them. However, when I head for the shore, the water keeps getting further out. The more I try to get to it, the laughter and revelry gets further away, and I wake up feeling immensely frustrated that I couldn’t swim. 

I hope you’ve enjoyed the wacky inner workings of my REM brain as you explore more of the wonderful world of decoding your dreams!

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