Some of the most potent dream symbolism comes in the form of the people who appear as actors in our dream dramas. The nature of this symbolism usually comes as a surprise or shock to people when they embark on the quest of working with their dreams. The surprise is, most of the time, everyone in the dream is us.

The wise and eternal part of us acts in a magical way, like central casting at a movie studio, choosing people we know, famous people, or relatives, to represent personality qualities. It’s easier to accept this idea when we dream of people we admire, but when we have strong negative feelings about someone we tend to reject the notion that he or she could be acting out a part of us.

People ask why they would ever choose to dream of “that person?” “I can’t stand him or her.” You might describe “that person” as stubborn, inflexible and unreasonable. Make a note of that as you work with the dream. In this case your wise self is showing you where you are being stubborn and unreasonable. “That person” in your dream holds up a symbolic mirror, reflecting a facet of you in a particular setting or situation.

When people show up in dreams a good technique is to write down three qualities or characteristics of that person. Do this without stopping to think. The first three attributes that come to mind are usually the most revealing. For example, you might dream of your grandmother, and the three descriptors might be, loving, kind and generous. Or, you might dream of your father, and what pops into your conscious mind might be rigid, overbearing and unbending. A famous movie hero might show up in a dream drama and you might describe him as attractive, charismatic and successful. Perhaps you dream of a friend you haven’t seen in years and you describe her as thoughtful, detail-oriented and precise.

In each of these generic examples your psyche is choosing people to stand in for an aspect of you in a certain context which is happening right now in your waking life. Ask yourself where might I need to be more kind and loving? Is there a place in your life where you might be acting rigid and overbearing? Where might you need to engage some charisma to have more success? And so on.

In more general terms we might dream of being pregnant, or a pregnant woman, if we are gestating a new project or considering a big change. Likewise we might dream of a funeral, or the death of someone we know, if a chapter in our life is about to close. The qualities of the person dying can reveal the nature of what needs to change. People often dream of the parent of the same gender to represent an older, and hopefully wiser, aspect of themselves. Likewise, dreaming of yourself as a child, especially in your childhood home, can suggest unfinished business. Sometimes an old wound or belief system is still lurking in subconsciousness. Dreams prod us to face these buried patterns and release them.

People often dream of lovers, real or symbolic. Sometimes the significance has to do with the balance of masculine and feminine within the dreamer. As always in working with dreams examine the context and the feelings which arise. Dreaming of a “real life” lover can suggest something in waking life that’s unfolding in that relationship. However, the relationship can also be seen as one of the ways we are learning about ourselves and our lovers hold up the mirror. Whether our dream lover is a symbolic construct or a person in our waking life, examining their characteristics reveals the dynamics of how our psyche is connecting with these qualities and shows us the issues underlying relationships. Remember to identify the three attributes which first come to mind for your dream love.

What we might call our Higher Self, the eternal and wise part of our consciousness, chooses dream symbolism that speaks to our conscious mind. Naturally, we have to choose to pay attention. We also have to learn to decode our own symbolic content and this can take some time. An honest examination of our dream people can bring deep insight and stunning revelation. The effort pays dividends of personal and spiritual growth.

Julie Gillentine is the award-winning author of TAROT & DREAM INTERPRETATION and other books and articles. Each year she leads a sacred journey to Egypt. Julie can be reached through her web site www.queenofcups.com or in Colorado at 970-264-7474.