characters

What do the characters in your dream mean?

Most dreams present a range of characters. Like actors in a film, the characters in the dreams are developed to reflect qualities and characteristics that make them unique and important to the storyline. Some characters represent reflections of yourself, some are reflections of others close to you and some seem strange but still play a central role.

Parts of your personality may come to the fore – the child, the adult, the wise man, the coward, the hero, the invisible one – but also the members of your family and a whole cast of characters who all have a piece to play in detailing your struggle and quest for identity and self-acceptance. These characters show that there are different parts of your personality that seek expression and work on your life problems.

Every character in a dream is important, whether it is a villain or a romantic partner. Instead of seeing all characters as just parts of your own personality, it is better to see them as messengers, reflections or complements. In this way, a dream can be interpreted more accurately.

What do friends mean in your dream?

Your friends in your dream often represent qualities that you lack. They may possess qualities that you need. They may come into your life to present you with reflections of past relationships with sister, brother, mother or father. Apart from providing you with companionship, they help you to grow psychologically by reflecting the parts of yourself that still need to be integrated. They, like everyone else in your life, can be considered teachers.

Your friends in your dreams reflect all these roles. Your friends sometimes appear in your dreams as representatives of different aspects of your personality, expressing attitudes and characteristics with which you over-identify or which you deny. A dream about your best friend who is hurt may be a reflection of your own feelings that you cannot yet admit to.

Sometimes dreams are about your friends and not about yourself, revealing the inner life of someone you are close to.

What do invisible people mean in your dream?

A dream about someone who cannot see or an illusory or invisible ghostly individual standing or sitting next to you in your dream represents your intuitive side, the part that picks up psychic signals around you. Or they may represent a secret side of your personality that you rarely show to others or even to yourself. They usually play the role of guide in your dream.

What do family members mean in your dream?

Family members are your closest relatives and are the subject of many of your dreams. In many dreams you are shown interactions with them in a way that reveals the conflicts you have with them or the feelings you have about each other. Dreams of relatives also reveal the emotional structure in which you live which affects your attitude and self-esteem.

For example, if you still live at home with your father in a dream or have him drive your car, your dream expresses the powerful influence he still has on your psyche and life choices. The father represents patriarchal values and defines a way of moving out into the world in terms of personal achievement. The mother represents the nurturing style and emotional tendencies you inherited from your mother. Your dreams show how their patterns still influence your choices and feelings.

Sisters and brothers share your family history. In dreams, they indicate the ways in which you deal with dysfunction in your family system. Dreams where you are with your brothers and sisters usually symbolise that you are working on emotional wounds left over from your childhood.

What do villains mean in your dream?

Villains such as an armed gunman, robber, pirate, tyrant, the devil or the angel of death indicate your fears. In dream theory, they are referred to as the “shadow”, a suppressed or denied power in the subconscious that threatens your well-being. Like the Grinch (who stole Christmas) or the Wicked Witch, the Shadow can indicate the power of evil, which must be confronted and challenged in order to regain your innocence and embrace fulfilment. A dream in which you are being chased by a killer may represent a deep fear of aggression that, if not exposed, may weaken your ego.

What does a romantic partner mean in your dream?

A mysterious stranger who embraces you with a kiss and wins your heart is the love archetype. The lover is a composite of the qualities and characteristics of a complement and reflects your masculine side (if you are a woman) or your feminine side (if you are a man).

The archetype has the power of unity in your soul and appears in a dream when you learn to balance the masculine (creative intelligence) with the feminine (emotional intelligence). A romantic partner can also appear in a dream to show your need for love and intimacy.

What do minors mean in your dream?

Young characters, despite their small appearances in a dream, can bring a big message. Their message can be conveyed through action. Their attitudes and identities can be represented by the clothes they wear, an object they hold, or the behaviour they display.

For example, a character’s Victorian dress may suggest that he or she is expressing outdated values that suppress sexual expression. Or if a messenger in a dream appears in army clothes, he may have arrived to recruit you for some social action, such as keeping the peace. Many of the young characters in dreams are archetypes, imprinted characteristics that convey inherent psychological traits.

Read more: The meaning of common dreams: what do your dreams say about your subconscious?