Dream Symbols

E
last updated: 2/2/06

EARS Needing to listen more carefully or turn your attention to something; being attentive / Giving time to someone (lending an ear); keeping updated on events, trends or opinions (ear to the ground); learning to improvise (doing it by ear); feeling overwhelmed (up to your ears); an inability or refusal to take something in (in one ear, out the other), etc.
EARTH Your true essence; being down to earth / Maternal or survival instincts / Needing to deal with or face reality (grounding yourself)
EAST The dawning of a new phase or cycle in your life; recapitulating / The Far East is often associated with spirituality and may therefore indicate a need to focus on your spiritual development
EATING Satisfying your needs or ‘hunger’ in any area of life (sexual, emotional, spiritual, intellectual, etc.) / Taking in new ideas or concepts; digesting information; nourishing your soul / Something that is bothering or slowly destroying you (eating away at you); retracting or recanting (eating your words); an outcome that surprises you (eating your hat); mulling over an idea (chewing on something) / If eating repulsive food: Trying to ‘stomach’ something that makes you ‘sick’ / (see FOOD)
ECHO Cause and effect / Something that evokes memories; reinforcement of an idea / Imitating somebody or something
EDGE Being on the brink of change; crossing personal boundaries / Feeling irritated or anxious / Wanting to have, or having, an advantage / (see CLIFF)
EGG Fertile ideas or emotions; something that will grow (good or bad) if nurtured; motherhood
EIGHT Infinity; cosmic consciousness; DNA / Balance and stability; justice; experiential learning; patience; sensitivity; reliability / Possibly a homonym for ‘ate’
ELASTIC Flexibility, adaptability / Needing to stretch your resources further; stretching yourself too thin
ELECTROCUTION A big shock / The end of a certain sensibility / Indulging in something that represents total self-destruction; using your energy or power in a destructive way
ELEPHANT Strength, intellect, memory, reverence / Needing to develop a thicker skin; being nosy; facing disappointment after learning all that you can about something / If white: Something rare or valuable but costly to maintain; acquiring something you do not want; a failed endeavor
ELEVATOR Mood shifts (emotional highs and lows); the ups and downs of life / Sex (possibly concerned that it is boring and mechanical) / Making a potentially difficult task easier
ELEVEN The beginning of a repeated cycle; a last-minute effort / Two components that are in conflict with one another; fostering separation rather than unity
E-MAIL Communication; distant connections
EMPTY Lack of pleasure, enthusiasm, or good feelings / Loneliness; a sense of isolation; experiencing a lack of options
ENCLOSURE The defenses you use to protect yourself from deeply feeling the impact of the world, relationships, love, anxiety or pain (what encloses or traps you in the dream gives a clue to what constrains you in waking life)
ENEMY Self-sabotage; an internal conflict / Betrayal; opposition
ENGINE What motivates you; a driving force in your life / The heart
ENTRANCE A new area of experience / If a secret entrance: Opening up to a hidden or previously unknown aspect of self / (see DOOR, ARCH)
EQUIPMENT Preparing yourself for a project or venture; having the necessary tools to solve a problem or complete a task / May refer to male genitalia
ERECTION (see PENIS)
ESCAPE Avoiding difficult experiences, thoughts, or feelings; avoiding responsibility; a fear that needs to be confronted / Breaking free; releasing yourself from a restrictive or harmful situation
EUROPE Preservation of the past; wanting to save something that is of value; journeying through foreign or deeply rooted parts of yourself / Culture; history / (see COUNTRIES)
EVENING Relaxation; a peaceful time; the more subtle feeling areas of relationship or experience / Unrealized hopes; aging; nearness to your ‘shadow’ side (the parts of self you do not like but are conscious of)
EX-MATE Working out old issues or feelings experienced in a former relationship; reliving memories that you have not outgrown; fear of committing to a current partner / If someone else’s ex: How you deal with yourself as being wanted; anxiety about not being lovable or attractive
EXAM (see TEST)
EXPERIMENT Learning through trial and error; testing a new theory, idea or emotion
EXPLOSION Anger or rage; repressed desires or drives that are likely to explode; volatile situations / Releasing long-term negativity; feeling under great pressure; exhibiting self-destructive tendencies; being out of control / Social upheaval; events that are happening rapidly
EYES Your perceptions or point of view; how you see the world and yourself / Needing to take a good look at something or observe something closely / Awareness; curiosity; having vision or focus / Attracting attention to yourself; being watched or barely watching / If eyes are closed: Ignoring something deliberately; not paying attention; having a hidden agenda