
S last updated: 2/2/06 |
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| SACRIFICE | Martyrdom; feeling unappreciated or unworthy / Overcoming pride; giving up something that was once important but no longer serves your best interest; making a tough choice |
| SADDLE | Taking charge; being in control / A burden; riding on someone else’s reputation |
| SAILOR | Your ability to traverse the storms and calms of life; actively exploring your emotions, weathering through them / Deciding on a course of action; needing to change course or adopt a different tack; wanting to achieve something with minimal effort / Weather conditions offer further clues |
| SALESMAN | Someone seeking to influence you; buying into an idea; being willing or unwilling to pay the price for something you want; selling yourself short / Your business sense; personal assets / (see SELL) |
| SALT | Adding flavor to something that is bland; aggravating a situation; making a pain worse (rubbing salt in the wound); not trusting something fully (taken with a grain of salt) / Tears; sorrow / Reliable, honest, trustworthy, hardworking (salt of the earth) |
| SAND | The passage of time; something temporary or unreliable / Lack of security; friction; wanting to smooth things over or avoid the rough edges; failing to acknowledge an issue; letting something or someone slip through your fingers |
| SATIN | Luxury / Something that soothes you, touches you; something that runs smoothly |
| SAW | Reshaping old attitudes or beliefs; something you have observed but are not acknowledging; revisiting a failure or decision too many times, not being able to let go of it; waiting to see how things shape up; indecision (seesaw) / Sex as the relationship meets hesitations; masturbation / Could be related to snoring or sleep |
| SCALES | Weighing your options; striking a balance; measuring the importance of something; the degree of something (on a small or grand scale); something that has a major or deciding influence (tips the scales); concerns about your weight / Judgment; law; seeking justice / If fish scales: Protection; camouflage; something that has been neglected; pestilence |
| SCAR | Revisiting negative memories; influences still remaining from a past hurt; something that has been permanently damaged; feeling wounded |
| SCARF | Stifling yourself; failing to communicate the truth / Craving something; wanting immediate satisfaction |
| SCENT, SMELL | Intuitions or hunches that summarize how you feel about a situation (life ‘stinks’, something smells ‘fishy’, the ‘sweet’ smell of success, etc.) Scents also serve as reminders of people, places or things / Searching or investigating (sniffing out); following your instincts |
| SCHOOL | Your internal learning process; studying yourself / Habits of behavior, feelings, choices, or drives developed in your school years; experiencing a learning curve in the ‘school of life’ |
| SCIENTIST | Intellectual curiosity; analyzing the deeper aspects of a situation; applying critical thought to something; experimenting / Fear of critical people, or of looking at yourself analytically |
| SCISSORS | Feeling cut off or disconnected; enforcing separation / Cutting something down, reducing its impact; being sharp; cutting through the crap / Shaping thoughts or emotions; patterns you’ve created |
| SCORCH | Heated emotions; fear of getting ‘burned’ by someone |
| SCRATCH | Aggravating a situation / Coming up with a brand new plan (starting from scratch) or abandoning an old one (scratching it); thinking something over (scratching your head); not seeing an underlying issue (scratching the surface) |
| SCREEN | Self-protection; reviewing something before proceeding; wanting privacy / Deception; separating yourself from reality; putting up a front |
| SCREW | Messing up, failing at something / Distorting something; using force or coercion to get what you want (or it being used against you); feeling screwed over / Feeling insane or unstable; not holding it together / Sex |
| SEA | (see OCEAN) |
| SEARCHING | Attempting to find something (a past way of life, an old love, an answer to a pressing problem, etc.) / A feeling of having lost something (youth, sex appeal, motivation, etc.) |
| SEASON | Figuring out the proper timing for something; something that’s readily available (in season) / Adding zest to something or reducing its harshness / (see SPRING, SUMMER, AUTUMN, WINTER, SALT, PEPPER) |
| SEAT BELT | Controlling your emotions / Bracing yourself for what lies ahead; surviving the impact of an emotional injury that you feel is inevitable |
| SECRET | Unconscious thoughts being revealed; hidden parts of yourself / Concerned that others are not telling you the full story |
| SEDATIVE | Avoidance of painful or difficult feelings; an attempt to relieve anxiety, fear, guilt or grief / (see DRUG, MEDICINE, PILL) |
| SEDUCTION | Sexual drives that have not matured into satisfactory expression in your relationship with a real partner; damaging your reputation by giving false impressions to those who count / Fantasy of being loved |
| SEED | Something new germinating inside you (an idea, emotion, belief, hope, etc.); something that has potential for growth / Doubting something or someone |
| SELL | An exchange of ideas or energy; a convincing argument; profiting from information (what is being sold offers a clue) / Self-worth; paying the price for an action; selling yourself short; letting go of something that is no longer valuable / Betrayal (selling someone down the river); insincerity (selling a bag of goods) |
| SERVANT | Feeling inferior; serving others; wanting your needs served; being pampered / Waiting for something to happen; keeping others waiting |
| SEVEN | Spirituality; human wholeness; perfection; faith; sensitivity; healing / Being naturally philosophical; acting as a healer |
| SEX | A reflection of your sexual satisfaction (or dissatisfaction) in waking life; sexual inhibitions or limitations that you place on yourself in waking life that can safely be expressed in a dream / Consider the setting or drama the sexual element occurs in for further clues / (see ORGASM, PENIS, VAGINA, PROSTITUTE, LOVER, KISS, etc.) |
| SHADE | Past experiences or beliefs shading your present point of view; something that alters your perspective or opinion / Protection; concealment |
| SHADOW | Unknown or ‘darker’ aspects of self; undiscovered potential within / Feeling that you are being overshadowed by something or someone |
| SHAPES | Visual presentations of your internal structure or mood / Needing to get your act together (shape up); being out of shape / (see CIRCLE, SQUARE, SPIRAL, SHELL, PATTERN) |
| SHARK | Feeling threatened, vulnerable, or victimized / Preying on others; staying in motion |
| SHEETS | How you express love; your outward beauty; what you seek in a romantic partnership, or the condition of an existing one / (see BED) |
| SHELL | Putting on a hard facade to conceal your inner softness; the defensive covering you use to avoid hurt; fear of becoming vulnerable / Withdrawing from the outside world; being tightlipped; protecting a secret; feeling bombarded |
| SHINE | Putting a lot of personal energy into something; new information coming to light |
| SHIP | Your journey through the sea of life; how well you navigate through the rough and smooth parts, especially in terms of emotions / Undergoing major transformations; processing large emotional issues / If sinking: Feeling overwhelmed by life; fear of a relationship ending / (see CRUISE, OCEAN) |
| SHIRT / BLOUSE | Issues related to the heart; feelings and emotions; an emotion you connect to someone else / Your status or the status you give to others; being generous (giving shirt off back); acting shallow or snobbish (stuffed shirt); financial risks (losing your shirt); being impatient (shirt in a knot) / (see CLOTHING) |
| SHOES | Your position in life; the condition of your chosen direction / Needing to seize opportunities when they present themselves (if the shoe fits); viewing something from a different perspective (in their shoes); taking over for someone else (filling their shoes); etc. / Consider the type of shoe and its condition for further clues |
| SHOOTING | Anger; fear or defense against meeting feelings / Aiming for a specific target, goal or idea / Talking without thinking (shooting your mouth off); ruining your chances (shooting yourself in the foot); getting nowhere (shooting blanks); success that fades quickly (shooting star); something that is too easy (shooting fish in a barrel), etc. |
| SHOP | Your current needs or desires; something you are looking for or want to equip yourself with; seeking self-definition; buying the affection of others / Consider the type of shop and goods being offered for further clues |
| SHORT | Feeling inferior or demeaned; not being in a position to see the full picture / Something you’ve considered briefly or that will last only a short time; something imminent, arriving shortly; acting short with someone |
| SHOT | A traumatic injury to your feelings; something that is worn out or broken / Taking a wild guess (shot in the dark); attempting something new (give it a shot); trying your best; being the decision-maker (calling the shots); needing energy or encouragement (shot in the arm); being adept (a good shot); feeling worn out, etc. |
| SHOULDERS | Feeling the weight of responsibilities; carrying blame; needing comfort or support; working hard at something |
| SHOVEL | Making room for something; clearing the path; digging deep within yourself / Covering up something you can’t face; digging up dirt on someone |
| SHOWER | Cleansing or rejuvenating yourself (emotionally, spiritually, etc.); something pouring down on you (praise, compliments, negativity, etc.) / (see WATER) |
| SHRINK | Embarrassment; lack of confidence; feeling ‘small’ or insignificant; psychological issues that you feel require a ‘head shrink’ / Returning to a childhood feeling state; something that is becoming less threatening or interesting; reducing something powerful into a manageable size |
| SIBLING | Qualities you associate with an actual sibling; feelings of kinship or sense of rivalry / If older: Experience; your capable outgoing self / If younger: Vulnerable feelings; yourself at that age |
| SICK | (see ILLNESS) |
| SIDE | Supportive feelings; wanting someone to agree with you, or be ‘on your side’; taking sides; looking at secondary options; getting sidetracked; camaraderie; seeing another side of yourself or someone else (e.g. the dark side or flip side) |
| SIGN | Receiving a message (words or symbols on the sign offer important clues) / Saying goodbye to something (sign off); enlisting or applying for something (sign up) |
| SIGNATURE | Your identity; endorsing or committing yourself to something / If signing a document, the parties involved may provide further clues |
| SILENCE | Disallowance or lack of communication / Not wanting to be noticed, avoiding attention; being withdrawn, inexpressive or afraid of judgment / Seeking peace, meditating |
| SILK | Sensuality; softness; luxury / Wanting something to go smoothly or smooth over; wanting to be suave / Protecting yourself from a harsh or unfriendly environment |
| SILVER | Worthiness; preciousness / Something of value to personal development; feeling privileged; looking on the bright side / Tarnished feelings; aging; looking for a quick fix |
| SINGING | Expressing your inner feelings; being in tune with life / Tired routines or excuses (singing the same old song); ‘off-key’ remarks |
| SINK | Feeling disheartened / Tapping into your emotions (going with the flow, feeling clogged up, being turned ‘on’ or ‘off’, acting like a ‘drip’, etc.); being well-equipped; facing a challenge (sink or swim) |
| SINKING | Despairing; losing ground; losing confidence; giving up / (see MUD, WATER, EARTH) |
| SISTER | (see SIBLING) |
| SITTING | Your present situation or position you hold / Waiting; being uninvolved (sitting back); being noncommittal (sitting on the fence); feeling vulnerable (sitting duck); judging someone or self (sitting in judgment); being in a favorable position (sitting pretty); needing to relax / If sitting up: Taking notice; becoming more involved |
| SIX | Harmony; happiness; love; compassion; imagination; sex / Having vision; a magnetic or well-loved person; choosing between two equals or something that is nearly the same |
| SIZE | The importance you place on something, or what feeling impact it has on you; measuring yourself in relationship to the person or object depicted |
| SKELETON | The death of a relationship or empty phase of life; something that is not fully developed; unresolved issues (skeletons in the closet); mortality / Looking at the ‘bare bones’ of a situation, gaining deeper insight / (see BONES) |
| SKIN | Your contact with the outside world; what tactics you use to deal with others; feeling sensations / Seeing beyond facades; being more sensitive towards others; feeling irritated or annoyed; finding different ways of doing things; taking a risk; accomplishing something by a narrow margin; feeling threatened, etc. / If shedding: Changing an old attitude or way of life |
| SKIRT | Signals you send out; what you convey to others / Overt sexuality (the color, style and length offer further clues about what is being done with sexuality in a social sense) / Avoiding or ‘skirting’ an issue |
| SKY | Your potential / Freedom; life without limits; aiming high; your spiritual connection; something heavenly or expansive / Expressing your mood (sunny, gray, stormy, clear, etc.) |
| SLAP | Social embarrassment |
| SLAVERY | Not using (or unaware of) your own power; being subservient, allowing others to control you; feeling chained down by something; being unable to shake off old beliefs or habits; lack of self-worth; feeling demeaned |
| SLEEP | To dream of sleeping, trying to sleep, or pretending to sleep is an ego defense mechanism - an attempt to avoid becoming aware of subjects the unconscious has made apparent in the dream / Needing to let go of an issue (put it to sleep); being sexually indiscriminate (sleeping around); needing time before making a decision (sleep on it), etc. |
| SLEEVE | A cover up; holding something back / Overtly expressing your emotions (wearing your heart on your sleeve) / If rolling up your sleeves: Preparing for an important or difficult task |
| SLIPPING | Feeling imbalanced, out of control / A mistake or oversight; forgetfulness; talking without thinking; releasing yourself from an obligation or ignoring it; letting something go, perhaps unintentionally; choosing a dangerous path; not performing as well as you are capable of |
| SMALL | Something that is not significant or important; outgrowing something / Feeling inferior, inadequate, embarrassed, or shamed / Being judgmental, belittling others |
| SMOKE | Feeling confused or hazy; something that has dissipated or gone ‘up in smoke’ / Giving out false impressions, diverting attention from the real issue / Communication; signals, warnings / Ritualistic behavior; destructive habits |
| SNAKE | Transformation from one state to another (could be bad or good, as snakes carry both healing and poisonous energy); choosing an indirect route or being unfocused / Sexuality; sexual energy; temptation; being afraid of your own power; feeling ‘coiled up’ or ready to strike out / Sneaky characters; nasty gossip |
| SNORING | Unable to breathe easy about something / Resistant to letting go of old patterns / Boredom |
| SNOW | Rejuvenation, purification, peacefulness; wanting a fresh start / Emotional coldness; chilled feelings / Trickery; feeling ripped off; something that has very little chance of success, or could potentially grow larger and get out of hand (snowball) |
| SOAP | Feeling you need to ‘clean up your act’ in some way / Sense of guilt over not being truthful, needing to ‘come clean’; clearing away negative or impure thoughts / Feeling self-important or preaching to others (on a soapbox); being melodramatic |
| SOCKS | Protecting your foundation, what you stand for; insulating yourself from something that could harm your standing / Being hit with big news; delivering or sustaining an emotional blow (as in socking or being socked) |
| SOFA | (see COUCH) |
| SOLDIER | Applying strength and self-discipline to meet internal conflicts; carrying on despite adverse circumstances / Feeling bound by social or personal restrictions, or a sense of duty; controlling or being controlled; ranking yourself against others / If united: Being willing to face internal conflicts or pain; going along with the crowd / If opposing: Things you feel in conflict with; an internal war of emotions |
| SON | Your relationship with an actual son; your extroverted self / If female: Your ambitions; potential; hopes / If male: Yourself at that age; envy of youth and opportunities; rivalry / Wordplay on ‘sun’ |
| SONG | Self-expression, inspiration; merriment, joy / Tired excuses or routines (singing the same old song) / If a known song: Consider the lyrics or your history with the song to gain further insight |
| SOUTH | Things that have gone awry / Getting to the bottom of something, finding the underlying cause |
| SPACE | Possibly an obvious statement that you need more ‘space’ in life or a relationship; wanting to escape the confines of daily existence; expanding your frame of reference / If floating in space: Lack of direction; feeling ungrounded |
| SPEAKING | Looking to express yourself; a need for communication; receiving a message (pay attention to the words being said) |
| SPEED | Feeling out of control or unable to cope with events; growing anxiety or intensity of feelings / Being impatient; high expectations not being met; making hasty decisions |
| SPIDER | Irrational fears or heightened sensitivity; dependent emotions or conflicts you feel ‘caught in’; connections to your mother; acquiring information by snooping; a person or situation that is ‘creepy’ / Being industrious; being patient; achieving balance / (see WEB) |
| SPINNING | Feeling overwhelmed or confused; going in circles / The byproduct or consequence of something that you’re doing; a side effect / Twisting facts in order to sway someone’s opinion |
| SPIRAL | Evolution, development, flow; movement towards greater awareness and insight; positive energy / Something that has become twisted or distorted; things you repeat over and over, like habits; lack of progress; negative energy; anxiety |
| SPONGE | Absorbing or comprehending something; attempting to ‘clean up’ your act; parasitical behavior (sponging off someone) |
| SPOON | Doing something gradually or slowly; receiving or providing information in small doses / Wanting preferential treatment, or giving special privileges to someone (silver spoon) / Depending on others to provide you with nourishment or stimulation; feeling responsible for the welfare of others |
| SPORTS | Competition; cooperation / Internal struggles where one part of your psyche or personality is attempting to ‘win’ over another / Your attitude (e.g. being a good sport or a spoilsport); playing ‘mind games’; boasting; pride / Your personal association with the sport in question provides further clues / (see BALLGAMES, GOLF, TENNIS, etc.) |
| SPOUSE | Your feelings about an actual marriage; how you relate to intimacy in body, mind and spirit; sexual or emotional desires; habits of relationship developed with your own parent |
| SPRING | New beginnings; a time of growth; youthfulness / Something sudden or unexpected; an emotion springing up inside you |
| SPY | Covert behavior; invading someone’s privacy; meddling with things that are not your business / Feeling spied upon |
| SQUARE | Stability; reality; physical experience; fairness; balance / Someone who lacks sophistication (a square); being open and honest (on the square); paying what you owe (squaring up); going back to where you started (square one); fairness or value (square deal), etc. |
| STAB | Feeling wounded by someone else’s remarks or actions; betrayal / Attempting something (taking a stab at it) |
| STAGE | A stage of your life; planning or organizing something / Being overly dramatic; putting on an act / (see THEATER) |
| STAIRCASE | Taking steps towards something; making progress or falling behind / A rise or fall in understanding (reaching clarity or having setbacks); a rise or fall in status by your own estimation; feeling uplifted or downtrodden / (see SPIRAL) |
| STALKING | Persistent problems or prevailing difficulties that you have been unable to shed |
| STAMP | Approval; acknowledging something as being valid; something that is permanently fixed in your memory / Repressing, crushing, or destroying something |
| STANDING | A statement or declaration of what you believe in or represent (what you stand for), requiring expenditure of effort / Your standing in society / Facing a challenge; enduring or tolerating something; something that is noticeably different (stands out); being unfriendly (standoffish); viewing something from a different perspective / If having difficulty: Something you dislike greatly (can’t stand); backing off (standing down) |
| STARS | Hopes or wishes / Your spiritual connection; intuitions about the cosmos; sense of destiny / Wanting to stand out; desire for fame or recognition |
| STATUE | Being afraid to express yourself; being stiff or inflexible; fear of moving forward in life; feeling that someone is acting unresponsive or cold; deadened emotions or indifference |
| STEALING | Taking something (love, money, opportunity) under false pretenses; something that draws your attention or focuses on you (stealing the show); moving quietly or in a stealthy manner (stealing away) / If being stolen from: Feeling cheated or unloved / Wordplay on ‘steel’ |
| STEEL | Lack of warmth or emotion; being totally inflexible / Something that is resilient, durable, or strong; reinforcing something; being resolved / Wordplay on ‘steal’ |
| STEPS | A focus on detail; progress defined in a clear series of ‘steps’ / Being cautious (watch your step); doing something that is inappropriate or disrespectful (stepping out of line); hurting or offending somebody (stepping on their toes); resigning or not getting in the way (stepping aside); increasing the pace (stepping on it) / (see STAIRCASE) |
| STICKS | Something evident or worthy of notice (sticks out) / Branches of your life that were not developed, left to wither, and broke off; feeling stuck / Wanting to make something permanent; people, feelings or ideas you are attached to |
| STOMACH | (see ABDOMEN) |
| STONE | Hardness; loss of feeling; blocking or preventing something; feeling ‘stoned’ or out of it; acknowledging your own flaws / Doing your utmost in examining a situation (leaving no stone unturned); something that is close by (a stone’s throw); trying to accomplish an impossible task (blood from a stone) |
| STORE | Getting to know all ‘departments’ within yourself; great inner resources and opportunities for growth available to you if you learn where to look / What is ‘in store’ for you / Compartmentalizing problems; hoarding; safeguarding / (see SHOP) |
| STRANGER | An unknown, unfamiliar aspect of self; parts you avoid ‘meeting’ in everyday life |
| STRANGLE | (see CHOKING) |
| STRETCH | Testing the limits of something, or making it go further than it was originally intended to / Needing to increase your capacity (stretch yourself) or feeling overworked (stretched too thin) / Embellishment (stretching the facts) / The final part of a journey or project (home stretch) |
| STRING | Attempting to make something secure; wanting to mend a situation or relationship; trying to hold something together / Feeling bound or tied down; complications or conditions attached to something; a sequence of events / Pretending that you believe something (stringing along); needing to ‘pull a few strings’ to get something off the ground; being reactive or ‘high strung’; being kept ‘dangling’, etc. |
| STUDY | Undergoing a learning curve; giving careful thought to something; committing something to memory / Something carefully practiced or contrived |
| SUFFOCATION | Feeling restricted or stifled; an inability to communicate thoughts, feelings, or desires; lack of self-expression / Inner panic; warns to get out of a bad relationship or other constrictive situation that is closing in (see CHOKING) |
| SUGAR | The sweetness of life; pleasure; romance / Being complimentary but insincere; a relationship that is starting to decay; a substitution for love / (see CANDY) |
| SUITCASE | What you carry inside yourself, such as longings, attitudes, fears / A desire for independence or to go somewhere |
| SUMMER | Adulthood; reaching maturity; projects coming to fruition / Extroversion, warmth, joy, brightness |
| SUN | The conscious mind / Brightness, joy, growth, outwardness / Taking advantage of a good situation / Wordplay on ‘son’ |
| SUNSET | Completion of a cycle; a verdict being reached / Ending; aging; winding down |
| SUPERMARKET | Having a wide variety of options; wanting to make healthy choices / (see MARKET, SHOP) |
| SWAMP | Bogged down by feelings that undermine your confidence or well-being; absence of clarity or vision |
| SWARM | A sense of having your individual identity (ego) smothered or overwhelmed, not only by the external world of public opinion and expectations, but also by the interests and demands of your unconscious mind |
| SWEEPING | Clearing away mental or emotional clutter; developing a fresh attitude; being thorough / Avoidance; going against your intuition; getting ‘swept up’ in something |
| SWEET | Indulging in something pleasurable; an infatuation / (see CANDY, SUGAR) |
| SWIMMING | Exploring the depths of your emotions (being comfortable or struggling, dealing with surface feelings or being totally immersed, etc.) / If drowning: A sense of ‘going under’ emotionally / If not getting in: Hesitation about a change; not wanting to react emotionally; avoiding a challenge / (see WATER, OCEAN, POOL, RIVER, etc.) |
| SYRINGE | Something you need to factor in, or ‘inject’ into the situation; drawing from experience; wanting a ‘quick fix’ to a problem / Intercourse; sexual vigor / (see NEEDLE, MEDICINE) |