Door: You may be facing an opportunity or choice to venture into the unknown. A door is the obstacle that separates a person from accessing whatever is in the room to which the door marks the entrance. It represents both opportunity and choice. What is on the other side connects with opportunity. The volition required to open it and cross the threshold connects with choice. Additionally, when one door closes, another one opens, suggesting a correlation with transitions in life. Even if you think you know what is on the other side, a closed door creates mystery and uncertainty and usually refers to something that is unknown. A door that is ajar or open is an invitation from the unconscious to check out what’s beyond it. The more doors there are, the more complex the choice at hand may be. The size and weight of the door may indicate the importance of the issue being expressed. Shutting a door indicates the will to end something or the ability to set a boundary with certainty and clarity. A door being shut on the dreamer is an obstacle that is created by another person or a set of circumstances in the dreamer’s waking life. The person creating the obstacle may in fact be yourself. If you are not in control of whether the door is open or closed, issues of forced choice or lack of choice could be indicated.
Doorbell: A door symbolizes a choice or a transition in life. In this way, a doorbell is connected to being alerted that something new is on its way into your experience.
Doormat: This is the symbolic preparation before something new is embarked upon. You stop for a moment and clean your shoes so that what is unwanted from your past will not be carried forward into your future. Also consider that a doormat is sometimes used as a term for a person who allows other people to wipe their feet on them figuratively, and this meaning may be reflected in a dream.
Dove: The dove is a symbol of peace and love, and if one appears in a dream, you are connecting to these principles through the symbolism of the dove itself as well as through the animal medicine that the dove brings. Doves are also symbolically connected to romantic love.
Down: In this world that is divided into binary code, there are always two options in any polarity. The up-down continuum relates directly to the strongest force we deal with: gravity. When anything in a dream is moving in a downward direction, you are either exploring what is below the surface or being stopped in your forward movement by something that is forcing you down. Consider how this downward direction is being presented to you and then remember to explore what wisdom is available for you in the lower depths.
Down Syndrome: This genetic disorder is expressed as limited development both physical and mentally. Therefore, as a symbol in a dream, it may be pointing to some area of your life in which you are not expressing your full potential. Use the context of the dream to see what may need development. If there is someone in your life with Down syndrome, the dream may be interpreted more literally.
Drag Queen: The height of illusion, a drag queen presents an exaggerated presentation of feminine qualities. Often infused with exuberance and a sense of joy, this symbol means that things are not what they seem to be. The feminine side of nature is nurturing, creative, and patient. Perhaps these qualities need to be integrated in your life in a more authentic way.
Dragon: There are two very different dragons in the world of symbolism: the Eastern symbol of charisma and good luck and the Western symbol, which connects with greed, avarice, and overprotection. According to Western mythology, dragons are the guardians of treasure and virgins. These are things that are of no use to a dragon, a creature that does not need money to get what it wants and also cannot safely consummate a relationship with a woman. Despite this, a dragon will face all comers with a mighty ferocity, challenging the courage of the most able warriors. In this way, we can view a dragon as symbolically representing a fight for something that is of no use to you. The dragon in your dream may represent the battles you fight in life that you cannot win or that do not need to be fought at all. By the same token, you may have to fight an inner battle and face the part of you that is in the way of you getting what you want in life. Is it possible that your inner dragon may be keeping you from receiving the love you deserve and the abundance you desire? There is also an implied theme of confrontation in battle when a dragon appears in your dreams. What are the battles in your current life? Are you fighting for something that you do not need or cannot use?
Dragonfly: Change and transformation are part of this animal’s totem power. The dragonfly spends an enormous amount of time in the larval stage, which represents the hibernation that must accompany great change. When the dragonfly emerges, it can fly with beautiful multicolored wings. The larva is aquatic, so the transformation that it connects to happens at the level of the unconscious mind. When the dragonfly’s change is complete, the ability to fly and spread the translucent beauty of its wings represents messages of ascension that come directly from the depths of our soul. This is a powerful totem of change, transformation, and wisdom.
Drain: In the structure of plumbing, the drain is what takes away what is no longer wanted or needed. Often what is being drained would fall into the category of waste or things of an unsanitary nature. Therefore, as a symbol, the drain represents your ability to slough off the old and easily release the past. If the drain in your dream is functioning properly, all is well. If it is not, there may be some need to examine why you are unable to let things go.
Drapes: Windows offer a view from the outside world into the inner sanctums of a home. Drapes have the function of creating privacy as well as adorning this aspect of transparency in your consciousness. They can open and shut at will, adding the element of controlling who can see into that which you might want to keep secret. They also can be seen as your willingness to let light in or shut it out, with light being a representation of conscious awareness and life force. As a dream symbol, drapes relate to this choice, the free will to exercise it, and the state of affairs around doing so.
Drawbridge: A drawbridge functions in two ways and allows completely different modes of transportation to exist. In the world of symbols, the cars on land represent thoughts and consciousness and the boats on water connect to emotions and the unconscious. By being able to change shape, the drawbridge can distinguish between which is more important. In a dream, consider how the drawbridge is operating, for it will point to which mode has higher priority at the moment. If the drawbridge is not working properly, your own ability to distinguish between emotions and thoughts is being affected.
Drawing: The act of drawing is an effort to take something from inside of your consciousness and express it in the world of form. It is a creative act that results in something tangible. As a dream symbol, drawing relates to this impulse to allow yourself an outlet for creative expression and the patience to allow form to appear to you slowly.
Dream within a Dream: There are levels of consciousness that exist in the dream state that you can wake up to and still be asleep. This happens in waking life as well, but is less noticeable, like when you suddenly realize you were not paying attention to something that was happening and you snap into awareness. When this happens in a dream, it is an indication that you are waking up to higher levels of your own conscious awareness.
Dress: The dress is the staple article of clothing for women and as such is a symbol of feminine qualities such as creativity, receptivity, nurturance, and patience. If you are wearing a dress in your dream or there is a dress present, you may be considering what it would be like to try on these qualities. The design of the dress offers distinctions about how these principles are being worn by you in life.
Dressing Room: The dressing room is essentially about preparation for some heightened form of expression. Look to where in your life you are gearing up to be expressive in a particular way. Additionally, you may be hesitating to take risks around putting yourself out there by staying too long in the dressing room.
Drinks/Drinking: This symbol has a wide trajectory in the continuum of fun and relaxation on the one end and excessive escapism on the other. This activity in a dream may point to a need for more balance in your life by letting go or more balance in your life by reining in the ways in which you avoid responsibility. The dream context will help you with your interpretation, as will your waking-life relationship with alcohol.
Drive-In: All but extinct, the drive-in movie theater is an interesting mashup of the symbol of car and the symbol of movie. In a dream, a drive-in relates to the impulse to stop your movement through life and take some time to relax and escape. If the movie on the screen features prominently, there may be something to explore about thoughts that are in the shadow and usually hidden.
Drive-Through: Ultimately the drive-through structure connects to a desire to get what you want when you want it without interrupting the flow of your life. This can reflect a high level of positive focus or a sense of moving too fast and avoiding taking the time needed to more effectively meet your own needs. A drive-through in a dream is asking you to examine your priorities and need to control things.
Driving: Any driving dream connects to how you are moving through your life and the quality, sensations, and judgments you have about how this is going at the time of a dream in which driving is a prominent image. If you are driving out of control in the dream, you must consider what area of your life might be beyond your ability to regulate. If you are in the back seat and need to gain control of the car, look for ways in which you haven’t yet stepped up to the plate. You may not be able to do so yet because of circumstances beyond your control. If your car isn’t responding to you, you may be feeling ineffectual about taking charge of some path you are traversing. Varying speeds might be reflecting movement in life that feels either too fast or too slow for your comfort. A vehicle other than a car might point to being in foreign territory. You may not be feeling confident in your ability to work with the circumstances you have been handed. Causing an accident could be inviting you to look at the consequences of your choices. Being a victim of an accident might encourage you to look at the ways in which you have abandoned your own direction because of another person or outside force beyond your control. Driving in the rain connects emotional issues to your current route. Icy conditions indicate that emotions are being frozen over, making your way treacherous. Driving down or up a hill would illustrate the sense of effort or ease involved in your life movement.
Drowning: You are feeling overwhelmed with deep feelings and need to surrender to your emotional issues and learn how to process them. Many people have free-floating anxiety associated with the idea of drowning. When this is the case, the universal meaning of peaceful surrender will often be overlooked when considering this as a dream image. No matter how deep your level of fear is around the frightening possibility of an actual drowning, the return to your watery roots and turning yourself over to the gentle embrace of the weightlessness of water implies a very serene experience from the symbolic perspective. Water, as a symbol, always connects to the world of emotions. To drown is to die. To die is to sacrifice part of the self in order to be reborn again. Therefore, to drown in a dream is a beautiful transformation that occurs by virtue of giving yourself over to inevitable emotional processes that lead you to a new way of being in the world. The presence of panic in a dream of drowning is a signal of resistance to the emotional change that is afoot. The more intense the panic, the greater the resistance you are expressing. Being able to breathe, or at least function normally, underwater is a common dream image. While this is not generally experienced by the dreamer as a drowning dream, the meaning connects to the same concept of grace and ease with emotional overwhelm.
Drugs: You may be looking for an instant but temporary shift of consciousness. All drugs dramatically alter the experience of the individual taking them. Hence, they represent a shift in consciousness that is controlled by the user and is instantaneous. Also inherent in considering this symbol is the matter of consequences. When many substances are abused, especially recreational drugs, there is a disregard for the potential harm they can cause and the often challenging aftereffects of their use. The desire for the high outweighs the difficulties that result from the overindulgence. When drugs appear in a dream, there may be a life situation where you are looking for a quick fix rather than the more difficult path of meeting things consciously.
Drugstore: The drugstore is a place where so many needs can get met, and it is in those needs that the meaning of such a location can be found. Pharmaceuticals may relate to a health issue or healing that needs to take place.
Drum: All musical instruments relate to passionate expression. The beating of a drum is most connected to the beating of the heart. If a drum features prominently in a dream, you are connecting to a fundamental and organic expression of the rhythm of life.
Drunk: If you are drunk in a dream, you are expressing a desire to avoid or escape some aspect of your life. If someone who appears in your dream is drunk, consider who the individual is through the perspective of being a character aspect of your own personality. Once you have determined what the person represents in you, consider that that area of your life is expressing avoidance or destructive tendencies. If there is an unidentified drunk in your dream, there is more investigating to do to understand where you are holding yourself back.
Dryer: A dryer removes the moisture from clothes that have already been cleaned. In this way, there is an element to this symbol that relates to the evaporation of previously powerful emotional experiences. Those experiences may in fact have made you feel dirty or unclean, so the symbol of the dryer has within it the implication that something has recently been cleaned or cleansed.
Duck: All birds are messengers of some sort. The duck is waterfowl and therefore connects to emotions. A duck’s propensity for flying south during the winter connects it to the idea of moving toward warmth out of instinct. The medicine associated with the duck is this inner knowing of how to move in the direction of resources.
Dumpster: The dumpster is the intermediary between declaring something as no longer wanted or needed and the removal of the thing itself. Dumpsters are usually located toward the back of property, connecting them with elements of your consciousness that are somewhat hidden. They tend to smell bad, so they connect with old consciousness that has already been declared as no longer useful but that still requires some attention. What change or shift in your life is not quite complete?
Dungeon: You are tapping into unconscious negative beliefs. Dungeons are places of torture and imprisonment, and they correlate with deeply hidden and unconscious thoughts and fears. They were a place where people were kept locked up and tortured; therefore a dungeon is the part of the shadow where our most frightening ideas and thoughts create ongoing and unimaginable levels of suffering and pain. There is a sexual element to this image that connects to the fetishistic desire to dominate or be submissive in sexual role play. A dungeon in this case need not be a fear-inspiring dark and dreary place, but rather a private place possessing the appropriate equipment to facilitate the activities associated with such sex play.
Dust: Almost everything in our world that is organic in nature emits dust as a natural part of its aging or breakdown process. We consider that all things come to dust as part of decay. In our homes, most of the dust we experience actually comes from the human body. In this way, dust in a dream is the consciousness of things past, and if it is building up or obscuring your vision, there may be things in your past that still need to be cleaned up.
DVD: The DVD has entered our consciousness as our connection to an immediate source of entertainment and the escape that movies provide. As a symbol in a dream, DVDs relate to a desire to remove yourself from your day-to-day life and immerse yourself in a pleasant sense of escape and relaxation.
Dynamite: A blast of dynamite is a controlled explosion. Explosions relate to the sudden change they create. The destruction associated with dynamite is generally connected to the constructive elements they are involved in. The blast they create is usually designed to remove obstacles to growth and expansion. What old ideas, habits, or constructs in your consciousness need to be blasted away in order to build something new?