UFO: This is a dream that includes the exploration of very high levels of consciousness. Much time has passed since the UFO craze swept into our consciousness. Since then, the term “unidentified flying object” has permanently entered our cosmopolitan vocabulary. For the sake of defining this term, a UFO is referring to any extraterrestrial mechanism of travel as it may appear in a dream, no matter how fantastic or out of the realm of possibility it may appear to be. As with any mode of transportation, the essential meaning must connect to your path in life. Clearly, if you are traveling through outer space or being visited by beings from outer space, you are dreaming of some deviation from your more grounded life on Earth, and your interpretation should incorporate some sense of this atypical, expansive exploration. Typically, this image in a dream will spark either fear or fascination, or some combination of both. Your reaction to your UFO dream experience will inform you of your emotional relationship with esoteric elements of spirituality that the dream is trying to express. Being abducted adds a shade of meaning that connects to expanding processes of thought that may be occurring in your unconscious, whether you want them to or not. If this is the case, look to your present circumstances to where you may be feeling forced to think way outside of your usual thought paradigms. If you were not abducted but were actually proactive and perhaps even motivated to go with the aliens, this may indicate a readiness to explore new intellectual territory in some area of your waking life. Seeing a UFO from the ground could be a precursor to new, higher levels of consciousness that are making themselves known to you before they fully arrive. Your emotional reaction to what you are seeing in your dream will illuminate for you how open or resistant you are at this time to the inevitable expansion of consciousness that comes when you step onto any path of self-investigation.
Ukulele: Any dream with a musical instrument may be a call to being more creatively expressive. However, a ukulele is a fairly obscure instrument, and the call here may be to explore something that is off the beaten path or truly unique. A ukulele is extremely portable as well, so the need to have ready access to your unique sense of creative expression may be what this dream means.
Umbilical Cord: This is the first place where your needs get met as a human being. In fact, with an umbilical cord, there is no distance between a need and its immediate fulfillment. In this lies the symbolic meaning of the notion that all needs get met. There can be a hidden meaning in a dream that features this symbol of wishing to return to a time when you did not have to work for what you desire.
Umbrella: When an umbrella appears in your dream, you feel you need protection from emotional experiences or unwanted expression of emotion. Water relates to emotions, and of all the ways in which we experience water in nature, rain is the most like crying. An umbrella is the standard-issue object designed to keep you dry in what ought to be a very wet experience. In this way, an umbrella in a dream connects to a desire to stay as unaffected by some emotional outpouring as you possibly can. This could be your own feelings or the emotional expressions of others in your life.
Uncle: All people in your dream represent aspects of yourself. An uncle connects to family history as it relates to the previous generation, so he will have a loose connection to a life view generated by your parents. The fact that he is a sibling to one of your parents allows you to see the influence of the generational dynamic without the direct challenges of the child/parent relationship. An uncle of yours appearing in a dream is asking you to consider how some waking-life issue relates to family history and patterns. (See Family.)
Undertow: Water is the symbol for emotions and that which is in the unconscious mind. The waves at the beach represent the way in which material from this hidden and mysterious place constantly interacts with our conscious mind as represented by land. The undertow is a profound place where the interplay of simultaneous movement toward and away from the shore is dynamic and powerful. It is the unseen force that can drag you away if you are not careful in your explorations of this potentially dangerous realm. It represents the fear of being overwhelmed by what is in your unconscious mind.
Underwater: Water is symbolic of the emotional side of the human experience. To dream of being underwater is about being immersed in the nature of your feelings. A common dream is to be able to breathe and move with ease underwater; this represents a level of grace and ease with a current emotional situation. Fear of being underwater reflects the opposite. If it is you that is underwater, then it is your own life experience that is being expressed. If someone else is underwater, then the aspect of your character that the person represents may be key to what is creating an upheaval of feelings.
Underwear: All clothing represents our self-expression on some level. Additionally, clothing can be thought of as protection against the elements. Both of these concepts are reflected in the symbolic meaning of clothing. Underwear takes these concepts to a level of privacy and intimacy because they are worn under your outer clothes, make direct contact with your body, and act primarily as covering for the sexual areas. In this way, underwear represents your desire to keep a lid on your sexuality. Also to be considered is the layered desire to protect yourself from being completely vulnerable; if you are in your underwear in your dream, you are certainly exposed, but are not as vulnerable as you might otherwise be. Your mother always warned you to wear clean underwear in case you got into an accident and had to be taken to the hospital. This element of being prepared for exposure also relates to the shame associated with our most private experiences of being human.
Undress: The act of undressing is about exposure and vulnerability. This can be either terrifying or erotic, or somewhere in between. No matter what the circumstances or sensations around undressing or being undressed in a dream, consider your interpretation as ultimately about being willing to expose your most private and vulnerable self. If you are being undressed or undressing in the dream, it is you who is experimenting with being more open. If other people are involved, consider the character aspects of you that they may be representing and you will see that there is some area of your life that needs a more vulnerable approach. Such a dream may also be expressing a feeling of invasiveness from a relationship or experience in your life where your boundaries are being invaded.
Unicorn: This magical creature is a powerful symbol of magic and spiritual purity. It is an ancient symbol that has permeated modern media more than any other creature. The unicorn is a white creature and in this way connects to purity and the highest vibration of life. It can fly, which increases this ascension sensibility. In some ways, its very name contains some of its power as a totem; the unicorn has a single horn, which means it is free from duality and recognizes the oneness of all. A visit from a unicorn in a dream is to be connected to some very powerful medicine, and you can consider yourself to be guided by strong spiritual forces.
Uniform: A uniform is a symbol itself; the nature of the outfit defines the wearer very specifically in a particular role, as uniforms are designed to be instantly recognizable for the discipline they relate to. In order to understand such a dream, you must first identify the uniform itself and the qualities associated with someone who might wear it. In most cases, the archetype most associated with a uniform falls in the warrior category, which relates to the principle of dividing everything into either right or wrong. To dream of wearing a uniform is to desire to connect to the energy that the uniform represents. If someone in your dream is wearing a uniform, there is a part of your personality that is needed to face some current life circumstance.
United Nations: This is a symbol for world peace. If the United Nations features prominently in your dream, you may be connecting to a collective energy around issues that are currently affecting the planet as a whole. This image can also be interpreted on a more personal level as representing the possibility that various ideas and beliefs within you that are ultimately contradictory may be able to be integrated, turning dissonance into harmony within yourself.
UPC Code: This invention of the modern world is a complex identification system. It features several sets of codes within a large string of numbers that relates to a manufacturer and all of its available products. This code is used to track movement and profit. In a dream, it relates to the desire to stay connected to all of your thoughts and ideas in order to be able to take advantage of the opportunities within your mind.
Uphill: This is symbolic of exertion in your current life’s journey. Any path in a dream, such as a road, trail, or walkway, connects to your journey through life. The degree of inclination is key to understanding how your unconscious is experiencing the current level of stress involved. This should be applied literally to the interpretation of how you are experiencing some life experience. While going uphill can be exhausting and debilitating, a modicum of exertion can also be very stimulating and the accomplishment of the climb can be very satisfying. If you are debilitated in life in some way, challenged movement in your dream could be an expression of frustration with your limitations. If the uphill journey in your dream stops your ability to move at all, you may be working out feelings of inadequacy and may be shut down in the face of a life challenge. If there is a view at the top of the hill, you may be looking at the motivating forces that underlie your current choices.
Upstairs: The level or floor in a building is directly related to various levels of thought and consciousness. Higher levels are connected to more conscious awareness and that to which we aspire. Anything connected to the ability to move upward is a symbolic representation of this desire to ascend.
Urinal: Urination connects to toxicity or anger that needs to be released. As a receptor for urine, a urinal relates to the consciousness of releasing this toxicity in a neat and ordered manner.
Urination: The release of toxicity is the primary meaning of this symbol. Urination in a dream may be pointing to a buildup of negative thoughts or unexpressed anger, hence the phrase “pissed off.” There is a sexual subculture in which urinating on someone or being urinated on by another is considered highly erotic. It is also a symbol of the hierarchy of power between two individuals. In sexual role play, while it may appear that the dominant party holds more power by virtue of the act itself, in actuality the receiver, or “bottom,” is the one with the control in any interaction. Therefore, in any dream involving this sort of activity, consider that if you are the giver, you may be experiencing toxic backlash in some area in life where you are being insensitive or lacking compassion. If you are on the receiving end of urination, then you may want to consider where in your life you may be compromising yourself through manipulation or some other hidden motivation. There can be a physiological function involved in this dream image, and the body may assist in the unconscious process: if you have to pee, you just might dream about it first. This does not alter the interpretive meaning, and such a dream deserves investigation of its imagery as much as any other.
Usher: An usher’s ultimate job is to offer assistance in a setting where finding a seat is paramount. The idea of sitting for an event has to do with being grounded, safe, and available for whatever is being presented. If you dream of an usher, you are tapping into the part of you that can assist in your readiness to receive something of significance, such as new information, or to witness an important shift in your life.
U-turn: Inherent in this maneuver is the option at any moment to reverse your direction and choose to go back the way you came. This is different from a standard turn because it implies returning to some point of origination. Look to see where in your life a choice that you made in your past is one that you wish you could unmake.
Uvula: The uvula is the thing that hangs down in the back of your throat. Its function is primarily related to the articulation of certain sounds within the range of human speech. It can often swell when there is an infection being fought by the body and, when stimulated, can cause a gag or retching reflex. If something is occurring with the uvula in a dream, it should be considered as describing in symbolic terms your ability to fully express yourself.