There are many books that try to tell us What Common Dreams Mean. I counted over twenty on Amazon. While they can be helpful it maybe be important to take their information with a grain of salt. That is also to say we might do just as well to think for ourselves what symbols like a grain of salt mean.
In other words often common phrases may occur as symbols in a dream. Thus a common dream symbol as having no teeth also sounds familiar to me. We say things like “that law has no teeth in it.” So we might ask ourselves how is that relevant in my dream?
Perhaps you might dream of being in a house with a shaky, crumbling, or even none existent foundation. So you could ask yourself, “What is it in my life that has a weak foundation?” Is it in fact a building, or a relationship, or your job?
Fear of or falling in a dream is another common theme. So again ask yourself , “ What in my life is falling.” If you are visiting the Grand Canyon tomorrow I’d be extra careful. However, more likely have you been falling for some internet scam? Have you been falling down on the job? What in your life might be falling apart?
Conversely are dreams of flying. It can be exhilarating. Are you soaring to new heights at work or in a relationship? Perhaps your dream is saying it’s time to come back down to earth.
People often dream of being in houses. It is thought that our position in the house is important. The attic may symbolize things old or perhaps spiritual. The basement may be about our unconscious. The living room may be about living or relationships, etc. Perhaps you are cooking something up in the kitchen?
Think of other common phrases that could be pictures in our dreams. Have we had a mountaintop experience. Are we down in the dumps? Are we stuck in first gear? Perhaps we are star struck. Maybe knocked, off a pedestal? We might also dream of the weather. Are things in your life Sunny or Stormy. Are you in a period of smooth sailing, or driving off a cliff. By now I hope you get the picture I’m painting.
It is in all these ways important to remember that our own life experience influences our dreams. If you don’t know the phrase it probably won’t be in you dream. On the other hand your unconscious may have picked it up subliminally.
It can also be helpful to become familiar with myths, and other stories of a variety of cultures. Carl Jung found that images from these sources appeared in the dreams of his patients. He called this phenomenon the Collective Unconscious. Thus if you do have a big dream with symbols that don’t make sense to you it could be helpful to do some research. Jung also thought that we might find various archetypes in our dreams. For example, dragons, Father, Mother, and Wise old man.
I hope this has provided you with a good introduction to the meaning in dreams. Keeping these things in mind go ahead a buy a dream book but read it with a grain of salt.