Dream
HELP!!! I would love someone, finally, to shed a little light on my recurring dream…There’s always a volcano which is erupting in the background and I’m usually making preparation to escape the lava flow.  I’m gathering up people. Pets, and belongings.  I feel it’s Vesuvius although I’m not sure.  There’s always a deep rumbling sound coming from the volcano. I have this dream about once or twice a month sometimes and am beginning to wonder if I am reliving a past life or something!! Would appreciate an analysis just so that I can believe that I’m not actually going potty!

Meaning
When we dream about a volcano we are often concerned that we are about to erupt angrily in certain circumstances. In waking life you probably appear to others as a very calm and peaceful person but now and again you find yourself in a situation that just makes you want to blow your top. However, you usually suppress these feelings and continue to appear balanced and fair minded.

Dreaming of pets usually reflects our need for love and affection, so you are anxious about letting off steam in case you lose the affections of others. Your belongings represent your values and you are worried that  asserting yourself contradicts your values in dealing with others.

When we dream about a sound it often indicates that something unexpected is about to happen and this potentially volatile and unpredictable state makes you even more anxious. The lava flow is the destruction that you feel will surely follow if you give vent to your real feelings.

To move on from this dream, it would be good if you can find some way of releasing these passions that are bubbling away under the surface of your calm exterior. Sometimes you should just tell someone that they are making you angry. There are probably some big issues that really make you overheat but it is best to start on some smaller ones and just give voice to your true feelings. You don’t have to scream and shout but just calmly assert yourself until you feel your needs are being really met. Some activities that are both physical and creative, such as dancing and singing, are a very good way to release this pent up energy.

Although you might be scared of your pent up energy because it may erupt as destructive anger, it is also a very powerful resource of creative passion. As you learn to channel it properly, you will have the feeling that you can move mountains with your talents.

Dream
Hi Ian
I have a dream that I’ve moved to a new house, I find a door in the house and when I open it, it opens on to a long corridor with lots of doors in it. It is old fashioned and often has a lady standing in the corridor wearing a long black Victorian dress, she has white hair pulled back into a bun, holds her hands clasped in front of her and when she looks at you her eyes are all white and scary. She also doesn’t want me to go into that part of the house. Can you help?

Meaning
When we dream about a house, we are usually dreaming about our own self and how others see us. Dreaming that we have moved to a new house often means that we have made some sort of change in our waking life that has awakened us to new aspects of our own character. The door that you open symbolises an opportunity that you have taken in your waking life and this has started you on a path that has made lots of other opportunities available to you.

However, it seems as if you are feeling a wee bit overwhelmed by all these potentials and possibilities and are slightly scared of them. The Victorian lady in the corridor is a reflection of your own anxieties about engaging in new and exciting opportunities. Part of you would just like to resist any change to your life and do things the way you have always done them.

This part of you that is resisting change feels old fashioned to you and is stopping you from exploring all these opportunities. You feel worried that you are stepping outside your comfort zone and discovering these new aspects of yourself. However, the Victorian lady is also indicating that you have the accumulated wisdom and experience to be able to step into your new life and make the most of it.

Dream
Hi Ian, I keep dreaming that I have cancer of the mouth. The cancer cells keep growing in my lips and my tongue until they fill my whole mouth and I cannot breathe. I wake up screaming and shouting and gasping for breath. In real life, I keep going to the doctor and the dentist for check ups but I always get the all clear. Also, I don’t smoke. Please can you help me?

Meaning
When we dream about any illness or blockage involving our mouths, it is often because there is something that we really need to say to someone in our waking lives. However, we are usually afraid that there will be a negative and unhealthy response if we actually do say it. There is something that you desperately need to express to someone but are frightened to do so. Your fear is that by speaking out and saying how you really feel, you will create a situation that will rapidly grow out of control.

The fact that you wake up screaming and shouting shows how desperate you are to speak your truth and say what really needs to be said. The reason that you are frightened is that you know something will come to an end if you actually say what you feel. This situation may be a job, or a friendship or a romance that was once healthy but has now become toxic and painful.

In the same way that a surgeon removes a cancerous tumour, you need to remove yourself from this unhealthy situation by saying exactly what you feel. Don’t let the conversation grow out of control. As soon as you have said what you feel you need to say, close your mouth, stand back and hear what the other person has to say.