Intending to accompany a person I know in real life to where he was to go, I noticed he was going to his house, up in a building floor, and I asked if it was. I decided to halt and permit myself no more steps.
'Oh, it's ok then, I wait here.'
It was a sign of respect and courtesy I was meant to follow, because I was not to do the same mistake twice. I'd rather keep my distance, keep his space, his.
To dream of being a long way from your residence, denotes that you will make a journey soon in which you may meet many strangers who will be instrumental in changing life from good to bad.
To dream of friends at a distance, denotes slight disappointments.
To dream of distance, signifies travel and a long journey. To see men plowing with oxen at a distance, across broad fields, denotes advancing prosperity and honor. For a man to see strange women in the twilight, at a distance, and throwing kisses to him, foretells that he will enter into an engagement with a new acquaintance, which will result in unhappy exposures.
According to Raymond Lull, ‘meaning is the revelation of secrets
through the sign’, a thesis which puts the emphasis upon the sign as a fact, as a
reality. On the other hand, for Stanislas de Guaita (Essais de Sciences maudites,
II, Paris, 1915) the sign is the ‘point of reference needed by the will (or conscience) in projecting itself towards a predetermined goal’. The sign, then, is the
concrete form, the symptom, of an invisible, an inner reality and, at the same
time, the means whereby the mind is reminded of that reality. Determination and
meaning are immanent in the sign. The occult theory of ‘signatures’ conceives
everything that exists as a sign and holds that everything has a feasible ‘reading’
(the shape of a tree, the position of three or more rocks on a plain, the colour of some eyes, marks made by natural forces on a natural or artificial terrain, the
structure of a landscape, the pattern of a constellation, etc.). Auguste Rodin, a
realist who was always hovering on the borders of symbolism, in his Conversations collected by Paul Gsell, places all art within this realm of occult meaning,
with the words: ‘lines and shades are for us nothing more than the signs of a
hidden reality. Beyond the surface, our gaze plunges into the spirit’. The painter
Gustave Moreau expressed himself in similar terms when referring to ‘the evocation of thought by line, arabesque and plastic means’. In the present century, Max
Ernst and Dubuffet, among other artists, have explained their pictorial and graphic
experiments as an immersion in the psychic projected onto the material. At the
same time, C. G. Jung gives a similar explanation of the quest of the alchemists.
To see a sign in your dream, indicates that you need help. You need some direction and guidance in your life. Pay attention to what the sign says and what it is pointing you to do. Perhaps the dream is highlighting "a sign of the times".
Seeing a sign in your dream indicates that you need assistance You need some direction and guidance in your life. Pay attention to what the sign says and what it is pointing you to do.
This is a symbol which is very common in iconography all over the
world. It embraces the following essential ideas: ascension, gradation, and communication between different, vertical levels. In the Egyptian system of
hieroglyphs, steps constitute a determinative sign which defines the act of ascending; it forms part of one of the appellations of Osiris, who is invoked as ‘he
who stands at the top of the steps’. Ascending, then, can be understood both in
a material and in an evolutive and spiritual sense. Usually, the actual number of
steps involved in the symbol is of symbolic significance. In Egyptian images, the
number tends to be nine: the triple ternary which symbolizes the gods of the
ennead who, together with Osiris, make up the symbolic number ten which
stands for the completed cycle or the return to unity (19). A great many Egyptian
tombs have yielded up amulets in the shape of ladders. The Book of the Dead
says: ‘My steps are now in position so that I may see the gods.’ Eliade has
pointed out parallel images, such as the following: Among many primitive peoples,
mythic ascension is indicated by means of a rope, a stake, a tree or a mountain
(symbolizing the world-axis). Or, according to an Oceanian myth, the hero reaches
heaven by means of the fantastic hyperbole of a chain of arrows. And in Islamic
tradition, Mohammed saw a ladder which the just climbed up to reach God (17).
To refer again to primitive belief, Schneider observes that in order to ‘reach’ the
mountain of Mars and reap its benefits, one must ascend the ladder of one’s
forebears—suggesting a biological and historical source for the mystic symbol of
the ladder. Hence steps are also one of the most notable symbols in ancestral rites
(50). Images specifically connected with the steps are the mountain, and architectural structures incorporating steps, such as the Egyptian pyramid of Sakkara,
the Mesopotamian ziggurats, or the teocallis of America of pre-Columbian days;
we have then a synthesis of two symbols—that of the ‘temple-mountain’ and
that of the steps—signifying that the entire cosmos is the path of ascension
towards the spirit. In Mithraism, the ceremonial steps were seven in number,
each step being made of a different metal (as was each different plane of the
ziggurat in a figurative sense). According to Celsus, the first step was of lead
(corresponding to Saturn). The general correspondence with the planets is selfevident. Now, this idea of gradual ascent was taken up particularly by the alchemists from the latter part of the Middle Ages onwards; they identified it sometimes with the phases of the transmutation process. In Stephan Michelspacher’s
work Die Cabala, Spiegel der Kunst und Natur (1654), the following graded scale
is given: Calcination, Sublimation, Solution, Putrefaction, Distillation, Coagulation, Tincture, leading to a kind of shrine inside a mountain (32). According to the Zohar, the ladder which Jacob is said to have seen in his dreams had seventy-two
rungs and its top disappeared into the clouds (39). Broadly speaking, in emblems
and allegories throughout the Middle Ages, it is the ascending (affirmative) aspect
of the steps which predominates, emphasized by the signs and symbols clustering round the ladder. Bayley points out that many steps are surmounted by a
cross, the figure of an angel, a star or a fleur-de-lis (4) located on the border itself.
In Romanesque art, and generally in the thought characteristic of the period, the
steps are the symbol of the ‘relationship between the worlds’ (14, 20), but it
must not be forgotten that, within the spatial symbolism of level, there are not
two grades indicating two different worlds (the terrestrial or intermediary and the
celestial or upper) but three (through the addition of a third: the infernal or lower
world). This is why Eliade (for reasons of psychology as well) states that the
steps are a vivid image of ‘breaking through’ the levels of existence in order to
open up the way from one world to another, establishing a relationship between
heaven, earth and hell (or between virtue, passivity and sin). Hence, steps located
beneath the level of the earth are always a symbol for an opening into the infernal
regions. In Bettini’s Libro del monte santo di Dio (Florence, 1477), steps are
shown superimposed upon a mountain; to emphasize the parallel—and indeed
identical—symbolism of the mountain and the ladder, the former is portrayed as
if it were terraced and the terraces are shown to be the rungs of the ladder. On
these rungs are the names of the virtues: Humility, Prudence, Temperance, Fortitude, Justice, Awe, Mercy, Science, Counsel, Understanding and Wisdom. The
steps are portrayed as if chained to the mountainside. On the peak of the mountain is a mandorla formed of angels with Christ in the centre. (Plate XXVI).
To dream that you ascend steps, denotes that fair prospects will relieve former anxiety.
To decend them, you may look for misfortune.
To fall down them, you are threatened with unexpected failure in your affairs.
To see steps in your dream, represent your efforts in achieving your goals, ambitions and material gains. The dream may be telling you to take things one at a time. Or that you need to take a chance and take that first step toward your goals or dreams. Alternatively, the dream signifies your closeness to your spirituality or religious beliefs.
To dream that you are sitting on the steps, suggests that you need to pause from life's demands and reevaluate your decisions, challenges, goals, and path before continuing on.
To dream that you are applying for a permit, represents your rights. Consider what sort of permit it is for additional significance. If it is a gun permit, then the dream indicates that you feel your anger or acts of aggression are validated. If it is a building permit, then it suggests that you are seeking approval to move ahead toward your goals or onto the next phase in your life.
To see the floor in your dream, represents your support system and sense of security. You have a firm foundation that you can depend on. The floor in your dream may also symbolize the division between the unconscious and conscious. Alternatively, the dream may be a pun on being "floored" or being completely surprised. Perhaps you have been caught off guard about something.
To see a polished, wooden floor in your dream, indicates that you are fully aware of your unconscious and keeping it suppressed. Consider the condition of the floor for further analysis.
To see a slanted floor in your dream, indicates that you are deviating too far from your original plans and goals.
To dream about the floors of a building, represents your level of understanding, awareness or success. The higher floors signify higher accomplishments and achievements. If you are in the lower floors, then it refers to more primal attitudes, the unconscious and/or sexuality. It also denotes failures. Consider the significance of the floor number and the type of building the floors are on.
Seeing the floor in your dream, represents your support. It may also represent the division between the unconscious and conscious. Seeing a polished, wooden floor in your dream indicates that you are fully aware of your unconscious and keeping it suppressed. Seeing a slanted floor in your dream, foretells that you are deviating too far from your original plans and goals.
To see a building in your dream, represents the self and the body. How high you are in the building indicates a rising level of understanding, awareness or success. If you are in the lower levels of the building, then it refers to more primal attitudes and/or sexuality.
To see a building in ruins or damaged, indicates that your approach toward a situation or relationship is all wrong. You need to change. Your own self-image may have suffered and taken some blow.
To dream that a building collapses, indicates that you are losing sight of your ambitions and goals. Your pursuit for material gains is failing.
To dream that you or someone fall off a building, suggests that you are descending into the realm of unconscious. You are learning about and acknowledging aspects of your unconscious. Alternatively, it symbolizes your fear of not being able to complete or succeeding in a task.
To dream that you are scaling or climbing a building, indicates that you are getting carried away by your ambitions.
Dreaming of a building, represents the self and the body. How high you are in the building indicates a rising level of understanding or awareness. If you are in the lower levels of the building, then it refers to more primal attitudes and/or sexuality. Dreaming of a building in ruins or damaged indicates that your approach toward a situation or relationship is all wrong. You need to change. Your own self-image may have suffered and taken some blow. Dreaming that you or someone fall off a building, suggests that you are descending into the realm of unconscious. You are learning about and acknowledging aspects of your unconscious. Alternatively, it symbolizes your fear of not being able to complete or succeeding in a task. See also Falling in our Common Dream Themes section.
Mystics have always traditionally considered the feminine aspect of
the universe as a chest, a house or a wall, as well as an enclosed garden. Another
symbolic association is that which equates the house (and the above, related
forms) with the repository of all wisdom, that is, tradition itself (4). In architectural symbolism, on the other hand, the house carries not only an overall symbolism but also particular associations attached to each of its component parts.
Nevertheless, the house as a home arouses strong, spontaneous associations with
the human body and human thought (or life, in other words), as has been confirmed empirically by psychoanalysts. Ania Teillard explains this by pointing
out that, in dreams, we employ the image of the house as a representation of the
different layers of the psyche. The outside of the house signifies the outward
appearance of Man: his personality or his mask. The various floors are related to
the vertical and spatial symbols. The roof and upper floor correspond to the head
and the mind, as well as to the conscious exercise of self-control. Similarly, the
basement corresponds to the unconscious and the instincts (just as sewers do, in
symbols pertaining to the city). The kitchen, since this is where foodstuff is
transformed, sometimes signifies the place or the moment of psychic transmutation in the alchemical sense. The intercommunicating rooms speak for themselves. The stairs are the link between the various planes of the psyche, but their
particular significance depends upon whether they are seen as ascending or descending. Finally, there is, as we have said, the association of the house with the
human body, especially regarding its openings, as was well understood by
Artemidorus Daldianus (56).
To see a house in your dream, represents your own soul and self. Specific rooms in the house indicate a specific aspect of your psyche. In general, the attic represents your intellect, the basement represents the unconscious, etc. If the house is empty, then it indicates feelings of insecurity. If the house is shifting, then it suggests that you are going through some personal changes and changing your belief system. To dream that a house has no walls, represents a lack of privacy. You feel that everyone is looking over your shoulder or up in your business.
To dream that you are cleaning your house, signifies your need to clear out your thoughts and get rid of old ways. You are seeking self-improvement.
If you live with others in your waking life, but dream that you are living alone, suggests that you need to take new steps toward independence. You need to accept responsibilities and be more self-reliant.
To see an old, run-down house in your dream, represents your old beliefs, attitudes and how you used to think or feel. A situation in your current life may be bringing about those same old attitudes and feelings. Alternatively, the old house may symbolize your need to update you mode of thinking. To dream that your house is damaged, indicates your waking concerns about the condition of your house.
To see a new house in your dream, indicates that you are entering into a new phase or new area in your life. You are becoming more emotionally mature. If you are locked out of the house, then it represents rejection and insecurity. You feel you are being left behind.
To dream that your house is broken into, suggests that you are feeling violated. It may refer to a particular relationship or current situation in your life. Alternatively, it indicates that some unconscious material is attempting to make itself known. There are some aspects of yourself that you have denied.
To dream of a haunted house, signifies unfinished emotional business, related to your childhood family, dead relatives, or repressed memories and feelings.
To dream that a house has disappeared, indicates that you are not feeling grounded. You feel uprooted by a particular circumstance or relationship in your life.
To dream that water is rising up in your house, suggests that you are becoming overwhelmed by your emotions.
To dream of building a house, you will make wise changes in your present affairs.
To dream that you own an elegant house, denotes that you will soon leave your home for a better, and fortune will be kind to you.
Old and dilapidated houses, denote failure in business or any effort, and declining health.
Seeing a house in your dream, represents your own soul and self. Specific rooms in the house indicate a specific aspect of your psyche. In general, the attic represents your intellect, the basement represents the unconscious, etc. If the house is empty, then it indicates feelings of insecurity. If the house is shifting, then it suggests that you are going through some personal changes and changing your belief system. Dreaming that you are cleaning your house means your need to clear out your thoughts and getting rid of old ways. You are seeking self-improvement. Seeing an old, run-down house in your dream, represents your old beliefs, attitudes and how you used to think or feel. A situation in your current life may be bringing about those same old attitudes and feelings. Alternatively, the old house may symbolize your need to update you mode of thinking. Dreaming that your house is broken into, suggests that you are feeling violated. It may refer to a particular relationship or current situation in your life. Alternatively, it indicates that some unconscious material is attempting to make itself known. There are some aspects of yourself that you have denied. Dreaming of a haunted house means unfinished emotional business, related to your childhood family, dead relatives, or repressed memories and feelings. Dreaming that a house disappeared, indicates that you are not feeling grounded. You feel uprooted by a particular circumstance or relationship in your life.
It is common to dream about houses. They usually symbolise our emotional and psychological selves. All of your experiences, stages of development, and parts of your conscious and unconscious life may be represented by that house. The house may be representing issues concerning a particular dilemma in your life, or it may be more general and comprehensive. Either way, if you pay attention to the details in this dream, you may learn a thing or two about yourself.