Hey there. I am in a difficult situation that is pulling me in many directions. I had a dream last night that was trying to tell me something, but of course, I need some help with the interpretation.

The dream: I was in a boat with the man that I love but can never emotionally/mentally reach (I do not remember seeing his face in detail, but his presence was there); we were having an amazing time floating in this boat. *On a side note, recently I bought him a picture frame (in real life) because I felt that we had reached a level of intimacy that finally, after all of this time, would allow us to have a picture together* Anyway, back to the dream... we journeyed on and off land- at one point taking pictures together in one of those old-style picture booths (where you get a strip of pics after posing for the camera in various poses) specifically to fill the picture frame that I bought in real life. After the picture-taking, we continued on, enjoying this boat ride. At a certain point, we tried to move the boat forward in the water, but we were stuck. We tried and tried. Finally, we raised an oar and discovered the body of a dead man underneath the boat, connected to us by a rope of some sort. He looked as though he had been dead for awhile (face down, definitely some one we did not know, looking very blue and water-logged). The difficult part is that during the process of pulling up the body, I found myself alone, after my 'soul mate' swam to get help. Helicopters and emergency crews arrived to get the dead man, but I could not find the man that I love. I had to row back to shore alone, and I was terrified and mostly crushed that he was not with me. I woke up not remembering many details (only these), but before I awoke, I dreamt that this same man that I love was entertaining the company of another woman at his home. After lying to me over the phone about being home alone, watching tv, I knew he was inside the house (which was virtually inpenetrable), playing board games with this other woman and his daughter (whom I used to spend lots of time with in real life, but was unable to after our relationship went through a difficult time). The crazy part is that just that evening I was playing board games with this man and his daughter in real life. What could all of this add up to?

Forever grateful for your interpretations, Angie

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 27; Iowa

Have You Posted Before? Date of Last Post {Use Search and Your Post Name to Help Find Last Post} Female

Hello Angie,

I don’t know if you’re in the habit of looking at your dreams, but in case not, they basically show the situation of the dreamer in an objective way, drawing upon tons of personal memories and inner realties that are then meshed with the current outer reality. Since they are so personal, it would be best to have additional background information as well as your thoughts and memories about each dream image in order to provide an accurate interpretation. But based on some basic image motifs, here are a few ideas about the possible meaning of your dream.

A boat is at root a “vehicle”, how you use your energy to move through life. Perhaps it’s an important detail that it isn’t your boat in the dream, that is, perhaps unconscious factors (pictured as your friend) are tending to direct your life too much. Being on a body of water also suggests this unconscious connection with an inner figure since water usually symbolizes the unconscious mind. You also don’t see your friend’s face in detail, perhaps again suggesting an inner figure. The choice of the word “floating” may also point to being in some way a little directionless or “at sea” in some way.

If you’re not familiar with Jungian psychology, it postulates an inner masculine figure in women, symbolizing so-called “masculine” attributes. It’s possible that especially the dead man may represent this aspect of yourself as being “unconscious”. Jungian analyst Marie Louise von Franz wrote the following in connection with the analysis of a woman’s dream:

“… [this inner masculine figure] also performs very positive and important functions because a woman whose animus is wounded or not functioning is too passive. She is too exposed to the vicissitudes of life. She cannot take her own destiny into her own hands…The dream, therefore, shows that being in a very difficult outer situation, she might be inclined to think that it’s a matter of bad luck. But the dream shows her that the real trouble is that her own masculinity is dead and as to be rescued and revived again.”

Perhaps the image of taking the booth-photos is trying to hint that you’re not seeing the whole picture about your situation, just little snaps that “don’t fit” the bigger frame of things.

You’re “stuck” and not moving forward, possibly because of a poor relationship with your inner masculine attributes. This idea may be doubled up by the image of your friend who “deserts” you. But perhaps this is a positive image in a way since it forces you to direct your own energy (rowing the boat) to reach the shore of practical reality and understanding.

The second dream apparently picks up on the similar theme of an inner figure letting you down although it’s possible that the image of your friend in the dream has a dual meaning, representing the inner as well as the outer figure. A house usually symbolizes the ego structure in general. You’ll have to decide whether this “impenetrable” house represents your friend’s personality in some way. In this scenario, the other woman and his daughter may represent his inner feminine figure that he is in reality “loyal” to, leading to the outer difficulties that you mentioned regarding not being able to get through to him. It’s possible the dream is emphasizing this idea by including the daughter since there are often very close psychic ties between fathers and daughters which hamper relationships being formed by both with others. Henry James’s novel “The Golden Bowl” centers on this type of relationship.

Anyway these are only some general ideas that perhaps will help in unravelling the personal meaning of your dream.