DREAM SYMBOLS LETTER N
nail hitting something right on; being accurate in knowing where to put your energy; someone “hard as nails”; a nail-biter; nervous; something needing to be attached. What have you caught yourself doing that you said you wouldn’t?
naked feeling exposed and vulnerable; shyness and embarrassment; seeing something clearly with your naked eye. Where do you feel overly exposed?
name say the name out loud and think about who this reminds you of; someone assigning a name to another without consent; identifying; a good reputation; acting for someone else; name-dropping; someone wishing to remain nameless; a namesake. Who has been calling you names?
nap needing a short rest; to be caught off guard; napping on the job; a soft velvet cloth. Where have you been caught napping?
Napoleon acting without respecting others’ opinions; association with France; a lover of Josephine. Who do you know who is small but mighty?
Narcissus in Greek mythology, a beautiful youth who fell in love with his own reflection in the water of a spring; he pined away and was changed into the narcissus flower. Who is madly in love with themselves?
narrow a tight squeeze; a narrow escape; a limited opportunity; a narrow mind. Who needs to be more open minded?
native an aboriginal person; place of origin; someone “going native” and living more primitively; Native North American; a person with respect for nature; living with spiritual values; native ability. In what way are you doing something that is unnatural for you?
nature authentic; being comfortable with who you are; getting in touch with others; getting in touch with your environment; not artificial; neither sharp nor flat; made by the Creator rather than humans; qualities you were born with. Where are you faking it?
nausea repressing strong feelings of fear; disgust; perhaps illness indicated; moving too fast; seasickness, or car sickness; sick of traveling. Who is making you sick to your stomach?
navel getting to the centre; being in touch with your gut feelings; an association with the Navy; an old attachment; navel oranges; belly dancer. What are your gut feelings about a problem or issue?
Nazi evil doings; no respect for life; totalitarianism; not learning from the past; being dominated; cruel and unfeeling. How are you being intolerant towards yourself?
neck a burden that has been pressing on you for some time; finding something hard to swallow; getting it in the neck; in your neck of the woods; sticking your neck out; win by a neck; holding your head up and facing your problem. What or who is being a pain in the neck?
necklace a special gift; a lace collar; adorning. (See neck) What special necklace means a lot to you?
needle as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack; woman’s work; joining something back together; getting the point; someone being invasive and pressuring you to do something you don’t want to do; health issues may be indicated. Who is needling you?
neighbour having problems with your workmates or friends; doing a good deed for someone you don’t know very well; the person next door. How does your neighbour remind you of yourself?
Nemesis in Greek mythology, the goddess of vengeance; a just punishment for evil deeds; a person who punishes others for evil deeds. How are your enemies just what you deserve?
Neptune in Roman mythology, the god of the sea; in Greek, the god Poseidon. (See ocean) What is churning you up emotionally?
nest settling down in one place; wanting to begin a family; getting closer to your own family; being pushed out of the nest too soon; things fitting together neatly; decorating your home. Who is invading your nest?
Nestor in Greek legend, a king of Pylos who led the Greeks to Troy; famed for his great age, eloquence, and wisdom; any wise old man. What has your father told you that you should be heeding now?
net catching something before it falls away from you; having a safety net in case things don’t work out; protection; concern over your net income; a fish net; tennis net; hair net; addicted to the Internet. What has this dream netted for you?
new the beginning of something; getting a new item or job; fresh beginning; someone knew it. What’s new in your life?
news receiving important information; a surprise bit of gossip; north, east, west, south; look in all directions; waiting for news from someone; believing what you read in the newspaper, or on the TV news. What news do you have to break to someone?
nickname not being recognized; being treated as if you aren’t important; someone named Nick; shortening your identity. How have you been putting yourself down or making light of your accomplishments?
night being “in the dark” on an issue; making a night of it; a secret needs to come to light; a night owl; waiting for your knight; a time for dreaming. (See knight) What do you like to do at night?
nightgown feeling inappropriately dressed; not having the right thing to wear; embarrassment. How can you be better prepared for an upcoming event?
nightmare face your fears and foes; don’t run away from yourself; nightmares are your inner self screaming for attention and notice; feeling out of control and frightened; pay attention to them, talk about them and discover their message; look at how you have been afraid to face a desire or need. (See Nightmare Dream Wisdom) What have you been trying to avoid in yourself?
Nike in Greek mythology, the goddess of victory, usually represented with outspread wings; brand name of a running shoe. What are you running away from as fast as you can?
nine a baseball team; a nine-day wonder; having nine lives; having your pins knocked out from under you; saying no; transition number. What is number nine in your waking life?
nineteen a big change coming; the end of a stage in your life. What new adventure are you moving into this year?
Niobe in Greek mythology, a mother whose fourteen beautiful children were slain because she boasted about them; Zeus turned her into a stone fountain; she weeps forever for her children. Which child or children are you missing?
nipple needing to be nurtured and nourished; immaturity; being starved of love and affection; possible breast health issue indicated. How can you better nourish yourself?
noise someone making a big noise about something; being distracted; not in harmony; wanting attention; a message not coming in clearly. What is making so much noise that it is hard to concentrate?
noon the middle time; high noon; twelve o’clock high; lunch time. What important thing happens at noon?
noose punishment; shame and guilt; getting out of something; feeling trapped into confessing. What is your alternative plan if you can’t get out of this one?
north cold; frozen; facing the setting sun and turning right; northern lights; a bright star. What is in the north for you?
nose you have a good idea about where to go from here; you have good instincts; someone knows; count noses and be sure all are here; someone being led by the nose; looking down one’s nose at someone; something right on the nose; paying through the nose; putting someone’s nose out of joint; turning up your nose at something; right under your nose; search something out; taking a nose-dive. Who is being nosey?
note keeping track; part of a song; hitting the right note; a note of anxiety or excitement; compare notes with someone; make a note so you won’t forget; a noted or conspicuous person. What noteworthy event has happened recently?
notebook writing your life story; keeping close records of what is going on at work or at school; keeping a dream journal. What have you missed writing about?
novel unusual; a long story; the story of your life; new; strange. What novel has made an impact on you?
numb cutting off feelings; shutting down emotionally; health issues may be indicated; dull; having no feeling. What past pain are you afraid to feel?
number look at where your dream number appears in waking life: license plate, house, phone, age, etc; something beyond number; a book in the Old Testament; someone afraid their number is up; addicted to counting things or keeping track. Who is “number one” in your life?
nun needing to be taken care of; teaching; healing; spiritual practices of women; seeing things in black and white. What are you afraid of lacking?
nurse needing care and attention; possible medical concerns; getting well; nursing old wounds; feeding a baby. How can you take better care of yourself?
nut the centre of the issue; the beginning of a new project; a hard nut to crack. Who has been acting nutty?
“Our nights are made for dreams, and days for fulfilling them.”
Letter N
I am watching a woman who is a neighbour and I think she is a cook. She is going through the practice motions of mixing something. She puts her finger in the bowl and licks it. She is tasting as she goes, to get a sense of her future concoction, which I think is crazy. She is out of doors working on a large rickety table. 
neighbour: “How does your neighbour remind you of yourself?”
I decided to write down all my positive and negative feelings and thoughts about school. Then I would set an appointment to see a counselor in the guidance department and talk these things through. I loved one of the courses I was taking, but hated the other one and was tempted to drop it. My feelings about these two courses perfectly illustrated how ambiguous my feelings were about school. I felt seriously tempted to drop the course I disliked, but it was already too late in the term do so without a penalty. This was something else I could discuss with my counselor.
I was glad I had talked things over with a guidance counselor. She helped me through a series of career path tests to identify what it is I would love to work at when I’m finished school. I thought my recent return to school was strongly motivated by my increasing desire to do something about the Earth. I had strong spiritual beliefs about how we are all connected and responsible to our Creator for the beautiful home we call Earth. I wasn’t sure, however, what subject to major in to learn more about this. What would be good practice for the real thing? I tasted this course and that course, but I hadn’t yet found just the right recipe until I spoke with the counselor and realized the perfect major for me would be geography. It was a good thing I hadn’t dropped the course I didn’t like because it was a prerequisite for a major in geography. By dropping it, I would have wrecked my chances for getting into the major of my dreams! I didn’t like the course mainly because I wasn’t too crazy about the professor. Also, I found the course so populated with much younger people that I didn’t feel comfortable speaking up in class. This was really stilting for me.
It was helpful to identify my fears about school, which I had been suppressing because I didn’t want to quit again as I had so many years ago. I keep working with my dreams so that in my waking life I will achieve my real dream, which is to teach young people about the importance of taking care of our planet for the future generations. I think there are many meanings to this dream and as I continue to work through the other symbols, I’m sure I will receive even deeper levels of guidance and inspiration.