DREAM SYMBOLS LETTER R
rabbit feeling frightened and innocent; sweet and childlike; a message about someone being pregnant; soft motherly connection. Who is running like a rabbit?
race competition; getting ahead of the crowd; feeling harried and busy. Who is still in the running?
radio not able to turn down the outer noise; not having control over the talk going on inside your head; a voice-message may be indicated; give yourself permission to say what you need to; communication and freedom of speech. Who is turning up the radio?
raft feeling adrift; cut off from friends and family; adventurous; survival issues. Who’s just floating along?
rage repressed anger; frustration; feeling overwhelmed; something that is “all the rage”. Who are you raging at?
rags inappropriate dress; not feeling confident in what you wear; feeling self-conscious about your financial situation. Who is going “from rags to riches”?
rail following the beaten track; conforming to society’s norms; no choice; complaining. Who would like to “ride the rails”?
rain lacking moisture; things coming at you thick and fast; a time for refreshing; a blessing from heaven; hiding under your umbrella; pull in the reins; taking a rain-check; feeling ruled by another. Who is holding the reins?
rainbow a big reward at the end; wishing for things to change; a heavenly bridge. What are you waiting for “over the rainbow”?
rake a flirty man; digging things up; the end of a stage in your life; letting things end in season. What are you raking in?
ram someone born under the sign of Aries; strength; virility; protector; getting through, no matter what. What do you have to stand up to?
Rambo macho man; a man who takes charge; bullying; getting his way through violence. Who is acting like Rambo?
ramp a sharp incline or decline; needing a lift; a disability. Who is ramping around?
rape dreaming about rape may be reclaiming traumatic memories; it is highly recommended that you see a trusted therapist; dreaming about rape suggests feeling violated against your will -- violence done to you verbally, emotionally, or physically; write out your dream feelings. Who is doing the raping in your dream and what about it feels familiar in your life?
rash someone acting impulsively; not giving it a lot of thought; being too hasty; move with more caution; think before you act; sensitive skin. Who is acting rashly so that you feel rushed?
rat gossip; telling malicious stories about people to authority figures; being sneaky, unpredictable and predatory; somebody smells a rat; living in a sewer; fed up with it all. Who is “ratting” on you?
raven black; delirious and frenzied; important symbol for the aboriginal peoples of British Columbia. (See crow) What, or who, do you need to say “nevermore” to?
razor sharp; cutting remarks; on the edge; having your power taken away. Who is taking a piece out of you?
read needing to gather more information; not comprehending; reading between the lines; reading more into something than is necessary; being well-read. Whose mind would you like to read?
recipe read the instructions; know the ingredients of what you are eating. What is your recipe for happiness?
record keeping track of important information; making notes of your actions; listening to the same things over and over; breaking a record; saying something “off the record”; going on record. Who is repeating themselves?
red bright, passionate sexual love; anger; high emotion; physical; losing money; red blooded; rolling out the red carpet; waving a red flag; throwing in a red herring; a red letter day; stop and look at what you are doing; cutting through the red tape. What part of your life is red hot?
refrigerator cold storage; keeping things preserved for future use; preservation; time to cool down. How are you being left out in the cold?
regret sadness; guilt about past actions; wishing you had done things differently. When are you going to forgive yourself for being human?
rein keeping a tight rein; draw in the reins; give more rein to someone. (See rain) Who is controlling you and setting your direction?
relative a person close to you; intimacy; family and kinship ties; relationships that have history. How is your dream relative significant in your life now?
religion spirituality; organized group worship; following prescribed rules of conduct; getting “that old time religion”. What important thing do you do with care?
remote control stop distancing yourself; let someone else take control for a change. What are you controlling at arm’s length?
remove taking away a piece of your life; an important thing altered in some way; loss. What are you removing yourself from, and why?
Remus in Roman mythology, the twin brother of Romulus; a dream twin represents your alter ego or your opposite. What characteristics is your dream twin recommending you develop in yourself?
rent a temporary stay; lack of commitment; short term; borrowing from someone; paying your dues; tearing something apart. What in your life are you renting?
repair something broken; sadness; hopelessness; time to restore something. What is a seemingly hopeless area of your life that you believe can be fixed?
report being judged; rumours; show up on time. What grade would you give yourself?
repulsive believing something is perfect; feeling driven back; something you would rather not look at; a reminder that the beautiful lilly grows out of mud. What ugly aspects of your life have you been ignoring?
rescue feeling victimized and needing help; check your supplies; feeling as if you need to help someone but you have the same problems they do. Who really needs rescuing?
resort time to get away for a while; needing a rest; turning to someone for help. What’s your last resort?
restaurant nourishment that someone else provides; eating too many meals in restaurants; needing more choice in your life; choose your nurturance. How can you give yourself more choices?
reunion getting together with old acquaintances; connecting with someone or a part of yourself that you haven’t connected with in a long time; memories of childhood. Who do you need to reconnect with?
revenge feeling resentful; feeling victimized; feeling wronged. Who wants revenge when there may be a more mature way to be acknowledged?
revolution a complete change in lifestyle and priorities; an enlightening experience. How could you revolutionalize your life?
revolverbeing hurt from afar; violence at a distance. Who is moving in circles?
reward being paid; needing recognition; thanks for a kind act. Who deserves a reward?
ribbon sign(s) of giving up and surrender; passivity; decoration; getting a reward; recognition for courageous acts; torn into bits. Who is up for a medal?
ride going along for the ride; not having any choice in direction; letting something ride; ride it out. Who is being “taken for a ride”?
rifle shooting from the shoulder; going through someone’s things. Who is trying to take something from you?
ring repeating patterns; you’ve been here before; symbol of union or accomplishment; a mystical symbol of wholeness; being a ring leader; having a ring side seat. Who do you expect to call?
rink things going smoothly; skating on thin ice. What is beginning to curl up?
riot things getting out of control; wild colours; without constraint. Who needs to be “read the riot act”?
river life passing by; smooth sailing; easy path ahead; a change in lifestyle or job; things are moving fast. What might the river say if it could speak?
road prescribed path; knowing where you are going; easy-going; watch for the fork in the road; look where you’re going and where you’ve been; someone going on the road. What road have you recently started on?
robber trying to get away with something; stop robbing her. What precious part of yourself are you robbing?
robbery having something you value taken from you. Who is committing “highway robbery”?
Robin Hood hero of British legend; taking from the rich and giving to the poor; symbol of positive masculinity, benevolence; charity, goodness. What man have you been criticizing, who may have much finer qualities than you realized?
robot doing what you are told; being on automatic; unfeeling. Where in your life are you acting like a robot?
rock solid, predictable, long term; sometimes a symbol of the inner self; the soul; something on the rocks; being shaken up; moving back and forth; hitting rock bottom. Who is being rigid and stubborn?
rocket flying high; reaching for the moon; watch that you keep your feet on the ground; sex. How might you be rocketing out of control?
role the roles you assume in life; tasks; the way others see you; going in circles. (See roll) Who is tired of the role they are playing?
roller moving slowly; going steadily forward; returning cycles; repeating cycles. Who is rolling you along?
roller coaster feeling up and down; the highs and lows of emotion; out of control; cheap thrills. Who are you on a crazy ride with?
roller skates memories of childhood; moving under your own steam. What key do you hang around your neck now?
rolling stones lack of stability and commitment; burning the candle at both ends; moving from place to place; insecurity. Who is a rolling stone?
roll concern about being over weight; wanting an expensive car (Rolls); changing your position on something; a roll in the hay; time to roll up your sleeves; a roll top desk; being called. (See role) Who is on a role?
Romulus in Roman legend, the founder and first king of Rome; he and his brother Remus were nursed by a wolf; Romulus later slew Remus for leaping over the walls of his new city of Rome. Where do you feel like leaping over walls?
roof something going on in your head; stifling strong emotions; blowing the roof off something; frustration; putting a cap on it; wanting protection. Who is hitting the roof?
room needing more space and privacy; making room for someone, or a new project. How are you making room for yourself?
roots firmly planted; stability; ancestry and tradition in the family; getting to the heart of a matter; putting down roots. What new project is beginning to take root?
rope needing to connect with another; strongly tied to a secure base; getting to know the ropes. Who is at the end of their rope?
rose love; friendship; intimacy; caring; blossoming; beauty; standing up for something you believe in; looking through rose- coloured glasses. Who is rising to the occasion?
round softness; femininity; going around in circles; wholeness. What has sharp edges that need rounding off?
ruby symbol of love and ancestry; something very precious to you; symbol of your inner self; longings from your soul; inheritance may be indicated. Who is named Ruby?
rug feeling flat; walked on; taken advantage of; treated poorly. Who is walking all over you?
run feeling stressed, overworked; hurried; fear; run across someone; running someone down; run for it; run out; feeling run down; something is beginning to feel run- of-the-mill. Who is running in the dream and how is that dream character like you?
rust inexperienced; doing something you haven’t done for a long time; sitting around; not getting enough exercise. Where are you getting rusty?
“In our ‘grand dreams’, archetypes appear as symbols, or take personified form as the particular gods and goddesses, heroes and heroines, fabulous beasts and powers of good and evil, that are most familiar to our conscious minds.”
Letter R
I get on a double decker bus that starts going so fast and out of control that it crashes. All of us get off the bus feeling dazed. Then we all file onto another bus and it does exactly the same thing. I get really angry. I find the bus inspector and complain about these irresponsible young male drivers who act as if they know everything, but they don’t. She says we shouldn’t be so hard on them because they are just students and not rough guys at all. Then I am furious at her for her casual attitude.
double decker bus: going somewhere with another person; working in partnership
I decided to take my dream inspector’s advice and not be so hard on myself. I am doing my best to relax more at work and remember that I’m a student “driver” at my job. I am learning more and more every day and accept that I will make a few mistakes. I’m learning how to communicate my concerns and caring more effectively to the girls. I will continue trying not to be so hard on myself because it isn’t making me a better house mother, probably a worse one.
The girls commented that I am smiling more. They told me that when I was being so serious and quiet they thought I didn’t like them and that I was being critical, which discouraged them from confiding in me. Now I am joining in with them and am definitely enjoying my new job more.
I thought a lot about the woman inspector in this dream. I decided that she represents my inner nurturing self that is more forgiving and understanding about mistakes I am bound to make, whether they are connected to a job or any other aspect of my life. I am thankful that I was able to identify her through this dream interpretation and see the contrast between her tolerance for student learning and my own fierce self criticism. I was also able to see how I exaggerate my little mistakes into big bus crashes and get myself into quite a state over something that is a relatively small matter. I may have said something that was taken the wrong way at work, but certainly no one’s life was at risk.