Читать книгу The Element Encyclopedia of 20,000 Dreams: The Ultimate A–Z to Interpret the Secrets of Your Dreams - Theresa Cheung, Theresa Cheung - Страница 95

Could the gift represent a creative talent or skill you aren’t expressing in waking life? If you were given a gift of an expensive box of oil paints, for example, could this be encouraging you to make use of your artistic talent?

All wrapped up

Giving and receiving gifts in dreams indicates a need to give and take within a relationship, perhaps to share with others what we have and to create an environment that allows for give and take. Sharing is a fundamental human need, so if you are giving in a dream, this suggests your internal relationship with yourself, the environment or others. Giving a present usually suggests a need to express love or consideration for another person, whereas receiving it suggests your need for the love and consideration of another person. Receiving a shower of gifts suggests that you are held in high esteem.

A dream of unexpected gifts can have several meanings. The gift can point to the need for you to recognize your own worth. If you are the giver, the dream may be warning you to be more open and direct with other people, so that you are not caught off guard. An inappropriate gift of something you do not like, or have no use for, may indicate that someone’s attentions in waking life are not welcome. If you receive an unpleasant gift in a beautiful gift box, this image may reveal your intuition that someone’s apparently good intentions may disguise selfish motives. Finally, the image of an empty gift box may suggest that in waking life, things are not as attractive as they seem. Perhaps you have to face the reality of a relationship ending, or need to lower your expectations in some way.

A gift of chocolates may hark back to your childhood and infantile oral pleasures. According to Freudian theory, chocolates are a dream image of excrement, representing an anal fixation that may indicate a tendency to be overly formal or uptight. Beware of overanalysing here though, since dreams about chocolate sometime suggest a longing for love, affection and…chocolate.