Cage the Self

I am now on my last day of spring break and without fail I have dreams about work just about every other day. And if it's not directly or explicitly my work, it's dreams about children. Constantly.

But before I get to some of those interpretations, I want to share some others before I forget.


To see food in your dream represents physical and emotional nourishment and energies. The different types of food can symbolize a wide range of things. Generally, fruit is symbolic of sensuality, meat represents animalistic desires, and vegetables pertain to healthy pursuits. Frozen foods may imply your cold emotions and frigid ways. Eating certain foods also refer to qualities that you need to incorporate within your own self.
To dream that you are hording or storing food indicates a fear of deprivation. You do not trust what you already have.
To see or eat stale food in your dream suggests that you are feeling sluggish and emotionally drained. You need to be invigorated and revitalized.
To eat bad-tasting food in your dream indicates some sourness or resentment in your emotional state of mind. To see or eat burnt food in your dream suggests that you are experiencing some intense emotion. The dream may also indicate that you are feeling exhausted. You are running out of fuel.



To dream that you are eating alone signifies loss, loneliness, and depression. You may feel rejected, excluded, and cut off from social/family ties. Eating may be a replacement for companionship and provide a form of comfort. Alternatively, eating alone reflects independent needs. Also consider the pun, "what's eating you up?" in reference to anxiety that you may be feeling.
To dream that you are eating with others signifies harmony, intimacy, merriness, prosperous undertakings, personal gain, and/or joyous spirits.
To dream that you are overeating or not eating enough signifies a lack of spirituality and fulfillment in your waking life. Food can represent love, friendship, ambition, sex or pleasure in your life. Thus, food is a metaphor to fulfill and gratify your hunger for love and desires. If you are refusing to eat, then it indicates that you want to be more independent and not rely on others so much. If you dream that you are a picky eater, then it indicates that you are holding back something. If you are currently dieting in your waking life, then the dream may serve to compensate for the sustenance that you are lacking.
To dream that someone clears away the food before you finish eating foretells that you will have problems and issues from those beneath you or dependent upon you.



To see a puppy in your dream symbolizes your playfulness and carefree nature. It also refers to a blossoming friendship. If you are taking care of a puppy, then it means that you are reliable and trustworthy. Others can depend on you, especially during difficult times.

To see a litter of newborn puppies in your dream is indicative of the amount of time that an idea has been developing or will take to develop. Look to the number of puppies to give you that approximate amount of time.

To see children in your dream signify an aspect of yourself and your childlike qualities. You may be retreating back to a childlike state and longing for the past. You are trying to still satisfy repressed desires and unfulfilled hopes. Perhaps there is something that you need to see grow and nurture. Take some time off and cater to the inner child within. Alternatively, the dream may be highlighting your innocence, purity, simplicity, and carefree attitude. If you are fighting with children, then it implies that you are repressing your inner child. The children could represent someone in your waking life (coworker, mate, sibling, etc.) who is acting like a child. If you see children fighting in your dream, then it means that your sense of morality and character are in conflict.

To forget about your child or children suggests that you are feeling overwhelmed by your waking responsibilities. The dream is telling you that you are overly fixating on minor details and overlooking the important things on your life. You need to re-prioritize your time and focus on what matters. To dream that your own grown children are still very young indicates that you still see them as young and dependent. You want to feel needed and significant.

To dream that you are watching children but they do not know you are there is a metaphor for some hidden knowledge or some latent talent which you have failed to recognize.

To save a child in your dream signifies your attempts to save a part of yourself from being destroyed. If you dream that you are separated from your children, then it symbolizes failure in some personal endeavor or a setback in some ideal you had.

This morning/afternoon I dreamt that I was working but one particular child was my own child. So it appeared. She was like a baby, but a toddler in a miniature form. So small but proportionate to a toddler, and able to walk and talk and all that. She was in this play cage thing. I was trying to cut her hair...She wasn't thrilled about it at first, but after she got out of the cage she became a realistic size of a young child, to some age of 8-10 or so. I got a snippet of an image of a girl that was older looking with long hair. I don't know if it was supposed to be her or an image of myself when I was younger, either way she looked like a younger version of Kristen Stewart oddly enough. As she got out of the cage into that little transformation, we were heading to where the other kids were going to play, some water sport. I don't think there was a pool but sprinklers and other such water activities. I told her that I will help her with her hair and at that moment she accepted me and she smiled.

To see hair in your dream signifies sexual virility, seduction, sensuality, vanity, and health. It is indicative of your attitudes. If your hair is knotted or tangled, then it is symbolic of uncertainty and confusion in your life. You may be unable to think straight. If you dream that you make a drastic change to your hairstyle, then it means that you are making a drastic, new approach to some issue in your waking life. If the wind is blowing through your hair, then it signifies freedom to express uninhibited feelings. You are "letting your hair down".
To dream that you are cutting your hair suggests that you are experiencing a loss in strength. You may feel that someone is trying to censor you. Alternatively, you may be reshaping your thinking or ambitions and eliminating unwanted thoughts/habits.
To dream that you are combing or styling your hair suggests that you are taking on and evaluating a new idea, concept, outlook, or way of thinking. You may be putting your thoughts in order and getting your facts straight. A more literal interpretation suggests your concerns about your self-image and appearance.



To dream that you are in a cage indicates that you are experiencing inhibitions and powerlessness in some areas of your life. You are feeling restricted, confined and restrained in a current relationship or business deal. Somebody may be keeping a short leash on you, where you are lacking the freedom to act independently.
To dream that you are putting a wild animal into a cage signifies that you will succeed in overcoming your rivals and fears. It is also symbolic of your ability to control you animalistic rages and anger.