M
MACHINES
Machines, machinery, mechanical objects—they operate without the need for thought or emotion; without a soul. When we say that someone is a “machine,” we mean that they operate strictly according to the rules, always on time, highly efficient, and unchanging despite any fluctuation in the surrounding circumstances. Such a dream might mean that your own life, although highly efficient in many ways or most of the time, might have recently suffered an organizational setback. Can you keep all that disciplined efficiency and still have a little fun?
MADONNA (See Virgin Mary)
MAGGOTS
More the stuff of nightmares than dreams, maggots appear where there is dead flesh to feed on. Is there a metaphorical form of dead flesh in your life? Perhaps it’s time to turn those maggots onto the dead or dying aspect in your life and begin anew.
MAGNIFYING GLASS
If you’re looking at things up close with a magnifying glass in your dream, this is an indication that there are certain elements of your own life that are also being closely scrutinized.
Giving, receiving, or otherwise seeing mail in your dream is all about communication. The appearance of this symbol could mean that your ability to communicate in real life has become difficult or has become restricted in some capacity. Seek out different methods of getting your point across.
MAKEUP
Makeup is all about changing and altering your appearance. Sometimes makeup can act as a sort of mask, disguising what’s really underneath. If you see yourself in a mirror with heavy makeup on, for example, then you need to ask yourself whether you are being as open, confident, and forthright as you could be in your waking life. If you see a friend wearing heavy makeup, then maybe you’re aware that the person has something to hide. If you see yourself or another person wearing no makeup, then the dream is showing you vulnerability and honesty. If you see a man wearing makeup, then there are certain things in your waking life that you need to question.
MAKING OUT
Many dreams of sexual liaisons speak of unfulfilled sexual desires in your waking life. Making out is the province of the spotty teenager, and it might be that you’re longing for a return to those innocent times of puppy love and new adventures rather than a lasting commitment.
MANDALA
A mandala is effectively a sort of spiritual map, its circular shape and internal patterns and colors a plan of the universe, material and spiritual, internal and external. To see such a mandala in your dream is a call to that spiritual journey, which will both enrich your waking life and nourish the part of you that dreams. It’s also worth noting whether there are any particularly prominent colors or shapes in the mandala. If there are, please see the Color entry in Chapter C.
MANSION
Any “container” in a dream is representative of you and your psyche. And though it is an elaborate container, a mansion falls under this category. Since mansions evoke notions of grandness, wealth, power, importance, excess, and the need to be served, then these qualities are all aspects of you. If you are wandering from room to room in your dream, feeling lost and mystified by locked doors and the maze of rooms, then there are aspects of yourself that you have yet to explore and understand. Those locked rooms are the darker parts of your psyche that will unlock when you are ready.
MAP
How exciting! A map charts unknown or unfamiliar territory. You never know what you’re going to find there—the beauty is in the not knowing. Then again, to see a map of a place you’ve never been to in your dream is to see a series of potential clues indicating not only physical territory, but also the territory of the past, the present, and the future. And, of course, maps very often show the way to hidden treasure! The tricky part of a map dream is in being able to deduce what’s actually on the map in the first place. If you dream about a map of a place you’ve already been to, then you’ve been thinking of the past lately.
MARIJUANA
This herb carries the symbolism of rebellion, anarchy, and anti-authoritarianism as well as the effects of the chemicals contained within it; psychedelic experiences, trippiness, all those things we know about “wacky baccy.” Assuming you’re a fine upstanding citizen and never touch the stuff, then if you dream of smoking marijuana, this is an indication that you need to loosen up a little, relax, and bend the rules occasionally in some part of your life.
MARKET
Here, many things are laid before you all of them available for the right price—or, indeed, often for less than the right price since haggling is a regular part of market trading. All the things that you encounter in the dream market are things that are available to you. The problem is that when there’s so much choice, it can be hard to make a decision. This dream serves to underline that you might be having trouble making a decision. Try to remember if you are drawn to something in your dream market that might help you make your choice.
MARSHMALLOW
Eating marshmallows often allows us to go back to a state of childlike innocence, a time when things were easy and simple. When do we stop toasting marshmallows, and why? It could be that your dream is telling you to embrace such childlike simplicity once again. The soft and spongy texture of the marshmallow, and its sweetness, carries erotic overtones, and your dream reveals a longing for sensual pleasures in your life.
MASK
Masks disguise us. They give us an alternative way of appearing to the outside world. If you’re wearing a mask in your dream, then you may feel that, in your waking life, you are hiding an aspect of your personality. If you are surrounded by people wearing masks, then perhaps you feel that the people around you are alienating, unnerving, and “not being themselves.” You might want to consider if this is really an environment that you want to spend more time in.
MASTURBATION
One of those sexual taboos that most people prefer to keep behind closed doors, masturbation is now considered to be a normal practice. Dreaming of masturbation means that there are some things that you need to bring out in the open (although we don’t suggest that you carry out the singular feature of your dream in a public place).
MAYPOLE
The maypole itself is a phallic symbol of fertility, used in particular during the May Day revels that were a throwback to the much earlier pre Christian celebration of Beltane. Complex patterns were woven in ribbon which extended from the top of the pole—girls danced in a counterclockwise pattern, and the boys went clockwise, in the direction of the Sun. If you dream that you’re participating in this dance, then the world is your oyster. It could also indicate that you have an active, healthy sex life. If you dream that you’re merely observing it, then perhaps you lack confidence, and this lack of confidence might be in reference to your sensual life.
MAZE (See Labyrinth)
MEAT
Dreaming about meat if you’re a vegetarian can be pretty horrific, but it might have to do with the need for guilty pleasures. Dreaming about eating human meat is also not as uncommon a dream as you might think, and the dream is telling you to use all resources necessary to get what you need. If you’re eating raw meat, this could be to do with needing to find the animal side of your nature, or it could be that there’s something in your waking life that you find repugnant and, figuratively speaking, “hard to swallow.” If, on the other hand, the meat is tender and juicy and you’re not a vegetarian, then it’s likely that you’re thinking about “feeding” the inner you—whatever that is!