Rabbi: The spiritual leader of a Jewish community, a rabbi in a dream is connecting you to the notion of religion, belief, and faith. All people in your dreams are part of you; the rabbi in your dream is the part of your own personality most connected with matters of spirituality. If you are personally Jewish, this character aspect in a dream is more literally connected to your personal belief system. If you are not, you may be having an experience of looking beyond your typical ideas about faith and God.
Rabbit: A great symbol of luck and abundance, the rabbit in your dream points to great good fortune. Rabbits are traditionally associated with prolific reproductive ability, so they naturally connect us with the concept of never-ending prosperity. Their foot is considered a lucky totem to carry around, so they also bring this to the symbolic table. The Chinese zodiac features the rabbit as a highly peaceful and likeable archetype. If the rabbit appears in your dreams, any of these qualities may be being expressed.
Raccoon: The symbolic meaning associated with the raccoon is based on its markings that look like a mask. In this way, the raccoon as a totem connects to the idea of disguise and secrecy. Its nocturnal mischief further increases the sensibility of this. When the raccoon appears in your dreams, you are being invited to consider what masks you are wearing in your life and where you might be able to deepen your experience of authenticity.
Race Car: A car is a symbol for the quality of the experience you are having of moving through your life, especially as it relates to your social and community experience. A race car has great power and offers a tremendous amount of speed and an escalation of masterful handling. Your dream may suggest a desire to move faster, or if your life is indeed moving at a fast pace, the race car in your dream may be offering you the support you need to handle all that is happening at this time.
Race Track: If a race car implies that your life is speeding up, a race track may indicate that though you are moving very fast, you are actually getting nowhere.
Radiator: An implement for heating an indoor space, a radiator as a symbol in a dream indicates a desire to warm things up in your life. Such warmth can be related to emotional issues, an increase in passion, or anything where an increase in desire is indicated. A car radiator has the opposite implication—that things need to be cooled down in order to run effectively and efficiently.
Radio: A radio pulls invisible waves out of the ethers and turns them into music and news wherever it is located. It is a symbolic representation of the collective consciousness in action, as all people listening to a particular station on a radio hear the same programming. In a dream, a radio relates to collective thought and social agreement. Since there are many stations available on a radio dial, such a dream might be asking you if it is time to change the station.
Railing: A railing is there for protection and safety when an area is open and there is a risk of falling. Fear of falling is always about control and the need to maintain it. A railing as a symbol in a dream is about the built-in protections around staying safe when taking risks. If the railing is broken in your dreams, then you are feeling more unsafe than is comfortable. Grabbing on to a railing may indicate more fear than is necessary.
Railroad: The railroad was once the great leveler that joined the world in ways that dramatically expanded civilization, commerce, and culture. Almost antiquated now, it still has a symbolic meaning connected to ways in which different parts of your consciousness are connected. Any travel in a dream represents the idea of making changes or transformations in your life. When the travel is as slow as railroad travel, the sensation that is present could indicate the notion of considering other possibilities. Railroads in a dream could also symbolize old ways of thinking.
Rain: Rain in a dream connects to emotional expression, as it is the weather system that replicates the falling of tears and water is always a symbolic expression of emotion. As such, rain symbolizes the process of allowing our feelings to flow freely. Rain is cleansing, for it washes away dirt particles and leaves the air clearer, so rain can be a symbol of purification. Rain indicates that an emotional experience is taking place that is ultimately healing. Your reactions to the rain as well as the quality of the rain itself will provide even more information for your exploration. A light, gentle rain could indicate a small disruption in your life that is causing some emotional reactivity. Torrential downpours, such as hurricanes, point to more intense undercurrents of feeling being expressed. The relative intensity of the rain in your dream will mirror the intensity of what your unconscious is trying to express. How you respond to the rain in your dream will illuminate for you the level of resistance you are in. The mightier your attempts to escape the onslaught of the downpour, the more likely you are avoiding the free flow of emotional expression.
Rainbow: Hope, abundance, and the promise of good to come are all wrapped up in the symbol of the rainbow, one of the most magical phenomena that can be found on Earth. Part of the meaning of this symbol can be taken from the emotional reaction a person can have when looking at one. Rainbows are breathtaking and can inspire deep feelings of elation. In this way, a rainbow is almost always going to be thought of as a positive image. There are several major cultural associations to a rainbow. In the Old Testament, God sent the rainbow as a promise to never destroy humanity again, which is the origin of the theme of the promise for the future. The Celtic tradition tells us that at the end of a rainbow is a pot of gold, associating this symbol with the search for abundance. However, both of these time-honored interpretations bring with them darker meanings that bear consideration. The former implies past destruction and the latter is a paradox in that it is impossible to ever actually find the end of a rainbow, as it constantly shifts as you move toward it. However, each of these counterparts is what infuses the rainbow with its most powerful symbolic element: hope. The physical construct of a rainbow is filled with beautiful symbolism. Rainbows contain all the colors of the spectrum and therefore represent a sense of wholeness in a majestic and highly spiritual expression. They appear when the sun and rain are present at the same time. To be able to experience sadness (rain) and joy (sunlight) at the same time is a true sign of consciousness and wisdom.
Rainforest: The lungs and heart of the earth, the rainforest is the birthplace of the oxygen that makes our atmosphere home to life itself. The earth as a whole is a symbol for the self as a combination of the conscious mind as represented by land and the unconscious mind as represented by the ocean. The rainforests of the earth are the symbolic lungs of the planet. A dream about this area is almost archetypal in nature, connecting you to aspirational thoughts about how the breath of life is moving through you. If in your waking life you have a particular affinity for what is happening in the rainforest, this dream may be more literal for your sense of activism.
Ramp: A ramp creates access to something when traversing a certain structure is difficult. As such, the symbolic meaning behind a ramp is the creation of ease and helpfulness in order to get to a particular destination or goal. The way is being made easy for you when a ramp is in your dreams.
Rape: Rape in a dream is a positive symbol even though the association with it is very negative because of its abhorrent nature from waking life. Sex is ultimately about integration and the bringing together of aspects of personality. This is true in the world of symbolism even when the act is forceful and violent. Because rape is an act of violence, this, combined with the absence of consent, puts a very different spin on how to interpret it if it should appear in a dream. When a dream includes something as heinous as rape, it is important to remind yourself that dreams are symbolic, not literal. Rape in a dream is not like rape in life. It simply means that the integration that is occurring within your psyche is being experienced as so abrupt and potentially frightening that the symbolic expression of it appears dramatically. The unconscious will often use nightmares and frightening dreams to get our attention. If you were raped in the dream, consider the rapist. If the person was known to you, then use that individual as a character aspect to see what part of your own personality is demanding to be dealt with. If the person was not known to you, then consider the dream a precursor to a powerful shift that is going on under the surface and is not yet clear. If you cannot glean more helpful insight from this dream, trust that future dreams will inform you of whatever shift is taking place. If you witnessed a rape, you must look inward to see what aspects of your personality are at odds with one another, for they ultimately need to be integrated and made whole. The rapist would be the part of you that is demanding to be recognized, and the victim is the part of you that needs to accept the merging, but may be in resistance to the process. If you were the rapist in your dream, consider the victim as a character aspect that represents the part of you that you wish to subdue. Rape fantasies are common for many people and can be quite erotic and satisfying when handled in an appropriate manner. If the dream of rape was erotic in nature, the meaning is the same, but the integration that is taking place has much lower stakes and may in fact be a source of pleasurable anticipation.
Rapids: Rapids are created when a river is constricted in some way, forcing more flow into less space, thus increasing the intensity of the energy created by the rushing water. Water in dreams represents your feelings, and a river is symbolic of your flowing emotions. In this way, rapids indicate an increased intensity of some emotional experience in your life that not only is causing a rise in how much emotion you are feeling, but also adds an element of overwhelm and sense of potential danger.
Rash: A rash is actually the evidence that something under the surface is not quite right. In this way, it is symbolic of being able to see something that an unseen conflict is causing. Some sort of irritation is troubling you, and it is more visible to the outside world than you may realize. Has something been rubbing you the wrong way?
Rats: Rats are considered pests, as they can overpopulate and bring with them destruction and disease. They are inexorably bound up in our history as the carriers of the Plague. The consequences for not attending to them properly are recorded in our mythology as a loss of innocence, as in the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, who, when not paid for his services of ridding the town of its rats, took away the children of the town and led them to their deaths. Rats can be found in sewers, basements, and dark corners. This expands their association with shadow material, which is all the things about ourselves we wish were not true or that we would rather not look at. If rats appear in your dreams in any fashion, there is something to investigate under the surface.
Razor Blades: A razor blade is a very small but very sharp-edged metal tool. The combination of its size and ability to cut very deeply is symbolic of the way in which innocuous moments can hurt without warning, like a sharp tone of voice or sudden action that hurts someone’s feelings deeply. If a razor blade appears in a dream, either you may be experiencing such wounds from someone in your life or you may be the one at risk of hurting others without meaning to.
Reality Show: This relatively new form of media has come to dominate the television world, where unscripted life situations with real participants are being presented for your entertainment. At the center of this structure, however, is the fact that all of these experiences are being manipulated, heightened, and edited for certain perspectives to be perceived. The presence of a reality show in your dream world may be an indication that you are manipulating something or overdramatizing a situation, or you feel that you are being manipulated in some way by some occurrence in your life. If you are dreaming about someone you have watched on a reality show, you may be over-identifying with the drama in your life.
Rearview Mirror: As you drive forward, you can periodically look behind you by virtue of the rearview mirror. In this way, the symbolic meaning of this structure is your ability to consider where you are going by virtue of where you are just coming from. The rearview mirror may be featured in a dream when you are paying too much attention to your past and this is distracting your ability to move gracefully into the future. A broken rearview mirror may indicate a moment when your ability to assess where you are going is inhibited in terms of learning the lessons of your past.
Red: The first color of the spectrum, red is associated with security, grounding, aggression, and passion. This energy is connected with the base of the spine. Often thought of as a color of passion, red aligns with aggression and sexual expression in the masculine principle. We stop at red lights, creating security for ourselves by avoiding the danger of oncoming traffic. Blood is the essence of life force itself and is therefore related to being grounded in the physical body. (See Colors.)
Red Carpet: The red carpet is a symbol itself, indicating a special path for people of a certain elevated status. There are two implications when a red carpet is present. One is that there is a special event taking place. The second relates to the exclusivity of passage relegated to only a certain few. This symbol can indicate a sense of aspiration in a dream. If you are witnessing someone else on a red carpet, that person is an aspect of your own personality that has the capability of helping you aspire to greater things. This image in a dream may also point to a desire to be recognized for some special ability or particular accomplishment in your life.
Refrigerator: The primary purpose of a refrigerator is to keep a small amount of space at a cold enough temperature so that anything organic that is placed in it will stay fresher longer. Cold is symbolic of less passion and anger, so one element of this object as a symbol relates to wanting to keep something around for more time by lightening up on how much intensity you allow it to express. The preservation of things that you desire is what is being expressed by the refrigerator in your dream, so pay particular attention to both what is inside of it and the state that the machine itself is in. Both of these will add clues to your interpretation.
Rehearsal: The preparation process for an upcoming performance, a rehearsal is where you get to perfect something that will be presented in the future. To dream of a rehearsal is to be connecting with this desire to be as prepared as possible for some future moment where you want to put your best foot forward. Anything that happens in a rehearsal in a dream is connected to how you are feeling about something that is being created in your consciousness. Use the context of the dream to understand what area of your life is being worked on and how the process is going.
Reporter: A reporter’s job is to understand the facts behind some event and communicate those facts to the world at large. As a character aspect of your own personality, the reporter is a witness who is collecting data and attempting to maintain a sense of objectivity when considering something that is going on in your life.
Reptile: The reptilian brain is something that all animals on the planet share; it governs the most basic functions, such as breathing and survival instincts. If a reptile features in your dreams, you are connecting to this fundamental element of life. There may be additional meaning associated with the specific animal that is present, but certainly the universal meaning of basic instincts is at play when a reptile appears in a dream.
Reservoir: Any water in a dream is symbolic of the emotional side of your nature. In the case of a reservoir, there is the element of storage of the sustenance of life that is represented by this humanmade structure. When a reservoir features in your dream, you are remembering the importance of emotional expression as a natural part of your functioning humanity.
Resort: A resort is a location where you go for relaxation and to escape your daily routine. A dream that takes place at a resort may indicate a need to take a break from the daily grind of your life. Stress may be high, so a dream at a resort may point to a need to relieve that stress.
Restaurant: A dream that takes place in a restaurant has the theme of self-care and the celebration of abundance. Any image that concerns itself with food connects to nurturance. This especially applies to a restaurant, as the ritual of being waited on and served is also a form of self-care. The expense of eating out is always going to be higher than that associated with preparing something at home. The quality of your meal connects with both abundance and the ability to discern excellence. A fine meal could reveal that you are indeed being careful to ensure that your life provides for your needs in a way that reflects a consciousness of deserving abundance. However, a dream in which you are served unacceptable food indicates that there is something out of balance in this area. If the dream includes something as severe as food poisoning, you may want to examine your attitudes more closely.
Resurrection: The idea of resurrection may initially be thought of as a religious symbol, as it has great significance in the world of depth psychology and the concept of the archetypal mind. The idea that something dies in order to be born again is a part of the cycle of consciousness that allows for tremendous growth and transformation throughout a person’s life. Any sense of resurrection as a theme or symbol indicates that a time of great change is occurring. What in your life is dying off in order for a new path to be reborn?
Revolution: Change that happens very suddenly can be thought of as revolutionary in nature. Remember that the seeds to such an uprising are sown over a very long time in the form of discontent and dissatisfaction with an old regime before the necessary impetus is present to rise up and demand change. This is the case with internal shifts inside your psyche and the dramatic shifting of habits or patterns that are ready to be changed in a dramatic moment of change. Dreaming of a revolution means that such change is happening in your life.
Rhino: The primary symbolic meaning associated with the rhinoceros is that things may not be as they seem. Though rhinos are enormous in size and move slowly in a way that is deeply connected to what is beneath them, they can run up to thirty miles per hour when charging. Though they can be quite aggressive, they are mostly docile. In this way, rhinos remind us that not everything is as it seems, and if one appears in a dream, you are being called to appreciate the contradictions in your life.
Ribbon: A ribbon is a marker of some kind, designed to draw attention to something in a colorful and playful way. The presence of a ribbon in a dream indicates a desire to highlight something specific. Look to where the ribbon was affixed and if it had any additional sense of purpose to round out your interpretation. A hair ribbon relates to a desire to feel more attractive. A ribbon on a gift is a reflection of a need to have what you offer the world stand out in a dynamic way.
Ring: The circular shape of a ring is a symbol itself for things in life that embody a sense of continuity. An engagement or wedding ring reflects the sense of wholeness and continuity reflected in the choice to partner with another person. In this way, the ring is symbolic of any sort of commitment to something long-term. In a dream, this may not necessarily be to a person in a relationship, but can also reflect a commitment to an idea, a project, a belief system, or some other structure. If a ring is lost, stolen, or broken in some way, consider the ways in which your steadfastness is in question.
Rip: A rip is a break in the integrity of something made out of fabric. The symbolism here is that something has been broken or rendered obsolete because of the loss of structure. If something is already ripped in your dream, the offending moment has occurred in the past. If you are ripping something in the dream, there may be some anger issues that are causing things to break down. If the person doing the ripping in your dream is someone else, consider him or her as a character aspect of yourself and think about what the person is ripping in order to have a sense of what this image means.
Ritual: A ritual is any activity that is imbued with a deep intention and is often a symbol for something in and of itself. If your dream feels like it has a ritualistic sensibility, there may be a call to turn to the more spiritual side of your nature and the part of life that feels mysterious. Some dreams that feature ritual settings feel dark or scary and may reflect feeling overwhelmed by things you don’t readily understand.
River: Any dream that involves water connects to emotions. In the case of a river, the essential meaning relates to the expression of feelings and emotional flow. All rivers eventually deposit their contents into the ocean, the symbol of all that is unconscious. This adds the perspective of emotions that move freely across our conscious awareness as they travel back to their ultimate mysterious source. The intensity of the river’s flow in a dream is a direct barometer of the level of emotionality in your life that is being expressed by this image. The force of a river can run the gamut from a babbling brook to a torrential powerhouse. The volume of water involved can also vary greatly. A dry or barren riverbed indicates a lack of expression and a desperate need for emotional content. One that is overwhelmed by flooding might point to a situation that may feel dangerous and threatening to the stability of your life. An obstacle that blocks a river, such as a dam, reveals some level of emotional blockage.
Road: The road in your dream is a symbol of your path or direction in life. Your individual path is a combination of past choices you have made and current circumstances and decisions you are about to make that determine the road you’re on in any given moment. Such an image in a dream is representative of your current life path. It can be a snapshot of where you are and how you feel about the present moment in your journey. The more isolated the road, the more the dream relates to your private life and personal issues. A public or widely traveled road will likely connect to aspects of your life that are more social in nature.
Roadkill: Finding roadkill in a dream indicates that a violent act has already occurred. An animal killed in this way is reflecting some sense of innocence that has been sacrificed by moving too fast through your life. Consider the animal for additional meaning if it is clear what animal it was.
Robots: You are stuck in a rut of endless productivity and emotionless activity that is robbing you of life force. A robot is a nonhuman entity that is designed to replicate some level of human functioning. Dreaming of one may reveal your own personal relationship to emotional responses with regard to accomplishment. It is important to also ask yourself if there are areas in your life where you might be operating in such an automatic fashion that it might be draining you of vibrancy and joy.
Rocks: See Boulders/Rocks.
Roller Coaster: You are dreaming of the up-and-down nature of life, which is often expressed by using the analogy of a roller coaster ride. Just as in life, these extremes can be simultaneously thrilling and terrifying. As a ride in an amusement park, a roller coaster is something that a person chooses to experience, knowing that it will contain surprising twists and turns. If you resist the sensations of the journey, it can be terrifying. If you welcome them, there can be great exhilaration. Which end of that continuum you find yourself on in the dream illuminates your relationship to the ups and downs your life is currently throwing at you. A roller coaster symbolizes one of life’s biggest challenges—sudden changes in intensity and direction. These rapid shifts constitute the rhythm of life that we have all come to expect, especially when transition is afoot. Dreaming of such a symbol indicates that life is currently or about to hurl itself up to the heights, plummet into the depths, or both. Remember that if you find yourself riding the roller coaster of life, you have chosen to benefit from all of the possibilities life has to offer. It is through the challenging ups and downs that we are able to create brilliant manifestations of our heart’s desires.
Roller Skates: Roller skates speed up your movement through life and also add an element of playful fun to how you are moving about. If your dream features roller skating, you may want to have things move a little faster and more smoothly. Additionally, if you are not graceful on the skates, such a dream could indicate a moment when you feel out of balance because things are speeding up just a bit.
Roof: The roof is the top of a building; in this way it connects to the mind and thoughts in the consciousness that the building represents. If the roof is not in good shape, then elements from the outside will get in in a way that can be damaging. If this is the case, you may feel that you are not protected from the thoughts of other people interfering with your own ideas about things. If you are standing on the roof in a dream, you desire to get a higher vantage point by connecting to the highest level of thoughts you can have about a situation. This higher vantage point is a powerful place to be, but it also puts you in the position of being able to fall off, so a dream about falling from a roof connects to the risk associated with having vision. If the roof is in disrepair, your thoughts are not in alignment or are out of integrity.
Rooster: All birds are messengers and the rooster has a very specific message that it brings. Its crowing signals that the day has begun. If a rooster appears in your dream, a new cycle is beginning and you are being alerted to this. From Chinese astrology, the rooster is practical and resourceful, but is also the strutting archetype that is filled with confidence. The rooster in your dream may be connecting you to these qualities.
Rope: This symbolizes the potential to do a great variety of structural adjustments in your life by keeping resources close at hand. Rope is a magnificent tool that allows you to do a number of things; the most common is the tying up of objects that would otherwise be separate. In the world of symbols, what you tie together with rope might be anything from ideas to emotions. The rope itself is the potential to execute some measure of control over situations that feel somewhat chaotic. What the rope is doing in the dream will offer deeper meaning. Make sure to pay special attention to how the rope is knotted, as a knot is evidence of past efforts to control things that may not have been as effective as desired. Remember too that any knot can be undone with the right amount of effort.
Roses: Of all the flowers, the rose is the most directly connected to romantic love. Also, flowers represent passionate expression, the desire for forgiveness, and the presence or need for joy in your life. They also connect to the fleeting nature of all such things, as flowers wilt and die before long. The color of the roses has some meaning, where red roses are given to the beloved, white roses indicate pure love on a higher realm, and yellow roses connote the platonic love of friendship. If the thorns are prominent in your dream, then you are considering the challenges that are associated with love and intimacy. The health of the bloom also has meaning; the fresher the bud, the more hopeful the promise built into the symbol. A wilting rose may point to love that has faded.
Rug: A rug makes the floor feel better to the feet, protects the floor beneath it, and also adds beauty and a sense of décor to a space. There are elements to this symbol that suggest feeling more grounded in a space and adding a sense of abundance and prosperity to your life. The shape that the rug is in may be expressing beliefs you have about such abundance. Something old and worn means your ideas are outdated. Something new and beautiful indicates that you are ushering in a new vision of prosperity and luxury.
Running: Running is walking, only speeded up. On the one hand, it symbolically relates to the desire to move through your life at a faster pace. Running can also connect to a sense of self-care if the act is connected to fitness and exercise. Additionally, running is often present in the nightmare of being chased. You must use the context of the dream to indicate how to interpret this desire to move more rapidly and make sense of the symbol. Ask yourself what are you running from. (See Slow Motion.)