Interpreter of dreams "C"

Cab, (Taxi)
Pleasant occupations and average income is denoted by a dream of riding in a cab alone; with others, scandal or gossip will plague your footsteps. Driving one may show you are in a dead end job, doing manual labor with no chance of advancement. It is warning you to find another occupation.

Cabbage
A garden with cabbages growing in it is an omen of purchasing property that will give you more trouble then it is worth. To eat cabbage in a dream foretells many quarrels with family members. Cooking cabbages may warn of trouble with your teeth and the odor of cabbage warns of an upcoming illness.

Cabin (ship)

To dream of being in a ships cabin on the open seas in a storm means much sorrow and financial loss, especially in a law suit. To dream of a bright, pretty cabin while sailing on a calm, beautiful sea shows that law suits and other legal matters will be changing in your favor in the very near future.

Cable

To dream of a large cable supporting a heavy weight denotes that you have a very hazardous job and is a warning to be extremely careful. If the cable should be frayed, danger is imminent. But, if it is broken, or you see it break, then the danger you sense will be for another.

Cackle

Cackling hens show there has been a disaster involving someone in your sphere of influence, possibly a death. A sound of cackling also presages illness and loss.

Cactus
Dreaming of a cactus is usually the indication that you are feeling crowded, or that someone is invading your space, and since the cactus has the prickly spines for defense this represents to the dreamer a wish to establish a boundary and protect your privacy. A cactus also represents winning out over adversity as it is found in the desert and has adapted itself to hot, dry, growing conditions, thus the dream could be telling the dreamer to adapt to the existing circumstances if he/she cannot change them.
Calculator

To see someone you know well using a calculator indicates that circumstances may soon bring out a colder, more calculating, side of this person. If you are totaling up a bill, or a debt, that someone owes you, it is an omen that you will have to dun someone to receive your money or your property back. If you are calculating your monthly bills, or debts, it is an omen that you will soon have harassing business worries.

Cage
If you are putting a wild animal in a cage and you are successful then your dream is telling you that you will win out in the face of much adversity and opposition. To see rabbits in a cage shows you will have many children. To see birds in a cage will sometimes presage loss.
Cake

To dream of cakes of almost any kind shows you will have good fortune in your undertaking. For a woman to see her wedding cake in a dream is an omen of ill, showing much unhappiness if she should go through with the marriage.
Calendar
Seeing a calendar on the wall indicates that you are well organized and prepared. If you see yourself making marks on a calendar then this denotes that you are marking time until a certain event comes to pass. If someone gives you a calendar you will have much disappointment in the week ahead.
Called
To dream that you hear the voice of someone you know could foreshadow a long illness or even death for that person. To hear the voice of your loved one calling you may mean a separation due to misunderstandings. If the voice you hear is the voice of someone already dead then this denotes that you are about to commit a bad error in judgment about your business.

Calm

In general a dream of being calm is a good omen telling you that you will live a long and rewarding life full of goodness. To see calm waters indicate that your business dealing is sound. If someone in your dream is trying to make you calm down then this denotes that you will soon have losses if you do not let your higher self keep your temper cooled down.

Calomel (an herbal product)

To dream of calomel is not a good sign at all as to see it means much unhappiness dealt to you by anothers hand. If you are drinking calomel tea you will allow yourself to be deceived to save a marriage or relationship. This is a warning that you are being used and should exit this relationship as soon as possible.

Calves
If you dream of the calves of legs and they are pleasing to the eye this denotes that you will soon meet someone who is very attractive but may be too self centered for love. To dream of baby calves show that you will see your fortunes improving, your life will be filled with joy if the calves are happy and playing.

Camel
If you purchase, or otherwise own a camel it shows that mining investments will turn out well. Camels are also an omen of warning to be more conservative, much as the camel that crosses the desert with only his hump. or humps, full of water. They also signifies help when all else is at a low ebb.

Cannibalism

Dreaming of a cannibal or cannibalism shows that you are being tempted into doing something that you should not do leaving you with the feeling of regret 'eating you up', inside. It is a warning to stay out of those kind of situations if you have not already been tempted into it.

Car
If you dream of a railroad car, or a cable car your dreams of being rich will always be dreams, but your income should be adequate for your lifestyle. See automobile.
Carnival

If you are in the midst of a carnival and you see unusual, and freakish, sights you will experience much discord at home, and if you also have a feeling of sorrow in the midst of all the laughter this portends a divorce. To join in a carnival and enjoy yourself shows that you will be treated to some unusual entertainment in the near future.
Carriage
If you are having a dream involving one of the old fashioned vehicles, splendidly arrayed, then you must be extremely careful to act in such a manner as not to open yourself or your lifestyle to vicious rumor and gossip. If you are riding in the carriage you will be asked many embarrassing questions concerning a former companion of yours. If the carriage is old and worn out, the rumors can be overcome with a minimal loss of prestige, by outlasting, 'wearing them out', until they finally die away.

Castle

If you dream that you live in a magnificent castle and everyone obeys your every command, and grants your every wish, this foretells that you will have a happy, comfortable home with a loving and generous spouse. On the other hand, if the castle is old, and the brick work is crumbling, you will do well to curb any actions you are taking that may jeopardize your marriage, whether it be cheating, or temper fits.

Cat

Dreaming of a cat is a generally unfortunate omen and it shows treachery as well as a run of bad luck. If you chase the cat away you will overcome your adversaries or turn your bad luck into good. For the cat lovers who dream of cats you have a whole new meaning....if the cat is beautiful you will meet an attractive person who will become your mate. If the cat scratches you then will you meet with treachery and deceit.
Cattle

If your dream is of cattle with long horns and black, or black and white, it is an omen to keep a close watch on your business to prevent losses. A herd of cattle feeding in a pasture denotes that your life and your income will be easy. But if you are forcing the cattle to go somewhere they do not wish to be, you will find you must work harder and harder to maintain your present level of income.

Celebrities

To dream of celebrities shows that you are letting too much pomp and circumstance convince you to act certain ways that are against your better nature, this could be to your downfall in the area of the heart. To dream that you are a celebrity denotes that you desire to fly higher then your social life and means allow. To dream a loved one becomes a celebrity shows that you have a secret fear of losing this person to the world.

Cemetery

If you dream of a well kept cemetery it is a sign of happiness to come but an unkempt one shows that you will meet with opposition and adversity. This is the kind of dream that must be correlated with the other symbols of the dream, such as: open graves, flowers, funeral services, etc., as all of these things would change the benign aspect of a stroll through a well kept cemetery.
Chariots

If you dream of riding in a beautiful chariot you will have many opportunities to make good and your finances will take a decided rise. If you fall, or if you see someone else fall, from a chariot then you will suffer lack and failure, or a fall from a high position in your life.

Charleston (dance)

This is an all around favorable dream. If it shows children dancing, much joy is yours, and if you see dating couples dance the Charleston you will have great success in your endeavors. If you are one of the dancers you have an omen that tells you that your business enterprise will grow and expand.
Chase

If you see a chase in progress or if you participate in a chase you will look forward to a comfortable retirement and good health in your latter years. If fear is involved in this experience then you must test all the signs and employ meditation to seek the answer.

Chocolate pudding

Any dream that features chocolate in it is a simple omen that presages, not luxury, or impeccable taste, as one might expect, but, rather, Good health and contentment, coupled with a pampered lifestyle.
Church

dreaming of a church is a good luck omen and especially so if you dream of the outside of the building, which shows luck in love and marriage. The inside of a church shows that you will have a few small problems that could turn out to be a blessing in disguise. Of course, you must study the dream as a whole, for other activities may change the interpretation so that the church itself has no meaning other then that of location.

Cigarettes
Smoking a cigarette in your dream is a lucky omen, as well as, giving, or offering them to another. This dream denotes much prosperity and self-satisfaction for the dreamer. If, during your waking hours, you are against cigarettes and believe them to very bad for your lungs, then you must investigate your own habits to find out what you may be doing to jeopardize your health. Have a medical examination as soon as possible.

Circle

A perfectly drawn circle in your dream is a prediction of many good things to come, and prosperity beyond measure. If the circle is wobbly, or appears to be a child's drawing, you will still reach your goals but you will have troubles on the way to it. If the circle is broken, it denotes failed marriages.
Circus
A runaway animal at a circus denotes the need for extra control of either your passions, or your temper, as both could be harmful to you. If the circus is in full array, with a boisterous, and joyful atmosphere, you will find happiness in your present surroundings. To dream of simply being at a circus denotes that you must be careful that you do not give the wrong impression about yourself to others.

Cloaks (garment)

To dream of a cloak, not a cape, pulled closely around you to keep out the weather, denotes that you will have protecting influences surrounding you for the next few days. If you dream you have torn the garment this shows a rift in a relationship with a person who is important to you. If you lose the cloak, then you will have a falling out with the one who loves and protects you.
Coconuts

There is basically only one omen for a coconut, no matter what your dream is concerning one, eating it, smelling it, etc., it is a sign of an unexpected gift, most times the gift is money.

Color

if you dream in Technicolor, the one outstanding thing that this presages is that you will have increasing security and prosperity in your business affairs, if the rest of the symbols point to a bad time for you and your affairs, the dream in color shows that you will have help behind the scenes that will enable you to master your problems. Dreams that involve people who are of a different color then you are, (natural colors), usually points to good luck in money or business. For specific colors, see the index under the color you wish to check out.
Coffins (Caskets)

Should you dream of a well appointed coffin and it is empty then does this show that you will soon lose a close friend, (not necessarily through death, but rather, death of a friendship). If you see a body in the coffin you will soon have sadness, but if the person in the coffin is the dreamer then is this a contrary dream and the dreamer can expect some very good luck.

Computer
The computer dream is one of personal understanding and as such should be viewed in conjunction with all the other signs in your dream. The computer can also represent discipline and coordination to the dreamer, if the dreamers job involves the use of a computer then dreaming of it would be telling you that you are too wound up in your work and need to back off on the heavy work schedule.

Contract
To dream of signing a contract is an omen that you will soon be experiencing a rise in your profession, but, if you refuse to sign the contract, your promotion could be more then you had hoped for. If you dream you have gotten into a bad contract, or someone has duped you into signing a contract that will only bring you problems, then this is a warning to examine your relationships with the opposite sex; marriage may not be the best idea at this time.
Costumed

If you are wearing a costume this could indicate that you are trying to hide your true self, or you inner feelings behind a facade of duplicity; you may not be wholly honest with a loved one and have a fear of being found out. If you are wearing a ridiculous costume, such as a chicken suit, this could indicate that you are being foolish about certain matters in your life and must look to the other symbols to find out just what it is.
Court

There are two kinds of court to consider, one is the court of law, and the other is courtship. If you dream of being hauled up in court on charges this indicates that the dreamer may have circumstances in his/her life that may cause a certain amount of worry about the law, and it is telling the dreamer to change these things; like an early warning system. It is also a prediction of financial reverses that can be staved off if you do not waste time, and keep your nose to the grindstone. Dreaming of courting, or being courted, is very bad luck, especially for a woman, as the lover she has her heart set on will never propose. See also, divorce court.
Coyote

A coyote, not being a very brave animal, will attack those living beings that are injured, dead, or just weaker then themselves, and they also run in packs like dogs, (kind of like street gangs). If you dream of being attacked by a pack of coyote, or see them wearing a threatening demeanor, you should be extremely careful for the next few days as this is a warning of danger to yourself. A friendly coyote is an omen of deception.
Crash

To dream of a crash, such as in the stock market, you can expect to see your investments take hold and grow. If you hear a loud crash, such as the percussion sound of a drum or cymbals, that is a warning to calm your environment down in order to control your nerves. For cars crashing, see wreck.

Crawling
You have not taken proper advantage of your opportunities if you are dreaming of crawling over rough, or broken ground. If you are crawling over stones and other damaging material and hurt yourself you may shortly experience some humiliating events that are forced on you by others. If you are crawling in muck and mire with someone, then you will shortly fall into a depression over a business failure.
Crickets

To have a cricket invade your home foretells that you will soon be experiencing poverty, if you kill the cricket, your poverty will be short lived. To hear a cricket foretells some very sad news concerning the death of a distant friend.

Crocodile

Just to see a crocodile in your dream doing nothing much but lazing around is a warning that someone is trying to adversely influence you about a matter closely related to your happiness or your income. If the Crocodile chases you it means success magnified in your affairs. If he catches and bites you then you are slated for disappointments in love and business but if you see the crocodile dead then your success' will be many, and beyond your wildest hopes.

Crush (love interest)
If you dream that you have a crush on someone then you will come to realize that you are not truly in love, but in like. If the person you have a crush on is younger or older then you, then this is a sign that you suffer guilt for misleading the innocent party, after you have plumbed the shallow depths of your emotions.
Crush (pulverize)

If you are in the act of crushing something in your dream this will show that you are under a lot of pressure and need to make a decision right away to end it. The pressure may have arisen because of a decision you are being forced into making so be sure you have all the facts together before you do.

Dreams are so compelling, and they often seem so weird and strange -- surely they must have a "purpose"; that is, an "adaptive role" in the maintenance of our bodily or psychological health. Furthermore, all the famous theorists who talk about dreams claim that dreams do have one or another purpose (although the famous theorists disagree on just what those functions are), but the best current evidence suggests otherwise. Dreams probably have no purpose!

So let's review the arguments and the evidence. We'll start with the claims made by psychoanalysts and clinical psychologists in the first 50 years of the century based on their work with patients, then turn to more recent claims, some of which are based on work in sleep and dream laboratories that flourished in the 1950's and 1960's. The views presented here are those of research psychologists who have studied dreams inside and outside the laboratory, especially David Foulkes and Calvin Hall. References to Foulkes' work are provided at the end of this document.

The first and most famous dream theorist of the modern era, Sigmund Freud, said that the function of dreams was to preserve sleep, but that theory from the year 1900 is contradicted by the fact that dreams happen very regularly at least five or six times per night in an active stage of sleep called REM sleep (after the rapid eye movements that are part of it, along with many other neurological and physiological changes). In other words, dreams don't just happen as we are about to wake up due to hunger pangs, sexual urges, or the need to go to the bathroom, as Freud thought way back when, before REM sleep was discovered in 1953.

The other famous dream theorist of the modern era, Carl Jung, an early follower of Freud who broke away to develop a very different theory, claimed that the function of dreams is to compensate for those parts of the psyche (total personality) that are underdeveloped in waking life, but Calvin Hall's studies of two-week dream series from students and longer dream journals from adults of all ages strongly suggest that dream content is continuous with waking thought and behavior. That is, if we are outgoing and active in our waking life, and not very introspective and reflective, then so too in our dream life, which contradicts Jung's view.

Still other dream theorists say that dreams have a problem-solving function. Dreams supposedly deal with problems we can't solve in waking life and offer solutions. But a variety of systematic studies find precious little support for this view. However, this is one of those places where we have developed "uses" for our dreams as part of our cultural lore. Looking at them in the light of waking day, and believing that they may be full of insight, we may sometimes come up with new ideas or insights while studying them. That is, we have invented a "use" for dreams, but that doesn't mean that problem solving is a psychological function of dreams built into us over evolutionary time.

So much for the claims by clinical theorists. Now we look at claims that have emerged in recent years, but are tied to no particular theory or famous theorist. They are the new "common sense" of our day, based on a reverence for physiological findings and the awesome capabilities of computers.

When REM sleep was first discovered, it was thought that dreams only occurred during that stage of sleep. This led to many functional theories about dreaming that were based on alleged functions for REM sleep. But we now have reason to believe that plenty of dreams happen in non-REM (NREM) sleep, especially late in the sleep period.

Furthermore, awakenings of children under age 5 in the sleep laboratory reveal that they only report dreams from REM sleep awakenings 20-25% of the time, so REM sleep does not automatically equate to dreaming. In addition, REM sleep can be found in all mammals, and it is unlikely that they are dreaming, i.e., imagining a world or story in which they are taking part and interacting with others. Dreams, as the pre-eminent American psychologist on dreams, David Foulkes, likes to say, are a "cognitive achievement." We only gradually develop the ability to dream. What all this adds up to is that REM sleep and dreaming are not the same thing, so whatever functions REM sleep may have cannot be taken as functions for dreaming and dreams.

The fact that we remember so few of our dreams -- a few percent at best -- also argues against any function for dreams. If they are so important, why don't we remember more of them? Furthermore, the people who remember a great many dreams don't seem to be any different from those who remember few or none, at least on the standard personality tests that have been used in many studies to date. If dreams are important, why aren't the recallers of them better off in some way?

With the advent of computers, it became fashionable to say that dreams are "clearing out the software" from a busy day, or that they are a form of "off-line" processing to save the good stuff and get rid of the useless. Aside from the fact that such theories show how susceptible our supposedly highest thinking is to the dominant technology of any given era, the problem with this theory of dream function is that very, very little in dreams deals with the events of the day. Often there is some little leftover from the day, first noticed by Freud and named "day residue," but the rest of the dream is a story that does not deal with actual events. The story is usually plausible and even mundane, and it often contains the most important people and concerns of our lives, but it is nonetheless a story.

We are thinking creatures because thinking is a valuable adaptation, but that doesn't mean that all forms of thinking have a function. Dreams at this moment in the collective findings of dream researchers seem to be a "throw-away" production, an off-hand story to while the night away. That judgment could be changed tomorrow by new and original studies by a new generation of young dream researchers, but right now the preponderance of the evidence weights against any physiological or psychological function for dreaming and dreams.
But Dreams Have Meaning

This doesn't mean that dreams have no "meaning," that they make no sense. To the contrary, dreams correlate with age, gender, culture, and personal preoccupations, as evidence on this site and in many research studies suggests.

"Meaning" has to do with coherence and with systematic relations to other variables, and in that regard dreams do have meaning. Furthermore, they are very "revealing" of what is on our minds. We have shown that 75 to 100 dreams from a person give us a very good psychological portrait of that individual. Give us 1000 dreams over a couple of decades and we can give you a profile of the person's mind that is almost as individualized and accurate as her or his fingerprints.

And, Yes, Dreams Have Their "Uses"

Even if dreams have no physiological or psychological functions, human beings gradually invented uses for them. In more technical terms, dreams have an "emergent" function that develops through culture. For example:

* In a great many societies, dreams are used by shamans to diagnose illness (often thought to be caused by evil or angry spirits) and to enter the spiritual world. In that sense, shamans were the first psychoanalysts, and Freud and Jung are modern-day shamans.

* In some societies, dreams are used to find game, predict the weather, or prophesy about the future. In our society, at least since about 1900, they have been used in psychotherapy, although not as much in recent years when the emphasis is on short-term therapy and on thinking sensible thoughts. Dreams can be an "occasion" for a reticent patient to talk more personally, especially when we note that people do not take as much personal responsibility for their dreams as they do most of their other thoughts, making dreams easier to talk about.

* In our society, dreams are also an excuse to say something intimate to someone, maybe a tentative way to see if a deeper relationship is possible, as in "I had this nice dream about you last night."

* Finally, the phrase "I had this dream last night..." is a platform to say whatever nonsense, lie, or fantasy someone might have on his or her mind, because there's no way to determine if the claim is true or not. Now, we have every reason to believe that people are honest when they are reporting their dreams for academic studies, as we explain in our section on representative samples and the quality of our data. But, when the popular dream hustlers tell you of their amazing dreams and promise that you can have similarly amazing dreams if you buy their book or attend their workshops, then hold on to your hat -- and your wallet.

Don't Like Your Dreams? Forget Them!
Most dream researchers think it is worthwhile to remember your dreams, and they have tips for improving your recall. But the evidence we have presented here suggests something else: they are not important, so perhaps not worth remembering. So, unless you find your dreams fun, intellectually interesting, or artistically inpiring, then feel free to forget your dreams. If they just upset you or leave you puzzled, then why bother with them?

But how does one forget his or her dreams? Well, since we've found that thinking of dreams as useful or important is the best predictor of high dream recall, then maybe telling yourself that they are not useful or important will lower your recall. It also helps to turn your attention to the external world and events of the forthcoming day when you wake up -- don't lie there and daydream and let your mind drift because that might lead to dream recall. And if you do happen to remember a fragment of a dream, don't try to recall the rest, just ignore it.

Of course, if you enjoy your dreams and they don't bother you, dream away, and have fun!