The stories in our dreams are often linked to recent events. This dreamer had just quit his job in a music shop. Try to see the rleevance of these events to the dreams symbols.

THE DREAM The dream began in my parents house, which used to be my grandparents house (they are both dead). Although in this dream, my parents were not present, and my wife and I were in the kitchen. I was trying to get ashes out of a "dustpan" that seemed to have a closed box on the top of it. The ashes, I believed had some connection to dead prisoners, although I have no idea why this is.

While trying to get the ashes out of the dustpan, I was banging on the pan, but no matter what, more ashes kept appearing (apparently from inside the closed box). I then somehow dropped the pan, and the box came open, scattering some of the ashes onto the floor.

My wife in this dream was afraid of the ashes, although I remained calm. A voice said to me "Guard ye well these ashes, for they are the ashes of legends".

The ashes that were spilled then seemed to take on a life of their own (or were blown by a breeze?) across the kitchen floor and went under the sink. I wondered about how I would clean these up, but then quickly forgot about it, and gathered up the remaining ashes in the pan, and headed for the outside door. Instead of going through the door, I opened the wall beside the door and went outside onto the porch, while telling my wife to turn on the outside light and driveway light (it was night time).

I went out to the driveway, where I began dumping the ashes near my grandfather's old car (the car was sold years ago after he died). While dumping the ashes, I noticed a flower pot full of old dried, dead leaves. The leaves seemed to be glowing, and I determined that they were smouldering.

I then picked up the pot and threw it across the driveway into the bushes. About this time, I realize that my wife has not yet turned on the outside lights, and instead is coming out the side walk. She tells me something is wrong, and that something smells like it is burning.

I look across the driveway to where I threw the pot, and now it appears that a large fire has erupted behind a bush. However, when we go towards it, (again, I am very calm, but she is frightened), we discover that all is burning is the remains of the flower pot. I tell her that it will be OK because the grass is wet (like heavy dew). At that time, the flower pot seems to explode into a million little sparks that (like the ashes at the beginning) seem to take on a life of their own, and scurry off into the weeds and disappear.

THE REALITY The dreamer had just quit his job of five years due to stress. The dreamer had taken on too many duties since his boss was not willing or capable of carrying them out. He also developed the store he worked in and created a music section. The dreamer has always been involved in music. He is also a big supporter of the local high school band.

THE INTERPRETATION The dreamer had just quite his job of five years and that is a life changing situation. Therefore its a fair assumption that the dream will deal in some way with those life changing circumstances and thoughts. Its just a matter of seeing how the symbolism works.

The main symbol that sticks out here is ashes. When we burn something then only ashes remain. That is an excellent metaphor for real life. The dreamer has severed his link with a major part of his life and he is thinking over those ashes.

The ashes are also connected with prisoners. That is clearly a symbol of being trapped. The dreamer felt imprisoned several ways. His hours were long and hard. He saw little of his wife. His boss had a lowly opinion of him even though he had taken on great responsibility and was effectively running the store.

The quote in the dream is quite interesting as its quite biblical. The "legends" that he refers to is symbolic of the major and important part the job played in this life. His involvement in the local band was an epic part of his life. This was something bigger and greater than the hum drum of day to day life.

The dream also features the garden a lot. That's important here. Gardens can symbolise things which are important and deeply rooted in our lives. Here the garden represents the healthy and flourishing aspects of his job. His involvement with the local band and just his sense of achievement at having built up the music side of the store. The dreamer felt that both he and the community at large may lose out because of this.

The weeds are symbolic of bad growth. These represent things in his life which were flourishing but not providing any real enjoyment. That links to the long hours and low opinion his boss had of him.

The dream is also taking place at night. That symbolises the fears linked to the situation. He has made an important decision and cannot see quite what the full consequences will be.

The dream takes place in the dreamers grandparents house. That's often quite symbolic. Grandparents can symbolise the one thing that they have lots of experience of life. They can link to something involving the passage of time. Here they capture the dreamer looking back at his experience at the store.

Overall the dream captured the dreamers current feelings "I just had to quit. I know the music was a major part of my life and helped me become part of something bigger with the involvement with the local band. But my boss was always asking me to lie and cover up for his messes. He never respected my ideas and in the end the sheer number of hours left me disillusioned. "

Symbolic Meanings
ASHES : "the remains of his decision to quite his job"
GARDEN : "things that are flourishing - The friends and involvement that the job gave the dreamer and sense of achievement"
GRANDPARENTS HOUSE : "your experience of something - in this case the dreamers thoughts about his time spent working at the store"
PRISON : "the dreamer felt restricted by long hours and imprisoned by his bosses lack of belief in his abilities"
WEEDS : "bad things flourishing in our lives - long hours and lack of respect from his boss"

DREAM MEANING The dream captures the following feeling within the dreamer - "I have just quit my job of five years due to stress. The boss was getting me to lie and cheat to cover up his mistakes. I was trying to establish my own music section and it was working really well. That got me involved with the local school band. I have given up a lot and its been a real journey but I know I had to do it".

See how the Symbolic meanings weave together to form a key insight