Sunday, December 10, 2000		Dream theme

What numbers can mean
By Vinaya Katoch Manhas

ALTHOUGH numbers are sweet dreams as well as nightmares for gamblers, they are generally rarely ever seen in numerical forms. Each culture of religion has its set of numbers which it gives due importance. For instance, within Hindus, the number four is given a lot of importance. This number is signified by a square. For instance, take the mandals, the chowki on which one sit during religious ceremonies the place for havans which is square in shape or the swastika which has four points. The number 24 is important for the Jains, which is attributed to the 24 tirthankraras.

The symbol of the Christian religion is the Trinity, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. Whereas, the symbol of four, i.e. the quarternity is freely used by the Buddhists. This consists of a circular lotus, which contains a square sacred building with four doors indicating four cardinal points of the religion.The four-fold truths of Buddhism — misery, impermanence, non-existence of soul and salvation are well-known. These symbols can come in one’s dream representing the numerical, or it can be vice-versa with the numbers representing the particular symbol.

To interpret it accordingly one should be totally aware of the significance of the number in the particular culture.

Often, the appearance of numbers in a dream has more of a psychological than a religious significance. When drawn to attention in our dreams, numbers either have a personal or a symbolic significance. It could acquire personal meaning as a particular date or maybe the number of a house we have lived in or maybe our vehicle number. Our minds retain the significance of the number, even though we may not consciously remember it ourselves.

Symbolically, the number one stands for quite a few things. It could be oneself, the I-me-myself syndrome. Or it could signify the beginning, the first. Two portrays duality, indecisiveness, portraying the need for a balance between the female and the male archetypes.

It could also signify opposites, the two sides of an argument or conflict. Three, in turn, stands for the triangle and could also represent an entangled relationships. According to psychoanalysis, this number has an erotic significance and represents the sexual emotions of the masculine or feminine kind. Four of the quarternity is the favourite number of psychologists. It represents the earth, the square, strength, stability and practicality. It also represents the four sides of human nature — sensation, feeling thought, and intuition; the earth, air, fire and water.

The number five is related to the human body and its five senses, while seven represents the cycles of life. Nine is a representation of birth, of awareness, of maybe a change in life, a new phase. Twelve represents the full cycle of wholeness. Zero is the feminine. The mother. The feeling of completeness. The cipher, as it were, holds within itself all potential.

When you go on analysing the appearance of a number in a dream, the task becomes very complicated due to the presence of a number of significant meanings attached to each number. While analysing such a dream, the person’s past and his present frame of mind are to be taken into consideration as is the symbol through which the number was represented.

For example, take the dream of a girl of 15 where in she sees herself and her friend playing hide-and-seek. When they discover each other, she suddenly finds all of them sitting under a sheet holding hands and giggling. Such a dream definitely portrays the number three and a lesbian tendency within the dreamer.