Interpret Common Dreams Symbols A–Z Articles Journal About Methodology Sources
Bibliography

The works we read so you don't have to.

29 primary sources stand behind the interpretations on this site. Where you see a citation on a symbol or dream page, it points to one of these.

Depth psychology

  1. Carl Gustav Jung (1964) *Man and His Symbols*. Aldus Books / Doubleday.
    Jung's last and most accessible work, written for a general audience, edited with M.-L. von Franz, Joseph L. Henderson, Jolande Jacobi, and Aniela Jaffé.
  2. Carl Gustav Jung (1956) *Symbols of Transformation (Collected Works, Vol. 5)*. Princeton University Press. Trans. R. F. C. Hull.
  3. Carl Gustav Jung (1960) *The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche (Collected Works, Vol. 8)*. Princeton University Press. Trans. R. F. C. Hull.
    Includes 'On the Nature of Dreams' and 'General Aspects of Dream Psychology'.
  4. Carl Gustav Jung (1959) *The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious (Collected Works, Vol. 9, Part 1)*. Princeton University Press. Trans. R. F. C. Hull.
  5. Carl Gustav Jung (1953) *Psychology and Alchemy (Collected Works, Vol. 12)*. Princeton University Press. Trans. R. F. C. Hull.
  6. Carl Gustav Jung (1962) *Memories, Dreams, Reflections*. Pantheon Books.
  7. Sigmund Freud (1899) *The Interpretation of Dreams (Die Traumdeutung)*. Franz Deuticke. Trans. James Strachey (1953). read online
  8. Sigmund Freud (1916) *Introductory Lectures on Psycho-Analysis* Trans. James Strachey.
  9. James Hillman (1979) *The Dream and the Underworld*. Harper & Row.
  10. Marie-Louise von Franz (1986) *On Dreams and Death*. Shambhala.
  11. Kelly Bulkeley (2016) *Big Dreams: The Science of Dreaming and the Origins of Religion*. Oxford University Press.
  12. Ernest Hartmann (2011) *The Nature and Functions of Dreaming*. Oxford University Press.
  13. J. Allan Hobson (2002) *Dreaming: An Introduction to the Science of Sleep*. Oxford University Press.

Antiquity & medieval

  1. Artemidorus of Daldis (c. 2nd century CE) *Oneirocritica (The Interpretation of Dreams)*. Oxford University Press. Trans. Daniel E. Harris-McCoy (2012).
  2. Muhammad Ibn Sirin (c. 8th century CE) *Ta'bir al-Ru'ya (Interpretation of Dreams)*
    Foundational text of Islamic oneirocriticism; later compiled and commented by ibn Shahin and ibn al-Naqib.
  3. Synesius of Cyrene (c. 405 CE) *On Dreams (De Insomniis)*

Religious & sacred texts

  1. Vedic seers (anonymous) (c. 1200–1000 BCE) *Atharvaveda*
    Books 6, 7, and 16 contain dream classifications and apotropaic formulas; the swapna-sukta tradition develops here.
  2. Vedic seers (anonymous) (c. 700 BCE) *Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (4.3, on the dream-state)*
  3. Anonymous (c. 6th–5th century BCE) *Hebrew Bible — Book of Genesis (chapters 28, 37, 40, 41)*
    Jacob's ladder, Joseph's dreams, Pharaoh's dreams.
  4. Anonymous (c. 2nd century BCE) *Hebrew Bible — Book of Daniel (chapters 2, 4, 7)*
    Nebuchadnezzar's dreams; Daniel's apocalyptic visions.
  5. Anonymous (attributed to Matthew) (c. 80–90 CE) *New Testament — Gospel of Matthew (chapters 1, 2, 27)*
  6. — (c. 7th century CE) *Qur'an — Surah Yusuf (12)*

Indigenous & folk

  1. Lee Irwin (1994) *The Dream Seekers: Native American Visionary Traditions of the Great Plains*. University of Oklahoma Press.
  2. Barbara Tedlock (ed.) (1987) *Dreaming: Anthropological and Psychological Interpretations*. Cambridge University Press.
  3. John G. Neihardt (recording Black Elk) (1932) *Black Elk Speaks*. University of Nebraska Press.
  4. Susan Parman (1991) *Dream-Telling and the Sociology of Dream Interpretation*. American Anthropologist.

Modern science & sleep research

  1. Eugene Aserinsky and Nathaniel Kleitman (1953) *Regularly occurring periods of eye motility, and concomitant phenomena, during sleep*. Science 118: 273–274.
  2. Matthew Walker (2017) *Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams*. Scribner.
  3. G. William Domhoff (2018) *The Emergence of Dreaming*. Oxford University Press.

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