My browser fortunately has my homepage set to MSN.com: MSN Astrology: Free astrology Glossary. This is probably what Freud would have considered to be a "symbol dictionary" mentioned way back in one of my posts. The thing here is, the "symbols" aren't restricted to objects like "air" or "marriage", these symbols also include situations like being "alone" and so forth. After browsing through the text of this "dictionary" it seems to have some good and bad qualities in it, with regards to dream interpretation.
Personally, I don't believe in astrology so anything from this part of MSN, I usually don't take as truth. So, I don't completely believe this "dream dictionary" because it connects more with astrology rather than Freud's psychology; psychology is a science of observation (the human mind from which our dreams are born), astrology is not. Some entries contain "parallels" like "Animal" has "Astrological parallel: Virgo" and so on. So, initially, this dictionary is already losing its credibility by relying on astrology, not psychology.
If one recalls, Freud mentioned that symbols should not be used to determine the meaning of a dream entirely. Unfortunately, with the only guiding text on the site being "Your guide to interpreting your dreams," the astrology division of MSN.com in a sense tells you that the only way to interpret your dreams is by using this "dictionary".
Despite all of its seemingly bad qualities, some of the entries do seem reasonable. Watch:
Abadoned
1. A sense of emptiness, of having no one around whom you can depend on. Bewilderment.
2. Betrayal of someone who loves you, like that suffered by the children in the story of Hansel and Gretel.
3. The need for self-sufficiency.
(MSN Astrology). The first two are essentially like the majority of the "dictionary". But look at the third entry, "the need for self-sufficiency". What is this? "Need" It seems to be a wish...and Freud says that dreams are just wishes (wish fulfillments) so this site has some truth to it, or at least truthful practice based on Freud's idea of wish fulfillment.
This site is an interesting look at what modern interpretation of dreams may be like. Compared to Freud's 1900's take on dreams (as a observational science), today's people seem to view dream interpretation as something like astrology, I suppose mystical and full of "symbols". This is an interesting shift from old-content to new-content. The newer content is less "sciency".
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
A good video about dreams that I just watched is Remembering and Interpreting Dreams on YouTube. The author, Dr. Judith Orloff has written many books which explain how dreams are our intuition and explains how our intuition plays a significant role in our physical and mental health. I hope you find it interesting.
This post is very interesting. The fact that you brought in some outside content and blended it with the book's content made it seem more reliable to those who read it. It seems to me that this blog has become more of a personal research than an English project, which is a great thing since you are probably having fun doing it, and when you have fun doing something it turns out very interesting and well done. You are doing a very good job in these blogs.
Post a Comment