The Universal Dream Key

Every night, all over the world, sleepers are dreaming variations of the same twelve dreams. The details differ, of course, but the same themes recur in every culture, as they have throughout recorded history. In The Universal Dream Key, internationally renowned authority Dr. Patricia Garfield shows us how to understand our dreams -- and much about ourselves.Garfield has spent years researching the dreamworld, leading to her discovery of these twelve archetypes. Even those of us who don't usually remember our dreams remember some of these: being chased appearing naked in public not knowing the answers to a test driving a car without brakes fallingGarfield moves from a general motifs to the many recognizable variations, illustrating her account with actual examples. Most important, she offers readers a detailed analysis of the possible meanings, creating a skeleton key to the twelve doors of the subconscious.

Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Philosophy, Nonfiction, Fiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.