One dream, nine cultures: what the old dream books of the world say

Miller read a dream of the dead as usually a dream of warning. Which dead person appeared shaped the warning: a father meant an unlucky transaction, a mother a call to control morbid ill will, a brother or other relative a coming call for charity or aid.

Miller, 1901 · "Dead" entry

“To dream of the dead, is usually a dream of warning.”

Artemidorus read merely seeing the dead, when nothing notable was done or suffered, by how they had stood towards the dreamer in life: if they had been kind, good fortune and a pleasant present; if not, the opposite.

Artemidorus (Krauss 1881) · "Buch II, Kap. LVII", S. 179

“Das blosse Anschauen der Todten, ohne etwas Nennenswerthes zu thun oder zu leiden, bedeutet, dass”

The 1914 Warsaw sennik read seeing the dead in a dream as a warning against misfortune. It set this beside a second, kinder clause: seeing the dead as if living meant a long life for the dreamer.

Sennik, Warszawa 1914 · "Zmarłych widzieć", s. 82

“Zmarłych widzieć, przestroga przed nieszczęściem”

Nablusi read seeing a dead person alive as some dead matter of the dreamer's coming back to life. If the dreamer is in hardship, ease reaches him from where he does not expect it. Known dead rising in new clothes and in joy mean good things renewed for them and their descendants.

Nablusi, Ta'tir al-anam · "موت" entry, p. 348

“ميتاً أنه حي فإنه يحيا له أمر ميت وإن كان في عسر فإنه يأتيه اليسر”

In Santiago de Chile, Vicuña Cifuentes recorded, without further comment, that whoever dreams of the dead will suffer from indigestion. It is one of the few entries in his dream section that reads a dream as a bodily rather than a family omen.

Vicuña Cifuentes, Santiago 1915 · "sueña con muertos" no. 327, Santiago, p. 213

“El que sueña con muertos padecerá indigestiones.”

In the Neapolitan smorfia, Rumeo's Nuova Smorfia (Naples, 1866) gives 'morto e morta' (a dead man or woman) the number 50. The number is recorded as folk heritage of the lotto tradition; the list attaches no omen to it.

Rumeo, Napoli 1866 · "morto e morta", n. 50 / p. 97

“morto e morta 50”

The Zhougong list reads seeing one's departed elders in a dream as very lucky. It is the book's closest line to dreaming of a family member who has died, and it treats the meeting as a blessing, not a warning.

Zhou Gong Jie Meng (1880 print) · "見先亡尊長", 哀樂病死歌唱第十八, scan n236

“見先亡尊長大吉”

The Meiji book 『夢判斷實驗書』 counted seeing a relative who has died as very lucky (大吉). The entry closes the book's section on people, just before its section on the body.

Yume handan jikkensho (1908) · "死せし親屬", koma 29, p. 31

“死せし親屬をみれば大吉”

The Golden Wheel counted a dream of a young infant as an excellent omen of joy, gladness, good luck and general success. For lovers it promised a happy and thrifty marriage, and for a business man a new and successful enterprise.

Golden Wheel Dream-Book, 1862 · "INFANT" entry

“Dreaming of a young infant is an excellent”

Artemidorus read seeing small children or infants of one's own as sorrowful for both men and women, since raising children brings unavoidable worries. Seeing other people's children, if they were well-formed and endearing, he read as good.

Artemidorus (Krauss 1881) · "Buch I, Kap. XV", S. 24

“Kleine Kinder oder vollends Säuglinge zu schauen, wenn es die eigenen sind, ist sowohl für Mann als Weib kummervoll”

The 1914 Warsaw sennik gave children one of its briefest and kindest lines: to see children in a dream was read as good news. The entry says nothing of whose children they were or what they were doing, only that the sight was welcome.

Sennik, Warszawa 1914 · "Dzieci widzieć", s. 17

“Dzieci widzieć, dobra nowina.”

Nablusi read a little girl as plenty, honour and ease after hardship, growing and increasing. A nursing baby girl is a new good thing that brings praise. For someone in prison, debt or poverty, finding or carrying a baby girl means release through the good news she brings.

Nablusi, Ta'tir al-anam · "صبية" entry, p. 218

“صغيرة رؤيتها في المنام تدل على خصب وعز ويسر بعد عسر ينمو ويزيد”

In Bolivia, Paredes recorded that dreaming of a plump child meant receiving money. It stands in his list a few lines below the belief that a pregnant woman's dream of vipers, toads or a condor foretold the child she would bear.

Paredes, La Paz 1920 · "un niño gordo", Bolivia, p. 23

“Con un niño gordo, para recibir dinero.”

In the Neapolitan smorfia, Rumeo's Nuova Smorfia (Naples, 1866) gives 'bambino qualunque' (any baby or small child) the number 15. The number is recorded as folk heritage of the lotto tradition; the list attaches no omen to it.

Rumeo, Napoli 1866 · "bambino qualunque", n. 15 / p. 22

“bambino qualunque 15”

Miller read the bear as overwhelming competition in pursuits of every kind. For a young woman he read the same dream as a threatening rival or some misfortune. Only killing the bear turns his short entry favourable.

Miller, 1901 · "Bear" entry

“Bear is significant of overwhelming competition in pursuits of every kind.”

Artemidorus read the bear as a woman, recalling Callisto's transformation into a bear, as illness because of its wildness, and, through the constellation of the same name, as movement and travel or, on the contrary, staying in one place.

Artemidorus (Krauss 1881) · "Buch II, Kap. XII", S. 118

“Der Bär bedeutet ein Frauenzimmer”

The interwar Najnowszy sennik egipski gave the bear one of its shortest entries and read it plainly as a good omen, "a favourable augury", without distinguishing whether the animal was seen, fought or fled from.

Najnowszy sennik egipski, 1937 · "Niedźwiedź", s. 27

“Niedźwiedź — pomyślna wróżba.”

Nablusi read riding a bear as gaining a lowly office, if the dreamer is fit for it. If not, worry and fear reach him and then he is saved. He also records that the bear is an adulterous woman, so whoever rides one should beware of adultery.

Nablusi, Ta'tir al-anam · "دب" entry, p. 117

“ومن ركب دباً نال ولاية دنيئة إذا كان أهلاً لها وإلا ناله هم وخوف ثم ينجو”

In the Neapolitan smorfia, Rumeo's Nuova Smorfia (Naples, 1866) gives 'orso e orsi' (a bear or bears) the number 52. The number is recorded as folk heritage of the lotto tradition; the list attaches no omen to it.

Rumeo, Napoli 1866 · "orso e orsi", n. 52 / p. 165

“orso e orsi 52”

Serrano's Oraculo (Porto, 1883) reads the bear as an enemy who is rich, powerful, bold and cruel, but clumsy. The last word softens the threat: the book's bear is dangerous yet inept.

Serrano, Porto 1883 · "Urso", p. 42

“Urso, vel-o: inimigo rico, poderoso, audaz, cruel mas inhabil.”

The Zhougong list reads the bear, named together with its larger cousin the brown bear, as the omen of a noble son. It is the book's only bear line, and it counted the dream lucky. The 1880 print writes the first character in an old defective form.

Zhou Gong Jie Meng (1880 print) · "熊羆主身生貴子", 龍蛇禽獸等類第二十五, scan n243

The Meiji book 『夢判斷實驗書』 read seeing a bear as a sign that the household will prosper, and added that the dreamer may be blessed with a good child. The entry is short and gives no reasoning, like the rest of the book's animal list.

Yume handan jikkensho (1908) · "熊をみれば", koma 64, p. 100

“熊をみれば家道繁榮の兆又善き子を得べし”

Miller read bees as pleasant and profitable engagements: obedient subordinates for an officer, a fuller congregation for a preacher, more trade for business people, dutiful children for parents.

Miller, 1901 · "Bees" entry

“Bees signify pleasant and profitable engagements.”

Lebrecht's Egyptian dream book of 1870 read seeing bees as good business. The book's bee lines are mostly about work and diligence.

Lebrecht, 1870 · "Bienen sehen", S. 12

The old pre-1900 sennik read seeing bees as a good living, comfortable means ("dobry byt"). It is the plainest of its four bee lines, and the only wholly favourable one. Like all its lines, it gives no reasoning.

Stary sennik (pre-1900) · "Pszczoły widzieć", djvu text l. 4932

“dobry byt”

In the Neapolitan smorfia, Rumeo's Nuova Smorfia (Naples, 1866) gives bees, 'api', the number 36, and the single bee, 'ape', 34. The numbers are recorded as folk heritage of the lotto tradition; the list attaches no omen to them.

Rumeo, Napoli 1866 · "api", "ape, (volatile)", Elenco de' nomi degli animali, p. 161

“api 36”

Serrano's Oraculo (Porto, 1883) splits the bee dream by who dreams it: for the cultivator, gain and profit; for the rich, restlessness, worry and care. Catching bees meant notable gain. It is the same split Artemidorus made between farmers and everyone else.

Serrano, Porto 1883 · "Abelhas" entry

“Abelhas, para o cultivador: ganho e proveito.”

The Zhou Gong dream list reads bees and butterflies playing together as plans not coming to anything. It is the book's only line about bees flying about, and one of its few unlucky insect lines.

Zhou Gong Jie Meng (1880 print) · "蜂蝶交戲", 龜鱉魚蝦昆蟲第二十七, leaf n245

“蜂蝶交戲事不成”

The 1906 Japanese translation of 夢林玄解 marked honeybees gathering from flowers as lucky for the upright (貞吉): a person of rank would serve the country with merit, and an ordinary person would be lucky if honest and unlucky if not.

Yume handan (1906) · "蜜蜂採花", koma 308

“蜜蜂が花を採る夢”

Miller read dreaming that one is naked as scandal and unwise engagements. His entry goes on to separate seeing others naked, suddenly discovering one's own nakedness, and several branches addressed to young women.

Miller, 1901 · "Naked" entry

“To dream that you are naked, foretells scandal and unwise engagements.”

Artemidorus read stripping naked or losing one's clothes as good only for the poor, slaves, prisoners, debtors and anyone in a tight spot, whose troubles it removed; for everyone else it meant losing whatever makes life beautiful.

Artemidorus (Krauss 1881) · "Buch II, Kap. III", S. 101

“den übrigen Menschen aber bringt es weder Glück, sich nackt auszuziehen, noch die Kleider zu verlieren”

The 1914 Warsaw sennik read the sight of oneself naked as a threat of poverty. The line is one of a small cluster of nakedness entries in the book, all of them tying bare skin to the loss of goods rather than to shame.

Sennik, Warszawa 1914 · "Nago ujrzeć siebie", s. 48

“Nago ujrzeć siebie, ubóstwo zagraża.”

Rumeo's Spiegazione dei sogni read seeing oneself made naked as toil, 'fatica'. The entry is one line long and, like the rest of the dream key, gives the meaning without any reason or qualification.

Rumeo, Napoli 1866 · "nudo vedersi fatto", Spiegazione dei sogni / p. 212

“nudo vedersi fatto, denota fatica”

Being naked is read by Serrano's Oraculo (Porto, 1883) as illness, poverty, affront and fatigue. The book reads nakedness as exposure in every sense, bodily and social, and gives four misfortunes in one line.

Serrano, Porto 1883 · "Nú", p. 33

“Nú, estar nú: doença, pobreza, affronta, fadiga.”

The Zhougong list reads an exposed body without clothes as very lucky. The line sits in the chapter on the body, face, teeth and hair, and it is one of the book's inversions: the shameful-seeming scene gets a good verdict.

Zhou Gong Jie Meng (1880 print) · "露體無衣", 身體面目齒髮第三, scan n220

“露體無衣大吉利”

The Meiji book 『夢判斷實驗書』 counted standing naked in a dream as lucky. It says nothing of shame; the entry is one short line among readings of the body growing fat, thin or scaled.

Yume handan jikkensho (1908) · "裸にて立つ", koma 31, p. 34

“裸にて立つとみれば吉”

Miller read a dream of a cat as ill luck unless the dreamer managed to kill it or drive it out of sight. Nearly every branch of his cat entry is read as enemies, false friends or treachery, with the dreamer's victory over the cat as the only way out.

Miller, 1901 · "Cats" entry

“To dream of a cat, denotes ill luck, if you do not succeed in killing it or driving it from your sight.”

Artemidorus read the tomcat as an adulterer, because it steals birds and birds, as he had said in his first book, are compared with women. It is his only cat entry.

Artemidorus (Krauss 1881) · "Buch III, Kap. XI", S. 201

“Der Kater bedeutet einen Ehebrecher, denn er ist ein Vogeldieb”

The 1914 Warsaw sennik gave the cat three words: a treacherous enemy. The terse line is the Polish sennik's classic verdict on cats, repeated in almost every later edition. The 1914 dictionary gives no reasoning for this clause, in keeping with its alphabetical format of some six thousand dreams.

Sennik, Warszawa 1914 · "Kot", s. 40

“Kot, wróg podstępny.”

Nablusi read a cat's bite or scratch as illness lasting a year, and worse if the cat is wild. In his entry under hirra, a cat's scratch or bite is also the treachery of a servant.

Nablusi, Ta'tir al-anam · "سنور" entry, p. 176

“ومن عضه السنور وأخدشه فإنه يمرض سنة”

In Cuzco, Valdizán and Maldonado recorded that dreaming of a cat meant calumny. Cuzco is the only region in their 1922 Peruvian table with an entry for the cat, and Arequipa gave the same meaning, calumny, to dreams of fire.

Valdizán & Maldonado, Lima 1922 · "El gato", Cuzco, p. 380

“El gato … Calumnia”

In the Neapolitan smorfia, Rumeo's Nuova Smorfia (Naples, 1866) gives 'gatta, gatte, gatto e gatti' (any cat, male or female) the number 3. The number is recorded as folk heritage of the lotto tradition; the list attaches no omen to it.

Rumeo, Napoli 1866 · "gatta, gatte, gatto e gatti", n. 3 / p. 164

“gatta, gatte, gatto e gatti 3”

Serrano's Oraculo (Porto, 1883) reads the cat as betrayal by a close relative. The cat is one of the book's unambiguous treachery animals, and the entry names the betrayer as family rather than a stranger.

Serrano, Porto 1883 · "Gato", p. 26

“Gato: traição de parente chegado.”

The Zhougong list has a single cat line: a cat catching a mouse means gaining wealth. The 1880 print reads "主得財" where the Wikisource text has "大得財". Cat colours, bites and scratches do not appear in the book.

Zhou Gong Jie Meng (1880 print) · "猫捕鼠", 龍蛇禽獸等類第二十五, scan n243

“猫捕鼠者主得財”

The Meiji book 『夢判斷實驗書』 read a cat catching a rat as gaining wealth, but with worries that never end. A cat eating a live fish it read as the family's fortunes rising, while a cat swallowing a butterfly meant meeting with misfortune.

Yume handan jikkensho (1908) · "猫の鼠を捕ふる", koma 64, p. 101

“猫の鼠を捕ふるとみれば財を得れども憂ひ絶へざるの兆”

Miller was emphatic: as surely as one dreamed of a crocodile, he wrote, one would be deceived by one's warmest friends and assailed by enemies at every turn. His entry advises withholding confidence even from friends.

Miller, 1901 · "Crocodile" entry

“As sure as you dream of this creature, you will be deceived by your warmest friends.”

Artemidorus read the crocodile as a pirate, a murderer or an equally wicked person: whatever the crocodile did to the dreamer, the person it stood for would do to him in the same way.

Artemidorus (Krauss 1881) · "Buch III, Kap. XI", S. 201

“Das Krokodil bedeutet einen Piraten oder einen Mörder oder einen nicht minder ruchlosen Menschen.”

The old pre-1900 sennik gave the crocodile one of its terse two-word lines: a treacherous friend ("zdradliwy", in the book's own spelling). The later Warsaw dream books consulted dropped the animal altogether, so this single line is the whole Polish sennik tradition on crocodiles.

Stary sennik (pre-1900) · "Krokodyl", s. n25

“Krokodyl: zdradliwy przyjaciel”

In Arequipa, Valdizán and Maldonado recorded that dreaming of lagartos meant fortune. In Peruvian Spanish the word covers both lizards and caimans, so the entry may not refer to a crocodilian at all; Arequipa is the only region in their table with a reading.

Valdizán & Maldonado, Lima 1922 · "Lagartos", Arequipa, p. 380

“Lagartos … Fortuna”

In the Neapolitan smorfia, Rumeo's Nuova Smorfia (Naples, 1866) gives 'coccodrillo e coccodrilli' (a crocodile or crocodiles) the number 11. The number is recorded as folk heritage of the lotto tradition; the list attaches no omen to it.

Rumeo, Napoli 1866 · "coccodrillo e coccodrilli", n. 11 / p. 163

“coccodrillo e coccodrilli 11”

The Meiji book 『夢判斷實驗書』 read seeing a crocodile (鱷, wani) as a sign of misfortune while travelling by boat. The single line sits between whales and tortoises in the book's list of water creatures; it gives no reasoning.

Yume handan jikkensho (1908) · "鱷をみれば", koma 68, p. 108

“鱷をみれば舟にて災難あるの兆”

Miller took a dark view of crying in a dream. He read it as the forerunner of illusory pleasures that would sink into gloom, with distressing influences on the dreamer's business engagements and domestic affairs.

Miller, 1901 · "Crying" entry

“To dream of crying, is a forerunner of illusory pleasures, which will subside into gloom”

Artemidorus read weeping and lamenting for a dead person or anyone else, and mourning itself, as joy and a coming pleasure in something that turns out well, since the soul's moods change like the weather; unjustified mourning, however, meant real grief.

Artemidorus (Krauss 1881) · "Buch II, Kap. LX", S. 180

“Das Weinen und Klagen um einen Todten oder sonst Jemand und die Trauer selbst, weissagt”

Góralczyk's 1875 sennik read shedding tears in a dream as distress that the dreamer would bring on himself through dishonest dealing. As everywhere in this moralising sennik, the dream is a call to mend one's ways.

Góralczyk, Kraków 1875 · "Łzy wylewać", s. XII

“Łzy wylewać we śnie, znaczy strapienie, które śniący na siebie ściągnie przez nierzetelne postępowanie.”

Nablusi read slapping one's face or weeping bitterly as trouble and worries, coming from whatever the weeping was about. Weeping over a familiar dwelling or person, in the same entry, means things staying as they are and a long life.

Nablusi, Ta'tir al-anam · "بكاء" entry (Bāb al-Bāʾ, second), p. 42

“وإن لطم وجهه أو بكى بكاءً شديداً دل على الأنكاد والهموم”

In Arequipa, Valdizán and Maldonado recorded that dreaming of weeping meant prison. The same region read dreams of rain and of wheat as weeping, so in the Arequipa readings tears are both a dream image and a thing foretold.

Valdizán & Maldonado, Lima 1922 · "Llanto", Arequipa, p. 380

“Llanto … Cárcel”

In the Neapolitan smorfia, Rumeo's Nuova Smorfia (Naples, 1866) gives 'piangere' (weeping) the number 65. The number is recorded as folk heritage of the lotto tradition; the list attaches no omen to it. The noun 'pianto' is listed on the same page with the same number.

Rumeo, Napoli 1866 · "piangere", n. 65 / p. 112

“piangere 65”

Serrano's Oraculo (Porto, 1883) reads crying by contraries: weeping in a dream is joy and consolation. It is one of the clearest examples of the reversal rule in the Portuguese books.

Serrano, Porto 1883 · "Chorar", p. 17

“Chorar: alegria, consolação.”

The Zhougong list reads weeping together with someone as a sign of celebrations and congratulations to come. It is one of the book's well-known inversions: tears in the dream, joy in the reading. The book counted it lucky.

Zhou Gong Jie Meng (1880 print) · "與人哭泣", 哀樂病死歌唱第十八, scan n235

“與人哭泣有慶賀”

The Meiji book 『夢判斷實驗書』 read weeping in grief as a sign that the dreamer's heart will not be at peace. Its next entries turn the other way: weeping while sitting face to face with someone it read as joy to come.

Yume handan jikkensho (1908) · "泣き悲む", koma 52, p. 76

“泣き悲むとみれば心安からざるの兆”

Miller read seeing any of one's people dead as a warning of coming dissolution or sorrow, always followed by disappointments. He added a long note that death dreams are misleading to the novice and often stand for a good thought being supplanted by a bad one.

Miller, 1901 · "Death" entry

“To dream of seeing any of your people dead, warns you of coming dissolution or sorrow.”

Góralczyk's 1875 sennik did not read a dream of death as an omen at all but as an admonition: whoever dreams of death should stop sinning by excessive miserliness, since no one takes money to the grave.

Góralczyk, Kraków 1875 · "Śmierć", s. XVII

“Śmierć gdy się komu śni, jest to upomnieniem, aby zbytecznem skąpstwem nie grzeszył”

Nablusi read dreaming that one dies in one's sleep, with no illness and none of the outward signs of dying, as a long life. He added that death with washing and shrouding means a weakening of religion, while weeping over the dreamer means worldly rise.

Nablusi, Ta'tir al-anam · "موت" entry, p. 348

“أنه مات في نومه من غير مرض ولا هيئة من يموت فإنه تطول حياته”

In Santiago de Chile, Vicuña Cifuentes recorded that whoever dreams of death will soon receive news of a wedding. He set it beside a New Mexican parallel, and the same collection records the reverse as well: dreaming of a marriage foretold death.

Vicuña Cifuentes, Santiago 1915 · "sueña con muerte" no. 478, Santiago, p. 239

“El que sueña con muerte, pronto recibirá noticia de una boda.”

In the Neapolitan smorfia, Rumeo's Nuova Smorfia (Naples, 1866) gives 'morte in figura' (Death in person, the figure of Death) the number 89. The number is recorded as folk heritage of the lotto tradition; the list attaches no omen to it. Rumeo gives the snake the same number.

Rumeo, Napoli 1866 · "morte in figura", n. 89 / p. 97

“morte in figura 89”

João Ribeiro's O Folk-lore (Rio, 1919) records the Brazilian popular doctrine that dreams mean their contrary: dreaming of death is a sign of life. He calls it the people's philosophy of the dream, an 'eternal antinomy'.

João Ribeiro, Rio 1919 · "superstições dos sonhos", p. 143

“Sonhar com a morte é signal de vida”

The Zhougong list reads seeing another person die, or dying oneself, as lucky in both cases. The 1880 print reads "皆吉" (both lucky) where the Wikisource text has "者吉". Death in a dream is one of the book's clearest inversions.

Zhou Gong Jie Meng (1880 print) · "見人死自死", 哀樂病死歌唱第十八, scan n236

“見人死自死皆吉”

Miller read a dream of one's father as an approaching difficulty that would need wise counsel. If the father was dead in the dream, he read it as the dreamer's business pulling heavily and calling for caution; for a young woman, a dead father meant her lover was playing her false.

Miller, 1901 · "Father" entry

“If he is dead, it denotes that your business is pulling heavily, and you will have to use caution in conducting it.”

Artemidorus has no separate entry for a dead parent. His rule for all the dead was that they meant whatever their relationship with the dreamer had been in life: if they had been kind, good fortune and a pleasant present; if not, the opposite.

Artemidorus (Krauss 1881) · "Buch II, Kap. LVII", S. 180

“waren sie liebenswürdig, so bedeuten sie Glück und ein angenehmes Durchleben der Gegenwart, wenn nicht, das Gegentheil.”

Nablusi read seeing one's dead father and mother alive again, when the dreamer is afraid, as safety, relief and the end of his worry. He singled out the mother as the stronger sign of the two, so for Nablusi the father's return is the lesser one.

Nablusi, Ta'tir al-anam · "موت" entry, p. 348

“أن أباه وأمه قد حييا وكان خائفاً أمن وانفرج وزال همه خصوصاً أمه”

Rumeo's Spiegazione dei sogni read seeing one's father as cheerfulness, 'allegrezza'. The entry does not say whether the father is living or dead; the same key reads seeing one's mother, by contrast, as harm.

Rumeo, Napoli 1866 · "lo tuo padre vedere", Spiegazione dei sogni / p. 211

“lo tuo padre vedere, denota allegrezza”

Serrano's Oraculo (Porto, 1883) reads seeing one's father as joy. The entry does not say whether the father is living or dead; it is the book's only father dream, and it is wholly favourable.

Serrano, Porto 1883 · "Pae", p. 34

“Pae, ver o seu: alegria.”

The Zhougong list has no line on a late father as such. Its nearest line is seeing one's departed elders, the senior family members who have died, and it reads this as very lucky: the meeting is a blessing, not a warning.

Zhou Gong Jie Meng (1880 print) · "見先亡尊長", 哀樂病死歌唱第十八, scan n236

“見先亡尊長大吉”

Miller's mother entry is mostly warm: a mother seen at home meant pleasing results from any enterprise. Seeing one's mother emaciated or dead, however, he read as sadness caused by death or dishonour.

Miller, 1901 · "Mother" entry

“To see one's mother emaciated or dead, foretells sadness caused by death or dishonor.”

Artemidorus has no separate entry for a dead parent. His rule for all the dead was that they meant whatever their relationship with the dreamer had been in life: if they had been kind, good fortune and a pleasant present; if not, the opposite.

Artemidorus (Krauss 1881) · "Buch II, Kap. LVII", S. 180

“waren sie liebenswürdig, so bedeuten sie Glück und ein angenehmes Durchleben der Gegenwart, wenn nicht, das Gegentheil.”

The interwar Najnowszy sennik egipski gave the dead mother a single consoling word: a dead mother seen in a dream meant comfort. It follows the book's reading of a living mother as happiness.

Najnowszy sennik egipski, 1937 · "Matka … matka nieboszczka", s. 25

“Matka — szczęście, matka nieboszczka — pocieszenie”

Nablusi read seeing one's father and mother come back to life, at a time when the dreamer is afraid, as safety, relief and an end to his worry. He added that this is especially so for the mother, making her return the stronger sign of the two.

Nablusi, Ta'tir al-anam · "موت" entry, p. 348

“أن أباه وأمه قد حييا وكان خائفاً أمن وانفرج وزال همه خصوصاً أمه”

Rumeo's Spiegazione dei sogni read merely seeing one's mother as harm, 'danno', while talking with her meant good news. The two readings sit a few pages apart in the key, and the book does not reconcile them.

Rumeo, Napoli 1866 · "la madre vedere", Spiegazione dei sogni / p. 210

“la madre vedere, denota danno”

The Zhougong list has no line on a late mother as such. Its nearest line is seeing one's departed elders, the senior family members who have died, and it reads this as very lucky: the meeting is a blessing, not a warning.

Zhou Gong Jie Meng (1880 print) · "見先亡尊長", 哀樂病死歌唱第十八, scan n236

“見先亡尊長大吉”

The Golden Wheel said dogs had very different meanings depending on their behaviour: dogs that fawned on the dreamer were a lucky omen, and for lovers marriage and happiness; dogs that barked and snarled meant enemies trying to destroy the dreamer's reputation and happiness.

Golden Wheel Dream-Book, 1862 · "DOGS" entry

“To dream of those animals, has very different significations”

Artemidorus distinguished hunting dogs, watchdogs and lapdogs. Hunting dogs meant gain from outside; house dogs stood for the wife, the household and one's property, so well-fed dogs fawning on their master meant a secure home, and sick ones illness and loss.

Artemidorus (Krauss 1881) · "Buch II, Kap. XI", S. 113

“Hinwiederum bedeuten die Haushunde die Gattin, die Häuslichkeit und das erworbene Vermögen.”

The interwar Najnowszy sennik egipski opened its dog entry with one word, loyalty. It then read the dog by what it was doing, from sleeping to barking to fighting, each with its own sign.

Najnowszy sennik egipski, 1937 · "Pies", s. 31

“Pies — wierność”

Nablusi read being bitten or scratched by a dog as harm from an enemy, as great as the pain, or perhaps illness. A later line reads a dog's bite as misfortune, hurt and hardship coming from a friend or servant.

Nablusi, Ta'tir al-anam · "كلب" entry, p. 298

“ومن رأى أنه عضه كلب فإنه ينال مصيبة وأذى وشدة من جهة صديق أو خادم”

In Cuzco, Valdizán and Maldonado recorded that dreaming of a dog meant robbery. Arequipa read the same dream almost identically, as thieves; in the Peruvian table the dog warns of loss, and no region reads it as a sign of friendship or loyalty.

Valdizán & Maldonado, Lima 1922 · "El Perro", Cuzco, p. 380

“El Perro … Robo”

In the Neapolitan smorfia, Rumeo's Nuova Smorfia (Naples, 1866) gives 'cana e cani' (a dog or dogs; 'cana' is the book's misprint) the number 6. The number is recorded as folk heritage of the lotto tradition; the list attaches no omen to it.

Rumeo, Napoli 1866 · "cana e cani", n. 6 / p. 162

“cana e cani 6”

Miller read dreaming of drowning as loss of property and of life, but gave the dream a way out in the same sentence: if the dreamer was rescued, they would rise from their present position to one of wealth and honour.

Miller, 1901 · "Drowning" entry

“To dream of drowning, denotes loss of property and life”

Lebrecht's Egyptian dream book of 1870 read drowning oneself in a dream as an improvement in circumstances for the healthy and a quick recovery for the sick, one of the book's typical reversals of a frightening scene.

Lebrecht, 1870 · "Ertrinken", S. 22

“Ertrinken, … selbst: für Gesunde Besserung der Verhältnisse — für Kranke baldige Genesung.”

The old pre-1900 sennik gave drowning two short lines: sinking in water it read as a great mishap, and drowning as misfortune in the house. Both are read as trouble at home or in one's affairs, not as a danger to life.

Stary sennik (pre-1900) · "Tonąć"; "Utopić się", djvu text l. 6753, 7174

Rumeo's Spiegazione dei sogni read seeing oneself drown as a bad sign, 'male', without saying more. It is the last entry in the dream key. Like every entry in Rumeo's dream key, it is a single line: the image, then 'denota' and the meaning, with no reason given.

Rumeo, Napoli 1866 · "vederti annegare", Spiegazione dei sogni / p. 215

“vederti annegare, denota male”

The Lingshu explains the dream of sinking by the body: when a harmful qi lodges in the kidneys, one dreams of standing at the edge of an abyss and of being submerged in water. It is a medical account, with no omen and no verdict.

Lingshu (Huangdi Neijing) · 淫邪發夢第四十三, "客於腎"

“客於腎，則夢臨淵，沒居水中”

The 1908 dream book read drowning in water as hardship over the place where the dreamer lives. A separate entry reads drowning in a pond as regret after the event. Neither reading speaks of death; both point to trouble in ordinary life.

Yume handan jikkensho (1908) · "水に溺るゝ", koma 25, p. 22

“水に溺るゝと見れば住所につき苦勞あり”

Miller's single line on the earthquake, whether seen or felt in the dream, read it as business failure and much distress, caused by turmoil and wars between nations. It is one of his few readings that reaches out from the dreamer's affairs to public events.

Miller, 1901 · "Earthquake" entry

“To see or feel the earthquake in your dream, denotes business failure and much distress caused from turmoils and wars between nations.”

Artemidorus read cracks in the earth, earthquakes and collapses as heaping sorrow on everyone and exposing people or their property to ruin. He observed, though, that for those eager to travel and for debtors such dreams turned out well, freeing them from debts and bonds.

Artemidorus (Krauss 1881) · "Buch II, Kap. XLI", S. 171

“Erdspaltungen aber, Erdbeben und Einstürze häufen auf alle Menschen Leid, und geben sie selbst oder ihre Habe dem Verderben preis.”

The 1914 Warsaw sennik read feeling an earthquake as important events coming soon, but events that would not threaten the dreamer's life. The book takes care to temper the upheaval with that reassurance.

Sennik, Warszawa 1914 · "Trzęsienie ziemi odczuwać", s. 72

“Trzęsienie ziemi odczuwać, ważne wypadki nie grożące twemu życiu nastąpią w bliskiej przyszłości.”

In the Neapolitan smorfia, Rumeo's Nuova Smorfia (Naples, 1866) gives 'terremoto' (an earthquake) the number 89. The number is recorded as folk heritage of the lotto tradition; the list attaches no omen to it.

Rumeo, Napoli 1866 · "terremoto", n. 89 / p. 143

“terremoto 89”

Serrano's Oraculo (Porto, 1883) reads an earthquake as danger to the dreamer's life. It gives no variants; the entry is a single line, reported here as the old book's reading.

Serrano, Porto 1883 · "Tremor de terra", p. 42

“Tremor de terra: perigo para a vida do sonhador.”

The Golden Wheel Dream-Book read eggs dreamed by married people as a sign they would have many children. The whole entry reads eggs through children and marriage.

Golden Wheel Dream-Book, 1862 · "EGGS" entry

“If married people dream of eggs it is a sign they will be prolific of children.”

Artemidorus read eggs by trade: good for physicians, painters and egg dealers, who use or sell them. For everyone else a few eggs, because they are food, stood for gain, while many eggs stood for great worries and often for lawsuits.

Artemidorus (Krauss 1881) · "Buch II, Kap. XLIII", S. 172

“sind Aerzten, Malern und Leuten, die mit Eiern handeln, zuträglich”

The old pre-1900 sennik read seeing eggs as disputes and quarrels, yet hen's eggs, under "Kurze jaja", as wealth. The old book gives no reasoning for the reading; like all its lines, it sets scene and meaning side by side, divided by a colon.

Stary sennik (pre-1900) · "Jaja widzieć", s. n14

“Jaja widzieć: zatargi i kłótnie”

The Barcelona edition of Collin de Plancy's Diccionario infernal (1842) split eggs in two: white eggs meant happiness, broken eggs misfortune. The book prints it as one line of its short digest of older dream books, which it dismisses at the end as extravagances.

Collin de Plancy, Barcelona 1842 · "HUEVOS" (OCR "Unvos"), Barcelona ed., p. 286

Rumeo's Spiegazione dei sogni read white eggs as good, in a single line of the key. The same page has broken eggs as bad, so the book itself splits the egg by its state rather than reading it one way.

Rumeo, Napoli 1866 · "ovi bianchi", Spiegazione dei sogni

“ovi bianchi, denota bene”

Serrano's Oraculo (Porto, 1883) opens its egg entry by counting them: eggs in small number meant gain and profit. The entry then turns on quantity and look, so a few eggs are the good dream and the rest of the entry grows more doubtful.

Serrano, Porto 1883 · "Ovos" entry

“Ovos, em pequeno numero: ganho e lucro.”

Chen Shiyuan's 1562 catalogue groups embryos and eggs with painted pictures, carvings and hollow earthenware as images of things not yet real or not genuine, and reads that whole class as deception or empty promises. It is a general rule, not an entry about eggs alone.

Chen Shiyuan, Mengzhan yizhi (1562) · 卷一, general rules for reading dream images

“圖畫胎卵，刻鏤非真，瓦器虐空，皆爲欺紿”

The 1908 book's only egg-laying entry outside the poultry yard is the silkworm moth: seeing it lay its eggs meant peace in the household and descendants who flourish. Eggs here stand for the continuation of the family line.

Yume handan jikkensho (1908) · "蠶の蛾卵を生む", koma 69, p. 111

“○蠶の蛾卵を生むとみれば家內平和にして”

Artemidorus read seeing a great quantity of human excrement as many and varied sufferings; seen in the street, the market or any public place it barred the use of that place and often kept the dreamer from going out.

Artemidorus (Krauss 1881) · "Buch II, Kap. XXV", S. 136

“menschlichen Kothes sehen, bedeutet viele und mannigfache Leiden.”

The interwar Najnowszy sennik egipski read dung or manure (gnój) with a single word: money. The terse line is the clearest statement of the dung-means-money reading in the Polish senniki.

Najnowszy sennik egipski, 1937 · "Gnój", s. 16

“Gnój — pieniądze.”

In Bolivia, Paredes recorded as a general rule of dream reading that excrement meant dishonour, just as meat meant death and horned animals a wife's infidelity. He gives it in a closing summary, adding that the interpretations are endless.

Paredes, La Paz 1920 · "el escremento", Bolivia, p. 24

“Por lo general, la carne en sueños denota muerte, el escremento deshonra”

In the Neapolitan smorfia, Rumeo's Nuova Smorfia (Naples, 1866) gives 'merda' (excrement) the number 71. The number is recorded as folk heritage of the lotto tradition; the list attaches no omen to it. The modern tombola list keeps the same number.

Rumeo, Napoli 1866 · "merda", n. 71 / p. 93

“merda 71”

Mattos's Lisbon chapbook Nova collecção de sonhos (188-?) gives the Portuguese folk equation plainly: excrement means money. It is the oldest printed Portuguese source we found for this well-known reading.

Mattos, Lisboa 188-? · "Merda", p. 3

“Merda—dinheiro.”

The Zhougong list reads excrement covering the ground as wealth and rank. It is the book's best-known inversion: in its chapter on dirt, washing and humiliation, filth in a dream is counted as riches.

Zhou Gong Jie Meng (1880 print) · "大便滿地", 垢污沐浴凌辱第二十四, scan n241

“大便滿地主富貴”

Miller read engaging in a fight as unpleasant encounters with business opponents and threatened lawsuits. His fight entry is largely about rivalry and money rather than about the people involved.

Miller, 1901 · "Fight" entry

“To dream that you engage in a fight, denotes that you will have unpleasant encounters with your business opponents”

Lebrecht's Egyptian dream book of 1870 read seeing a battle as quarrel and strife, and seeing war, more precisely, as quarrel and strife with one's neighbours.

Lebrecht, 1870 · "Schlacht sehen", S. 65; "Krieg sehen", S. 43

The old pre-1900 sennik read a quarrel as enmity, ill will between people ("nieprzyjaźń"). The headword's first letter is garbled in the OCR, so the line is given in prose. The book's surrounding quarrel lines (overhearing, hearing) read differently.

Stary sennik (pre-1900) · "Kłótnia", djvu text l. 1741

Rumeo's Spiegazione dei sogni read fighting with wise men as the punishment of one's enemies, the key's only line for a fight between people.

Rumeo, Napoli 1866 · "combatter con sapienti", Spiegazione dei sogni

“combatter con sapienti, denota punizione dei nemici”

Serrano's Oraculo (Porto, 1883) read taking part in a combat as the risk of persecution: a fight in the dream announced being pursued or harassed rather than a victory or a defeat.

Serrano, Porto 1883 · "Combate" entry (Batalha → Combate)

The Lingshu explains violent dreams by the body rather than by omen: when yin and yang are both in excess, a person dreams of killing one another. It gives no lucky or unlucky verdict.

Lingshu (Huangdi Neijing) · 淫邪發夢, 十二盛

“陰陽俱盛，則夢相殺”

The 1908 book read a quarrel in which someone steps in to make peace as lucky. Its whole quarrelling list turns on who is involved: quarrelling oneself is lucky, insulting friends or family is not.

Yume handan jikkensho (1908) · "人と罵り合ふに仲裁するもの", koma 53, p. 79

Miller counted fire as favourable to the dreamer, on one condition: that the dreamer was not burned. He read it as continued prosperity for seamen and travellers as well as for people on land, and most of his fire entry follows that hopeful line.

Miller, 1901 · "Fire" entry

“Fire is favorable to the dreamer if he does not get burned.”

The interwar Najnowszy sennik egipski read a blaze, a house or building on fire, as a thief, disgrace and great losses. Its separate entry for fire itself (Ogień) likewise begins with the word "thief".

Najnowszy sennik egipski, 1937 · "Pożar", s. 34

“Pożar — złodziej, hańba, wielkie straty.”

Nablusi gave two readings of fire in the house. In one, fire falling into the house means plenty. If fire with light and rays comes from the house while the wife is pregnant, she bears a son who rises high. A second line, below, reads it the other way.

Nablusi, Ta'tir al-anam · "نار" entry, p. 352

“أن النار وقعت في بيته أصاب خصباً”

In Lima, Valdizán and Maldonado recorded that dreaming of fire meant misfortune. Arequipa, the only other region in their 1922 table with an entry, read the same dream as calumny instead, so the two Peruvian cities disagree on what the fire threatens.

Valdizán & Maldonado, Lima 1922 · "Fuego", Lima, p. 380

“Fuego … Desgracia”

Rumeo's Spiegazione dei sogni read seeing fire as great danger, 'pericolo grande', and seeing fire burning, in another entry, as the consumption of one's goods. The key is uniformly wary of fire.

Rumeo, Napoli 1866 · "veder fuoco", Spiegazione dei sogni / p. 215

“veder fuoco, denota pericolo grande”

Serrano's Oraculo (Porto, 1883) reads the sight of fire as anger and danger. The entry then qualifies it by where the fire is and whether it burns, so the bare fire is the warning and the tamed hearth fire the exception.

Serrano, Porto 1883 · "Fogo", p. 25

“Fogo, vel-o: cólera, perigo.”

The Lingshu explains fire dreams by the body: when yang qi is in excess, one dreams of a great fire burning. It is the medical counterpart of its water line, where excess yin brings dreams of wading through great water.

Lingshu (Huangdi Neijing) · 淫邪發夢第四十三, "陽氣盛"

“陽氣盛，則夢大火”

The 1908 book counted seeing things burn as lucky, and flame bursting from a tree as very lucky. Its only unlucky fire in this list is the one the dreamer puts out: saving a neighbour from fire, it said, costs the dreamer prestige.

Yume handan jikkensho (1908) · "物の焼くる", koma 52, p. 77

“物の焼くるとみれば吉”

The Golden Wheel read a flood, against expectation, as generally a sign of riches and plenty, especially when the water was calm: even if the dreamer lost something, it read, good fortune elsewhere would be enough to balance the loss.

Golden Wheel Dream-Book, 1862 · "FLOOD" entry

“To dream of a flood, generally denotes riches and plenty, particularly if the water is calm”

Lebrecht's Egyptian dream book of 1870 read seeing a flood as being pressed by a creditor. It is the book's only flood entry, a single terse line with no variants, in the folk-dictionary style.

Lebrecht, 1870 · "Ueberschwemmung", S. 76

“Ueberschwemmung sehen: von einem Gläubiger gedrängt werden.”

The 1914 Warsaw sennik read a river bursting its banks as the favourable growth of one's business. Like the older sennik's "Powódź", it reads the flood by inversion, as abundance rather than ruin.

Sennik, Warszawa 1914 · "Wylew rzeki widzieć", s. 80

“Wylew rzeki widzieć, pomyślny rozwój interesu.”

Nablusi read a flood entering people's homes and carrying off their goods and livestock as an enemy raiding them, or a calamity settling on them. He adds that any overpowering water has no good in it, and that a flood entering one's own house can mean a sharp-tongued wife.

Nablusi, Ta'tir al-anam · "سيل" entry, p. 174

“أن السيل دخل دار قوم وذهب بأموالهم ومواشيهم فإنه عدو يغير عليهم أو بلاء يحل بهم”

In the Neapolitan smorfia, Rumeo's Nuova Smorfia (Naples, 1866) gives 'Inondazione di fiume, o di mare' (a river or sea flood) the number 62. The number is recorded as folk heritage of the lotto tradition; the list attaches no omen to it. Rumeo gives muddy water the same number.

Rumeo, Napoli 1866 · "Inondazione di fiume, o di mare", n. 62 / p. 81

“Inondazione di fiume, o di mare 62”

Serrano's Oraculo (Porto, 1883) reads a flood as sudden, unforeseen ruin and serious accidents. It is one of the book's flat misfortune entries, with no mitigating variant, and it stands against the clear-water dreams the same book reads as luck.

Serrano, Porto 1883 · "Inundação", p. 28

“Inundação: ruina imprevista, accidentes graves.”

The Zhougong list reads rivers and seas swelling and overflowing as very lucky and prosperous. Unlike modern flood fears, the book reads the rising water itself as abundance.

Zhou Gong Jie Meng (1880 print) · "江海漲漫", 水火盜賊燈燭第二十三, scan n240

“江海漲漫大吉昌”

The 1908 book split on high water. Seeing waters swell and brim it counted a good sign for everything, but a mountain collapsing with a great flood of water it called very unlucky (大凶). The difference is between water rising and water destroying.

Yume handan jikkensho (1908) · "水の漲る" / "山崩れて大水", koma 25, p. 22; koma 24, p. 21

“水の漲るを見れば百事吉兆”

The Golden Wheel counted dreaming of flying as a very excellent omen: for someone in love, a faithful sweetheart, and for someone who married, many children who would all do well and be happy. It gives no conditions and no unlucky branch.

Golden Wheel Dream-Book, 1862 · "FLYING" entry

“To dream you are flying is a very excellent omen”

Lebrecht's Egyptian dream book of 1870 read flying in the air as a journey ahead. Artemidorus also read flying at a middle height, from which one could make out things on the ground, as travel.

Lebrecht, 1870 · "Fliegen", S. 25

“Fliegen in der Luft: bevorstehende Reise.”

Góralczyk's 1875 sennik read flying through the air as pride punished: to raise oneself far above other people foretold a swift fall. It is a moral reading, the dream as a warning against arrogance.

Góralczyk, Kraków 1875 · "Latać po powietrzu", s. XII

“Latać po powietrzu we śnie, pychę ukaraną, znaczy”

In Lima and Huánuco, Valdizán and Maldonado recorded that dreaming of flying meant happiness. Cuzco read the same dream the opposite way, as loss of fortune, which makes flying one of the images on which their 1922 Peruvian table splits.

Valdizán & Maldonado, Lima 1922 · "Volando", Lima, Huánuco, p. 380

“Volando … Felicidad … Felicidad”

In the Neapolitan smorfia, Rumeo's Nuova Smorfia (Naples, 1866) gives 'volare sognando' (flying in a dream) the number 80. The number is recorded as folk heritage of the lotto tradition; the list attaches no omen to it.

Rumeo, Napoli 1866 · "volare sognando", n. 80 / p. 154

“volare sognando 80”

João Ribeiro's O Folk-lore (Rio, 1919) reports that dreaming of flying was read as a sign of growth or ambition, among the oldest dream readings, and that growth came to be associated with ambition. He also quotes an English chapbook calling such dreamers too presumptuous.

João Ribeiro, Rio 1919 · "Vôo", p. 147

“Ao crescimento associou-se a ambição”

The Lingshu of the Huangdi Neijing explains flying dreams by the body, not by omen: when the upper part of the body has an excess of qi, one dreams of flying, and when the lower part does, one dreams of falling. It gives no lucky or unlucky verdict.

Lingshu (Huangdi Neijing) · 靈樞·淫邪發夢

“上盛則夢飛，下盛則夢墮”

The 1908 book read riding the wind and racing across the sky as a sign of being deceived by someone. It is the book's plainest image of flying through the air, and it is not a lucky one.

Yume handan jikkensho (1908) · "風にのりて空をかける", koma 23, p. 18

“○風にのりて空をかけると見れば人に欺かるゝことあり”

In his "Coins" entry Miller read a dream of gold as great prosperity and much pleasure from sightseeing and ocean voyages. Silver, copper and nickel coins fare much worse in the same entry, which makes gold the one plainly lucky metal in it.

Miller, 1901 · "Coins" entry

“To dream of gold, denotes great prosperity and much pleasure derived from sight-seeing and ocean voyages.”

The interwar Najnowszy sennik egipski read gold with suspicion: vain hopes. The line is typical of the senniki's wariness of glittering things, and it disagrees with the 1914 book, which read finding gold as gain.

Najnowszy sennik egipski, 1937 · "Złoto", s. 71

“Złoto — próżne nadzieje.”

Nablusi opened his gold entry by calling gold in dreams a disliked thing and a loss of money. Wearing something made of gold, he wrote, means the dreamer marries into a family that is not his equal.

Nablusi, Ta'tir al-anam · "ذهب" entry, p. 127

“أنه لبس شيئاً من الذهب فإنه يصاهر قوماً غير أكفاء له”

In the Neapolitan smorfia, Rumeo's Nuova Smorfia (Naples, 1866) gives 'Oro' (gold) the number 62. The number is recorded as folk heritage of the lotto tradition; the list attaches no omen to it.

Rumeo, Napoli 1866 · "Oro", n. 62 / p. 104

“Oro 62”

Serrano's Oraculo (Porto, 1883) gives gold no single meaning: it depends on what the dreamer does with it. Making it, handling it or hoarding it is read badly, finding it well, and false gold, oddly, best of all.

Serrano, Porto 1883 · "Ouro", p. 34

“Ouro, fazel-o: tempo perdido.—Maneal-o: cólera.—Achal-o: lucro.”

The Zhou Gong dream list opens its section on gold, silver, pearls and jade by reading gold and silver treasure as wealth and rank. The next line calls gold, silver, pearls and jade together greatly lucky. The book gives no reasons; the precious metal simply stands for prosperity.

Zhou Gong Jie Meng (1880 print) · "金銀寶者", 金銀珠玉絹帛, leaf n227

“金銀寶者主富貴”

The Golden Wheel read hair that had fallen off, or grown extremely thin, as a bad omen that foreshadowed sickness and perhaps death. The same entry read thick, bushy hair the other way, as a sign of growing rich or powerful.

Golden Wheel Dream-Book, 1862 · "HAIR" entry

“if, in your dream, you imagine that your hair has fallen off, or that it has become extremely thin, it is a bad omen”

The interwar Najnowszy sennik egipski read hair falling out as the loss of a friend. It is one clause in a long entry on hair, which reads tangled black hair as misfortune and smooth hair as a new friendship.

Najnowszy sennik egipski, 1937 · "Włosy … wypadające", s. 55

“wypadające — strata przyjaciela.”

Rumeo's Spiegazione dei sogni read hair falling from the head as the loss of friends, 'perdita d'amici'. The number list has no headword for this scene, so the dream key is the smorfia book's only reading of it.

Rumeo, Napoli 1866 · "capelli cadere di capo", Spiegazione dei sogni / p. 206

“capelli cadere di capo, denota perdita d'amici”

Fallen hair is read by Serrano's Oraculo (Porto, 1883) as the loss of friends. As with teeth, the old key reads what falls from the head as people falling away.

Serrano, Porto 1883 · "Cabellos", p. 13

“Caídos: perda de amigos.”

The Zhou Gong dream list reads a bald head and falling hair as unlucky in every case. The line is short and gives no reason. A nearby line reads hair growing back on the head and beard as long life, the opposite verdict.

Zhou Gong Jie Meng (1880 print) · "頭禿髮落", 身體面目齒髮, leaf n220

“頭禿髮落皆凶事”

The 1908 book read hair falling out as foretelling misfortune for one's children and descendants. A later line read hair that turns white and falls as sorrow, and for an old person as a sign that death is near.

Yume handan jikkensho (1908) · "髪落つる", koma 29, p. 31

“○髪落つるとみれば子孫の凶事を主どる”

Miller's very long horse entry branches by colour, rider and mishap, but its plain line is warm: to dream of horses, he wrote, meant amassing wealth and enjoying life to the full. Most mishaps with the horse, in his reading, bring setbacks.

Miller, 1901 · "Horse" entry

“To dream of horses, you will amass wealth and enjoy life to its fullest extent.”

Lebrecht's Egyptian dream book of 1870 read seeing a horse or horses as good in general, then gave some fifteen variants by colour, condition and what the horse did. Like every entry in this folk dictionary, it is a single line that states the reading without any reasoning.

Lebrecht, 1870 · "Pferd", S. 57

“Pferd oder Pferde sehen im Allgemeinen: bedeutet Gutes.”

Góralczyk's 1875 sennik read horses in a dream as a warning to beware of horse thieves, who meant to steal the dreamer's horses or draw him into their company. (The Polona OCR misreads the headword "Konie" as "Monie"; the quote follows it.)

Góralczyk, Kraków 1875 · "Konie", s. X

“śniące się, ostrzegają, żeby unikać końskich złodziei”

Nablusi read riding a horse, for one fit to ride, as honour, standing and wealth. It may also mean befriending a generous man, or travelling. A stallion means protection from an enemy, and a mare, for an unmarried man, a noble, wealthy wife.

Nablusi, Ta'tir al-anam · "خيل" entry, p. 99

“فإن رأى أنه راكب على فرس وكان ممن يليق به ركوب … الخيل نال عزاً وجاهاً ومالاً”

In the Neapolitan smorfia, Rumeo's Nuova Smorfia (Naples, 1866) gives 'cavallo' (a horse) the number 20. The number is recorded as folk heritage of the lotto tradition; the list attaches no omen to it.

Rumeo, Napoli 1866 · "cavallo", n. 20 / p. 163

“cavallo 20”

Serrano's Oraculo (Porto, 1883) opens its horse entry with a happy omen. The horse is one of the book's lucky animals; most of its variants are favourable, and the bad ones hang on colour, lameness, company or another rider.

Serrano, Porto 1883 · "Cavallo", p. 15

“Cavallo: feliz agouro.”

Miller read dreaming of bugs as disgusting, revolting complications rising in daily life: families suffering from careless servants, and sickness possibly following. Most of his separate insect entries run the same way, towards petty enemies and small ills.

Miller, 1901 · "Bugs" entry

“To dream of bugs denotes that some disgustingly revolting complications will rise in your daily life.”

Artemidorus read mosquitoes, gnats and similar small creatures as the company of bad people who would cause the dreamer harm and bring them into ill repute. He treated winged insects alongside the birds.

Artemidorus (Krauss 1881) · "Buch III, Kap. VIII", S. 200

The Barcelona edition of Collin de Plancy's Diccionario infernal (1842) gave bumblebees (abejorros) a single word: importunities, that is, nuisances and pestering. It is the only insect in the book's short list of dream meanings, which the author dismisses as the extravagances of dream interpreters.

Collin de Plancy, Barcelona 1842 · "ABEJORROS", Barcelona ed., p. 286

“ABEJORROS; importunidades.”

In the Neapolitan smorfia, Rumeo's Nuova Smorfia (Naples, 1866) gives 'insetto qualunque' (any insect whatever) the number 17. The number is recorded as folk heritage of the lotto tradition; the list attaches no omen to it.

Rumeo, Napoli 1866 · "insetto qualunque", number list

“insetto qualunque 17”

Serrano's Oraculo (Porto, 1883) has no headword for insects in general. Its small biting creatures are fleas, read as annoyance, displeasure and discomfort: small troubles rather than misfortune.

Serrano, Porto 1883 · "Pulgas" entry

“Pulgas: aborrecimento, dissabor, incommodo.”

Chen Shiyuan's 1562 catalogue opens its chapter on turtles, fish, flies and ants by saying all of them take their breath from yin and yang and their form from water and earth, so each kind of creature in a dream follows its own class.

Chen Shiyuan, Mengzhan yizhi (1562) · 卷八 龜魚篇, opening

“龜魚蠅蟻之屬莫不稟氣於陰陽”

Miller read a dream of lice as carrying much waking worry and distress, and often as implying offensive ailments. His separate "Louse" entry reads a single louse as uneasiness about one's health and exasperating vexation from an enemy.

Miller, 1901 · "Lice" entry

“A dream of lice contains much waking worry and distress. It often implies offensive ailments.”

Lebrecht's Egyptian dream book of 1870 read seeing lice as better times coming, and having them on oneself as wealth. As usual in this dictionary, the entry gives the reading in a few words and adds no explanation or qualification.

Lebrecht, 1870 · "Läuse", S. 45

“Läuse sehen: bessere Zeiten werden kommen.”

The interwar Najnowszy sennik egipski read a louse with a single word: money. It is one of the folk dream books' best-known inversions, in which vermin stand for riches. The interwar book gives no reasoning for this clause; like the rest of its dictionary, it simply sets the scene against its meaning.

Najnowszy sennik egipski, 1937 · "Wesz", s. 54

“Wesz — pieniądze.”

Nablusi read killing lice as the dreamer's release from every worry. In the same passage he says that killing them means relief for someone in distress, and cutting a louse in two means being kind to one's dependants.

Nablusi, Ta'tir al-anam · "قمل" entry, p. 285

“قملاً وهو يقتلها فهي تدل على خلاصه من كل هم”

In Santiago de Chile, Vicuña Cifuentes recorded that whoever dreams of lice will receive money. The belief reads an unpleasant image as a sign of gain; in the same list, dreams of wheat and of flowers were also said to bring money.

Vicuña Cifuentes, Santiago 1915 · "piojos" no. 314, Santiago, p. 212

“El que sueña con piojos, recibirá dinero.”

Rumeo's Spiegazione dei sogni read having lice as shame and poverty. It is a plain, one-line reading in the key. Like every entry in Rumeo's dream key, it is a single line: the image, then 'denota' and the meaning, with no reason given.

Rumeo, Napoli 1866 · "avere pidocchi", Spiegazione dei sogni / p. 205

“avere pidocchi, denota vergogna, e povertà”

Lebrecht's Egyptian dream book of 1870 read having or seeing money as getting into difficulties, then gave half a dozen variants for what the dreamer did with it. Like every entry in this folk dictionary, it is a single line that states the reading without any reasoning.

Lebrecht, 1870 · "Geld", S. 28

“Geld haben oder sehen: in Verlegenheit kommen.”

Nablusi wrote that dreaming of taking dirhams is better than dreaming of paying them out. Good, sound dirhams stand for knowledge, fine words, a need fulfilled or prayer. Taking dinars in a dream means being entrusted with a trust.

Nablusi, Ta'tir al-anam · "درهم" entry, p. 113

“ورؤيا أخذ الدراهم خير من دفعها”

In Lima and Arequipa, Valdizán and Maldonado recorded that dreaming of money meant poverty. The two cities, the only regions in their 1922 table with an entry, agree on this reading by contraries, which the Chilean and New Mexican collections also record.

Valdizán & Maldonado, Lima 1922 · "Dinero", Lima, Arequipa, p. 380

“Dinero … Pobreza … Pobreza”

In the Neapolitan smorfia, Rumeo's Nuova Smorfia (Naples, 1866) gives 'danaro qualunque' (any money) the number 26. The number is recorded as folk heritage of the lotto tradition; the list attaches no omen to it. The coin headword 'moneta qualunque' on p. 96 has the same number.

Rumeo, Napoli 1866 · "danaro qualunque", n. 26 / p. 53

“danaro qualunque 26”

Merely seeing money is read by Serrano's Oraculo (Porto, 1883) as anger. The book's money entry turns on what the dreamer does: counting and finding are lucky, spending is loss, and simply looking at money is irritation.

Serrano, Porto 1883 · "Dinheiro", p. 21

“Vel-o sómente: cólera.”

The Zhou Gong dream list reads money by the season of the dream: coins are lucky in spring and summer and unlucky in autumn and winter. It is one of the few lines in the book where the time of year decides the verdict.

Zhou Gong Jie Meng (1880 print) · "錢春夏", 金銀珠玉絹帛, leaf n228

“錢春夏吉秋冬凶”

The 1906 Japanese translation of 夢林玄解 marked coins as 貞吉否凶, lucky for the upright and unlucky otherwise, and then branched: scattered coins meant a skin disease, having not a single coin meant failure, and strung coins meant connections.

Yume handan (1906) · "錢", koma 317, p. 584

“錢〔貞吉否凶〕錢の夢”

Miller read seeing an owl as being secretly maligned and in danger from enemies. His owl entry, and his separate "Screech-owl" entry, keep the bird's old association with bad news, illness and death.

Miller, 1901 · "Owl" entry

“To see an owl, foretells that you will be secretly maligned and be in danger from enemies.”

Artemidorus read the owls and other night birds as standstill in business but freedom from fear, since night birds neither hunt by day nor feed on flesh; for travellers by sea or land, seeing one meant a great storm or highway robbers.

Artemidorus (Krauss 1881) · "Buch III, Kap. LXV", S. 227

“bedeuten in Bezug auf Geschäfte Stillstand derselben und was Befürchtungen anbetrifft, Furchtlosigkeit”

The interwar Najnowszy sennik egipski read the owl in two words: a bad sign. It is the terse line behind the folk view of the owl as a bird of ill omen in Polish dream books.

Najnowszy sennik egipski, 1937 · "Sowa", s. 42

“Sowa — zły znak.”

In the Neapolitan smorfia, Rumeo's Nuova Smorfia (Naples, 1866) gives 'civetta' (the little owl) the number 37. The number is recorded as folk heritage of the lotto tradition; the list attaches no omen to it.

Rumeo, Napoli 1866 · "civetta", n. 37 / p. 163

“civetta 37”

Serrano's Oraculo (Porto, 1883) reads the owl as disaster or misfortune, keeping the bird's old reputation as an ill omen. All three owl lines in the book, seen, flying and hooting, are unfavourable.

Serrano, Porto 1883 · "Coruja", p. 19

“Coruja: desastre ou desgraça”

Chen Shiyuan's 1562 catalogue sorts birds by their nature: the phoenix is auspicious, the magpie a bird of joy, and the chi and fu, owl-type birds, are birds of ill omen. It is a classification, not a reading of a particular dream.

Chen Shiyuan, Mengzhan yizhi (1562) · 外篇 鳳鳥篇

“鴟、鵩爲妖鳥”

The Golden Wheel Dream-Book read seeing pigs as good: for someone in trade, a great increase of business from abroad; for someone in love, a sweetheart of good temper, faithful and sincere.

Golden Wheel Dream-Book, 1862 · "PIGS" entry

“if you are in trade you will have great increase in your business from foreign parts”

Lebrecht's Egyptian dream book of 1870 read seeing a pig as gaining spongers for friends: people who attach themselves for what they can get.

Lebrecht, 1870 · "Schwein sehen", S. 68

The old pre-1900 sennik read a pig as a lawsuit ("proces"). The rest of the line is garbled in the OCR and seems to name the other party (apparently a Prussian), so only the lawsuit is reported. Like all its lines, it gives no reasoning.

Stary sennik (pre-1900) · "Świnia", djvu text l. 6648

In the Neapolitan smorfia, Rumeo's Nuova Smorfia (Naples, 1866) gives 'porco e porci' (the pig, pigs) the number 4. The number is recorded as folk heritage of the lotto tradition; the book attaches no omen to the pig.

Rumeo, Napoli 1866 · "porco e porci", Nomi di animali, p. 166

Serrano's Oraculo (Porto, 1883) reads the pig as a person: someone idle, lazy and miserly. It is a reading of character, not of fortune, quite unlike the Golden Wheel's increase in trade.

Serrano, Porto 1883 · "Porco" entry

“Porco: pessoa ociosa, preguiçosa, avara.”

Chen Shiyuan's 1562 catalogue says the pig, the dog and the sheep are all farm animals, yet their dream omens differ. He lists pig dreams of emperors and rebels, such as a red hog descending and a pig turning into a turtle.

Chen Shiyuan, Mengzhan yizhi (1562) · 卷七 獸群篇

“若夫坎豕、艮狗、兑羊，亦皆家畜，而夢兆不同”

In its section on buildings, the 1908 book read seeing a pigsty as a sign of gaining wealth and of peace in the household. It is the book's only plain pig entry.

Yume handan jikkensho (1908) · "豚小屋をみれば", koma 44

“○豚小屋をみれば財を得又一家平和の兆”

Artemidorus read rain without storm or strong wind as good for everyone, except those being sent abroad and those whose work is under the open sky, for whom it means hindrance.

Artemidorus (Krauss 1881) · Buch II, Kap. VIII, S. 104

“Ein Regen ohne Sturm und grossen Wind bringt Allen Gutes”

In Valdizán and Maldonado's table of Peruvian dream beliefs, the row for rain is filled in only for Arequipa, where it reads "Llanto": weeping. The other five regions leave it blank. The reading follows the old likeness between falling rain and falling tears.

Valdizán & Maldonado, Lima 1922 · "La lluvia", Arequipa, p. 380

In the Neapolitan smorfia, Rumeo's Nuova Smorfia (Naples, 1866) gives 'pioggia' (rain) the number 12. The number is recorded as folk heritage of the lotto tradition; the list attaches no omen to it, and the Spiegazione has no line for dreaming of rain.

Rumeo, Napoli 1866 · "Pioggia", number list, p. 113

Chen Shiyuan's 1562 catalogue opens its chapter on thunder and rain by sorting the weather into signs: wind and thunder stand for commands from above, and rain stands for grace and favour bestowed. Rain in this reading is a gift, not a threat.

Chen Shiyuan, Mengzhan yizhi (1562) · 卷三 雷雨篇, opening

“風雷爲號令，雨爲恩澤”

The 1908 book read praying for fine weather or for rain as a sign of rising in the world. The 1906 translation of 夢林玄解 gives the same reading under 祈晴禱雨 (koma 177).

Yume handan jikkensho (1908) · "晴を祈り又は雨を祈る", koma 51

Miller read a dream of rats as being deceived and injured by one's neighbours, with quarrels among companions also foreshadowed. His entry refers the reader on to "Mice", which he read as domestic troubles and insincere friends.

Miller, 1901 · "Rat" entry

“To dream of rats, denotes that you will be deceived, and injured by your neighbors.”

Lebrecht's Egyptian dream book of 1870 read seeing rats as receiving an unpleasant visit. Artemidorus has no rat entry; his nearest is the mouse. The book lists it as one short line in its alphabetical register, with no comment on who the dreamer is or why.

Lebrecht, 1870 · "Ratten", S. 60

“Ratten sehen: unangenehmen Besuch erhalten.”

The 1914 Warsaw sennik read seeing rats as scheming, underhanded people, and killing them as improving one's household. The 1914 dictionary gives no reasoning for this clause, in keeping with its alphabetical format of some six thousand dreams.

Sennik, Warszawa 1914 · "Szczury widzieć", s. 68

“Szczury widzieć, podstępni ludzie”

The Barcelona edition of Collin de Plancy's Diccionario infernal (1842), in its short list of dream meanings 'according to the known books', read mice (ratones) as hidden enemies. The entry is one line, and the book dismisses the whole list as the extravagances of dream interpreters.

Collin de Plancy, Barcelona 1842 · "RATONES", Barcelona ed., p. 287

“RATONES; enemigos ocultos.”

In the Neapolitan smorfia, Rumeo's Nuova Smorfia (Naples, 1866) gives 'sorcio e sorci, (SORECE)' (a mouse or rat, 'sorece' in Neapolitan) the number 11. The number is recorded as folk heritage of the lotto tradition; the list attaches no omen to it.

Rumeo, Napoli 1866 · "sorcio e sorci, (SORECE)", n. 11 / p. 167

“sorcio e sorci, (SORECE) 11”

Serrano's Oraculo (Porto, 1883) reads the rat as a hidden and dangerous enemy. The book gives no variants for colour or number, and Mattos's Lisbon chapbook repeats the same line.

Serrano, Porto 1883 · "Rato", p. 38

“Rato: inimigo occulto e perigoso.”

Miller read a dream of a scorpion as false friends seizing their opportunities to undermine the dreamer's prosperity. His entry is short and turns on a single condition: whether or not the dreamer managed to kill the creature.

Miller, 1901 · "Scorpion" entry

“To dream of a scorpion, foretells that false friends will improve opportunities to undermine your prosperity.”

Artemidorus read venomous spiders, scorpions and centipedes together as wicked people, closing his chapter on snakes and other creeping creatures with them. He adds nothing more specific about the scorpion itself anywhere in the five books.

Artemidorus (Krauss 1881) · "Buch II, Kap. XIII", S. 123

“Giftspinnen, Scorpione und Tausendfüsse bedeuten ruchlose Menschen.”

Nablusi gave two readings of a scorpion's sting. In one view, the sting is wealth that comes to the dreamer but does not stay in his hand. In the other, being struck by a scorpion means an enemy slanders him or harms him to the same degree.

Nablusi, Ta'tir al-anam · "عقرب" entry, p. 251

“ولدغ العقرب فضل يصير إليه ولا يبقى في يده”

The Barcelona edition of Collin de Plancy's Diccionario infernal (1842) grouped scorpions with lizards and similar creatures, reading all of them as misfortunes and betrayals. The entry is one line in the book's short list of dream meanings 'according to the known books'.

Collin de Plancy, Barcelona 1842 · "ESCORPIONES, LAGARTOS", Barcelona ed., p. 287

“ESCORPIONES, LAGARTOS, etc. desgracias y traiciones.”

In the Neapolitan smorfia, Rumeo's Nuova Smorfia (Naples, 1866) gives 'scorpione' (a scorpion) the number 84. The number is recorded as folk heritage of the lotto tradition; the list attaches no omen to it.

Rumeo, Napoli 1866 · "scorpione", n. 84 / p. 167

“scorpione 84”

Serrano's Oraculo (Porto, 1883) reads the scorpion as traps and misfortunes. It gives no variants for colour, sting or number; the scorpion is simply one of the book's ambush animals.

Serrano, Porto 1883 · "Escorpião", p. 22

“Escorpião: ciladas e infortunios.”

Miller opened his long snake entry bluntly: a dream of snakes, in his reading, forewarned of evil in all its forms and stages. Almost every branch of the entry that follows is read as enemies, sickness or deceit, unless the dreamer overcomes the snake.

Miller, 1901 · "Snakes" entry

“To dream of snakes, is a foreboding of evil in its various forms and stages.”

Artemidorus read the snake as a creeping illness and an enemy. Whatever the snake did to the dreamer in the dream, he said, the illness or the enemy would do to him in the same manner, so the scene itself decided the reading.

Artemidorus (Krauss 1881) · "Buch II, Kap. XIII", S. 122

“Die Schlange bedeutet eine schleichende Krankheit und einen Feind. So wie sie nun Jemand zurichtet, so wird auch die Krankheit … den Träumenden zurichten.”

The old pre-1900 sennik gave the snake its classic terse line: human malice, or a woman's betrayal. Every later Polish sennik consulted repeats it in some form. The old book gives no reasoning for the reading; like all its lines, it sets scene and meaning side by side, divided by a colon.

Stary sennik (pre-1900) · "Wąż", s. n79

“Wąż: złośliwość ludzka lub zdrada kobiety”

Nablusi read the snake above all as an enemy, often a powerful man who hides his hostility, and he graded snakes by colour. The black ones, he wrote, are the most cunning, the most venomous and the most malicious of these enemies.

Nablusi, Ta'tir al-anam · "حية" entry, p. 97

“والسود منها أشد كيداً وسماً ونكراً”

In Lima, the table of dream readings compiled by Valdizán and Maldonado recorded toads or snakes as a sign of money. The same row gives the opposite, conjugal infidelity, for Cuzco; no other Peruvian region they surveyed has an entry for the image.

Valdizán & Maldonado, Lima 1922 · "Sapos o culebras", Lima, p. 380

“Sapos o culebras … Dinero”

In the Neapolitan smorfia, Rumeo's Nuova Smorfia (Naples, 1866) gives 'serpe e serpi o serpenti q.' (a snake or snakes of any kind) the number 89. The number is recorded as folk heritage of the lotto tradition; the list attaches no omen to it. Rumeo gives Death in person the same number.

Rumeo, Napoli 1866 · "serpe e serpi o serpenti q.", n. 89 / p. 167

“serpe e serpi o serpenti q. 89”

Serrano's Oraculo (Porto, 1883) gives the bare snake a single, terse meaning: seduction close at hand. The Porto book, a Portuguese version of the French dream-key tradition, reads the serpent as temptation rather than as an enemy; lasting enmity belongs to its separate viper entry.

Serrano, Porto 1883 · "Serpente", p. 40

“Serpente: seducção proxima.”

The Shijing ode Sigan lists snakes among the auspicious dreams. A diviner reads them: bears foretell sons, and small and large snakes are the omen of a daughter. So the oldest Chinese dream verdict on the snake is a birth omen, not a threat.

Shijing (Book of Songs) · 小雅·斯干, "維虺維蛇"

“維虺維蛇，女子之祥。”

The 1908 book opened its snake entries with a marriage reading: a man who sees a snake gains a beautiful wife, and a woman gains a good husband. It counted the plain sight of a snake as a lucky sign, with no hint of the enemy reading found in Western dream books.

Yume handan jikkensho (1908) · "蛇をみれば", koma 68, p. 109

“○蛇をみれば美婦を得婦人は良夫を得るの兆”

Miller was kinder to the spider than to most creatures: he read dreaming of one as the dreamer being careful and energetic in their work, with a fortune amassed to pleasing proportions. Bites, killing and flight are the branches of his entry that turn bad.

Miller, 1901 · "Spider" entry

“To dream of a spider, denotes that you will be careful and energetic in your labors, and fortune will be amassed to pleasing proportions.”

Artemidorus read venomous spiders, along with scorpions and centipedes, as wicked people. Elsewhere he placed spiders among the small creatures that mean petty, contemptible people who can still do harm.

Artemidorus (Krauss 1881) · "Buch II, Kap. XIII", S. 123

“Giftspinnen, Scorpione und Tausendfüsse bedeuten ruchlose Menschen.”

The interwar Najnowszy sennik egipski read the spider in one word, betrayal, and killing a spider as revulsion towards certain people. The interwar book gives no reasoning for this clause; like the rest of its dictionary, it simply sets the scene against its meaning.

Najnowszy sennik egipski, 1937 · "Pająk", s. 30

“Pająk — zdrada”

Nablusi read a spider's web and weaving as weakness and frailty, citing the Qur'an: the frailest of houses is the spider's house. The spider can also mean a woman who works sorcery, or knowledge of weaving.

Nablusi, Ta'tir al-anam · "عنكبوت" entry, p. 251

“بيت العنكبوت ونسجها ضعف ووهن”

In the Neapolitan smorfia, Rumeo's Nuova Smorfia (Naples, 1866) gives 'ragno e ragni' (a spider or spiders) the number 34. The number is recorded as folk heritage of the lotto tradition; the list attaches no omen to it.

Rumeo, Napoli 1866 · "ragno e ragni", n. 34 / p. 167

“ragno e ragni 34”

Serrano's Oraculo (Porto, 1883) reads the spider as a sum of money in proportion to its fatness: the plumper the spider, the larger the sum. It is one of the book's money animals.

Serrano, Porto 1883 · "Aranha", p. 7

“Aranha: somma de dinheiro proporcionada á sua gordura.”

The 1908 book read seeing a spider as a sign that the dreamer would be taken into someone's service or trusted with work, and that a person being waited for would arrive. It is the first of the book's two spider entries, and the only favourable one.

Yume handan jikkensho (1908) · "蜘蛛をみれば", koma 69, p. 110

“○蜘蛛をみれば人に用ひらるゝの兆待つ人は來るべし”

Miller read seeing and hearing a storm approach as continued sickness, poor business and separation from friends, adding to the dreamer's distress. If the storm passed over without breaking, he wrote, the affliction would not be so heavy.

Miller, 1901 · "Storm" entry

“To see and hear a storm approaching, foretells continued sickness, unfavorable business, and separation from friends”

Artemidorus read a downpour, a whirlwind or a storm as bringing dangers and losses, except for slaves, the poor and people in difficulty, to whom it promised release from their troubles, since fine weather follows great storms.

Artemidorus (Krauss 1881) · "Buch II, Kap. VIII", S. 104

“Dagegen zieht ein Regenguss, ein Wirbelwind und ein Sturm, Gefahren und Verluste nach sich”

The interwar Najnowszy sennik egipski read a storm in three words: a great misfortune. The 1914 book has no storm headword, only thunder, lightning and hail. The interwar book gives no reasoning for this clause; like the rest of its dictionary, it simply sets the scene against its meaning.

Najnowszy sennik egipski, 1937 · "Burza", s. 9

“Burza — wielkie nieszczęście.”

In Santiago de Chile, Vicuña Cifuentes recorded that when one dreams of black storm clouds there is reason to fear great misfortunes. The entry follows directly on the one about muddy water, which in Santiago also foretold trouble of every kind.

Vicuña Cifuentes, Santiago 1915 · "nubes negras de tempestad" no. 325, Santiago, p. 212

“Cuando se sueña con nubes negras de tempestad, hay motivo para temer grandes desgracias.”

Rumeo's Spiegazione dei sogni read being troubled by bad weather as being ambushed, 'essere insidiato'. Like every entry in Rumeo's dream key, it is a single line: the image, then 'denota' and the meaning, with no reason given.

Rumeo, Napoli 1866 · "esser turbato da tempo cattivo", Spiegazione dei sogni / p. 208

“esser turbato da tempo cattivo, denota essere insidiato”

Mattos's Lisbon chapbook Nova collecção de sonhos (188-?) reads a storm as deceits woven against one's good faith, and seeing one as outrage and great danger. The Porto book has no storm headword.

Mattos, Lisboa 188-? · "Tempestade", p. 8

“Tempestade—embustes tecidos á nossa boa fé.”

The Lingshu of the Huangdi Neijing explains storm dreams by the body: when a harmful qi settles in the spleen, one dreams of hills and great marshes, and of houses ruined by wind and rain. It is a medical account, not an omen.

Lingshu (Huangdi Neijing) · 靈樞·淫邪發夢

“客於脾，則夢見邱陵大澤，壞屋風雨”

Miller began his long teeth entry by reading any ordinary dream of teeth as an unpleasant brush with sickness or with disquieting people. Losing one's teeth he read as burdens that would crush the dreamer's pride and wreck their affairs.

Miller, 1901 · "Teeth" entry

“If you lose your teeth, you will have burdens which will crush your pride and demolish your affairs.”

Artemidorus treated the mouth as a house and the teeth as the people living in it. A tooth the dreamer lost therefore stood for the loss of the person it symbolised, though he also let teeth stand for possessions and for everyday activities.

Artemidorus (Krauss 1881) · "Buch I, Kap. XXXI", S. 39

“Der Zahn nun, den Einer zu verlieren träumt, zeigt den Verlust eines Menschen an, dessen Symbol er ist.”

The old pre-1900 sennik read seeing teeth fall out as a death in the family. It is the Polish senniki's classic, grave reading of the dream, softened in the later books.

Stary sennik (pre-1900) · "Zęby wypadające widzieć", s. n87

“Zęby wypadające widzieć: śmierć w familii”

Nablusi read the teeth as the dreamer's household. The upper teeth are the men on his father's side and the lower teeth the women on his mother's side, with the front teeth the closest kin. What happens to a tooth is read as happening to that relative.

Nablusi, Ta'tir al-anam · "سن" entry, p. 180

“فالعليا هم الرجال من جهة أبيه والسفلى هن النساء من جهة أمه”

In the Neapolitan smorfia, Rumeo's Nuova Smorfia (Naples, 1866) gives 'Dente e denti' (a tooth or teeth; the list has no separate 'falling teeth' headword) the number 35. The number is recorded as folk heritage of the lotto tradition; the list attaches no omen to it.

Rumeo, Napoli 1866 · "Dente e denti", n. 35 / p. 54

“Dente e denti 35”

The Zhou Gong dream list reads teeth falling out by themselves as misfortune for the dreamer's father and mother. It is the book's only plain tooth-loss line, and it names the parents rather than the dreamer. The very next line softens it: teeth that grow back are lucky.

Zhou Gong Jie Meng (1880 print) · "齒自落者", 身體面目齒髮, leaf n221

“齒自落者父母凶”

The Golden Wheel read tigers as treachery in both of its branches: a tiger in a rage meant a treacherous friend endangering the dreamer's reputation, and a sleeping or quiet tiger meant soon meeting a treacherous or unworthy person.

Golden Wheel Dream-Book, 1862 · "TIGER" entry

“to see, in your dream, a sleeping or quiet tiger, foretells that you will soon make the acquaintance of a treacherous or unworthy person.”

Artemidorus mentions the tiger only once, among the proud, freedom-loving, energetic and fearsome animals such as the lion and panther, which signify people of the same stamp; he gives it no chapter of its own.

Artemidorus (Krauss 1881) · "Buch IV, Kap. LVI", S. 273

“So weissagen grossmüthige, freiheitsliebende, thatkräftige und furchtbare Thiere, z. B. der Löwe, der Tiger, der Panther”

The 1914 Warsaw sennik read seeing a tiger as meeting an invincible enemy. The 1914 dictionary gives no reasoning for this clause, in keeping with its alphabetical format of some six thousand dreams.

Sennik, Warszawa 1914 · "Tygrysa widzieć", s. 73

“Tygrysa widzieć, nieprzezwyciężonego wroga napotkasz.”

Serrano's Oraculo (Porto, 1883) reads the tiger as an envious, furious and irreconcilable enemy. The book has no tiger variants; the single line stacks three hostile traits onto one figure.

Serrano, Porto 1883 · "Tigre", p. 41

“Tigre: inimigo invejoso, furioso, irreconciliavel.”

The Zhou Gong dream list reads a fierce tiger roaring loudly as gaining an official post. The tiger in this book is mostly a sign of rank and power, and nearly all its tiger lines are lucky.

Zhou Gong Jie Meng (1880 print) · "猛虎大吼", 龍蛇禽獸等類, leaf n243

“猛虎大吼主得官”

The 1908 book opened its animal section with the tiger and read it well: seeing a tiger brings profit in every matter, and a woman who sees one will bear a child of heroic character. The tiger comes right after the qilin (麒麟) in the book's list.

Yume handan jikkensho (1908) · "虎をみれば", koma 63, p. 98

“○虎をみれば百事に利あり婦人は豪傑の子を得るの兆”

Miller read seeing turtles as an unusual incident that would bring enjoyment and improve the dreamer's business. His entry is short and entirely mild.

Miller, 1901 · "Turtle" entry

“To dream of seeing turtles, signifies that an unusual incident will cause you enjoyment, and improve your business conditions.”

Lebrecht's Egyptian dream book of 1870 read seeing a tortoise as reaching one's goal only very slowly: the goal is reached, but late. It is the book's only tortoise line.

Lebrecht, 1870 · "Schildkröte sehen", S. 65

The old pre-1900 sennik read a turtle as the lazy, sluggish running of one's business or enterprise. It is the book's single turtle line and makes the animal's slowness the whole meaning. Like all its lines, it gives no reasoning.

Stary sennik (pre-1900) · "Żółw", djvu text l. 8137

“Żółw: leniwe prowadzenie przedsiębiorstwa”

In the Neapolitan smorfia, Rumeo's Nuova Smorfia (Naples, 1866) gives the land tortoise, 'testuccine e testuggini di terra', the number 72. The number is recorded as folk heritage of the lotto tradition; the book attaches no omen to the tortoise anywhere.

Rumeo, Napoli 1866 · "testuccine e testuggini di terra", Nomi di animali, p. 168

Serrano's Oraculo (Porto, 1883) reads the turtle as a secret enemy: the slow, armoured animal stands for hostility that does not show itself. It is the opposite of Miller's and the Golden Wheel's gentle readings.

Serrano, Porto 1883 · "Tartaruga" entry

“Tartaruga: inimigo secreto.”

The Zhou Gong dream list reads seeing a turtle as a woman of the house becoming honoured. Another line in the same section reads a turtle and a snake facing each other as wealth arising.

Zhou Gong Jie Meng (1880 print) · "見龜者", 龜鱉魚蝦昆蟲第二十七, leaf n244

“見龜者主女人貴”

The 1906 Japanese translation of 夢林玄解 counted the turtle among the four sacred animals and read it by the dreamer: someone in hardship who endures would later be happy, a proud person would meet unexpected misfortune; lucky for good people, and a sign of long life.

Yume handan (1906) · "龜", koma 288, p. 527

“困難の中にある人忍耐すれば後に幸福となり”

Miller read attending a wedding in a dream as an approaching occasion that would bring the dreamer bitterness and delayed success. His long entry, cross-referred to "Marriage" and "Bride", treats most wedding scenes as warnings.

Miller, 1901 · "Wedding" entry

“To attend a wedding in your dream, you will speedily find that there is approaching you an occasion which will cause you bitterness”

Lebrecht's Egyptian dream book of 1870 read seeing a wedding or being invited to one as the prospect of hours full of sorrow. Like Artemidorus, the folk book treats a dreamed wedding with suspicion rather than as a happy omen.

Lebrecht, 1870 · "Hochzeit", S. 34

“Hochzeit sehen oder dazu geladen sein: Aussicht auf Stunden voll Kummer.”

The interwar Najnowszy sennik egipski read a wedding in one word: joy. The interwar book gives no reasoning for this clause; like the rest of its dictionary, it simply sets the scene against its meaning.

Najnowszy sennik egipski, 1937 · "Wesele", s. 54

“Wesele — radość.”

Nablusi read marrying in a dream as gaining authority in proportion to the woman: her merit, her standing, the meaning of her name and her beauty. An adorned bride, in the same entry, means a fertile, prosperous world.

Nablusi, Ta'tir al-anam · "عروس" entry, p. 238

“وإذا رأى أنه تزوج أصاب سلطاناً بقدر المرأة وفضلها وخطرها”

In Santiago de Chile, Vicuña Cifuentes recorded that dreaming of a marriage was an omen of death. It is the reverse of his other Santiago belief, that dreaming of death brings news of a wedding, and he cited a New Mexican parallel.

Vicuña Cifuentes, Santiago 1915 · "matrimonio" no. 553, Santiago, p. 250

“Soñar con matrimonio es presagio de muerte.”

Rumeo's Spiegazione dei sogni read making a marriage as a blessed time, 'tempo beato'. Being married, in another entry, is read as danger, so the key reads the wedding and the married state differently.

Rumeo, Napoli 1866 · "fare un matrimonio", Spiegazione dei sogni / p. 209

“fare un matrimonio, denota tempo beato”

A wedding feast is read by Serrano's Oraculo (Porto, 1883) as a small satisfaction. The book is notably restrained: the wedding is pleasant, but it is not read as a great omen.

Serrano, Porto 1883 · "Bodas", p. 11

“Bodas: pequena satisfação.”

Miller read a dream of a wolf as a sign that the dreamer employed a thieving person who would also betray secrets. His short entry treats the wolf throughout as an enemy close at hand, to be found out or defeated.

Miller, 1901 · "Wolf" entry

“To dream of a wolf, shows that you have a thieving person in your employ, who will also betray secrets.”

Artemidorus read the wolf, by a play on its Greek name, as the year, and also as a violent, rapacious enemy who attacks openly, unlike the fox, which meant hidden enemies.

Artemidorus (Krauss 1881) · "Buch II, Kap. XII", S. 119

“Auch bedeutet er einen gewaltthätigen, räuberischen und offen anfallenden Feind.”

The 1914 Warsaw sennik read catching sight of a wolf as an enemy lying in wait for the dreamer's domestic happiness. The 1914 dictionary gives no reasoning for this clause, in keeping with its alphabetical format of some six thousand dreams.

Sennik, Warszawa 1914 · "Wilka zoczyć", s. 78

“Wilka zoczyć, wróg dybie na twoje szczęście domowe.”

Nablusi read a wolf in the dreamer's house as a thief entering it. If the dreamer knows the wolf is in his house, he sees the thief. A wolf and a dog seen together in agreement mean hypocrisy, scheming and deceit.

Nablusi, Ta'tir al-anam · "ذئب" entry, p. 127

“فمن رأى في داره ذئباً فإن اللص يدخل داره”

Rumeo's Spiegazione dei sogni read seeing a wolf as being unable to speak. It is one of the key's few readings that concerns speech, and the book gives no reason for it.

Rumeo, Napoli 1866 · "vedere un lupo", Spiegazione dei sogni / p. 215

“vedere un lupo, denota non poter parlare”

Serrano's Oraculo (Porto, 1883) reads seeing a wolf as avarice. The book's wolf is a figure of greed rather than of violence, and even its bite is read as disappointment rather than harm.

Serrano, Porto 1883 · "Lobo", p. 30

“Lobo, vel-o: avareza.”

The Zhou Gong dream list reads jackals, wolves and vicious dogs as robbers. The 1880 print begins the line with 豺狼, jackal and wolf; the Wikisource copy has 豹狼, leopard and wolf. Either way the book counted the pack as thieves.

Zhou Gong Jie Meng (1880 print) · "豺狼惡狗", 龍蛇禽獸等類, leaf n243

“豺狼惡狗有盜賊”

The 1908 book read seeing a wolf as a sign of trouble from thieves or robbers (賊難). It is the plainest of the book's four wolf entries, all but one of which are unfavourable.

Yume handan jikkensho (1908) · "狼をみれば", koma 63, p. 99

“○狼をみれば賊難あるの兆”