I tried to look up some of the symbols in a dream dictionary, but none of it made too much sense as a whole.  I would appreciate an outside look at it to see if what the dictionary I used matches up with what others interpret it to mean.

I was at a summer camp.  I went outside to watch some friends play beach volleyball.  I got bored with it and went inside to my dorm room.  Inside was a 55 gallon fish tank.  there were a few fish in it, and a snake.  I freaked out due to my fear of snakes.  I turned to my stepdad and asked him why we had it in there.  He said mom wanted something that would move around in the tank.  It seemed as if the snake was glaring at me.   Later my mom had placed it in a different tank.  A small one she carried around.  there was a small hole towards the bottom with and electrical cord going into the tank.  The snake started to bite the end of the cord.  A few minutes later I noticed the snake was missing and jumped up onto a couch.  I looked over to see the snake getting into my roommates birdcage, with her bird.

I don't remember much of the dream after that, other than my mom telling me that she was nervous about touching the snake when she first bought it.

Please do not be too down on yourself for having problems interpreting your own dream as just the same as with attempting to give your own reading, you are probably too close and therefore emotionally involved with the outcome to be able to do this in an objective manner (which is precisely why an outsider's perspective is so valuable and sought after).

Interpreting someone else's dream is more of an art than an exact science, and while simply looking up each dream symbol's meaning in somebody else's dream dictionary is always a good place to start, it is using your own instincts and getting a feeling for what the dream could most likely mean to the person's dreaming mind is the missing link that frequently helps us to make a major breakthrough towards discovering what the dream was intended to communicate.

While it might be illuminating to look up the meaning of the game of volleyball and being at a summer camp (which both suggest to me that you were in the process of relaxing and having some fun for a change, as well as getting away from your daily routine, it is the fish tank, a few fish, the water in the tank and the snake in it which iare most likely going to be informative and helpful in better understanding this dream's overall purpose.

As you may already know the fish is often used as a symbol for Christianity, so it would be tempting to believe that it's meaning in your dream has something important to say about your personal search for spirituality and/or finding your way back to God (religion comes from the Latin word religio meaning to bind us back to something or someone).

But I am going to instead look at your dream in an entirely different light, and hopefully not unintentionally offend you in the process.Other than the Christian religion itself fish have often throughout history been regarded as symbolic as symbolic of fertility and sex.

The fish swimming around in the water (itself often being associated with powerful emotions which threaten to overwhelm the dreamer) have many times been compared to sperm cells in human semen.With the large fish tank with the snake in it which has often been seen as a phallic symbol of a man's sexual organ being placed at the center of your dream, I sense that it is telling you something important not only about your own sexuality, but also about your attitudes to sex and physical love in general.

The idea of the snake leaving the fish tank and getting into your room mate's birdcage instead only conforms my suspicion that your dream may have a strong element of sexual symbolism about it. Getting into your room mate's bird cage could be seen as the dream equivalent of your lover getting into someone else's bed in (suggesting fears of infidelity).

Also the electrical cord which was attached to the second fish rank which was evidently provided by your own mother could represent eother the placenta which nourished you and kept you alive for over 9 months while your mother was still carrying you.

Cutting this cord would perhaps represent you breaking away from the more conventional and presumably more rigid attitudes of your own parent towards sex, and taking a more liberal but at the same time sensible approach to one of our most primal urges - to procreate to ensure the survival of our species. THe volleyball and summer camp outside are relaxing and fun, but although sex can be both relaxing and funny if you look at the ridiculous things it often makes us do, it does have a much more serious side as well.

So in summary it is my opinion based upon what I am reading between the lines here that your dream is an expression of your ongoing need to adopt far less rigid attitudes towards the act of physical love which you inherited mainly from your mother, but at the same time use your sexuality in a responsible manner, as not doing so could potentially bring much unhappiness and possibly in some more extreme cases danger to all people concerned including of course yourself.

It is trying to encourage you to find the balance which feels most comfortable for you between questioning and gradually breaking away from your parent's attitudes towards sex and formulating your own set of values instead of continuing to blindly follow theirs. Fears of infidelity to me suggest that you are feeling insecure in your current relationship either at the time you had your dream, or maybe it refers to some relationship you are still to have some time in the future..

I am not heavily into Freudian psychology where everything is interpreted in terms of sex, but with your dream if I was a betting man (which I am definitely not) I would put my money on your dream being highly sexual in it's symbolism. Yes there are several other alternative interpretations which other dream interpreters could offer to you in place of this, but my feeling is as a reader that this is the ne for you.

Even if you instead interpreted the fish as being symbols of your parent's  religious beliefs which often in turn shape their attitudes towards sexuality in the process as being something which you are attempting to grow beyond, I do feel that this set of ideas is probably at least in the right general direction as was originally intended by your unconscious dreaming mind.

Hoping this helps,

eye_of_tiger

I can definitely see your point.  I think you could mix the religious aspect in there as well.  My religion does have restraints on sexual behavior.  I don't want to break away from that, but I don't want to be judged for enjoying myself.  I have been cheated on in the past.  So I always have a fear of it happening again.

When I was trying to interpret the dream for myself I came across something along the lines of the snake symbolizing my fear of commitment.  Which made some sense to me because it is a fear I have due to my father being remarried multiple time.  It's actually common with the majority of my family, and I am not wanting to repeat that.

I could see myself being in fear of infidelity in a relationship due to past experience, and because of a recent event.  I got up the courage to tell a guy that I like him, to which he has yet to respond, but we're still talking.  He is kind of flirtatious, and in my opinion he could have any girl he wants.  I'm still trying to figure out what's going one between me and him.  In the back of my mind I think I would possibly have trust issues with him if a relationship develops.  Yet, I do trust him and feel completely comfortable around him.

Thank you

Songstress,  

You are very welcome for the dream interpretation which quickly became a reading (as many do).



Yes this is another way of interpreting the snake and because it comes directly from you as the dreamer, it is more likely to be closer to the truth.

When combined with my own suggestions, I really do feel that you are getting the best of both worlds as a reliable guide to interpreting this dream.

Kindest regards,

eye_of_tiger