"There is Literally All of Her Hair"

[The Rose Dragon]

This seemingly harmless sentence was written on a blackboard at the top of some stairs in my dream, where the walls were covered in pictures and writings of a familiar girl. There were other things in the dream, which took place in an all girls' hospital or boarding school, but the title sentence scared me a lot. I don't even know what it might mean (presumably, someone shaved or plucked out all of the girl's hair and collected it in some place), so I turn to you wise Playgrounders.

What might my dream and that sentence mean?

[MonkeyBusiness]

Well, traditionally a woman's hair was considered her "crowning glory". Right up through WW II, if someone wanted to shame or punish a woman they shaved her head and put her on public display. This happened to many saints and "heretics" on the way to their execution. It also happened to women who slept with the enemy.

Hair is sometime associated with power. Samson lost his strength when Delilah shaved him; and early medieval legends tell of defeated kings being shorn of their beards (Arthur had a robe trimmed with beards, we're told.) Even Rapunzel had her hair chopped off when the witch found out about the prince she'd been seeing. Some people believed that a witch could change the weather simply by braiding or unbraiding her hair.

The way you present this, it sounds frightening; especially if you assume this was something done to the woman. But there is a more positive interpretation.

Sometimes women offered up their hair. Berenice cut off her famous hair and sacrificed it to the gods as a supplication that her husband remain safe: legend has it that the offering was accepted and that her hair was placed in the heavens as a constellation. And then there is the contemporary story, "The Tale of the Magi" by O. Henry, in which hair symbolizes unselfish love. Hell, when a beloved pet of mine died, I cut my hair and wrapped him in it. All these things are protective, loving acts. So maybe her hair is there because she is generously protecting someone. And the hair is "there" (presumably somewhere in the building) like a holy relic or a banner.

Even the positive interpretation is scary, because it is intimate and powerful at the same time.

The last thing that occurs to me about hair is this: it grows back. No mattter how it was removed, it regenerates. Like the moon, the seasons, phoenixes, gods and goddesses who dies and are reborn ... you get the idea. Whether the hair was stolen or offered ... it will grow back.

What a fascinating dream! Glad you shared it!

-Monkey

.

[Innis Cabal]

Well, since you can't actually read in dreams...either it's something you saw somewhere else and you just think you read it. Or...you're making it up and want to know something but are afraid to ask it straight out. Either way, you can't read in dreams.

[The Rose Dragon]

Well, since you can't actually read in dreams...either it's something you saw somewhere else and you just think you read it. Or...you're making it up and want to know something but are afraid to ask it straight out. Either way, you can't read in dreams.

Yes, you can. I used to think you couldn't, back in primary school, due to an episode of Batman: the Animated Series, but a neurologist told me otherwise.

[thubby]

Well, since you can't actually read in dreams...either it's something you saw somewhere else and you just think you read it. Or...you're making it up and want to know something but are afraid to ask it straight out. Either way, you can't read in dreams.

ive heard this a thousand times, but does anyone actually have science backing it up?

@OP: i don't think it means anything in particular. in addition to the sentence not actually meaning anything, it implies that it would in and of itself (to say literally would imply it would otherwise be either hyperboli or a metaphor)

[DeadManSleeping]

You can't read in dreams the same way you do in real perception, but you can see "text" and understand it. Only if you actually TRY to read it do things get strange. Thus, if one takes for granted that one understands the writing, then one does understand it.

Ain't dreams a hoot?

As much as I know about dream physics, I don't happen to believe they actually mean anything, so I'm afraid I can't contribute much on that score.

[Maxios]

That's strange. I can read in Dreams. I've had prophetic dreams before (granted they were about a level in a video game and what I'd eat for breakfest).
But that's not important. Anyway, that seems like a very interesting dream you had

[AshDesert]

Well, since you can't actually read in dreams...either it's something you saw somewhere else and you just think you read it. Or...you're making it up and want to know something but are afraid to ask it straight out. Either way, you can't read in dreams.

Huh? I've never heard that before. I'm going to call shenanigans, as I remember reading in a dream on more than one occasion. Actually, a link would be fascinating, as everyone knows that the brain likes to make up memories and I'm probably remembering wrong.
As for the OP, I don't know what to make of it. The problem with trying to interpret other people's dreams is that what means one thing to one person could mean something else entirely to someone else. Especially when we're talking about something as intimate and personal as our dreams.

[darbythegambler]

honestly, I would not suggest delving into a meaning too much. Freud once said "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar." If there was a meaning, you will eventually find out. Don't lose any sleep over it now :smallbiggrin:

[Ego Slayer]

Freud once said "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar."
"... but usually its not just a cigar." :smallamused:

[CoffeeIncluded]

I can read in dreams. I was reading in my dream last night.

[O_Y]

About half of what I do in dreams is read. If brains can't do that, mine must have missed the memo.

I bet the dream means you ran out of cigars.

[Dacia Brabant]

You can't read in dreams the same way you do in real perception, but you can see "text" and understand it. Only if you actually TRY to read it do things get strange. Thus, if one takes for granted that one understands the writing, then one does understand it.

This is my understanding as well. Dreams primarily are visualizations of subconscious thoughts, and text is just another form of that.


As for Rose Dragon's dream, I think that if it made you scared then it definitely wasn't a positive, comforting thought. If this is a dream about a girl you know or are familiar with at least, there's probably some concern you have about her safety--or you just desire to protect her--so your mind visualizes that by placing her in an exploitative setting where someone's obsessively collecting material about her.

A less-charitable interpretation is that you're the one obsessing about her, and protectiveness can definitely lead to that, but I think that since this dream scared you enough to post it then this probably isn't the case.

[Eldan]

The thing that's usually said is that in dreams, you don't really read: you see a piece of writing and "just know" what it means, but you don't put the letters together. I can't confirm that: I've tried to test this in my dreams, but I suck at lucid dreaming. Or rather, my brain wants to stop me:
When I first read the theory, I tried to test it. A few days later, I got some degree of lucidity in my dream. I was in my room, which is filled with four bookshelves. I walked over to one and tried to take out a book, but before I could open it, my room fell apart, including the books and I was standing on a street, in a chase scene.

My brain always removes books before I can try and confirm the theory. I hate that. :smallannoyed:

[llamamushroom]

Ok, I have no idea what the dream could mean, but I'm agreeing with you on the "creepy as all heck" score. There is just something really unsettling about the scene you described, like the better class of horror film.

[Telonius]

Well, your subconscious certainly got your attention there. A good rule of thumb is that in dreams, anything can mean anything, if you decide to make it mean something. Usually the meaning should be apparent to you if you think about it sideways. (Go to the archetypes only if you're totally stumped).

So, think about hair in general. What does it mean to you? What do you think of, when you think of hair? Is it how a person portrays themselves to society? A part of a person that's just kind of there but not living? Or a mark of self-identity? Does the fact that "literally all" of it has been separated from her, make it any worse than if only some of it had been cut off or plucked out? Depending on which one (if any) resonates with you, the interpretation could go several different ways.

[Coidzor]

My first thought was some kind of hair demon.

Though as to meaning, maybe you miss your long hair and are envious of some dame's nice hair?

[Joran]

Well, traditionally a woman's hair was considered her "crowning glory". Right up through WW II, if someone wanted to shame or punish a woman they shaved her head and put her on public display. This happened to many saints and "heretics" on the way to their execution. It also happened to women who slept with the enemy.

Hair is sometime associated with power. Samson lost his strength when Delilah shaved him; and early medieval legends tell of defeated kings being shorn of their beards (Arthur had a robe trimmed with beards, we're told.) Even Rapunzel had her hair chopped off when the witch found out about the prince she'd been seeing. Some people believed that a witch could change the weather simply by braiding or unbraiding her hair.

The way you present this, it sounds frightening; especially if you assume this was something done to the woman. But there is a more positive interpretation.

Sometimes women offered up their hair. Berenice cut off her famous hair and sacrificed it to the gods as a supplication that her husband remain safe: legend has it that the offering was accepted and that her hair was placed in the heavens as a constellation. And then there is the contemporary story, "The Tale of the Magi" by O. Henry, in which hair symbolizes unselfish love. Hell, when a beloved pet of mine died, I cut my hair and wrapped him in it. All these things are protective, loving acts. So maybe her hair is there because she is generously protecting someone. And the hair is "there" (presumably somewhere in the building) like a holy relic or a banner.

Even the positive interpretation is scary, because it is intimate and powerful at the same time.

The last thing that occurs to me about hair is this: it grows back. No mattter how it was removed, it regenerates. Like the moon, the seasons, phoenixes, gods and goddesses who dies and are reborn ... you get the idea. Whether the hair was stolen or offered ... it will grow back.

What a fascinating dream! Glad you shared it!

-Monkey

.

Awesome analysis.

In modern thought also, hair is a matter of individualism. This is why when a soldier enters the military, a prisoner enters a prison, or a monk enters a monastery, his or her hair is shaved.

Still, a very evocative quote.

[MonkeyBusiness]

Awesome analysis.

In modern thought also, hair is a matter of individualism. This is why when a soldier enters the military, a prisoner enters a prison, or a monk enters a monastery, his or her hair is shaved.

Still, a very evocative quote.

Wow, that's an excellent point, which suddenly makes the setting of Rose Dragon's dream (an all-girls' school or hospital) make more sense. Either place can be a challenge to maintaing a person's identity and self-will.

Interesting that the art and writing of the young woman is displayed all over the inside of the building.

My interpretation:

The young woman in your dream is clearly is a person of strength, artistic talent, inner beauty, and strong individuality. Even when whatever invisible powers try to strip her of her selfhood her artistic power is not defeated. It remains, and all the "bad guys" can do is leave a scary warning to try to distract you from looking at her words and pictures.

Just before you had this dream, you said you were seeking your totem: the part of yourself you need to cherish, nurture and protect. Well, Rose Dragon, this is your totem. This young woman is that part of yourself.

[Sipex]

I, for one, think this is supposed to be creepy simply because you found it creepy.

I mean, think about it. It's your dream, your subconscious is the author, illustrator and orchestrator. If it's supposed to be creepy, you'll find it creepy. If it's supposed to be fun, you'll find it fun.

I have no idea what it could mean though as dreams mean different things for different people. Any chance you saw The Grudge or Scary Movie 4 recently?

[Mordaenor]

Not to dismiss your reaction of creepiness, which I can fully appreciate given the scene you described, but when I read the title of the post, my reaction that it resembled a bad video game translation, like "All your base are belong to us."

[Sipex]

I'm going to guess this is due to the OPs thought process, either he is prone to using these types of quotes (IE: All your base) or he's the type of person who needs to think about how he's going to say something moments before saying it in order to convey intelligence.

For example, I would think "There is literally all of her hair" as a thought but if I were to point it out to someone I would translate it to

Her hair wasn't attached to her body. It had all been shaved off or pulled out and was just lying there, and when I say all I mean all of it, literally.

[Odentin]

Rose. Who is this girl? Her relationship to you might be the key to figuring it out. A hallway/staircase lined with pictures/writings of a girl you know, a chalkboard at the top with that sentence written. Lemme see what I can dig up, but your relationship with her is probably key...

[Renegade Paladin]

Well, first things first.
"... but usually its not just a cigar." :smallamused:
EGO! You're back! :smallbiggrin: Long time, no see.

At any rate, I feel like we're missing a lot of context for the sentence in the dream. The obvious first thing: Where is "there?" Was there a pile of hair somewhere in evidence?

[littlekKID]

Well, since you can't actually read in dreams...either it's something you saw somewhere else and you just think you read it. Or...you're making it up and want to know something but are afraid to ask it straight out. Either way, you can't read in dreams.

I read in MY dreams, I had one dream where I did nothing BUT reading

[Eldan]

I finally managed to read in a dream today! Take that, brain!

I was standing in some hallway when I suddenly took out a huge, broad brush full of white paint and wrote an "O" on the wall. Then read it. It wasn't a circle, it was an "O". Then an "X" and an "I".

Man I felt so... triumphant when I woke up. I've been trying to read in a dream ever since I read it was impossible.

[Amiel]

Might it mean that you need to see into the heart of the matter (as it were) and not just the superficial appeal?

[Djinn_in_Tonic]

You can't read in dreams the same way you do in real perception, but you can see "text" and understand it. Only if you actually TRY to read it do things get strange. Thus, if one takes for granted that one understands the writing, then one does understand it.

Only somewhat true. I'm almost always a lucid dreamer, and I've read scripts in dreams before when practicing for plays and the like...you can read normally in dreams, although what you read and what you understand don't necessarily mesh. Sometimes the script would be for something entirely different (but still legible...I can remember some of them. One was some sort of recipe, another a section of what appeared to be a Dicken's novel), but what I'd get out of it would be the lines I was looking for.

[Dr.Epic]

Did you happen to see Tangled any time recently before having this dream?

[The Rose Dragon]

No, I didn't see Tangled yet. And no, the hair itself wasn't in the dream.

[Asta Kask]

Fear of cancer? Chemo?

Probably a bit of a stretch.

[Zigg'rrauglurr]

I'm going to guess this is due to the OPs thought process, either he is prone to using these types of quotes (IE: All your base) or he's the type of person who needs to think about how he's going to say something moments before saying it in order to convey intelligence.

For example, I would think "There is literally all of her hair" as a thought but if I were to point it out to someone I would translate it to

Her hair wasn't attached to her body. It had all been shaved off or pulled out and was just lying there, and when I say all I mean all of it, literally.

I´m going to agree with Sipex and Telonius here. Most of the context for the dream comes from the fact that you dreamt it and what the images it presents mean to you.

If you found it scary, then there is something your subconscious is scared off. You will have to think what "hair", and the fact that someone lost it means to you. After that analyze your feelings/relatioship to the girl. For example it might mean that you are afraid of loosing contact with her, altough you were not aware of this feeling yet. One good piece of advise is to go with the first "hunch" in your interpretation, try to go with your subconscious mind. Analyze but dont Over-Analyze it.

As for reading in dreams I´ve experienced the 3 levels:

- Unable to comprehend what was written, even tough it was my native tongue. It was Spanish, yet it didn´t mean anything to me
- Reading something but understanding/knowing something else. I even had a Housetm moment regarding a piece of code while reading a menu from a pizza joint, I read "Mozzarella" but in my mind translated to "while instead of do.while"
- Reading the precise text of a book. This one even was from one I had never read before, then I checked the real book and the text was completely different (I even remembered the number of the page i read in the dream) However the theme fit.

As for prophetic dreams:
Sometimes I get an odd feeling in some dreams or in sections of them, generally they are trivial things, like a specific program or movie is playing in the background and someone says something specific that sounds very odd to me in the dream. But when it really happens (generally anywhere from 3 to 6 months after the dream) said comment is completely logical for the scene. Problem is, I never profetize lottery numbers or something usable...

The last thing I wanted to tell you is:
Dreams are part of your mind, they might mean something, or they might just be white-noise during the "reset" part of rest. Don´t worry too much if you can't understand a dream, but do not underestimate them either.

Good luck!

[Morph Bark]

Man I felt so... triumphant when I woke up. I've been trying to read in a dream ever since I read it was impossible.

If it really had been impossible, I would have to wonder how come I have had a dream or two that were basically IM conversations...

[Eldan]

Well, there's a difference between reading and just knowing what the reading says. The second is surely more common in dreams, I've had that a lot. Just try to notice if you actually read the letters or just know what the text says.

[bluewind95]

Well, there's a difference between reading and just knowing what the reading says. The second is surely more common in dreams, I've had that a lot. Just try to notice if you actually read the letters or just know what the text says.

Done that. I actually read the letters.