Our houses and homes are of great importance to us. When we move in we decorate, re-organize rooms and even re-build to make our homes ours. We aim to have safe, comfortable houses. A house in our dreams may be an indicator of our security and our sense of self. If a house or our home becomes a scary, threatening place within our dreams, that may be how we see it in real life and is something we need to look at more closely.
A Safe Haven
We feel secure at home and more able to cope with the difficulties of life. In both our waking lives and our dreams, home can be a base for forays into a potentially dangerous and unpredictable world. For many of us home is the focal point of our lives. Houses within dreams are often familiar, we should ask who lives in the house and what is our relationship to them. Houses from our childhood are likely to hold many memories, and could signify a nostalgia for these times, or maybe bringing an issue to your attention that arose at that time.
Attributes
An unfamiliar house is likely to represent some aspect of yourself – your body, your personality, or your sense of self. Ask yourself why this particular building has been used to represent you this way. A large, grand house may indicate a need to expand your horizons, or to make a bolder statement to the world about yourself; conversely you may dream of living in a mansion but being stressed by the upkeep – this may indicate you have taken on something in life that is bigger than you can handle. Likewise a small cottage may be snug and comfortable or cramped and mean. Are the house or furnishings shabby? Ask yourself have you done anything that would generate such a feeling. A tidy and well-maintained house may show a healthy self-regard and clarity of mind.
Rooms
The rooms in a house may be a way for us to compartmentalize aspects of our lives. Areas of our lives may be represented by the function of certain rooms – the bedroom for sex, relaxation and sleep; the kitchen for nourishment; the living room or lounge for leisure and sociability. How you feel and what you do in these rooms could be important to understanding how comfortable you are with these different aspects of your life.
Rooms may also represent your potential. A familiar room indicates your current or past capabilities, an unfamiliar room could be showing you your unfulfilled potential; whether you are eager to explore it or not may show you how ready you are to fulfil that potential. Sometimes our dream houses have hidden or forbidden rooms, these may represent unexplored or taboo parts of ourselves.
Building a House
Dreams of house building may mean that you are keen to build greater security or want to turn an increase in prosperity into something concrete, although these interpretations may not be correct for your personal circumstances. The different aspects of the building process may carry different meanings. For instance, laying foundations may indicate establishing yourself, or creating a stable base for some project or aspect of your life. Dreaming about a building project going wrong could be about unforeseen problems or obstacles. Take note of what materials are used and consider what this may mean to you.