People dream. However some people want to know what their dreams mean.

Dream interpretation studies that. It's part science and part art . Either way it can be a lot of fun.

The Greeks and Egyptians believed dreams were communications from the gods. Astrologers and soothsayers performed dream interpretation. Greek temples were set up to cure people. It was believed that the gods would cure them with divine grace delivered through dreams. A priest would help people interpret the dream to locate the cure. Egyptian priests studied dream interpretation. The Bible stories show Joseph interpreting dreams for the Pharaoh. Hieroglyphics depict the art of dream interpretation.

Sigmund Freud popularized dream analysis. He published a book in 1899 called The Interpretation of Dreams. He held that dreams contained inner wishes and desires. He also said dreams only went back as far as a day. Freud's inner censor created dreams. He later changed the name to the super ego.

People resist many things, said Freud. That is, they filter their own desires. People keep a tight grip on their actions and their thoughts. Strange dream imagery comes from these filters. When performing dream interpretation Freud referred to a set of rules he had compiled for the way people change or filter dream images. He could then tell what the images meant.

In Freud's dream analysis nightmares did not mean something bad happening in a person's real-life. Instead they were the result of the ego being frustrated at not being allowed free reign. Many people think Freud always talked about sex in performing a dream interpretation. However, Freud said this was a misapplication of his work.

Try some dream interpretation.