Symbolic Dream Interpretation Library

Being kept in a factory with other kids

My dream was about a man taking me and putting me in a factory-like building and I was put into a cart, kind of like a conveyor belt thing but there were also lots of other kids in carts too. I was young when I had this dream, like from 7-9, and it was a reoccurring dream. Also there were kids crying and yelling, I am a female.

Factories are systematic and mechanized establishments. This means that in dreams they are often associated with discipline and precision. As such, being taken hostage in a factory-like setting may be an allusion to authority figures, such as parents or teachers, setting rules of behavior and expectations for your younger self. The anxiety and distress from the other kids likely mirrored your own displeasure and resentment at the time for being told what to do. Whenever you were being reprimanded by adults in reality, your subconscious may have interpreted this as an unjust situation which is why this particular scenario is a recurring theme in your dreams. Perhaps even in adult life when you feel like your freedom and independence are being threatened or undermined, similar symbols start cropping up.

Watching a factory explode

Female. I dreamed I was on a big boat sailing down a calm river at night lit by a full moon, looked to the right and saw a factory lit with 3 smoke stacks at the top of a mountain. Something flies out of the factory and explodes, I didn't see the actual explosion. I hid to not be exposed to the aftermath. When I went out in the morning other people on the boat had small bugs around their noses and were sick. I didn't feel sick and seemed to not have the same effects.

Sailing in a boat and finding that the river is calm and peaceful are two opposing symbols in dream interpretation. Travel by boat tends to indicate that you become bored easily, and it is a symbol that suggests you have a nature or personality that can be difficult to please at times. On the other hand, the calmness of the river suggests calm and contentment. Perhaps you put on a facade of peace and tranquility when you are really worried, upset, jealous or annoyed rather than showing your true feelings. The factory you saw and the explosion that followed refer to the end result of this behavior. While factories with smoke stacks usually refer to a positive resolution to issues, in this case the positive result comes from a negative outburst, an explosion in this case. Others may be shocked, hurt or surprised by your true feelings, but you would feel lighter than you have felt in a long time.