If you're like me, one of the last things you want is to be in the middle of a great night's sleep and dream of a snake chasing you. Since the topic or characters that show up in our dreams is not our choice, let's take a look at why snakes slither into our sleep and what they mean when they do.

The Bible tells us, in the first book through the last, that snakes are symbolic for our enemy, the devil. In Genesis, it was a serpent that showed up as the tempter in the Garden and deceived Eve, and in Revelation he was called "the serpent of old." So, we know it's not a good thing when we dream of snakes. As a matter of fact, you can pretty well assume that when you dream of the nasty buggers, snakes are symbolic for some kind of demonic influence going on in your life.

The color and kind of snake in your dream, and the actions they are taking, help you determine how the enemy is attempting to mess with you. For example, a white snake often indicates a religious spirit working in your thinking, causing you to act or react in a religious manner rather than by fruits of the Spirit (love, joy, and peace). A yellow snake indicates a spirit of fear; a rattlesnake symbolizes anger or a mean-spirited attitude; a python means a spirit of divination; and a snake with a man's face is symbolic for a man-pleasing spirit. (Learn more about what colors in your dreams mean. Colors are included in the symbol dictionary of Dream Interpretation Toolkit.)

If the snake is chasing you, it means the devil is chasing after you. If there is one at your door, then the enemy is hanging around waiting to see if there is a way he can get into your life. If it bites you in the dream, it symbolizes you have succumbed to its influence.

There can be good news about snake dreams, though. Killing a snake in a dream makes it a good dream! This symbolizes that, in reality, we saw the enemy's attack against us and dealt with him rightly. In these dreams, the Lord could be showing us that the attack is over and we handled it well. Sometimes after praying for deliverance or healing, we will have a dream that we killed a snake, or that a very attractive, muscular good guy (the Lord) killed it for us. 

When you dream of snakes, ask the Lord to help you see what exact kind of demonic influence is attacking you and how to handle it. Sometimes you will need to repent, or get some inner-healing, and other times you'll need to pray and take a stand against the attack. In any case, the Lord's intention in giving you the dream is to help you see what's going on behind the scenes, so you can be free of every kind of demonic influence and attack, that you can live the free and abundant life He died to provide for you. 

How about you? Do you have snake dreams, and does this help you interpret them? Tell us in the comments.

Sweet dreams!

Some say a dream is from God if it's in vivid color, but not so if it's black-and-white. Our God is a masterful artist who uses unlimited color as He paints the world. His palette isn't limited to vivid, drab or lack of color in anything He does, including painting dreams. I've interpreted thousands of dreams for hundreds of people and I've never heard one, regardless of its intensity or lack of color, that didn't have His signature brushstroke.

Colors are one of the first and easiest keys to understand as you begin to interpret your dreams. It's all so logical, the way He uses symbols such as colors in dreams. Each color has a different meaning, and we've included the most popular in the Symbol Dictionary of Dream Interpretation Toolkit. (For more on symbols and their meanings, read our post on the Principle of First Mention). 

Take pink, for instance. Pale pink symbolizes innocence, like an infant baby girl. But change that pink to bright, hot pink and guess what we've got? Right, sensuousness. 

Let's consider the color red for a moment. Red is a study in itself. When you think of Jesus and bright red, what do you think of but His blood, shed for us on the cross? So, if you dream of a really nice guy wearing a bright red shirt and doing good things in your dream, it's going to symbolize the Lord working in a situation in your life. But put that same red shirt on a bad guy who is doing questionable things in your dream, and the red likely symbolizes anger, or one who is calling attention to themselves and is perhaps arrogant. A woman with flaming red hair could indicate the dreamer or someone in their life was dealing with anger issues, and likely the day or two before the dream. 

The color white, which the Bible says is the color of Jesus' clothing in his glorified state, certainly seems to symbolize righteousness. If you dream you are wearing a white shirt (a key here is that the color is next to your heart, which in dreams shows your motives and attitude, your "heart") it would definitely indicate you were acting, reacting or thinking in a righteous way in the particular situation the dream addressed. 

However, the Bible also tells us that religious spirits are like "whitewashed tombs," so white can mean a dreamer is dealing with a religious spirit, but the color white will show up somewhere other than the dreamer's shirt. It will likely appear on another character, one who is doing questionable actions in the dream. That doesn't mean the dreamer is innocent, per se, but it indicates the dreamer is being influenced by an outside source, a religious spirit.

A favorite color used in dreams is black, which is never a good color. It always indicates negative things. "There were bad guys dressed in black chasing me," is a line I hear all the time. "The woman was dressed in all black and sitting across the table from me," or "I had on a black sweater and was smoking a cigarette. But I don't smoke!" All these are parts of dreams I hear in my interpretation- world. Black means things like sin, lack, famine, poverty, disease, and the works of the demonic against us. Remember, in dreams, clothing worn next to the heart shows the motivation and attitude of the heart, so black clothing is always a negative symbol.

Every color and every shade has meaning. Orange, light blue, bright blue, dark blue, purple, burgundy, beige, brown, grass green, sage green, neon green...there are so many, too many for one post. I'll write some more next time. Until then, write your dreams and pay particular attention to the colors when you interpret them because they are one of the main keys to consider as you interpret your dreams.

What colors do you have in your dreams? Let us know in the comments. 

Sweet dreams!

We've been writing about scary dreams of remarrying your ex-husband or wife, and I think it's time we talked about dreams that, on the surface, seem to be the most wonderful kind: dreams of your future spouse. 

The key word here is "seem." 

Over the years I've heard stories of many who felt the Lord was revealing the ultimate secret to them in their dream, that He was telling them His choice for their marriage-made-in-heaven.

There's a big rule about this kind of information coming in a dream: If the dream contains any symbols at all, it can't be taken literally. 

That advice can be irritating to one who has been waiting and believing the dream shows a promise from the Lord. If I stepped on your toes, I'm truly sorry. But believe me, as irritating as this advice can be, it doesn't resemble the outright pain of waiting for a marriage that never happens or marrying the wrong person based on a dream. As a matter of fact, if I save just one person from such tragedy I will be a happy girl.

"Then what does it mean when I dream of marrying a certain person?" you ask. Great question. "Marrying" someone, in symbolic language, means coming into intimate agreement with what the person represents, or it can reveal the secrets of your heart...but not usually the Lord's. 

People in your dreams, especially those you know, most often symbolize a part of you (read more in our What People in Your Dreams Really Mean post). 

Let's say you dreamed of marrying your boss, an extreme perfectionist who works his staff too many hours and puts them under a lot of stress. In reality, your teenager has lately become a "slacker" compared to his younger years, and the two of you are constantly arguing as you push him to do more, and do it better. In this case, the boss in your dream would represent the pushy, stressed-out part of you in relationship with your son. The dream wouldn't be addressing his laziness, but instead your heart's reaction to it. "Marrying" your boss would mean you are in agreement with his stressful perfectionism as it pertains to your relationship with your son.

Or, lets say that boss has been giving you compliments, maybe a bit too often, and the words have begun to spin a dangerous web and your heart is responding. Again, your job is to repent.

So, before you tell your friends about your big news and shop for a wedding dress, consider what dreams are generally all about: creating a pure heart and steadfast spirit in us, and drawing us closer to the Lord.