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[[Jung ]] considered the [[dream ]] a [[natural ]] and normal [[psychic ]] phenomenon describing the inner [[situation ]] of the dreamer, a "spontaneous [[self]]-portrayal in [[symbolical ]] [[form ]] of the actual situation in the [[unconscious]]" (Jung, 1947). In analytical [[psychology ]] the dream is seen as neither a disguise nor a [[symptom ]] but as a source of new [[understanding]], especially of the psychic function of archetypal imagery. Jung never distinguished between [[manifest ]] and [[latent ]] [[meaning]], since he based his understanding directly on dream [[content]]. Analytical psychology does not generally encourage free [[association ]] per se; rather, it employs circular [[associations ]] around the various [[images ]] and actions in the dream to make [[sense ]] of the dream in its entirety. In analytical psychology, the [[concepts ]] of [[sign ]] and [[symbol ]] have [[meanings ]] different from their meanings in [[psychoanalytic ]] usage. For Jung, a sign is a token of meaning that stands for something known, whereas a symbol is an [[image ]] that points to something partially known but unknowable at its core. A symbol has a [[subjective ]] [[dynamic ]] that powerfully attracts the [[individual ]] and transforms [[psychological ]] [[energy]].

Jung first read [[Freud]]'s [[Interpretation ]] of [[Dreams ]] in 1900 as a student at the Burgholzi [[Psychiatric ]] [[Clinic ]] in Zurich, reviewing it for his fellow psychiatric students (Jung, 1907). He began to develop his own [[ideas ]] [[about ]] the meaning of dreams shortly after his break with Freud around 1912 to 1913, and by 1928 he had outlined his mature views.

Dreams can be [[interpreted ]] on [[three ]] levels: [[objective]], subjective, and transferential. Any interpretation that refers the images in the dream to the [[subject]]'s view of [[external ]] [[objects ]] is considered an interpretation on the objective level. Any interpretation that refers every part of the dream back to the dreamer is an interpretation on the subjective level. Interpretation on the objective level breaks the dream content down into [[memory ]] traces referring to the external situation. Interpretation on the subjective level detaches the underlying [[memories ]] from their external sources and presents the dreamer with the images as inner facts. Such [[experience ]] of inner [[reality ]] opens the way for psychological transformation. Transferential interpretation is a mixture of the two levels, except that dream images are interpreted in [[relationship ]] to the [[transference]].

Dreams compensate for attitudes held consciously. This follows from the [[concept ]] of the [[psyche ]] as a self-regulating [[system]], dreams representing an unconscious [[voice]]. Jung saw [[compensation ]] as operating in two directions. One he termed the "prospective function," by which he meant that the dream is an [[anticipation ]] of [[future ]] [[conscious ]] [[achievement]]. This does not mean that dreams are prophetic; rather, a dream is a preliminary exercise, a combination of possibilities, roughly sketched out in advance. In their prospective function, dreams can be both integrative and synthetic. In the [[other ]] direction, the reductive function, the dream operates as a retrospective compensation, bringing up [[repressed ]] [[material]]. A dream can be interpreted in either or both directions at the same or different [[times ]] and at different [[developmental ]] [[stages]]. No interpretation is considered final.

[[Another ]] important, uniquely Jungian method in [[dream interpretation ]] is amplification. Here analogous material is brought into play to enlarge upon the [[symbols ]] of the dream. Parallels from mythology, folklore, [[anthropology]], comparative [[religion]], [[ethology]], and current [[cultural ]] patterns are presented to the [[analysand ]] to elicit a richer understanding of the dream. Amplification is used less often today, as analytical psychologists have become more aware that it can be used to avoid personal issues.

Basically, analytical psychology teaches an open attitude in [[interpreting ]] dreams. Jung stressed that each dream should be approached without preconceived notions. At the beginning of the twenty-first century there is a greater emphasis on transferential [[interpretations ]] in analytical psychology. Yet many analytical psychologists hold the view that dream images are part of the objective reality of the psyche and that dream interpretation is central to [[theory ]] and [[practice]].

[[Active ]] [[imagination ]] (analytical psychology); Amplification (analytical psychology); Anagogical interpretation; Analytical psychology; [[Archetype ]] (analytical psychology); Numinous (analytical psychology); Shadow (analytical psychology).

* [[Freud, Sigmund]]. (1900a). The interpretation of dreams. SE, 4: 1-338; 5: 339-625.* Jung, Carl Gustav. (1907). The psychology of [[Dementia ]] præcox. Coll. works (Vol. 3). [[London]], Routledge & Kegan [[Paul]].* ——. (1909b). The [[analysis ]] of dreams. Coll. works (Vol. 4). London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.

* ——. (1928b [[[1948]]]). On [[psychic energy]]. Coll. works (Vol. 8). London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.

* ——. (1931-34). The [[practical ]] use of [[dream analysis]]. Coll. works (Vol. 16). London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.* ——. (1947 [1954]). On the [[nature ]] of the psyche. Coll. works (Vol. 8). London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.