Dream Image: Store, Shop

A store is an establishment for transactions; it can symbolize the dreamer's opportunities to acquire something (likely from the unconscious) through a transaction. One should pay particular attention to whether the price is unexpected, if the dreamer cannot afford it, or if the dreamer steals something, etc.

Characteristic of modern stores is that one can choose – choose which clothes or food to buy, for instance (likely representing persona or integration). If the desired product is unavailable, it may be that the solution the dreamer believes is necessary is not being offered by the unconscious at this time.

A toy store, clothing store, and grocery store, for example, express the possibility of acquiring associated symbolic content – here play, clothes, and food, respectively. In the dream, the dreamer may go to the store because the dream ego feels it needs the corresponding content, or conversely, the dream may encourage such acquisition (especially if the store scene occurs at the end of the dream).

A modern shopping mall is characterized by being impersonal and collective, in addition to the notion that "everything is available" (potential abundance); there is something superficial about it, but at the same time, the dream may contain unexpected elements with an opposite meaning.

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