Dreaming Lens: Were you reading a book? Was someone else reading? Was the book unopened? Were there many books? Were you in a bookstore or a library? Were the books identifiable or known to you? Were they in your native language? What was the content of the book(s)?
Personal Focus: Our societal perception of books and their value has changed drastically in recent times. Electronic media has already begun a process of rendering them obsolete. However, their rich heritage through the collective unconscious makes them a powerful symbol, despite the shift in how we perceive them.
As Western culture developed, only a very small minority of the population was able to read. Therefore, books became a highly valued commodity reserved only for the very wealthy, or members of religious hierarchy. In this way, books represent wisdom and knowledge. Their tangible, physical structure embodies a sense of permanence of thought as the printed word has come to be synonymous with truth and fact, whether accurate or not.
Books, as a symbol, connect to the accumulation and availability of knowledge. On a personal level, they can represent the measurement of someone’s intelligence. Many books appearing in a dream connect to higher level of intellect as expressed by the unconscious. One volume connects to a single area of information whereas a bookstore or library filled with books might symbolize abundant levels of knowledge available to those who seek it out.
Consider your relation to books and reading in life and apply it to your dream. Reading a book in a dream could indicate a need to slow down your mental processes so that you can hear your own thoughts. The printed permanence of books could indicate a need for you to be more exacting in your communication or illuminate areas where you are being held accountable for your words. Books on a shelf can mean wisdom not being utilized in some situation. Reading in a library or bookstore may mean you have tapped in to the collective unconscious where profound information is available to us all. Certain books, such as novels, can represent a desire to lose yourself in another world.