Pat, Kingston

Dear Pat,
Hotels in dreams often represent the process of adapting to unfamiliar conditions. Because we refer to a ship as a ‘she’, ships in dreams are often feminine symbols and you are looking for your ‘cabin’, your place of inner security. These dreams suggests you are confused about your role in life.

You write that your husband, who recently sold his business, is retiring and that you are now hoping to move to a less expensive area. You say that you would prefer to live in Australia. Yet neither you nor your husband really want to leave your family. You mention that these dreams began around the time you decided to sell up. On the face of it, they merely reflect what you are going through in waking life - you feel unsettled, unsure as to which direction to take.

I suspect, though, that they have a deeper significance. The dream about the lift confirms this. Lifts and stairs take you up and down between different levels. They can therefore symbolise mood swings or, sometimes, a constantly changing perspective. Intuitively, you know that there is a ‘right floor’, just as there is in the hotel - but you can’t seem to find it. You tell me that you are 61 and that you have found great fulfilment in being first a mother and then a grandmother. At this stage of your life, your children’s needs are no longer a priority. This is, then, a classic ‘rite of passage’ dream. Your most pressing need is to take charge of your life and reassess your values. Where you live is not the fundamental issue. What matters is who and how you want to be during the next phase of your life.

(Sun Taurus, Moon Scorpio)