My Recurring Dream: Do Our Dreams Imitate Life?

I used to have this recurring dream where I am attacked by a snake or several snakes. First of all, I strongly dislike snakes with a passion. Be they my son's rubber snakes he gets for presents or the real deal; which is quite ironic with me coming from Africa where snakes are prevalent. Apparently there are quite a few meanings to this particular dream as it would seem almost all dreams containing creatures have.

The dream usually starts with me being with someone or being somewhere when all of a sudden a snake is unleashed and heading towards me. It's never a non-poisonous snake, but always a poisonous and deadly snake. I never know what the snake is; I just know that it is deadly and that I have to get away from it. Sometimes the person I'm with is laughing maniacally and sometimes I'm trapped and have to fight of the snake(s) with my bare hands. These dreams give me the cold sweats and I can't go back to sleep afterwards because the dream continues...or it tries to.

One interpretation from Dream Moods states that "seeing a serpent in your dream signifies high intellectual power, deception and the balance of good and evil." Another interpretation of snakes from Dream Central says that the snake is an age old symbol of evil or Satan and it is a bad omen to have one show up in a dream. Seeing a lone snake and feeling threatened by it show that you have a bad enemy working against you and is also a warning against bodily harm from an enemy. Dreaming of many snakes in a pit is a foreboding of bad luck in love or business. Killing or overcoming a threatening snake shows that you will overcome your adversary and win. According to Dreams the snake symbolizes evil and as in the original sin is a harbinger of trouble.

Ironically, this all true because there have been instances in my life that there has been trouble in my personal life more so now than in the past. I have had stuff happen both professionally and personally that could be classified as bad luck. I didn't get the raise or the promotion because someone else wanted it and knew how to kowtow to the right people. I'm getting a divorce. I'm stressed out so I'm getting more migraines. So dreams can mirror real life actions. Are dreams our subconscious ways of telling us what is going to happen and how we can deal with those aspects of life that become overwhelming? Or was it that juicy steak I ate at midnight? Do our dreams give us meaning in life? For me, to an extent, my recurring dream has mirrored my life, sometimes scary, sometimes surreal.