Iron

Strength; material power or force. Strength of will, perhaps unbending emotions. Brutality. Will that does not allow any partnership with the emotions. Hardness and unfeelingness.

This often indicates strength, use of will, protection, or something that is practical and long lasting. But it is also unyielding and can carry heat or cold well, so may refer to feelings about either not being vulnerable, or to being unfeeling or burnt. Metal bars often figure in dreams where the dreamer is fighting off an attack, or actually attacking someone. This indicates really hardened feelings and anger, along sometimes with the desire to hurt.

Iron is one of the common minerals, and some of these are important in the life of the body. In a very real sense, human life brings consciousness to the minerals and the plant substances. Human life transforms, or can transform or lift up these substances, and occasionally this is indicated in a dream. See: chemicals.

 In a number of dreams iron gates are mentioned, or trapped by iron bars. These can either mean you are trapped by a very rigid view of your life situation or that your thoughts are a form of prison out of which you cannon escape. A woman whose mother had recently died dreamt that “we were standing outside a garden with a wall and wrought iron gates. My mother went through the gate, but I couldn’t”.

Metal in its various forms are often mentioned as jewellery. See gold; silver; jewellery 

 Example: 002:040 002:040 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. 002:041 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. From the Bible, Daniel.

Here iron is seen as strength that can break things in pieces.

 Example: The dream of a pregnant woman. She was feeling very much under the weather and had a dream in which a voice told her she should take iron and calcium tablets. She followed the suggestion, taking kelp and iron, and soon regained her health. This same woman seems to have such dreams fairly frequently. At a time when her husband was ill through overwork, she dreamt that he should take vitamin A and more butter. Remembering the truth of her ‘pregnancy’ dream, he did this, and it was the beginning of his gradual recovery. It is worth stating that neither he nor his wife had previously given much attention to vitamin therapy.

Idioms: Iron fist in velvet glove; iron curtain; man of iron; iron will; rod of iron; strike while the iron is hot.

Useful Questions and Hints:

What was my relationship with iron – health, protection or a barrier?

Did I experience any feelings in the dream?

Was I aware of any message in the dream?

See Emotions and Mood in Dreams – Plot of the Dream – Summing Up