The clock

The symbolism of the clock is linked to an awareness of the irreversible passing of time and to cyclic repetition. The clock marks each stage of life and, as a symbol, represents human questions about quantitative time and qualitative time.

It also means that nothing is permanent in life, which in dreams  may disclose a feeling of anguish, as well as the dreamer’s need to give itself more time to stop, reflect, and appreciate the simple things of life.

The most common dreams with clocks are those that show a delay, missing a means of transportation, which indicates anxiety over time, or an excessive delay in taking certain decisions. A still clock indicates a blockage, an attachment to certain routines or to a certain time of our life, and, consequently, an absence of renewal. If the hours on the dial are unreadable, the dreamer may be going through a period of confusion or an inability to handle situations properly.

 Suddenly an absurd image comes to me. An image of broken clocks. The clocks of churches. The clocks of railway stations. Immobile grandfather clocks in empty houses. And in the window of this closed clockmakers shop, I see a whole ossuary of dead clocks. When the war comes, clocks stop being winded.

Saint-Exupéry 

The wristwatch also represents the time. But, unlike the clock, which represents time in general, the wristwatch refers to personal time. The unique time of the watch reminds us of past days, aging, fear of death, postponement of decisions, loss of opportunity, lack of adaptability, remorse and the desire to start from scratch. All these themes mean that dreams with wristwatches are existential dreams.

Jared’s Dream Analysis (9 years old):

A wristwatch that turns into a spider. My mother has a big watch on her wrist. The watch is huge and looks alive. I go near it to see the time because I’m afraid I’m late for classes. Suddenly, the watch turns into a spider that takes a jump at me. I wake up covered in sweat.

The dream reflects the fear this child has of being separated from his mother. The time to go to school is perceived as a cause of anguish. He is afraid of being late for school, but even more afraid of going to school. The spider watch indicates that time is felt as a threat because it represents a parting.  

Alain Heril
Claire Delabare 

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Midnight has an important symbolic value. If noon is the time when the sun is at its highest and brightest, midnight is when the sun is farthest, and the shadow is deepest. 

Midnight is the magical time, that of the deep unconscious, of the return to childhood, the moment when the doors to the worlds of mystery are opened. In wonder tales, it is the time of fairies or elves. 

The ambiguous position of midnight — between day and night, between the conscious and the unconscious — gives midnight a magical and sometimes frightening power. 

Midnight is the time of changes. That is why the magnificent dress and beautiful coach of Cinderella, in the tale of Charles Perrault, only last until the twelfth chime. Imagination, dream and poetry are then overcome by the objectivity of rational thought.