The Dream Book of Self-Knowledge
- any promise by the dreamer initiates a tension within him that lasts until the promise is fulfilled and it is therefore good not to make too many promises and not to burden one's experience with them; a promise is the driving force behind acts that culminate with the fulfillment of the promise.
- the negative nature of the promise itself enhances the negative content of a promise (promise to kill, violence, revenge etc.), since the promise exists in a person's mind until it is fulfilled, then evil occupies the place in a person's consciousness where there could be much more pleasant experiences.
- to interpret a dream it is good to know whether it is a promise given to others or an inner promise, since promises to others are more burdened with ego than promises made in the tranquility of the soul.
- doubting that a promise will be fulfilled: this image can initiate another attempt to fulfill the promise.
- demanding that others make promises: a negative act since violence (see Violence) enters the dream; talking others into promises also has a similarly negative assessment since verbal violence enters into the image.
- unfulfilled promise of a positive nature: essentially a lie and only occurs when material gains are more important than a clean conscience and unblemished morality.
- rejecting the promises of others: in doing so the dreamer liberates himself (in the figures of the personification that promise) from the pressures and suffering that the promise triggers.
- a person over-promising: symbolizes a weak will and often also the inability to see tasks and wishes through to the end; it also represents an unstable and indecisive person.
