I think the airplane in your dream is symbolizing an escape of some sort for the woman. The woman seems desperate to go with the plane -- to escape -- even though she is not a seated passenger. The fact that she grabs onto a rope hanging from the plane is interesting because ropes usually indicate some kind of constriction or binding.

You need to think about who the woman represents to you. Remember that she could represent some part of yourself, even though you seem to be among the crowd looking on. Another possibility is that the woman in your dream, represents *women*, in a general sense.

The woman's outfit with the long fur coat and especially high heels, makes her a somewhat sexualized figure. Often in dreams, shoes can represent freedom, however, in the case of high heels, I think the symbol is probably (ironically) the opposite -- constraint, restraint.

The fact that she drops her bag is also very important. Was the bag a piece of luggage or a purse? Luggage often refers to the burden of personality -- the various traits that we "carry around" with us that make us who we are. The fact that the woman drops her bag, indicates that she is discarding a part of who she is. If her bag was more of a purse, then it most likely symobolizes some part of female sexuality that the woman is throwing back.

When the woman throws up on her herself, it also ties in with tossing something away. Vomiting in a dream often refers to something that someone is getting rid of, or wants to get rid of. The woman may be shedding some more of her personal characteristics.

Interestingly, the crowd expresses their disgust and disapproval (they grimace and make the "bleh" sound) at the woman when she casts off this part of herself (perhaps the sexualized part of her personality).

When you see the plane approaching cliff, you are anticipating the dangerous situation the woman has gotten herself into by daring to do this threatening thing. The woman dies as a result of her unconventional actions.

Another part I found interesting was when you were wondering "Why doesn't she just catch another plane? She obviously has enough money." I think you may be actually questioning why she feels she must take these unconventional steps when it seems to you that her social position is actually rather comfortable, i.e. why should she test the limits when she seems to be doing "alright"?

My interpretation of your dream is only meant as another perspective you can use to further examine the dream's possible meanings yourself. Since I don't know very much about you, it is difficult for me to speculate more specifically. I hope this helps a bit. Feel free to write back with other details, questions or concerns or if you feel that I'm totally off in my general interpretation.

I had a dream in June of '96 that was kind of strange. It came during a difficult time in college when I had just been in a car accident. In the dream, I was driving down a country road with my dad and brother. All of a sudden, I saw a huge tornado coming at us out of the sky. Somehow, we were able to take shelter in a nearby building. My dad and I were in one room and my brother was in another, laughing hysterically -- why, I don't know. Well, the tornado hit nearby and a splinter came right through the window and went right into my father's chin. Then I woke up.

I have no clue what it's about. If you have any ideas, let me know.

I'll try to offer you some ways of examining your dream:

Driving a car can be both literal and metaphorical. Since you had recently been in a car accident when you had this dream, it makes sense that you would have frightening dreams about driving. Car accidents are pretty scary!

Metaphorically, driving a car is a symbol for being in control. Were you the one driving the car in your dream?

As for the country road: In Western culture, our conception of time often causes us to envision life as a road stretching from birth to death. The drive sounded like it was going well along a nice relaxing country road, until all of a sudden, the tornado -- certainly a symbol for something frightening and potentially catastrophic -- comes up out of nowhere.

When you are in the shelter with your dad, your brother is in another room laughing, which surprises you. Maybe this refers to the fact that your brother reacts differently than you do to problems and crises. You don't understand how he can be laughing during a dangerous situation like that. Does your brother often "laugh-off" or ignore problems in real-life? Is his manner of dealing with things different from yours?

I'm not really sure what to make of the splinter flying into your dad's chin. How did he react in your dream? Was he in pain?

Overall, I think perhaps your real-life car accident was causing you to reflect (consciously or unconsciously) on your life and the fact that even though things can be going along smoothly for a while, something horrifying (like the tornado or your real-life accident) can always come up out of nowhere and endanger the people you care about.

Of course, my interpretation is only meant to give you perspectives that you can use to further examine the dream's possible meanings yourself. Since I don't know you, it is difficult for me to speculate more specifically.

I hope this helps a bit.

cheers,
Jess

JESS BARRON, jessb@poprocks.com, is a dream weaver, a pop vulture, a world-traveler, a cyborg, and a caffeine addict. Her homepage is called Dangerous Candy. Dream Weaver appears every Tuesday in CollegeBeat. E-mail Jess if you have any dreams you need interpreted.