Children's Dreams: An exploration of Jung's concept of big dreams

Since ancient times, humankind has recognised that some dreams are different from the majority, and that they can possess spiritual qualities. Jung adopted the term 'big dreams,' to describe them. This paper proposes that Jung's theoretical concept of big dreams can be applied to children's dreams, through the application of an analysis scheme that is derived from his theory. The article describes Jung's understanding of the notion, and translates it into criteria that can be applied to empirical data that has been obtained from children about the content of a dream, and their understanding of it. Seven big dreams are analysed, illustrating how the children's experiences relate to Jungian thinking. The paper concludes that his theory, despite some limitations, is relevant for a limited type of children's dream in contemporary western society.