Miller wrote: “To dream that you are in the clutches of adversity, denotes that you will have failures and continued bad prospects.”
The historical account
These are the authors’ historical interpretations. Their forecasts and period judgments are preserved as source material, not as predictions or established meanings for your dream.
Gustavus Hindman Miller
Ten Thousand Dreams Interpreted; Or, What’s in a Dream · Gutenberg #926; bibliography identifies the 1901 original and subsequent reprints
Adversity · Heading 45; source lines 2106–2130 · Text transcription
Original source (English)
To dream that you are in the clutches of adversity, denotes that you will have failures and continued bad prospects.
To see others in adversity, portends gloomy surroundings, and the illness of some one will produce grave fears of the successful working of plans. The old dream books give this as a sign of coming prosperity. This definition is untrue. There are two forces at work in man, one from within and the other from without. They are from two distinct spheres; the animal mind influenced by the personal world of carnal appetites, and the spiritual mind from the realm of universal Brotherhood, present antagonistic motives on the dream consciousness. If these two forces were in harmony, the spirit or mental picture from the dream mind would find a literal fulfilment in the life of the dreamer. The pleasurable sensations of the body cause the spirit anguish. The selfish enrichment of the body impoverishes the spirit influence upon the Soul. The trials of adversity often cause the spirit to rejoice and the flesh to weep. If the cry of the grieved spirit is left on the dream mind it may indicate to the dreamer worldly advancement, but it is hardly the theory of the occult forces, which have contributed to the contents of this book.
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Attributed historical writing. Historical claims are not established predictions or universal psychological meanings. Updated 2026-10-12. Read our approach and sources.