Puppet

A way to think about it

A puppet moves because someone else decides it should. Dreaming of one can picture the suspicion that your words or actions are being directed from elsewhere, by a boss, a family script, or a habit so old it feels like a hand inside you. It can also picture the opposite position: you as the operator, trying to make a figure act convincingly for an audience. Begin by locating yourself. Were you the puppet, the puppeteer, or a spectator? Describe the puppet's face, since a frozen smile or empty eyes often carry the dream's mood. If strings were visible, record how many and where they led. A puppet that begins to move on its own, or that turns to look at you, shifts the dream from control to uncanniness, and it is worth noting the moment that change happened. Puppets from childhood television or a theatre you visited may appear with surprising accuracy, so write down whether the figure was familiar. Consider what the puppet said. A borrowed voice is a common feature of these dreams, and the question of whose voice it was may lead somewhere useful. Then ask which waking situation currently feels scripted, and who you believe is holding the strings.