Dreaming Lens: Were you holding the gun in your dream, or was someone else? Was it laying some place where anyone might be able to pick it up? Was it loaded? Was it being fired? Was it unable to fire? Was it real or fake? Was the gun hidden? Was it being brandished in a threatening manner?
Personal Focus: Whoever has the gun is in charge. Connected to the masculine principle, the gun represents male-oriented power in an extreme form. The key to understanding this symbol is that the power represented by a gun is available to whoever possesses it at any given moment. Even the most timid individual can wind up controlling any interaction if the intimidating power of a firearm is in their hands.
The masculine principle is related to action and the ability to make things happen. A gun of any type connects to this universal energy, but with an over-intensity that indicates a lack of balance or containment. While the presence of a gun may imply a sense of control in a chaotic situation, its deadly and unpredictable nature implies a breakdown of stability and the potential for lethal danger.
The type of firearm is important to consider as this indicates the amount of power being yielded. A handgun relates directly to personal power and should be interpreted as what is available to you as an individual. Something with more firepower, such as an automatic weapon, relates to the ability to express strength at a more social level.
The proximity of the gun in a dream indicates where the power currently resides. Holding the gun puts the dreamer in a position of ownership, but the level of confidence (or lack thereof) should be noted. Having a gun aimed at you indicates that some Character Aspect of your personality is demanding to be heard and dealt with. If this is the case, your interpretation needs to include working with whoever yielded the gun in your dream. Brandishing a weapon could indicate a need to be seen as powerful in some area of your life. A hidden or concealed gun indicates elusive power that is felt, though not flaunted.
Given the role of guns in our culture, how you personally feel about them must figure strongly in how you interpret them as a symbol. The more reticent you are about them, the more power this symbol may have for you. If this is the case, a gun indicates that Shadow material is being explored. However, do not be misled into thinking that the firing of all guns in dreams is murderous or even harmful—a hunter loves his gun like a trumpeter loves his trumpet. Additionally, something being killed off in a dream can actually be a positive thing, such as an old belief or pattern that no longer suits you.
Being wounded (or wounding someone else) in a dream brings us to the idea of the gun wielding great amounts of power. Where the wounding occurs will provide access to deeper levels of understanding of how this power is impacting you, whether positively or negatively. For example, being shot (or shooting someone) in the chest could be thought of as a destructive act, but this could also indicate the need for your heart to be opened up to receive love. This is especially true if there is a situation in your waking life that includes a level of intimacy that is great enough to be frightening on an unconscious level.