Dreaming Lens: What was your relationship with the unknown person? Was the stranger an assailant or attacker? Was the stranger physically hidden from you in some way? Did the stranger reveal their identity to you in some way? Were you aware of whom they really were? Were they pretending to be someone else? Were they simply an unknown person?
Personal Focus: A person unknown to you is still representing a Character Aspect of your personality, even if his or her identity is concealed or if it is a stranger. When making an interpretation about a person you don’t know, you must put your focus on what you actually do know. What the person is doing in your dream and how you feel about that will give you the essence of your interpretation. That it comes from a stranger or person with a concealed identity indicates that the unconscious is not quite ready to reveal some aspect of your personality that is being called into action in your current situation.
We learn in stages and increments and often resist change, so be prepared for initial levels of fear to come up around this type of imagery. The unknown assailant who chases us may simply be trying to give us our forgotten lunch money or an umbrella because it is raining. When there are clear personality traits and the identity is unknown to you, it likely points to an area of development within your own personal makeup.
An angry or aggressive stranger may point to an integration of that energy into consciousness. A more helpful or gentle stranger indicates that softer elements are being called into prominence. Whatever end of the continuum your dream stranger is on, be prepared to consider the necessity and power of the energy he or she is embodying in the dream. A deliberate deceit of identity can also indicate a matter of the unconscious tricking the conscious into hearing a difficult piece of information; for just as in life it is sometimes easier to hear impactful news from a stranger than from someone we love. [1]