Parched or barren ground is, however, a sign of inner conflict or exhaustion, suggesting that you should search your dreamscape for signs of hope. Sand in a dream suggests instability and lack of security, especially if you see it together with the sea.
If the sands are shifting, you may feel uncertain about what you want from life.
If you see sand in an hourglass, you are conscious of time running out.
If you are building sandcastles in your dream, this suggests that the structure of your life lacks permanence.
Mud symbolizes creation in many religions, specifically the creation of mankind. In the Bible, God molded Adam from a lump of clay and breathed life into him, and it is traditionally to clay and dust that human beings return. Ancient dream interpretation suggested that to dream of mud foretold finding great riches, while a dream in which you sank in mud would lead to a rapid recovery from illness. From a psychological viewpoint, mud represents the fundamental substance of life, which handled properly has potential for growth, but handled badly can drag you down. Mud in dreams can also represent past experiences—or your perception of them—as something that is holding you back, or in which you are stuck. Clear as mud paradoxically means that something is not clear at all. Are you unclear about a situation in which you are involved? See also CRYSTALS, GEMSTONES AND ROCKS; TREES. [1]