Spiritually, the sailor can signify communication. The aspect of freedom links with a quality of the god Mercury who, having been given a task, then forgets what it is. Most people have a rather antiquated idea of the sailor. It is this image that usually appears in dreams. He represents freedom, both of movement and of spirit, and is a representation of the Tramp archetype. The sailor suggests someone who is totally in control of his own destiny, who ?sails with the tide?. A modern-day sailor in waking life would have the added benefit of being in control of his own environment and it is this image that is likely to surface in the dreams of the modern entrepreneur. If a sailor does appear in a dream, particularly in a woman's, he is usually a somewhat romanticized figure and can represent the Hero. In a man's dream he represents the part of himself which seeks freedom, but that needs to be given permission or authority to take that freedom. Also consult the information on Hero and Tramp in the information on Archetypes in the Introduction.