In former times storytellers were known as weavers of stories, which is where the symbolism arose. The myths and stories of the old heroes who undertook their own spiritual journey are archetypal and can help us identify a strategy for life. A yarn as in a tale or story is most often to do with our sense of history or of continuity. To be being told a yarn or story links with our need for heroes and heroines, and perhaps our need for a mentor. Yarn in the sense of knitting yarn or twine often signifies our ability to create order out of chaos. In olden times it suggested spinning, an archetypal symbol for life, and often in dreams it is this image that is portrayed. Tangled yarn may suggest a complex situation. We fashion our lives out of what we are given. It was once said that yarn in a woman's dream signified that she would marry well, but in a man's dream suggested that he would find himself a dutiful wife. It has less such significance nowadays, but yarn always has the overtones of industriousness and hard work. You might like to consult the section on Archetypes in the Introduction.