Fallen leaf
A single leaf on the ground — a small finished piece of a larger tree's year.
A fallen leaf in a dream is the dream's image of a small finished piece of a larger tree's year. The leaf is not a tragedy; it is what happens at the end of the season, and the tree continues. The dream brings the fallen leaf when something in your life — a phase, a chapter, a small role you played — is in the natural process of being let go. A fallen leaf picked up and kept as a memory is the dream affirming that the finished piece is being honoured. A fallen leaf kept in the hand and refused decay, as if it could be made permanent, is the dream noting that the season has moved and the keeper has not yet accepted that the leaf has finished its work.