Mortar and pestle
A bowl and stick for grinding — the slow physical work of turning whole things into preparation.
A mortar and pestle in a dream is the dream's image of the slow physical work of turning whole things into a state where they can be used. The mortar does not chop or slice; it crushes by patient repetition. The dream brings the mortar when something in your life — a hard truth, a complicated feeling, a piece of inherited material — is being broken down by hand to a fineness the rest of the work can absorb. A mortar with the spice ground to fragrance is the dream affirming the patient grinding. A mortar half-used, with the material still in chunks and the smell unreleased, is the dream noting that the work was begun and abandoned at exactly the stage where the effort was about to produce the result.