Guns are often associated with sex. Shooting can be a representation of the painful emotions that can arise from sexual feelings. You can ‘shoot yourself in the foot’ when you cannot let something go. Knowing you are about to be shot and allowing it to happen is a way of allowing painful feelings to have expression so that you can move beyond them. It is almost as if going through difficulty reaches such as stage that you can no longer ward off the transformation. The ability to accept and become mature is symbolized by accepting the situation or ‘biting the bullet.’ Seeing another person being shot portrays your denial of a situation that may be ‘assassinating’ your character. You may be placing the responsibility for what you experience on others, when you must recognize how you are allowing it to happen. The death of characters in a dream often represent the dying away of unproductive tendencies – associated with the character who is killed. See Weapons and Utensils , Attack and Being Chased , Murder and Corpse.