
Buttermilk
Buttermilk in a dream — the sour residue left when richness is churned away — can mark sorrow following pleasure, an imprudence that taxes the health. The dream tends to touch the tart aftertaste of indulgence, and to ask what enjoyment now may leave us a little soured later, and whether the pleasure is worth the reckoning.
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These are the entries the historical dream-books record for buttermilk, in their own words. They are period voices, not predictions, and they do not always agree with one another.
Gustavus Hindman Miller, 1901
Drinking buttermilk, denotes sorrow will follow some worldly pleasure, and some imprudence will impair the general health of the dreamer.
To give it away, or feed it to pigs, is bad still.
To dream that you are drinking buttermilk made into oyster soup, denotes that you will be called on to do some very repulsive thing, and ill luck will confront you. There are quarrels brewing and friendships threatened. If you awaken while you are drinking it, by discreet maneuvering you may effect a pleasant understanding of disagreements.
Fontaine, 1862
Losses from an extension of business. To the sick it is a sign of speedy convalescence.