A Jarful of Pearls . . .

Last night I had a particularly poignant and provocative dream about a corked jarful of pearls . . .  lovely large rosey-coloured ones.  Usually I am pretty curious about the meanings of my dreams but today this one seemed to hold particular significance because it was so vivid!  Later this evening sparked an event to remind me of the initial dream, so I am left wondering about it . . .  Just curious, but what do you all believe of dreams?  Do you believe that they are the sorting of the day's memories into long and short term areas, or the expression of unconscious desires, or do they hold sway over the future?  Do you have another theory altogether?