Also See Dream Motifs-Death

Death or dying in a dream seldom refers to an actual death. Death refers to changes in one's life, or attitudes toward certain persons, or fears of dying. Here are some possibilities of what death, dying or a dead person may represent in a dream. Death is a motif and may be the central motif of the dream.

Basic meaning: The old is dying; make way for new beginnings.

(1) The dead person may be you, even though its image within the dream takes on characteristics of other persons or other things. The message may be that your old self needs to be left behind. This may mean you must stop carrying around with you the crippling burden of your past (irrational guilt-feelings or other negative self programming); and, instead, you must open yourself to what the present moment is offering. Alternatively, the "old self" may be old attachments, habits, ambitions, values, goals; in which case the dream is telling you that the only way forward for you lies through giving these up and looking deeper within yourself for better values, etc. (where better means more in tune with your real self).

(2) What is being expressed in the dream may be your own anxiety about dying. Death is inevitable, and facing up to that fact may bring great rewards: self-acceptance; new values; a broadening of one's personality, compensating for past omissions or lopsidedness and utilizing hitherto neglected personal resources. This would be especially applicable if you are in the second half of life.

(3) If the dead person in the dream is actually a living person - and especially if that person is your partner or parent or sibling - the dream may be expressing unconscious resentment towards that person, or a desire to be independent of that person. Feelings toward someone close are often ambivalent (conflicting): love or respect mixed with fear or hatred or resentment or jealousy.

(4) Does the dream contain a dead person you actually knew? If so, the dream may mean you should take notice of what he or she said or did, or of what happened to him or her. The dead person is "coming back", not to haunt you but to advise and help you (the dead person actually represents parts of your unconscious self that is wiser than your waking ego).

There's really nothing 'spooky" about meeting dead people in dreams. Such encounters may help you fulfill a long-desired deep relationship, or to put something right. For example, you may learn to forgive the person and as a consequence get peace and healing for yourself.

(5) If the gender of the dead person is stressed, the meaning may be that your masculinity/femininity or your anima/animus needs reviving.

(6) A dead animal in a dream almost certainly refers to some part of you - an instinctive force, perhaps - and the dream will be telling you either that this part of you (e.g. guilt-feelings or inferiority complex) ought to die, because its effects are wholly negative; or that it is a valuable but repressed part of yourself that you must now bring to life, to rectify an imbalance in your personality.

Reference: Eric Ackroyd

Basic Meaning - A source of meaning/wisdom/energy.

(1) A god or goddess figure may represent a source of meaning/wisdom/energy. Look for that source within yourself, where it is usually covered by layers of emotion.

(2) Male god figures may represent the animus in a woman's dreams, and goddess figures may represent the anima in a mansdreams. They may lead you to deeper into your psyche.

(3) Sometimes god/goddess may represent father/mother, functioning as a part of your own (unconscious) psyche. In such cases it is likely - though not invariable - that your feelings towards the parent are ambivalent, with fear or awe as well as affection. A stern Old Testament type God may symbolize your super-ego, whose origins often lie in irrational prohibitions imposed on oneself in childhood as a reaction to real or imagined threats of punishment.

(4) God(dess) may represent your true self, your potential wholeness.

(5) The god figure in your dream may be - God! Don't be surprised if your unconscious comes up with god images from a more ancient tradition than the ones you were brought up with: the unconscious seems to have a memory that reaches back to humankind's remotest past, and even beyond (universal dream images such as that of God are from the primitive unconscious, therefore images will go beyond the traditional images you know from religious teachings). At a certain level of your psyche you may go beyond everything that is merely individual and experience oneness with life itself: an experience that may cause you to live authentically - for inner wisdom/ values - instead of merely role playing.

Reference: Eric Ackroyd

A symbol for the feminine/animus. may represent some personal characteristic -

intellectual superficial cleverness, rashness.

(2) Male god figures may represent the animus in a woman's dreams, and goddess figures may represent the anima in a mansdreams. They may lead you to deeper into your psyche.

(3) Sometimes god/goddess may represent father/mother, functioning as a part of your own (unconscious) psyche. In such cases it is likely though not invariable - that your feelings towards the parent are ambivalent, with fear or awe as well as affection. A stern Old Testament type God may symbolize your super-ego, whose origins often lie in irrational prohibitions imposed on oneself in childhood as a reaction to real or imagined threats of punishment.

(4) God / goddess may represent your true self, your potential wholeness.

(5) The god figure in your dream may be God! Don't be surprised if your unconscious comes up with god images from a more ancient tradition than the ones you were brought up with: the unconscious seems to have a memory that reaches back to humankind's remotest past, and even beyond (universal dream images such as that of God are from the primitive unconscious, therefore images will go beyond the traditional images you know from religious teachings). At a certain level of your psyche you may go beyond everything that is merely individual and experience oneness with life itself: an experience that may cause you to live authentically - for inner wisdom/ values - instead of merely role playing.

From SpiritCommunity

Gold Dreaming about gold could be a reflection of concerns that you have about your most precious valuables or a reference to "alchemist's gold" which is usually spiritual in nature. If you are losing gold in your dream, it may express your anxieties over a missed opportunity. However, remember "All that glitters is not gold." Your unconscious mind may be reminding you not to judge things on appearances alone.

(1) The eagle may be an animus figure

(2) Eagles live in high places and have been associated in primitive societies with the Sun God. An eagle may therefore appear in a dream as a messenger from a helpful source in your unconscious. Does it 'say" anything to you? If so, take it seriously and act accordingly. (Sun mat symbolize your true self.)

(3) An eagle has strong wings and may, therefore, symbolize something within you that can lift you - perhaps out of depression, towards the "light".

(4) The sun may be a symbol of consciousness, and so the eagle may signify a need to extend your conscious awareness. Perhaps you need to get better acquainted with the contents of your unconscious and integrate them into your conscious active life.

(5) Eagles have sometimes been associated with fertility. Psychologically speaking, fertility means bringing to life latent (hidden - undeveloped) powers in the psyche.

(6) Is the eagle paired in some way with a snake - holding a snake in its talons, for example? In mythology, eagle and snake represent the conflict of opposites. In psychological terms the opposites may be the conscious/unconscious; thought/instinct; spiritual/animal; masculine/feminine. The dream may be pointing out an area of inner conflict that needs your conscious intention. If so, bear in mind that a lasting resolution of conflict is never achieved by denying the right of one of the conflicting parties. Some balance of forces in the psyche is called for, so that every psychic component gets its proper share of attention and expression without threatening the rights of other components.

Eagle and lion (or some other animal) may have the same symbolism.

Reference: Eric Ackroyd

More on Dead/Death

If the dead person is someone you actually knew it may mean you should take notice of what he or she said or did, or what happened to him or her. The person is not coming back to "haunt" you but to advise you or to help you. In actuality, this person is a part of your own psyche, taking the form of the dead person. Such encounters may help you to fulfil a long desired relationship, or put something right. For example, you may learn to forgive the person {or yourself}and as a consequence get peace and healing for yourself.

 If a deceased partner or parent appears in dreams, the above may apply. Bear in mind that the dead do live - inside us; and that it is important to realize when this is a healthy and life-enhancing thing and when it is purely negative, stunting your own personal growth. If it is the latter, resolve to have it out with the dead person the next time he or she appears in a dream

 If the dead person in the dream is actually a living person - and especially if that person is your partner or sibling - the dream may be expressing unconscious resentment towards that person, or a desire to be independent. Feelings toward someone close are often ambivalent {simultaneous conflicting feelings toward that person}: love or respect mixed with fear or hatred or resentment or jealousy. The usual conscious response to such a dream will be anxiety, and you will feel anxiety in the dream itself.

The dead person may be you. If so consider the following possibilities:What is being expressed in the dream may be your own anxiety about dying. Death is inevitable {an old Islamic proverb: when the angel of death approaches it is horrific, when it reaches you it is bliss}, and facing up to the fact may bring great rewards: self-acceptance; new values; a broadening of one's personality, compensating for past omissions or lopsidedness and utilizing hitherto neglected personal resources. This would be especially applicable if you are in the second half of life.

The message may be that your old self needs to be left behind. This may mean that you must stop carrying around with you the crippling burden of your past {irrational guilt-feelings and martyrdom complex, or any other negative self-programming}; and, instead, you must open yourself to what the present moment is offering. Alternatively, the "old self" may be old attachments, habits, ambitions, values, goals; in which case the dream is telling you that the only way forward for you lies through giving these up and looking deeper within yourself for better values, etc. {where "better" means more in tune with your real self}.

{Primitive rites of passage, as described in mythological symbolism as well as in dreams, which mark transitional stages in a person's life - birth, initiation into adulthood, marriage and career, death - all contain death-and-rebirth symbolism and express a recognition that the development of new attitudes more appropriate to one's new stage in life {the death and resurrection of Jesus is a metaphor for such death and resurrection stages in the individual life}. The symbolic death of the initiate in these rites may also be seen as a descent of the conscious ego into the unconscious: it is the unconscious {and the compensating knowledge that it holds} that provides the means for new growth - rebirth.

It is just possible that, if your own death features repeatedly in dreams, it is an expression of an unconscious wish for death. Freud speculated in "Beyond the Pleasure Principle" that there might be, in everyone, just two controlling basic drives: one towards life and love and pleasure {Eros}, and the other towards death {'thanatos"}. This is highly controversial {as is much of Freud's theories}, but it is indisputable that many people display strong masochistic tendency.

Are you compelled to repeat painful experiences? Do you tend to interpret what other people say as a criticism of yourself? If so, you may be suffering from repressed guilt-feelings and an unconscious urge to punish yourself - which sometimes take the form of a fate-neurosis and/or a wish {unconscious, as in your dream} to see yourself dead. If you feel this applies to you, talk to a friend about it or consult a psychotherapist. See Suicide

A wish for death may be a retreat from life's problems and pains, or a response to a sense of failure. If this applies to you, bear in mind, first, that a very sensitive person may also be burdened with an over-severe conscience {the product perhaps, of having a stern father or a sin-and-guilt religious upbringing}. In that case, see the previous paragraph. Secondly, what makes a thing a problem is usually one's attitude towards it. For example, suppose you have been made redundant {repeat mistakes over and over}. If your reaction is to see this as a punishment, see previous paragraph. If you see it as a failure, try to change your attitude or perspective by asking what creative purpose may be being served by your redundancy; perhaps, for instance, the demolishing of an inadequate or false self-image in order to make way for the construction of one that corresponds more closely to your individual ground-plan or "destiny".

 If the gender of the dead person is stressed, the meaning may be that your masculinity/femininity or your animus/anima needs reviving.

 a dead animal in a dream almost certainly refers to some part of you - an instinctive force, perhaps - and the dream will be telling you either that this part of you {e.g. guilt-feelings or inferiority complex} ought to die, because its effects are wholly negative; or that it is a valuable but repressed part of you that you must now bring to life, to rectify an imbalance in your personality.

From dream moods

Death To dream about the death of a loved one, suggests that you are lacking a certain aspect or quality that the loved one embodies. Ask yourself what makes this person special or what do you like about him. It is that very quality that you are lacking in your own relationship or circumstances. Alternatively, it indicates that whatever that person represents has no part in your own life

From iVillage

Dreaming about death is very common and it can be interpreted in many different ways. Death is usually a symbol of some type of closure or end. It implies an end to one thing and a beginning of another. Death dreams usually have positive symbolism. If you are the dead person in your dream, it could imply that you would like to leave all of your worries and struggles behind and begin anew. Dreaming about someone that you care about may express your fear about losing them. Dreaming that one of your parents died may express fear of loss, but it also may be an unconscious valve through which you release anger and other negative feelings. In some cultures dreaming about death and dying is a very good omen that represents longevity and prosperity.

In a woman's dream may be the animus figure, representing the masculine side of her personality.

Basic meaning: Wiser, more mature masculine aspect of self; straightforward representation of your father.

(1) For men, father may be a conscience figure. If this is the case, bear in mind that your father's prohibitions and commands will probably represent either conventional moral options which may have no relevance to your true nature or "destiny", or irrational fears and feelings of guilt that began to take shape in you in early childhood.

(2) For a woman, father may figure in a dream as one who generates affection.

(3) The presence of your father may be a straightforward representation of him, or of the way you see/remember him (which may owe more to your subjective distortions than to what your father actually is or was). In any case, the reason for your father appearing in the dream will be shown by the part he plays in the dream story.

(4) If your father features in the dream as a protector, it may be that you need to "grow up" and rely on your own resources. After all, life can hurt you only if you let it, only if you identify with your emotional self instead of with that deep layer of yourself that is immune to life's pains and perils.

(5) Father may be an animus figure representing a womans(unconscious) masculine qualities. In this case, the dream may be suggesting that she should cultivate this countrasexual side of her nature.

(6) Frequent appearances by eithet parent, or both, in dreams may be a sign that you have not thrown off an infantile over-dependence on them. Jung cites a young man's dreamin which the mansfather appeared as a drunken driver, smashing his car into a wall. This is the exact opposite of the real father, who was a most respectable person, rightly - but too too much - respected by the son. What the unconscious was doing through the dream was dethroning the father in order to enable the son to achieve a proper sense of himself as a person in his own right, with his own unique destiny and values.

Reference: Eric Ackroyd

the relationship with one's husband. projection of image onto some other person. your animus the masculine side of a woman. your other self.

Basic Meaning: A boat often symbolizes an aspect of the feminine, a reference to the unconscious.

(1) Because of their connections with water, boats may symbolize (some aspect of) the feminine, either with a plainly sexual reference or with reference to the unconscious (in the case of a male dreamer, the reference may be specifically to the anima), (See Anima/Animus or with reference to mother or Great Mother.

(2) Leaving one's own shores for a foreign country may symbolize entry into the unconscious insofar as the latter is unknown and frightening - alien, in fact.

(3) If the boat is crossing a narrow stretch of water, it may symbolize some type of transition: for example, moving from one phase of life to another, or making a new start and a clean break from the past.

(4) If in the dream you miss the boat, the meaning would seem to be obvious: you have failed to take advantage of an opportunity that has offered itself - perhaps an opportunity to open new vistas in your life.

Eric Ackroyd

Example in a Dream

You are in a boat drifting far from shore with sharks swimming all around you.

Possible meaning for a male: The boat would be an anima symbol representing the feminine aspects of the male psyche {compassion, tolerance, patience, ready to forgive}. Drifting far from shore would mean you are drifting away from these unifying feminine aspects. The sharks may represent those other internal aspects that want to assail you {in order to force you back to shore} or other people or circumstances in your waking life that are causing you to drift away from the natural feminine tendencies.

Possible meaning for a female: For a woman the meaning may have the same interpretation, you are drifting away from those essential feminine aspects. But it may also symbolize that you are moving away from those negative aspects {sharks} that can prevent you from an understanding of a higher self {the Great Mother}. It also may be a reference to your actual mother, an unconscious need or desire to move away from her destructive {sharks} attitudes. the meaning may have the same

May symbolize the animus in a woman's dream, representing the masculine side of her personality. Perhaps you ned to integrate the masculine aspect into your life.

In a woman's dream it may represent the animus. The bull may refer to your masculinity (whether you are male or female).The taming of a bull may signify the harmonious integration of your animality, especially your sexuality, or the whole of the hidden, unconscious part of your psyche. The bull may symbolize fertility, as in mythology. Your unconscious has the power to bring about new life if you allow it to penetrate your conscious mind. May represent your true nature - as seen when one practices self exploration of the psyche. May symbolize stubbornness, strong will, strength, and power. Bulls are also symbolic of repressed sexual energies, fertility and virility. Dreaming of an untamed, raging bull represents that your passions may be out of control.

Sigmund Freud was a great advocate of the bisexuality of all persons. It was no surprise to him when he studied dreams in which romantic content existed that was contrary to the dreamer's usual sexual preference. Many times, this romance is a form of "mirroring."

Mirroring is the desire to find affirmation of a particular aspect of yourself {not a real bi-sexual experience or desire} in a particular sort of relationship. The romance contrary to your usual preference should be set aside initially in order to discern what sort of affirmation you may be seeking from this liaison.

Another possible reason for a dream that involves bisexuality for a typically heterosexual person is that the anima/animus is flexing itself.

Feminine part of the psyche; qualities or characteristics you identify with particular individual which are projected aspects of yourself. {see anima/animus}

The act of incest in a dream may symbolize a real-life incident that you witnessed or were involved in. If this is the case, talk to a good psychotherapist.

For a man, a dream of incest with his daughter will usually express fear of the erotic element in your feelings toward his daughter in real life; but also be a straightforward expression of desire.

In a man's dreaminvolving his sister, the sister may represent the anima figure representing the feminine side of his nature.

In a man's dreamwith his mother, the mother may express the desire he felt for her as a boy.

For a woman, if the dream is about her father, it may be an expression of her (repressed) childhood desire for her father. A dream with her brother may be an animus symbol, her masculine qualities. A dream with incest with her son, or incestuous desires, are probably expressing her anxiety concerning her natural sensuous pleasure in the sight and touch of him.

A man's dreamor fantasized incest with his mother may represent a death-wish, a desire to return to the womb. This means your mother has properties of the Earth Mother (archetypal) in her negative, devouring aspect; he needs to throw off an attachment to his mother that is preventing the unfolding of his own individual self.

Original aspects that within the psyche pertain to masculine behaviour {see anima/animus}. Temptations, and the consequences. Patriarchal thinking, masculine over feminine. Imbalance.

(1) By virtue of its sexual associations, dancing may represent a coming together - courtship - of the masculine (animus) and feminine (anima) side of one's nature. See anima - animus HERE

(2) Joining a dance probably means relating cooperatively with the other person or group. What does that person or group symbolize? It may be some part of you: your hidden self, with its mulitude of emotions, instinctive impulses, ideas, ideals, beliefs/prejudices, attitudes, ambitions, etc.

(3) Perhaps it is the "dance of life". Participating/not participating in the dance would then mean relating harmoniously with Nature (or your unconscious)/being out of step with it. (Dancing clumsily may signify that you are "out of step".)

(4) If the dance is a frenzied solo performance, it may represent some kind of "possession", indicating that some psychic element (unconscious)is threatening to take you over. If this is the case, you need to identify the causes of any compulsive behaviour you observe in yourself; and then to come to terms with it - which will usually mean either making space in your life for some hitherto repressed part of you; or getting rid of (repressed) guilt-feelings; or both.

Dancing may be a sexual symbol, representing sexual intercourse.

Reference: Eric Ackroyd

Basic meaning - Your persona, the way you see yourself, the way you wish others to see you; your attitudes.

(1) The feelings associated in the dream with the clothes you are wearing may indicate what your feelings are toward yourself, especially in relation to the image you present to the world. For example, if in your dream you are inadequately clothed, this may mean you feel vulnerable or inadequate, or ashamed (perhaps in certain kinds of situation, which may be shown in the dream).

(2) If you are wearing old and worn-out clothes, this may indicate either anxiety about your attractiveness or feelings of inferiority, or that you need to discard some habitual way of meeting life, some set of (negative) attitudes or beliefs.

(3) If old and tattered clothes are worn by someone else in the dream, thsi probably means there is some part of you - some capacity or aspect of your potential self - that you are neglecting or keeping locked away in the cellars of your psyche. If the person is wearing tattered clothes is of the opposite sex, your anima or animus be in need of attention.

Reference: Eric Ackroyd

Are anima/animus figures.