What does it mean to dream about death? (Dream interpretation burial / death / funeral)

Dreams about death

What does it mean to dream about death or funerals? (Dream interpretation  burial / death / funeral).

It’s sad, hard and often terrible to dream about death and burial. As in real life, death in dreams is associated with grief – but when we dream about death (of others or our own), it is usually not that people actually die, but rather the fact that which the given persons represented, dies in our own personality.

Therefore, it is actually often positive to dream about death. When something is lost (e.g. old “out-dated” behavior in the dream represented by a particular known or unknown person) it gives room to something new and more appropriate.

The fact that we are still very upset in the dream (and maybe when we wake up with the dream completely fresh in the mind), is about that it’s always sad to say goodbye to something that has been close to us/been a part of us for perhaps many years. To dream of death and burial is therefore not uncommon during periods where we feel that we are evolving quite a lot (also the period where we go from “one life stage to another”, for example when we have completed high school or other education levels, and move on to a new life – perhaps as full-time workers or college students).

Dreams about parents dying.

When you dream that your father or mother dies (and perhaps get buried), it may be a reflection that the bond (father/mother bond) you have had is passing away. In other words, you’re saying goodbye to your “inner” parents – or at least to the image you had of them so far, or what they have represented in you.

It can be a picture that you might have been aware of the (more unfortunate) side of your mom and/or dad that you have “copied” in your own thinking and behavior, and that it is now time to say goodbye to the sides. If you at a later date dream that your parents are alive, can be a picture of your parental sides continuing to live on in you, but now more appropriately.

It is therefore quite normal for children and teenagers to dream that their parents die – it is simply often a picture that the children/teens will now become more independent and stand on their own two feet (and to a lesser extent, look up to their father and mother) – but it is very scary for children and teenagers to dream that their parents die. But often it’s just a sign that (especially) teenagers see that mom and dad are not as perfect as they have believed for many years – that father and mother are also people with deficiencies. Therefore, the internal image of the father and mother dies – the image that has been applied so far. Of course there are large individual differences on when to get a more realistic picture of one’s parents, and therefore one can dream about the parents’ death very late in life, with multiple meanings.
–
When trying to understand your dreams it is important to know that your dreams are… your dreams. As such, you are the best person to figure out the true meaning of your dreams.

However, it is important to learn how to generally approach your dreams. Dream dictionaries like this one are only a supplement, and if you want to fully utilize the potential of your dreams, you should start at a different place.

My online course “Unlock your DREAMlife” gives you a great foundation for understanding (and recalling) your dreams.
–
Dreams about other/unknown people dying.

Similarly, when other and perhaps unknown people die in your dreams, you need to ask yourself what that person represents to you, how they act and think, etc. Perhaps it is time to say goodbye to those pages (thoughts and behavior) in yourself? Or maybe – if it’s someone you know who dies – that the way you looked at them until now is “outdated”, i.e. no longer adequate to reality.

Dreams about yourself dying.

Again – a clear picture that your current behavior and thoughts must be looked upon. A new version of yourself must be nurtured, and may already be in its early development (see also dreams about babies). I even dreamt some time ago that I saw myself lying dead in my home. I walked alive around the body – and observed myself as dead. I was pretty scared and shocked by the situation.

At some point the doorbell rings, and two young girls have come to sell me some lottery tickets or so. At first I am nice and let them in – but suddenly I feel that it actually suits me quite badly. I am still walking around and still shocked about my own death – and can not really relate to the two girls’ visit. I therefore nicely ask them to leave. The older version of me would have spent time talking with the two girls – to be friendly and welcoming – while the new me could feel that I actually did not want to talk to the girls – and therefore I asked them to go. A new and better ability to feel and speak out. That’s how I interpreted the dream.

If you dream that you kill other people, or that others kill someone – it is about something entirely different. It can be about some pent up aggression towards those you kill – but it can also be about a great frustration (perhaps embarrassment) of having these sides of yourself. Maybe you’re trying to kill a deceitful and lying person in your dream- here, an obvious question would be, are you sometimes deceitful and lying? Finally, dreams of death are often a reflection of a positive, natural development of your personality and psyche (and rarely a warning about death or so).

Dream dictionaries are a very helpful tool when interpreting dreams. However, generally learning how to approach your dreams, will give you a better foundation for understanding them. My online course “Unlock your DREAMlife” teaches you how to much better utilize – recall and understand – your dreams.

Return to the index of dream themes and symbols:

Dream interpretation A-Z  ↵

Also read: Why I no longer interpret dreams for free

NOTE: Dreams are 100% individual, and when you dream about death, it’s almost certainly about something else for you than it is for your friend, who also dreamt about death.
Dream interpretation / dream analysis is sometimes a difficult art, and a particular interpretation of a dream is only correct if you feel “affected” by it. Therefore, it is not certain that the above mentioned interpretations are relevant to you.

Have you dreamt about death and funerals? As such, it may be somewhat easier to relate to dreams where death is integral. Have you had a dream about death? Do you have other opinions about what it might mean? Please write in the comment box below.