August 15, 2014 - Category: Dream Symbols

What does it mean to dream about water (dream interpretation water)

waterDreams of water – what do they mean? (Dream interpretation/analysis on water).

Water often appears in dreams and is often a reflection of our feelings. E.g. you can dream of being trapped in water (trapped emotions), or about the big roaring ocean which can be about a lot of feelings. Or how about the “river of life”? Water can also simply be a reflection of our unconscious.

Water as emotions.

Water is essential to human life and we are nourished by it. Our emotions consist of a strong element of our mental well-being, and the emotions can therefore “nourish” (and pester) our mental state. When we dream of trapped water it can therefore be about trapped emotions. A woman dreamt for example, that she and her husband went around in a frozen mountain landscape (i.e., with snow and ice). It was about how the relationship with her ​​husband was “frozen into ice.” Similarly, we can also dream that we drown – We are overwhelmed by feelings (or our unconscious), and maybe we should therefore take a serious look at the thoughts and feelings that fill us and overwhelms us. Although I once dreamt that I was out driving, and when I came out on the highway, I was flooded by a huge tidal wave – and my car and I came close to drowning. Cars are often a reflection of our body, and for me it was at the time no doubt that I was too busy with too many things (work/career), with consequences for my soul and body. My dream told me that it was time to slow down; I was about to “drown.”

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.

Water as a reflection of our unconscious.

Life emerged from the sea. And the sea, the vast infinite ocean, can in dreams also be an image of enormous psychological (unconscious) forces. Following Jung’s thinking on the personal and collective unconscious, the sea is often seen as the great collective unconscious. In other words, what we all have in our unconscious, inherited from our ancestors. Confined water – such as a swimming pool, will surely be a reflection of our personal unconscious – in other words, what we have experienced in our lives, and what we have with us through life. The dreams will then be able to bring these personal life experiences to our consciousness. A man dreamt one night about a bay (“trapped” water in connection with the sea), in which many cigarettes floated around. The water was so polluted by these cigarettes, and his first instinct was how his mother – who smoked a lot – had “contaminated” his upbringing. Not because she smoked, but more in relation to her harmful behavior towards him. The cigarettes made him think of his mother.

In the same way, I once dreamt of a giant and very colorful fish that lay in a muddy dock and gasped for breath. I saw it as my “creative fish” – a picture of a great musicality I had in me, but which was not outlived. Today I am thinking that it probably was a picture of an almost dead spirituality/soul, like when a fish is often a symbol of the spiritual (Jesus is sometimes depicted with a fish based on the Bible story in which Jesus miraculously produced fish and bread to the starving). Furthermore, I later dreamt that the creative fish swam freely and boldly around in the vast sea – long after I had started playing drums and singing, and especially after I had started a more spiritual/mental journey. It may therefore be very interesting to see what’s swimming/floating around in our personal (and collective) unconscious.

Finally, the river of life” is a frequent dream image. The river is a picture of the direction we have in our lives – if we allow ourselves to follow this inner power/life path and not fight against it. That is slightly like “going with the flow in our lives,” which sometimes is the right thing or the wrong thing to do. Similarly, one can also dream that the river makes a huge crack (a sharp change of direction in life), or it may be divided into two: you face a crucial choice in your life. I myself once dreamed that I passively let myself go with the flow of a great river, but suddenly I got the instinct that I wanted to go on land and see what was there. In other words, I did not just let life “pull away with me.” It’s completely individual how you will relate to this; will you go with the flow – or “go against it”?

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 water, it’s almost certainly about something else for you than it is for your friend, who also dreamt about water.
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.