Dreaming of death: what does it mean? Is it a bad sign?

Death is a very mysterious subject for most people. Dreaming of death would be the mystery of the mystery. Although death can be thought of essentially as a symbol of transformation, whenever we face it, the lack of guarantees and certainties destabilizes the ego. In this way, we are forced to look for some meaning, some reference that guides our anxiety and fear.

To understand the meaning of dreaming about death, it is also necessary to understand the place from which the dreamer departs to explain and understand death, whether linked to religion or not. There are those who believe in eternal life, others believe in reincarnation, or even that nothing happens and that we simply cease to exist.

For this reason, it is also essential to know how the dreamer deals with death and, in this way, we will be able to better understand what it means to dream about death for each person.

As dreams can be a channel of communication with oneself, a form of self-knowledge, let’s better understand the symbol and what it means to dream of death in different contexts.

In this article, we will deal only with the death of people. Dreaming of someone who has already died or dreaming of a dead person being alive, for example, have very different affective weights.

What does it mean to dream about someone who has already died, dream about the death of a friend, dream about a dead brother or dream about a dead relative? Is it good or is it a bad sign? To find out the answer, it is important to explore what representation these people have for the dreamer.

We must probe quite sincerely what characteristics of this person marked the dreamer and how they affected him.

This exercise can be done with significant people, both negatively and positively in the dreamer’s life, since it is not a rule that the fact that we dream about someone we love implies a “positive” dream — nor the opposite.

Dreams with dead public figures, whether singers, actors, politicians, spiritual leaders, among other personalities, can also be thought of according to the exercise proposed above. However, the collective value of that figure must be considered, that is, its collective representation, even if opposed to that of the dreamer.

With each great experience – not necessarily concrete, but mainly emotional – human beings renew their existence and the meaning they attribute to it. But it is also confronted by the finitude of cycles, attitudes and, in the case of death, the finitude of the body.

As Jung wisely explains, symbols related to the process of individuation (self-knowledge) can be symbols of death.

That is, dreams that bring symbols or content related to death, but which refer to profound changes in the dreamer’s life, do not indicate concrete death.

Dreaming of death can happen in countless circumstances of life, which are marked by profound transformations, such as:

Transitions between stages of human development (childhood, adolescence, adulthood and old age) Marriage and the birth of children A marital separation The experience of an abortion A very invasive surgery The end of a relationship The loss of a loved one or a pet pet An assault An experience of abuse Each significant and relevant choice for our development, since when we choose something, in general, we are giving up some other possibility

This understanding is very important, as it helps to distinguish when dreaming about death has a connection with life, and when the dream really suggests a concrete death. For this, we must carefully pay attention to the totality of the dreamer and the reality he experiences.

There are dreams that really seem to prepare the dreamer for death.

Important studies carried out through the analysis of dreams of terminally ill or very elderly patients have revealed that symbols emerge from the unconscious that prepare the dreamer for the death process, and also abound in mythical symbols that clearly show the dreamer the continuity of consciousness after death. .

Clocks that stop, trees that fall, plantations trampled, some buried animal, and even some more obvious ones like passing through dark and narrow tunnels, the dreamer seeing himself healthy next to the sick body in a hospital bed, among countless others.

It is as if the unconscious understood and expressed through dreams that, like the great transformations experienced in this existence, death is another moment of profound transformation within the process of development of consciousness. The unconscious harbors this human experience: the possible continuity of psychic life.

It is impossible not to pay attention, even if not in detail, to the dreamer’s religious belief, in order to understand the fact of dreaming about death.

Different religions deal with death from different perspectives and based on different premises, often even opposing each other, such as beliefs that accept reincarnation and beliefs that accept the process of resurrection and eternal life in the afterlife.

The social role of religions has always been to weave a line of meaning for death, but this path has not always been sufficient or satisfactory.

There is a lot of death going on around us. The big problem is that we were never taught to talk about death, to think and use certain death as the meaning of life.

We learn to fear death, to cling to our body, which is often driven by social conventions that don’t even make that much sense to us.

Obviously younger people die and there are dreams that might worry an analyst – for example, dreaming of a dead child.

We experience death subjectively and, in fact, aspects of us, as well as plans and ideas die on a daily basis, but in some circumstances we have to be careful.

Often, dreams of death – whether of our own death or that of other people – are accompanied by important religious symbols that will vary, in most cases, according to the dreamer’s belief. And that makes the dream again very unique, and necessarily needs to be contextualized.

Therefore, if you had a dream about death, it is important to pay attention to all these details and try to contextualize them with your reality.

In this sense, consulting with a psychologist specialized in dream interpretation can help you to understand in a deeper way the messages that your unconscious mind is sending.

Some questions you can ask yourself can help in this process of understanding the symbology of the dream, facilitating self-reflection and stimulating associations with what you live in everyday life or with situations you have already experienced. And, above all, taking the interpretation into reality and being able to take some action.

FIRST STEP: QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF ABOUT THE DREAM

Who was the person in the dream and what did he represent to the dreamer? What are the dreamer’s interactions with the person in the dream? What are the circumstances under which this person appears in the dream, what is the setting? Is there a feeling that the dead person would still be alive or, in the dream, are you aware that he has already left? Is the person who appears dead in the dream alive in conscious life? Are there dialogues with this person and what do they say? What are the feelings arising from the contact with this internal character? What does the death of this person refer the dreamer to?

STEP TWO: WHAT’S GOING ON IN YOUR REAL LIFE

What needs to be transformed in me? Is there anything I need to say goodbye to and let go? What about me is difficult to deal with and look at? What aspects of myself do I have difficulty transforming? What’s dead in me? What needs to die and what needs to remain in my personality? What needs to be reviewed so that I can proceed in peace? Am I putting a lot of energy into things that destroy me believing they are good for me? What in the collective affects me and asks me for personal transformation? How does the collective interfere in my life? How do I understand death and what meaning do I give to life?

The meaning of dreaming about death depends on the context and what happens in the dream. The dream does not necessarily mean someone’s death, in fact, premonitory dreams are rare, but they can, yes, be the amplification of something that is happening in your life.

Below, see some of the main explanations about what it is to dream about death.

Dreaming of a friend dying or dreaming of a dead relative

What does it mean to dream about someone who has already died, when that person is a friend, relative or loved one who has already passed away? It can be an unconscious way of satisfying a need for contact with that person, considering the compensatory function of dreams.

Dreaming of the dead, in general, especially when loved ones who have passed away appear to the dreamer to say that they are fine, to bring some specific message or even to say nothing, but being there with the dreamer brings a breath of fresh air.

Certainly, the opposite is possible, the dream puts the dreamer in deeper contact with his sadness and mourning.

Dream about the death of someone you don’t like

Dreaming about the death of someone with whom you had difficulties in your relationship can indicate precisely that part of our psyche that we do not deal with or do not understand very well. It could indicate a need to look at these issues and turn them on yourself.

It is worth the dreamer, when identifying the characteristics of the character in the dream, to question himself in which moments or situations in his life he has already acted in a similar way.

I’ve heard dreams in which the image of the deceased, despite being very dear, directed the dreamer towards complicated and destructive situations. Which may indicate that what we fully trust in ourselves may be hurting us, boycotting us or simply preventing our individual development.

To dream that someone who has already died is alive

There are dreams in which the deceased person is perceived as still alive, still present. There is no awareness in the dream that she has already left. This can indicate a certain attachment and difficulty letting go.

Or else, it may indicate that certain aspects of the psyche may be “dead” in real life, but continue to exist within the dreamer.

Dreaming of a dead person who is alive

Dreaming of a dead person who is alive, but who appears as dead in the dream, makes us reflect on what aspects are dying in us or what part of that person in us is dying.

Again, dreaming of dead people requires thinking about the representation of these people in order to understand the symbol of the unconscious.

Dream about famous people dying

Dreaming of dead people when dealing with public figures requires consideration of the collective factor.

That is, dreaming of a personality that has a negative representation for the dreamer, but collectively positive, can indicate a conflicting relationship with the collective and internal values ​​of the dreamer.

Once there is an alignment between the collective and what the dreamer thinks about that person, we can start looking for how this interaction of…