Have you ever woken up in a start after a nightmare in which a loved one — or even yourself — was dying? This experience can be scary, but don’t worry: your dreams about death are not a sign of premonition.
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According to “Refinery29”, from which the information comes, dream analyst Lauri Loewenberg declares: “Dreams are symbolic — you can’t interpret them literally or you will frighten yourself”. In fact, she explains that death in dreams represents “some kind of change or end happening in your life”. “For the subconscious mind, this represents the end of life as you know it now,” she continues.
This means that, in fact, your dreams about death are related to your own subconscious.
Dreams about death: how to interpret them
According to psychologist and dream expert Ian Wallace, the person you dream about is also important: “You usually use them to represent a personal characteristic or quality of yours.”
“The death of a loved one in your dream indicates that this particular quality of yours is being transformed in some way. The transformation is often the result of a major change in your waking life, in which you need to let go of old habits and embrace new ways of doing things,” he explains.
The same goes for famous people, as Lauri tells: “I had a client who was having recurring dreams about being Madonna’s best friend… but she ended up dying. We found out that Madonna represented motherhood, not just because her name means ‘mother’, but because Madonna has many children. My client was contemplating getting a tubal ligation, hence the ‘death’ of her ability to become a mother again. Her dreams were letting her know that it’s okay to let go of this part of herself.”
In addition, the way it happens also matters. While a natural death may indicate changes that are happening naturally, a murder represents something forced — like cutting someone out of your life or quitting drinking and smoking.
Ian adds that dreaming about death in a hospital may mean that you have an “unhealthy dependency on your loved one and need to be more responsible and self-sufficient in your waking life”. Conversely, a cemetery scenario indicates that you are laying the past to rest.
Finally, consider how you feel when you wake up. “The joyful realization that your loved one is still alive emphasizes that your connection is being reborn and will help you forge an even stronger bond with them,” concludes the psychologist.
