Alligator Crocodile
Feelings or fears of being attacked or overwhelmed, possibly from within oneself, or by a powerful mother – i.e. ones internal dependence upon mother. There is so much about ourselves we do not know, and when a new aspect of us, or a much larger power within us emerges – like and great creature from our depths – we react to it with fear. See Autonomous complex
The alligator and crocodile often represent a hidden form of treachery, apparently harmless until it opens its mouth to eat us, such as that of a person spreading malicious rumours or trying to undermine us in some way. Another attack from deep within can be from repressed emotions.
But the alligator or crocodile as a dream creature is not the same as an external alligator. It is an enormous creature from your own depths, your inner self or core self – the part of you that you are not aware of and are frightened of. See core
The alligator or crocodile is similar to the serpent and depicts the power of the emotions, influences and experiences emerging from the unconscious. If you do not relate to your unconscious urges constructively, conflict can occur. Then you may feel fear of these forces within you – fear of being swallowed, or dragged into dark feelings. That is, of being carried away, or possessed, by fears, urges, ideas, arising from within, or fear of the irrational.
The Egyptians worshipped a crocodile as a guide to the dead in the underworld. It represents not only a threat, but also a wealth of wisdom about unconscious things. It possibly represented the forces of the unconscious because of the observation of the crocodile emerging from hidden depths to lay its eggs on the river bank. In this sense the crocodile or alligator in some dreams represents a personal confrontation with eternity. Depending upon the dream, the crocodile may well depict your fears about your inner hugeness. When we meet this it shows a personal awareness of merging with the many lives held in the collective unconscious. It is illustrated by the Christian idea of being cells in the body of Christ. We retain individual life, but know ourselves as part of an eternal life. This is possibly a natural stage in ageing, as our physical prowess and motivations fall away, this immense inner life begins to open to us. See The Life Will
As some people keep pet alligators, there might be a very personal meaning if one has actually kept an alligator.
Example: Now I looked at the large pool where the river surfaced. A woman swam in it, and was going to enter the tunnels. As I watched I saw some huge crocodiles swim toward her. With great speed and confidence she swam away, obviously being able to match the threat. A group of people in the pond, through their group strength, also dealt with the crocodiles.
Example: I can remember that in the dream another person and I, a male but very indistinct and shadowy, were facing mythical creatures in some sort of odyssey. A strange sort of crocodile or alligator type creature was supposedly attacking me. I had mixed feelings about this. Partly I felt there was nothing to fear about the creature, but another feeling was that it might be able to do some damage. In fact it was biting me across my chest, but all I felt was a very strong tickling feeling that made me laugh.
Example: Now a huge unknown creature began to enter into my awareness. I felt the presence of an enormous creature rising to the surface of something like a swamp or a body of water. At first I thought it might be a whale, but as I paid attention to what was happening it defined into a huge crocodile.
This huge creature looked at me and said, “Mathew, join me.”
I laughed at this because it was so huge, and with so many associations of swallowing things, that I said something like, “What do you mean join you? Don’t you mean that you want to eat me?”
The creature replied to me, “No. No, it’s not like that, I’m just like a submarine. I have all these lives in me. I have many, many lives in me. I am life. I contain the many. You can swim this ocean alone Mathew, if you wish. Or you can join me, you can join the many. You can always, if you choose to live your independent life again and leave us.”
I laughed here because I had the image of me being independent, stripping off, diving over the side of the boat into the ocean and swimming off. It is something I have often done in the sea, swimming long distances alone, or off to an island out to sea, by myself.
I began to give myself to that great creature which I now understood as the collective unconscious, the unity of lives. It felt as if it was absolving me, much as I had experienced earlier on. (One of those strange and beautiful, and also moving coincidences just happened. I am reading this in using voice recognition, and it is proving to be very accurate. But in the sentence where I said that I felt it was – and the word was supposed to be absorbing me – the software used the word absolving. And here I am again, back in the ocean, weeping as I know there is no judgment on the life I have led so alone and cut off.)
Useful questions and hints:
What does the alligator represent to me?
What do I know about them?
Am I feeling threatened or carried away by any fears?
In what way is my intuition or awareness reaching beyond myself ?
Do I feel myself part of a larger whole?
See See Summming Up – Reaction to the unconscious – Secrets of Power Dreaming
Comments
I had a dream the my daughter and I were at a river boating. She fell in so I jumped in after her. I saw an alligator grab her leg and drag her off but it didn’t hurt her. The alligator let her go and I caught up to her. Suddenly, there were more alligators near us and I was scared at first and tried to swim faster, but I couldn’t. I was swimming very slowly and getting scared until I realized they weren’t bothering us, they were swimming with us. I’m confused as to what this means since there are so many different feelings.
Dear Crystal – I think it is wonderful that you are aware of all the different feelings in your dream and I think it is a great start to explore it from there.
Being in a river is like being influenced by or immersed in one’s internal flow of feelings and energies.
If we take away the images and events occurring in a dream and simply look to see what feelings or emotions are evident, the dream is often more understandable than if we try to interpret the symbols. Feelings in dreams are nearly always undistorted. We therefore do not need to interpret them, simply to recognise them and see if we can recognise where they occur in waking life.
See http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/emotions-and-mood-in-dreams/
I think in this context your daughter represents yourself at that age; and “in her” you meet again the many different feelings that were able to hold you in its grip and drag you down.
I understand that meeting your inner child this way IS confusing, for in the dream you are dealing at first with feelings from both the past and the present simultaneously.
However, in our inner world confusion often precedes clarity. And so being confused can be good. I know that sounds strange, but confusion is part of the change process. If things are staying the same, you are rarely confused. Confusion happens when you change and start to do things differently.
Before the moment of change in your dream you meet “an invisible obstacle” and it makes that you have to slow down; “I tried to swim faster, but I couldn’t”. You cannot remove the obstacle, but you are able to change your attitude, because swimming very slowly gives you the opportunity to observe the alligators. And while observing them you become aware that they are not bothering you, for they are joining you in the same direction and with joining you they become an integrated part of your flow of feelings and energies.
And so through simple self-observation you gradually arrive at a form of insight which leads to a transcending of yourself as you stood prior to the insights.
I trust it will serve a purpose to continue with self-observation, for while exploring this in your dream you were able to become aware that that approach does work for you.
So please read http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/self-observation/ and in order to understand the importance of digesting and integration I like you to read
http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/integration-meeting-oneself/
Anna 🙂
Danced with an alligator / crocodile-like creature. I didn’t feel afraid in the dream. There was also the blending of a bull-like creature that I was around.
Mark – The dream suggests that you feel in harmony with your unconscious drives and sexuality and with the process of Life.
See also http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/energy-sex-and-dreams/
You wrote “a bull-like creature”. Do you mean a minotaur?
http://dreamhawk.com/dream-dictionary/minotaur/
Anna 🙂
I dreamt me and my brothers girlfriend of 8 years were in a room and she said OMG Leti look I caught a little alligator and she said don’t touch it and the bag had water which looked kind of dirty all of a sudden it tried to attack us and I grabbed it and bite the head off and ate it than I chewed the tail and spit it out and said it will never bother us again. Than I woke up I have never dreamt anything like that before..
Leti – A dream is a reflection of your inner world. See http://dreamhawk.com/approaches-to-being/questions-2/#Summing
The alligator or crocodile is similar to the serpent and depicts the power of the emotions, influences and experiences emerging from the unconscious. If you do not relate to your unconscious urges constructively, conflict can occur, as happened when the alligator tried to attack you.
You were willing to “take in” the experience/thought of the alligator, for eating has that meaning in our dreams.
Eating is about satisfying one’s needs or ‘hunger’. This can be any area of need, such as emotional, mental, and sexual, depending on dream context. To eat is to continue involvement in the fundamental processes of life, a celebration of interdependence. It is an expression of the desire to take in nourishment, whether physical, emotional or nourishment of the mind. Experience itself is a form of food because we take it in and digest it.
I think it does serve a purpose to explore if you enjoy chewing on the tail in your dream and why you did not swallow this part of the alligator.
See http://dreamhawk.com/dream-dictionary/tail/
Is the tail related to a sexual experience or thoughts about sex?
Chewing is a symbol for considering something; mulling over something; trying something out – getting a taste of it so to speak.
Also you can ask yourself why you did not “swallow this part of your alligator” and what that means for you.
The rest of the experience and so of the alligator you did swallow, which means that you can start to digest this experience, or idea.
When we digest, whether it is an experience or an idea, something we have read or learned, it has to be first surrendered to the life process. We can see this in our body – it is first chewed and swallowed, then broken down into parts and the useful stuff, the building stuff, can be taken into us and the rest is passed out. The important thing is that even if it is dead or living food, it is transformed into our own living being – in other words our living understanding. If it has not been transformed through digestion it is like something dead inside us. But to be capable of such digestion we must swallow the experience and allow our unknown self to do its work, as described in Life’s Little Secrets. http://dreamhawk.com/approaches-to-being/lifes-little-secrets/
Anna 🙂
Hi, I need help interpreting this dream…a group of co-workers and I were on a boat that had some animals to feed. My friend began to feed an alligator and was getting too close so I began to panic and worriedly warned her about the alligator. She picked it up and hug it and I continued to warn her when all of a sudden the alligator beGan to bite her and wasn’t letting go. I started to see blood and called on people to help her but she was too proud to say anything until we finally got the alligator off her. Hope you can help.
Evelyn – Every image and person in your dreams is an expression of your own life process. As such it is alive and intelligent and is something sent to help you. A dream is like a projection from a movie projector, except that you are the projector.
See http://dreamhawk.com/dream-dictionary/what-we-need-to-remember-about-us-3/#Project
And so your friend in the dream who is too proud “to say anything” reflects a part of you which is not assertive enough.
Perhaps there is also a belief that when you do not listen to a warning – do not get too close to an alligator for instance – and things go wrong that you do not deserve any help.
You always derserve help Evelyn 🙂
Since you are on this ship – a relation-ship – with your co-workers, I feel the dream helps you to learn to take care of yourself in a more active way; for you called on people to help “her” AND it worked.
See http://dreamhawk.com/dream-dictionary/active-passive/
So do continue this way.
Anna 🙂
Hi so my mother has passed away about 2 years ago and ive been havig on and off dreams about aligators thefirst one was i was in a river and they were right next to me but just stared at me and didnt move until i got out, the second dream i was on a little dock in the middle of the ocean with my mom and she said pick out any alligator you want and the third dream i had just recently had was with 3 alligators surrounding me as i fell out of a boat down a river bank but they didnt hurt me they just floated around me. Im hoping you can help me diagnose what any of this means. Thanks a lot!!
In my dream it was night, my boyfriend and I were walking and talking about taking a trip. It happened so fast he sunk into the ground I was trying to help him out when a alligator/crocodile took him by the legs.I was still holding on to my boyfriend. The alligator /crocodile took had us under water I was trying to pull my boyfriend out of the alligator mouth. We came up to the top of the water I remember feeling so scared, helpless but I didn’t care I just wanted my boyfriend out, even though he was dead. I tried so hard and the alligator /crocodile was just looking at me the hole time I was crying and screaming the alligator not once try to hurt me.
Jaz – I see a connection between the two of you talking about going on a trip and the fear which arose and which was not expressed in a more direct way.
I think it will be helpful to ask what journey you are about to embark in with your boyfriend and what frightens you or him, or both?
http://dreamhawk.com/dream-dictionary/journey/
It is helpful to also read the entry about boyfriend in the dictionary:
http://dreamhawk.com/dream-dictionary/boyfriend-ex/
QUOTE
_______________________________________
Dreaming about your boyfriend is usually about your emotional feelings, attachment to, or fears about the boyfriend. This includes the difficulties, struggles with feelings and sexuality felt in connection with boyfriend or other males. It might also be your insights into his behaviour. Please read http://dreamhawk.com/relationship-sex/ages-of-love-2/
Boyfriend dreams often have an element either of fear or dreaming of possibilities. In other words the dream explores what you fear might happen in the relationship, and what you hope will happen.
_______________________________________
And last but not least, it will be helpful to read this entry
http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/brain-levels-and-dreams/#reptilebrain
Anna 🙂
I had a dream that I was Hanging out with an old friend we was laying out by the lake on the pier well one minute the lake was crystal blue out of nowhere it turned into straight Mudd well my friend decided to jump into the Mudd an when he did a ginormous alligator came behind him but my friend heard nothing for he had head phones on, but it ate my friend. I ran into the house my kids were inside with some more old friends, the alligator got mad no more people were in the Mudd so it came running after my house out of fear for myself an kids a ran outside to get the attention of the alligator, I accomplished that but when the alligator caught me the house next to us for some reason started to blow over an all these people came running out the alligator caught this big lady an started talking to me about eating her than enjoying me, I started pleading with the alligator I told her if she let me go I’d bring her 3 for one meaning if she let me go I’d bring her 3 for letting me go she agreed and let me go I went inside and my kids were gone but 3 of my old friends were there . I tried keeping them all inside , but then when they left was feared for there life an nothing happened to them I Mudd was water again people were swimming everywhere .
I was troubled and tossing with the decision if I were to come clean with a good friend, whom I’ve liked for many years. We were chatting before i slept tonight. Before I slept…i was praying for guidance from God, should injust get it over with and thrash it out, or just continue waiting to see what will come out of the current situation…
Next thing I know, i was dreaming that my crush tell.me in the chat that he was away on an assignment out of town, and there are a lot of crocodiles in the area where he is located. And in the dream, i was just done chatting with him and was going to sleep….I fell asleep in the dream, and woke up for some reason and check the bathroom foor to find that there is a crocodile in it…trying to fet out…..i failed to lock the door and the crocodile came after me and i hop up the bed…where it was snapping from below. My thoughts then was to call my crush for help…..and i then woke up …
I had a dream me n my wife were out with my dad and she was wading in like a kiddie pool and there was an alligator nearby. We asked her over n over if she was crazy and what she was doing and she said it was fine. The next thing you know the gator chomped down on her shoulder and started eating her. I tried like hell to get it off her but the grip was so strong. Please help.
There was a big lake and I was watching myself and my family from birds eye view. We had to get around then lake but the alligators were very aggressive and waiting for us. My husband pushes me and tells me to go then jumps in the water to distract the alligators from me and our 3 kids. My point of view changes to where I’m myself now, and I’m horrified. I’m screaming his name watching as he tries to swim away from them. He gets out of the water and is making it to safety, but then I realize my oldest (who is a toddler again) has jumped into the water and an alligator is approaching him. I run forward to grab him but the gator beats me…. But he can’t bite my son. He’s trying but just kinda putting his mouth on him.
Kelsie – This all about your own fears. And to save a lot of explaining please read http://dreamhawk.com/approaches-to-being/questions-2/#Summing
Your husband is not your husband in the dream, but your feelings about him, that I guess are that he is a protective influence in your life. And of course you son, who represents your own childhood feelings of vulnerability, can’t bite your son because in some way you knew no harm can come in dreams. But also your dream was showing you that all your terrible screams were your own fears and there is no need for them. The alligator was showing you that every time it was only playing at biting.
It might be helpful to read http://dreamhawk.com/approaches-to-being/questions-2/#ChildKill and http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/eight-step-method-to-manage-intense-emotion/
Tony
Hi I Dreampt I was flying down a river in Brazil (I’ve never been to Brazil) the thing I was using to fly wasn’t very good so I kept ending up almost in the water which at points was full of crocks and dead cattle at one point. Enitially I went upstream but then came back down stream.The river then ran into a tunnel but with a white plastic tunnel above it which I had to climb up to and had small spiders in it and in the middle a camel spider eating a tortus. There where also three French tourists from Normandy in there who I spoke to.
I dreamt that my family and I were going on an adventure in some type of wilderness where all the different predators of the animal kingdom. I remember feeling worried and concerned. Perhaps even anxious. But my family was thrilled and care free. My fiance took his shoes off and went skipping through a section in the water that was clearly alligator infested. You could see a swarm of them from the path where we came down into this animal kingdom den. The path led from a parking area and up ahead you could see some sort of camp ground with other people and their families. Water on both sides of the path and tall trees caved this den in. It seemed as if we could only move forward. The alligator killed my fiance…. I was obviously devastated and in a lot of pain. It didn’t consume him. It just attached him. This is a reoccurring dream. At least the location/setting. The only thing that changes is the people and the animal at the center of it.
I have dreams of crocodiles/alligators all the time. I’ve never been bit by one or anything. Im always running away from them sometimes their not chasing me though. Just last night I was in super mercy water that people brought me to on a boat poop was floating in the water and it was a huge like giant gator like in Lake placid and I was in the water it did NOT try to eat me. I was very scared though. I believe at one point it said something to me. I don’t know exactly what it said but this is probably the second or maybe even the first dream I’ve had where the alligator talked. I have alot of alligator dreams they are always completely different and I’m always usually scared but it seems like each dream I’m getting less scared.
Jessica – Please read the following as it will save a lot of time writing to explain the difference between the dream alligator and the waking one, http://dreamhawk.com/approaches-to-being/questions-2/#Summing
The dream alligator/crocodiles are and can never been harmful. Like all dream images they represent things about you, abilities you have, or new dimensions of you. Even if they swallow you it is just an experience of going deep inside yourself. The alligator is a way to begin to meet your core self. See http://dreamhawk.com/dream-dictionary/core
The gator is talking to you because all dream images are parts of you and have intelligence. Your dream characters and animals are intelligent and purposeful. They have a semi independent life within you until you integrate them. You create them unconsciously using your energy, positive feelings and motivations. Avoiding them leads to the loss of your full potential and health. I am not suggesting you immediately meet and integrate all your many aspects. That takes time, courage and a form of strength that only grows as you mature in this new environment. What is important is to remember your goals – integration and wholeness – growth into a new level of ability and maturity, a new connection with others and yourself. You do this by claiming and loving all that you are.
No computer, however amazing, can yet do what your mind does in creating a dream. It produces a living being such as a dream character that can have a conversation with you, and in doing so draw spontaneously from huge areas of your experience or memories. Behind the image lies enormous data, emotional response and created patterns of behaviour. So the main thing to remember at this level is that you are in a full surround databank of fantastic information. You can tap this information just as you would with any person, by asking questions and prodding for a response. But, even the trees and animals in your dreams are also enormous reservoirs of information, linking back perhaps infinitely with your potential and experience. So try using http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/acting-on-your-dream/#BeingPerson by being the alligator, or use http://dreamhawk.com/dream-dictionary/paper/#Writing
Tony
I had a dream of a pond full of crocodiles.all my school friends were present in the dream. At first i was excited and later as i saw the pond ….a feeling of fear gripped on to me and told them i could not swim. And then i saw the pond full of crocodile and i did not feel good at all. Please tellme what this means
Hi, had a dream about crocs and gators, my dad was there and pointed it out, we went near and saw baby crocs/gators. There were about 5. And they were inside this tank that was built for them, there were also other tanks but we did not look. Thanks.
I dreamt of an old high school friend and I sunbathing at a large pool. I was telling her how beautiful the wedding was and she said it was funny because she saw I wasn’t there. When all of a sudden the dream switched to me walking towards a baby pool with an alligator sunbathing and three toddlers playing. The moms were all talking and I was watching the baby get closer to the alligator when all of a sudden the alligator grabbed it and pulled him under…which at that point the pool seemed deep. I saved the the other two toddlers by dragging them towards me because no one else was doing anything about. It was such a terrible dream.
Libby – Please read the following as it saves a lot of explaining – http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/questions-2/#Summing
You will see that while we dream nothing can hurt us, so your fears are about your baby self being traumatised. The dream happened because you were relaxing, and that allowed your inner self to start the healing process for the hurt you felt as an infant.
If you let yourself really feel the fear you felt in the dream you will uncover the real cause of the dream. See http://dreamhawk.com/approaches-to-being/lifes-little-secrets/
Tony