Dead
Seeing something dead in your dream suggests you are realising that some part of yourself, or your feelings, are no longer expressing fully. In fact you may have killed that part of you by denying it, repressing, or freezing it from normal life. The ‘death’ may even have been caused by a painful experience. But even so, it still means you have made a decision – perhaps unconscious – to shut out that part of your life. This can also relate to a lost opportunity or potential.
Some aspect of your outer or inner life is fading, or being superseded by a changed approach, so may be shown as dying. Your drive to achieve something might die, and be shown as a death in your dreams. Changing from adolescence to puberty, maturity to old age, are also shown as oneself dying. Lost opportunities or unexpressed potentials in oneself are frequently shown as dead bodies. All of us unconsciously learn attitudes or survival skills from parents and others. If these are unrecognised they may be shown as dead. Sometimes we have killed the child or teenager in us because of difficulties or trauma at those ages, and these may be seen as a dead person in one’s dream.
Some death dreams may show the awakening of new life in the dreamer. For instance, Sue worked on a dream in which she was told her baby had died. She woke shaking with grief and tears. The dream and emotions appeared to show her becoming alive enough to feel the grief of her past pain as it connected with the death of her hopes, love, and ideals. She had suppressed her pain for so long. In now coming alive enough to feel her emotions, she was feeling at last that something had died in her.
If the death is someone we know: Frequently, as in second example, desire to be free of the person; or unexpressed aggression; perhaps one’s love for that person has ‘died’. We often ‘kill’ our parents in dreams as we move toward independence. Or we may want someone ‘out of the way’ so we do not have to compete for attention and love.
Death of oneself: Exploration of feelings about death; retreat from the challenge of life; split between mind and body. The experience of leaving the body is frequently an expression of this schism between the ego and life processes. Also: Death of old patterns of living – one’s ‘old self’, the loss of the boundaries that limit your awareness to an identity connected only to the body. This latter is usually a willing surrender of self to the process.
The walking dead or rigor mortis: Aspects of the dreamer that are denied, perhaps through fear.
Dancing with or meeting death or dark figure: Facing up to death.
Example: ‘My son comes in and I see he is unwashed and seems preoccupied and as if he has not cared for himself for some days. I ask him what is wrong. He tells me his mother is dead. I then seem to know she has been dead for days, and my two sons have not told anyone. In fact my other son has not even accepted the fact.’ Anthony.
Anthony is a divorcee. Processing the dream he realised the two sons are ways he is relating to the death of his marriage – the children’s mother.
Example: ‘During my teens I was engaged to be married when I found a more attractive partner and was in considerable conflict. Consistently I dreamt I was at my fiancé’s funeral until it dawned on me the dream was telling me I wanted to be free of him. When I gave him up the dreams ceased.’ Mrs D.
Example: ‘I dream I have a weak heart which will be fatal. It is the practice of doctors in such cases to administer a tablet causing one painlessly to go to sleep – die. I am completely calm and accepting of my fate. I suddenly realise I must leave notes for my parents and children. I must let them know how much I love them, must do this quickly before my time runs out.’ Mrs M.
This is a frequent type of ‘death’ dream. It is a way of reminding ourselves to do now what we want to – especially regarding love.
Although the unconscious has a very real sense of its eternal nature and continuance after physical death, the ego seldom shares this. Unconsciously we realise that collective humanity carries living experience from the life of those now dead. The farmer today unconsciously uses the collective experience of humanity in farming. What innovation he does today his children or others will learn and carry into the future. But apart from that there is life after death. See: Life after Death By Dr. Elisabeth Kubler Ross.
Idioms: Dead and buried; dead from the neck up / or neck down; dead to the world; play dead.
Dreams about a dead person: Dreaming of someone who is dead, a relative or loved one, is quite common. After all, the person may have played a big part in your life, as for instance a husband or wife. Therefore the influence of their existence is still very much a live in you.
As an example of this, you will probably be able to realise that some of your traits, some of the ways that you think or respond to things, have arisen because of the way you related to the person you dreamt about. So in many cases the dead person indicates the feelings you have about the, the traits you still have alive in you from them. When someone close to you dies you go through a period of change from relating to them as an external reality, to meeting and accepting them as alive in your memories and inner life.
Some dreams of dead people are expressive of attempts to deal with feelings, guilt or anger in connection with the person who died; or your own feelings about death.
Dreams about a Dead husband or wife: Many dreams of dead people come from women who have lost their husband. It is common to have disturbing dreams for some period afterwards; or not be able to dream about the husband or wife at all; or to see the partner in the distance but not get near. In accepting the death, meeting any feelings of loss, grief, anger and continuing love, the dream may become as in the third example. See: Death.
Comments
Hi my name is Ashok Kumar, I work for US Medical Billing for night shifts, since 3 to 4 days am going through very bad days due to my Nightmare dreams, I am dreaming as am dead and my spirit has occupied somebody else (anonymous) body and after i have been trying to pullout from their body, i feel like someone is trying use me for black magic and they want to sacrifice my spirit to the evil spirit, can u please help me what to do in this situations, am really scared to sleep now a days, i cannot tell this to anyone in my family because they will be scared of it.
I had a dream about a boy I knew in Georgia we were not close friends we just knew each other and I would go to grandmother house where he lived an play basketball it has been over 45 years since I last saw him I ask about him and found out that he was deceased for many years I got this information several months ago I had a dream about him he was sitting in a chair by some water he was dressed in all white cloths he looked alive and very good and we talked but he said he did not remember me in the dream also if I remember the dream completely it seem he was wearing diamonds in ears a very handsome light completion curly hair tall guy. the dream was so clear yet I do not understand it.
Last night I dreamt of bumping into my ex in the supermarket. We started talking and he said that his mother has died since we have separated.
I am trying to find a meaning to this on the internet but in vain.
I have reoccurring dreams that at a funeral the dead always come to life and chases me and i can never get out of their site,wat does this mean???
Kenyell – It means you are scared of meeting and learning about the wonders of death. They really are trying to communicate something important to you if only you stopped running away.
Please take time to read Talking with the dead – Dreaming of Death – Edgar Cayce
Tony
My Husband has dreamed of me being killed and then seen me Dead in apool of blood and sees our cat Dead at the side of me but we don’t understand why this has come along. He’s dreamt it a few times now and he is worried.
Can you tell me what this can mean really want to know. Thanks Joanne.
I lost my husband 2 years ago. I have recently started a new relationship. Last week,on a rainy night,I dreamt that my husband was standing outside the house in the rain,smiling. He kept disappearing then appearing further down the road,sometimes on rooftops. What does this mean?
I had a dream my father died but is alive in person..The thing is I seen him walking on the beach while me and my family was there and I was the only one that seen him, no one else could see him..Tried to tell them look he is not dead but still I was the only one who was able to see him,,Creepy..
Sandra – Nearly everyone confuses dreams with the rules of waking life. They are totally different – in dreams you are in a totally different environment.
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.
Everything you see as outside you in a dream is coming from you, your emotions, your fears, your beliefs, your joys and explorations are all you, clothed in the dream images and drama. So when you dream of someone you should not feel you are dreaming about that actual person. As with most dreams, the person in the dream is not the person themselves, but is a collection of associations and feeling about him or her.
So it was not your father in you dreams but an image of your thoughts and feelings about him. So ask yourself why you see him so alive while the rest of the family cannot see what you see. Try using http://dreamhawk.com/dream-dictionary/practical-techniques-for-understanding-your-dreams/
Tony
Im wondering if you could explain or help me understand this dream I had! It was my partner’s deceased wife , we were sitting and talking like we had knew each other for years, I remember thinking she had the most beautiful
Blue eyes and she was a lovely person, in my dream she knew I was with her husband and was ok it was weird and felt she visited me for a reason although imfortuntely I never ever met this lady.
Mary – We are all bubbles floating on the surface of an immense ocean of awareness. Only occasionally do we become aware of anything other than the little bubble we live in – our body. But like bubbls that floats on the ocean, it is actually connected and made out of the ocean itself and so connects with all the other bubbles floating.
In dreams we often go beyond the limits imposed by our body, and it seems you were in a wonderful contact with your partner’s deceased wife. The bonds you have with you partner gives you links with all he loved. Please see http://dreamhawk.com/interesting-people/edgar-cayce-and-the-cosmic-mind-superminds/
Tony
This dream im about to tell you i dremt it before like 4 times throught my life, i need you to tell me what it means. So in my dreams it starts with my mom my sister and i are putting fix in the freezer..talking and joking around, i remeber from there it goes that im in highschool but im death and either i didnt know or people didnt know, but i could talk to the people i choose to see me.like in my dream people call me for help and i apear on them to give them advise(but the guy that apearse in my dream alling out for me multiple times i dont know who he is?) Then in my dream my sister got married and i remeber she said she wished i was there and that guy i dont knw calls for me again and i apear . At the end of my dream it happend that i was with my ex in a car. I was telling him i was death but i was kind of happy i would tell him that now i could go with him to work and go to his house and sit by his bed and watch him sleep, but then i got really sad because i knew that as much as i loved that and been with him all day i would neve be able to touch. Him or marry him or have kids with him. Hope your still replying to this comments, it really means alot to me to know what this means since when i woke up i felt the same sadness that i had in my dream for my ex but im engaged and live with my fiance.please help.
Stephanie – A very unusual dream; and I have to guess some of its meaning.
It sounds like you have a happy family life with your mom and sister, and putting stuff in the freezer suggests things were frozen for a while.
Then you realise that you are in the inner world, the world of dreams and death. And in that state you have the ability to talk to and advise people. But you feel it is because you are dead, and so a mix up occurs in your mind. Sleep has been called a ‘little death’. Obviously in the inner world you can be called upon by anybody.
The meeting with your ex makes me wonder whether you are in fact in love with him – you still in fact love him and so are questioning your relationship with your fiancé.
That adds to your feelings of being dead because you cannot at the moment touch, marry or have children with him. Feelings about ex’s can be very intense, and so you need to be careful how you react to the situation. Can you find out what the situation is with your ex maybe that will clear thing for you?
Tony
I had a dream about standing on the side of the road with a group of people. In the center of the road was my dead aunt. She was standing there wearing her riding gear her long sleeve black shirt jeans and boot. She wanted to tell me something but could not. She didn’t look angry or happy just a straight face. The people insisted she was my other aunt who is still living. I yelled that it was my aunt S arguing with them then woke up.
Back story. Aunt S died 2006 by falling off of the back of a motorcycle her husband drove, then she was hit by a car. Died instantly. I am used to dead family members trying to communicate with me normally using me to pass a message to someone else but this was different. It felt like it was for me alone. Any suggestions?? I am at a complete loss.
I had dead strangers in my dream, I could not see their faces, just their backs. They were around water.
I dreamed I parked my car and went into this building. Whe I came out I saw dead people who had died in a car accident. Their bodies were out on the ground. I saw a girl in her 20’s and boy around the same age. Blood spatters everywhere. Then when I went to get my car, I couldn’t find it as it had been towed away. What could that mean?
Mandy – Entering a building can be suggesting that you are looking for something or a new relationship. You had parked you car with a possible meaning that you have stopped going anywhere and are making a change.
But when you come out of the place or relationship you have killed many parts of yourself, indicating that you had lost a lot of your drive or initiative. So ask yourself what has caused that.
Tony
What does it mean to see or talk to a dead friend in your dream
i dreamed that my mother was dead but she was not burried and she was talking walking like she was alive.we knew shre had been embalmed. hell she knew it. we just couldnt figure out why she was still here.my mom hasent passed yet. but she has been sick for about 2 1/2 years. can uou help me to figure out what it could mean. it was very vivid and real feeling. had alot of details. and she was awarer of what was happening.
My mother has passed away 10 days ago. My sisters and I don’t see her in our dreams but she did came to visit two person that she knew well. In her dream she is completely naked and asking for rob. We don’t know what it means but assume that people in morgue didn’t put any clothes on her. Please help us understand what she wants…
Thank you