Tiger Tigress
Power, anger, sexual power, inner anxiety or terrifying urges. Fear of another person’s anger or forcefulness. Sometimes the power of a mother’s protectiveness. A woman’s anger or sexual craving.
Although similar in many ways to the lion, the tiger has a more feminine quality. It can therefore represent an angry woman; ones mother/a woman as a protector or destroyer; anger; spitefulness; the power and authority of ones animal strength; anxiety or fear, flight or fight. Often children have recurring dreams of being chased by a tiger (or lion), and this is about anger that they have been told is bad to express. So this is why they are running from it when they should have made it their friend. This is probably also why most people are still running or hiding from tigers in their dreams. Instead they should have been taught to direct their anger – a natural part of our defense system – effectively.
Do not to be afraid of the animals you meet in your dreams. They are only symbols of your own inner nature, your animal self. See Your Mammal Brain
The tiger represents your own power, the power that can protect your family and any children. Feel the power of that by imaging yourself as the tiger. Yes, actually imagine yourself in its body.
Also big cats, like domestic cats and dogs are very ‘mouthey’ – in other words they do everything with their mouth. They love with their mouth and love to hold you with their mouth. It is their way of giving a hug and wanting to be near. But of course tigers can bite for real too, but your dream tiger is a part of you. Even if it did bite you in your dream it is only like holographic image and can do you no harm. To be frightened of your dream tiger is to run away, avoid or deny your own wonderful natural strength and self protection. See Mouthey Animals
Example: Just last night I dreamt I was walking and a tiger came at me. I was scared, but I thought I would try to be strong and not show my fear. It did not work and the tiger ran at me. I climbed a tree and onto a roof of a tin shed. The tiger followed me up and I ran across a series of tin sheds. I finally realized I could not escape and I turned and faced the tiger. I screamed at the tiger and ran straight at it. The tiger got scared and turned and ran away, and then I woke up. These dreams have been on my mind, and I would love some insight into them. Thank you so much.
From that you can see that an image – in a dream – cannot hurt you, though it can cause you to feel fear. So chasing it was a way of changing your feeling, and that of course changes your dream. So, there is nothing in any dream that can hurt you, unless you run away from something. Running away is leaving yourself open to being a victim of whatever frightens you.
When we call someone a tiger we either mean they are fierce, capable of defending themselves, or very successful at what they do. But we also say a woman can protect her children or loved partner like a tiger. So it is also about strength and passion to protect and care. This aspect of the tiger depicts the primeval and passionate power of motherhood and the love and care of nature itself emanating from the unconscious. Tigers are individual creatures and are not, like lions, part of a group less it is a mother with her cubs.
Like any other animal, the tiger can also represent aspects of sexuality, depending upon how it is presented in the dream. As a symbol of sex it would most likely include elements of uncertainty – will I be attacked or overwhelmed – power and instinctive responses. It has to be remembered also that the tiger is a top of the food chain predator, and so can represent the predatory facets of human nature. See animal for an explanation of the role dream animals play in our life:
But it has to be remembered that every image in our dreams is an aspect of ourselves, and being an animal the tiger represents the wonderful strength we have as our heritage – if we claim it. Many people are frightened of their own strength and so run from their dream tiger, but as the following dream shows it can be your strength.
Example: An adult tiger was at my bed with one of my old high school buddy holding him on a leash. When I saw him I was furious what the fuck is such dangerous animal doing on my bed. Went to load my AK (the imaginary one, don’t actually own one), but when I pointed the gun at him he ignored me with calm and assertive look. I dropped the gun and in my admiration for him just felt his strong and firm energy. Since then I started to really think of Tigers as the ultimate alpha animal!!
Example: I was in a hallway behind a door, pulling it against me to shield myself against a tiger. The tiger was large with bloodstained paws. Some people stopped outside the door to look at the tiger. I told them to move along, as it had a very uncertain temper, and could easily attack. In fact it began to grow restless and growl. They went. I saw the deep colours of the tiger, and the blood. I was terrified that at any moment it would pull the door away from me. At that moment the tiger attacked me when I came from behind the door, and swallowed me. Now instead of feeling separate I was the tiger, and delighted in his movements and anger.
If you are born in the year of the Tiger in Chinese astrology, dreaming of a tiger might be a comment on your strength and weaknesses. It could be wise to consider your basic characteristics in the light of the dream. See Chinese Zodiac Tiger
The tiger can represent many things however, and below is another important aspect of a tiger.
Example: While in a basement a person approached me holding quite a large animal. As they handed it to me I saw it was a tiger cub, large and very well built, with a thick neck. I was surprised, but even more surprised and disturbed when a huge tigress came through a doorway above us at ground level and came down the stairs to us. I thought she was going to attack us, but she took the baby cub and placed it down. She then came with something in her mouth, probably money, and placed it near me. She gave off a powerful feeling of not wanting the cub, and with the money handing it over to me or us for our care. There was an atmosphere of irritability about her. Peter G.
In this example the tiger has an obvious connection with the mother. The dreamer had often been threatened by his mother that she was going to give him away, or put him in a home. So the dream probably dealt with his need to confront these feelings of abandonment which, like the tiger, were threatening. Interestingly, almost exactly five years later, in the same month, Peter dreamt the following.
I am in a house. There is a feeling I am sharing it with a number of people, as if there is a connection with a friend Mike. Suddenly I notice there is a tiger cub running around the room. It is a large room and empty except for myself and the cub. I realise this must mean there is a mother tiger about and worry that it will be angry or aggressive because of its cub. I go to walk through a doorway, but the mother tiger walks through. I stand still, not daring to move. But she brushes against me in a friendly way and strolls over to look at her cub. Peter G.
Interestingly the dreamer sees himself as a young tiger in his dreams.
Example: There is alarm that a wild tiger is about. I am concerned to find a place out of sight, behind a desk, in case the tiger sees me. It comes in, and, although there are many other people, it comes directly to me. As it comes towards me, I see it is small, and young, and un-coordinated in its random, flailing movements (rather like Tigger in Winnie-the-Pooh). Its body is like a pipe-cleaner twisted into a tiger shape. As it comes to me, I see it is full of energy but also shaking uncontrollably with fear, drenched in sweat. It is furiously wagging its tail, which may have a white bow tied to it (or is it the shape of the tail? – the latter I think), as if it is desperate to please. So from within my fear I say to it “Good tiger, there’s a good tiger,” to calm it down. I think, or say: “This tiger is terrified, because it is quite out of its element, in a classroom with humans.” I look up and see there is no one else in the room – just me and the tiger. JH.
JH says of his dream: “This seems to me to be a very revelatory dream. Clearly I am the tiger, and so I am frightened of my own fear in trying to hide from it. But the clarity of the dream is in the basic fear of existence the tiger exhibits.” Here the tiger is clearly about the fight and flight instinct in us all, and the struggle JH has in dealing with this in his life as a teacher.
Idioms: Fight like a tiger; paper tiger.
Useful questions:
Am I dealing with anxiety or anger in this dream?
What relationship do I have with the tiger, and what does this say about the way I deal with the ‘tiger’ aspects of my life such as fear, anger, aggression and dominant strength?
Does my dream tiger show any signs of motherhood in this dream, and if so how does that reflect on my mother or motherhood?
Comments
Hi its my today’s dream.in it I was going for outing with my husband and small son.after spending some time we had seen that there are so many tiger and leopard coming around and they attacking on everybody we run away and trying to save us suddenly I found my mother also came there and trying To saving my son but she found that my son was fell down actually she gave him to my cousin’s sister and she lost him and my mother saw him and picked him in her arm and run away from there and we surviving but suddenly tiger was again coming around and I locked a gate but my cousin’s sister was said that u all were going to kill….what is that mean plz tell me I am feeling very worried about it
Bharti – As human we tend to bottle up our enormous anxiety for our child, or are frightened of it. Your love and care for your baby can trigger your mothering instincts with a vengeance. Being female and a mother holds with it an enormously increased anxiety about the baby. They see all manner of things that might be a threat, and I believe that is what such dreams shows. Your imagination for such dangers is enormously increased. This is natural in all mammals.
Also whenever we dream its images are not like real life, because a dream is nothing like outer life where things could hurt you, but is an image like on a cinema screen that even if a gun is pointed at you and fired it can do no damage – except if you run in fear; so all the things that scare you are simply your own fears projected onto the screen of your sleeping mind.
If you carry of living in fear for your child in an excessive way you will continue to have such dreams. But if you learn to trust that nothing can hurt you child in your dreams, they change.
Example: I dreamt that I was being approached by a tiger. I was in fear believing that the tiger would attack me. I decided not to fight or run but instead do nothing. When the tiger reached me, it was friendly. I could hear it communicating to me that if I did not fear it, it would not attack.
As you can see, the animal is simply an image of your own fear, So it is not a tiger that is attacking you but your own fear.
Tony
Hi. I have had almost the same dream in past- tiger entering my house n I m trying to save myself. He comes sit in front of me n I know he wants to eat me. He is trying to hide but I can see 1 eye. I somehow manage to lock him in a room n run. Whole family running mad. Then someone opens the room n he is now gone. But this time I see him out again carrying a baby in mouth n we r all running back home crying that he killed someone’s baby. Really stressed as I am not sure what that might mean 🙁
Sakshi – You are assuming a lot about the tiger. You assume it wants to eat – your fear. Then you assume the tiger has killed someone baby, but all you saw was the tiger carrying the baby. So again you assume the worst.
Whenever we dream its images are not like real life, because a dream is nothing like outer life where things could hurt you, but is an image like on a cinema screen that even if a gun is pointed at you and fired it can do no damage – except if you run in fear; so all the things that scare you are simply your own fears projected onto the screen of your sleeping mind. So the dream tells me that you live in a constant state of fear.
So the animals you feel in your dream will harm you are actually your own instincts and feelings that frighten you and are actually harmless. This is because every dream image, animal or person is a subtle or powerful aspect of your own efficient working. So do not attempt to understand your dreams by seeing them the same as waking life. See http://dreamhawk.com/approaches-to-being/questions-2/#Summing
It might help to calm your constant state of fear to practice http://dreamhawk.com/body-and-mind/the-slow-breath/
Tony
I dreamt of a tiger and her cub who are friendly to only me and under my control. They accompany me wherever I go and are guarding /protecting me in situations that apear to be conflicts (people in those situations were known to me). Otherwise they are just around me calmly almost like pets…
Please help me understand the dream.
In my dream i saw a white female tiger at my backyard kind of a pet cause i see a chain on the floor and food bowls some how it got lose so i run to safety with my sister nd brother. I get in my house through the window. As we close all windows and doors i try to close kitchen door that leads to the backyard. When i see the white tigeress coming my way i start sliding the door to lock it right before i get to lock it the tigeress starts pushing/sliding the door with its paws as i try to slide the door to close it i can see its head poking pass the door and it talks to me. I somehow have less fear of the tigeress I dont remember what it told me or what i told the tigeress but it we had a conversation, afterward it just goes back to the backyard. But i keep my eyes on her cause my family and randomr people were on my front yard playing and aware that the tiger is lose. So i just stay in the house looking at the tiger nd checking its everymove. It does not attack anyone but sometimes i would fear it and other times would fear it less.
Dear Mina Diaz – What your dream may reflect is that you have learned to “chain” an aspect of yourself (for instance your anger and your power) because you are uncertain what effect expressing “more of you” will have on your (social) life.
Now that “the tiger is lose” you have to find a way to approach this part of your inner world.
The playing in the front yard may be a symbol of social roles.
Social roles are the part people play as members of a social group. With each social role you adopt, your behaviour may change to fit the expectations both you and others may have of that role.
Do you feel that in order to conform to social roles you have to control your anger and power; “So I just stay in the house looking at the tiger and checking its every move.”?
See also http://dreamhawk.com/dream-dictionary/control-controlled-controlling/
Your dream reflects that opening your mind to your inner tiger and communicating with this aspect of yourself is helpful in dissolving your fear for it; http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/dialogue-with-a-dream-character-or-object/
Your fear for the tiger attacking may reflect an inner conflict between conforming to what you and/or society expect from yourself/you and what you really feel.
Allowing your feelings does not necessarily mean that you have to openly express them; it may be very inappropriate in regard to the role you play at that moment.
Allowing your feelings does however enable you to become aware of them and opens up the possibility of choice.
Practicing opening up may help too; http://dreamhawk.com/approaches-to-being/opening-to-life/
Anna 🙂
Hi,
Could you please help me decipher my dream that I had last night. I was in a huge open area with a friend and there were 3-4 tigers. At one point a decision was made that I had to play hide and seek with my friend and if my friend found me, the tigers will kill & eat me, else they will eat my friend. I was torn as I didn’t want the tigers to eat my friend but I also did not want to die! I tried to convince the tigers that they will not eat me if I lost, they agreed but I couldn’t figure out if I could trust the tigers or not.
Overall the tigers were friendly to me in my dream and I wasn’t too afraid, it was more about if I could trust them or not.
This is the first time I dreamt of tigers. It’s usually lions chasing me.
Thanks, I really appreciate it!
Dear Ips – Being out in an open area may reflect your desire or need to be open about your (sexual) feelings towards your friend.
The game hide and seek shows your inner conflict about this as it means that you rather withhold information.
The rest of the dream may reflect your fear; that whatever feelings you have for your friend will consume/overwhelm you when he/she finds out about how you feel and so when you would express yourself freely.
The other thing is that you do not know if you can trust your feelings?
A way to find out is to become aware of your feelings by exploring them. Because the tigers reflect your feelings you could use http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/acting-on-your-dream/#BeingPerson for the tigers, but also for your own dream figure.
Running away from lions may also indicate that you perceive it as difficult to face and explore your feelings.
Practicing http://dreamhawk.com/approaches-to-being/opening-to-life/ can help you to learn to allow and express more of yourself without being afraid for all that lives in your inner world.
Anna 🙂
i was out of my car with my dog and a curious tiger suddenly walks out of the bushes. The Tigers starts smelling my dog and In fear my dog slowly sub-misses. The tiger seems to be gentle with my 4lbs dog but he then opens his mouth and takes my dog in his mouth and starts to walk away. I chase the tiger with the metal end of a stop sign jabbing at it trying to save my dog. The tiger suddenly releases my dog out of his mouth and leaves, my dog is lying there with a swollen belly and a bit lethargic I pick her up and put her in the front seat of my car and drive as fast as I could to the vet. The doctors take her into surgery and then I wake up.
can you please help me decipher this? not sure if the tiger represents me or someone else.. I was in a bus with my family, and we noticed a very disheveled white tiger in a hill close by, and it looked very aggressive. my first thought was, “uh oh, this is trouble, that tiger is obviously desperate and will be aggressive with us, because it will obviously die soon if it doesn’t eat”.. the tiger ended up bursting through the glass of the bus and attacking the driver, we got him off, and somehow we were at our house in the front yard.. my son was trying to be brave (he was fearless because he wasn’t aware completely of what the tiger could do), I was yelling at him to get away. I got our couch pillows to try to hit the tiger away, but I knew that wouldn’t work for long, but maybe hold off its advances.. we were in a big group, the tiger was advancing towards me and I yelled “somebody help!”, and my husband came, but I immediately felt bad and regretted yelling because someone else would get hurt instead of just me.. I woke up shortly after.. this is really sticking with me today! if you have any insight I would be so grateful..
Dear Katie – I can give you a start with your dream.
In a way it does not matter if this tiger represents aspects of you and/or someone else.
What your dream reflects is that you are exploring how to deal with the tiger and once you can deal with it in your inner world, you are more likely to be able to deal with these aspects in someone else.
It is not clear who you mean with family; is that your husband and son, or are other family members like parents and/or siblings present too?
See http://dreamhawk.com/dream-dictionary/family/
When members of your parental family are present, driving in the bus may express that you are driven along and so it may indicate (family) habits, going along with the crowd, so maybe lacking the ability to chart a course for yourself.
Meeting a neglected tiger – “that tiger is obviously desperate and will be aggressive with us, because it will obviously die soon if it doesn’t eat” – and the tiger attacking the driver may express an inner conflict about your direction; about the way you deal with urges and energies inside yourself and the need for change.
So your dream tiger can be an expression of energies and needs that you have not previously met and related to in a co-operative or mutually helpful way.
We have a responsibility to care for our animal drives, to see our sexual, nutritional and body needs are met, and the neglected animal shows us failing in this.
The first step could be to connect with this part in your inner world, rather than hitting it away; http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/acting-on-your-dream/#BeingPerson
and http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/secrets-power-dreaming/
An approach that can also assist you in expressing more of your inner world (and tiger) is
http://dreamhawk.com/approaches-to-being/opening-to-life/
Anna 🙂
Thanks for your reflection of my dream it really helped me understand my expressions towards others. I can relate to your reflection in many ways through out my recent encounters and recent situations. Thanks so much for your time. Greatly appreciated.
Thanks – from Anna.
Tony
I felt confused more than scared when I woke up from my dream. In my dream somehow my car ended up in a pool full of lions and tigers. My ex husband was in the car too. He opened the window and tried to scare one of the tigers, the one that seemed more interested in us, away, but the tiger took his hand, and I did’t see what happened to him after that. I got my 2 kids out of the car, and somehow we managed to get out of the pool, but so did the tiger. I saw a way to escape, and we all managed to get away from a very angry looking tiger. I woke up right after we escaped. Could you help me? My ex husband and I don’t talk anymore. We both have new lives and partners. My kids are both adults, but I don’t remember how big they looked in the dream.
Hello. Would you help me with understanding my dream please? I was about to cross the street to go to the apt complex where I lived and saw a tiger standing in the grass. It was staring at me. Right before my eyes the one tiger split up into 3 rows of 5 tigers. Fifteen tigers were staring at me and began to run towards me. I tried not to run but I walked quickly away. They were following me so I tried to dodge, duck and weave between buildings. They were following fast. I slipped into a drain pipe-like structure and found myself in a basement. The tigers were running about looking for me. I didn’t know how I was going to get out of this situation. I tried to call Gary, my husband, on my cell phone but I was unable to reach him nor was his voicemail working. I called an elementary school classmate named Adair and asked her for help. She told me she was in NYC. I asked her why was she in NYC. She asked me what I was doing in Oregon. She explained to me that She’s always lived in NYC and asked why I left NYC. She further explained that she couldn’t help because I was too far away. One of the tigers found me and opened the door leading to the staircase where I was. I felt cornered, and only found a cabinet above me where I could wedge myself in to hide, though my entire back would be completely exposed.
Dear Mela Cooper – Your dream reflects that you are moving through what looks like a major change in your inner world.
The sudden increase of natural feelings and urges that you are confronted with “at the other side” frighten you and your first reaction is to run from them.
Crawling through a pipe also suggests feelings or fears of being hemmed in, trapped, or in the narrow straits, or difficult circumstances within or in outer life.
It may also be a symbol of sexual intercourse; sex creates unconscious links with a partner.
What do you think might have triggered the dream or links with it in some way?
How do you perceive your (sexual) relationship with your partner in your waking life?
What urges and feelings are you holding back?
Most of the time we edit or control what we allow ourselves to think or feel. Dropping this form of judgment, if only for short periods while you open to the mystery you are, is important. At first it may cause some concern because you are unblocking part of the flow, and it may start pushing out some of the attitudes, past experiences and habits that have been blocking your greater flow. Usually those things would have been cleansed in the normal LifeStream, but unconscious tensions and resistances prevent the healing. This is why we have to consciously take in hand the work of dropping our self-control for periods of time.
See http://dreamhawk.com/approaches-to-being/opening-to-life/?
Anna 🙂
Thank you so much, Anna, for your reply and wonderful insight. There is alot of fear regarding decisions I have to make and if I want to be happy (which I desperately do!) I need to make these decisions soon. Having to dissolve a 10 year marriage isn’t easy as I have put in so much time, love and tried to understand him. But to live with an emotionally vacant person tears and wears you down. He’s withheld intimacy and intimate relations for years. I feel like I’m being punished for something but I do not know what I did wrong. He wasn’t like that when we met and he became so different, dark and moody. I tried to love him through it (never tried to change him) and hoped with time, patience and love, he would be the person I once knew. Then one day i looked at the calendar and realized 10 years has gone by and I’m so stripped of who I was because I gave myself so much into this marriage. My dreams have become more violent and frightening over the years. I decided to journal my dreams and what I notice was a pattern of pain, neglect and rejection in the dreams, presented in such vivid, disturbing scenes but in my waking hours I pushed those very feelings aside because I thought I was selfish for feeling those things. So, the fear of starting over is something I tried to avoid thinking about. But the dreams are too loud.
Again, thank you so much Anna for your insight and the link you provided. 🙂
Dear Mela – Thank you for your feedback.
Do know that your dream also reflects that you have enough “tigers” inside you to deal with the situation, no matter what decision you will take.
Try not to be afraid of your inner power and try entering your dream while awake without running from the tigers; http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/secrets-power-dreaming/
To connect with your inner tiger you can also use http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/acting-on-your-dream/#BeingPerson
Wishing you wisdom and strength!!
Anna 🙂
I was in some kind of residence. There was a tiger that came towards me. The animal was not aggressive rather peaceful but hungry. Then it grabs my index finger in its mouth. My finger was covered with a Salmon meat with still the skin attached to it. I thought I was going to loose my finger. Instead the tiger slide out the meat with its mouth and ate it leaving my finger untouched and let me free. Then it just walks away.
The feeling I had: Surprised by the tiger’s unusual behaviour acting asthough it is human.
I would appreciate if you let me know what it means.
Thank you.
A huge enraged looking white tiger with yellow eyes is heading right towards me. I wake up terrified.
Dear May – You can practice to overcome your fear – this is the reason why you wake up from your dream – by using http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/secrets-power-dreaming/
See also http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/nightmares/
Anna 🙂
why is it dream articles are written as if for women? Newsflash: Men Dream Too !
I had a dream a girl named tigeres was chasing me in the school yard and wanted to fight me, but I was scared so I ran. I then got the courage to stop and I fought her and I won. What does this mean?
i have dreams of tigers protecting me what is the meaning of that.
I had a dream I was in a neighborhood sitting down and two tigers were walking towards me. I stood up and was approached by one and pet it. Then I woke up. What does this mean?
My dream was where tigers were in the area and at on point one was in our house. I fought it off at onepoint with some slim pointy sticks. hha ha . I know. sounds stupid, but it worked. scary as hell too.