Dreaming of Insects

The bugs live in cracks, corners, underground - even bees and wasps. They are working and flying all over in places you are not looking. That is powerful if you have had this dream as it covers both spiritual and emotional focus. 

Seeing insects in waking life may be a clue to not ignore the little things. It could be that your sensitivity is growing, your money is going to grow, spiritually you are going to go if you catch my drift. 

You might want to know what insects mean in your dream. So, to me, insects in dreams may be reflecting something "below the surface" of your life. Feelings you shoved down, thoughts you never spoke of, experiences you never processed may take this form. The dream is highlighting parts of you you might not know about yourself.

In dreams what do insects mean?

The first time insects begin popping up in your dreams, it feels weird, slightly disturbing. You may ask yourself: "Why did I dream that?" "What the heck happened to me in that particular dream?" But just before you dismiss it as "some messed up dream," consider this: Rather than dismissing it as "just a dream": Even little images in a dream may contain some very serious spiritual messages. You've all been in holiday where a fly can ruin a meal. You may be up all night with one mosquito. I remember one bit me once when I had drunk too much and it stuck on me the next morning (yes, I was young).

What do insects represent in your dreams?

In general, to dream of insects denotes something small trying to attract your attention. Your soul is open when you sleep. Insects you seen in dreams usually refer to some uneasy thoughts, inner worries, or changes in your spirit which you have not yet embraced. You may find your mind "busy" or buzzing. You might find yourself in situations that seem calm on the outside but off the inside. You might be trying to keep it all together, but something is nibbling at your peace.

If you think about it in this way : one little bug on someone is hard to miss. Lot's of bugs are not. Your dream does the same thing. It's saying, "This looks small, but it starts to disturb your sleep." Ask yourself when you have a dream about insects instead of calling it nasty or uncomfortable: Why am I avoiding it? But why am I telling myself this is "no big deal" when I feel like it? Which small habits, fears or compromises are multiplying now? The dream isn't punishing you. You are revealing yourself. It's telling you where your peace lies. The more insects you see, the more your dream is trying to tell you something.

What is the spiritual meaning of insects in dreams and real life?

Deeper than that, I think insects in dreams are a story of details, persistence, and hidden life. Sometimes insects in dreams signal the quiet work of your inner world. Perhaps you've been changing more than you think. Maybe old beliefs are crumbling. Or maybe your instincts are awakening. Or sometimes bugs come knocking on your inner peace: Worries, guilt or shame that seem to be crawling in there. Not to worry here - they do not always mean something negative. Sometimes they signify diligence, resilience and that very real feeling that "something is brewing" under the surface. The gist is simple: insects in dreams signify something alive is moving in your corners and asking you a question: Will you honour this, heal this, transform this or just pretend it isn't there?

Just what does it mean when an insect talks for you in a dream?

When the insect starts speaking, that could be a thought you've never taken seriously, an instinct you've ignored, or a quiet truth that wants to be heard. Your inner world decided it's no longer enough to buzz around the edge of your awareness. It would like a conversation.

Notice what the insect says and how you feel while it speaks. It looks weird, but says something important. Maybe it is telling you to leave something, to stop something, to listen, to stay, to pay attention. Perhaps something symbolic stays with you when you wake up. Or perhaps what it says is messed up, too.

If that bug is unpleasant to you, annoying you, assaulting you, or making you feel tiny, it may be a sign of your fear of a person not being good to you. In case that's the case, the dream may be to ask you to ask questions about those voices and determine whether they're actually true.

But what do dreams about insects mean?

Distinct insects may lend somewhat different emotional tones to the dream, although the deeper themes would be the same. To dream of ants may be about work and responsibility and the slow, steady building of something. Ants move together. They haul loads bigger than themselves. Such dreams might involve carrying much, doing much, being more than people realize or feeling like "just one of many" in life.

Whether the insects are in your bed or on your food or your clothes, the dream could be about obligations that have invaded your rest. In a dream, bees may bring energy of productivity, community & boundaries. There is sweetness there: Honey = growth, creativity & connection. But threatened bees also sting. A dream about bees might be a sign of your season of doing and building or perhaps you long for belonging and contribution. If the bees swarm aggressively, that might indicate that demands, expectations or other people's needs begin to feel like an attack on your peace.

In turn, flies seek out what is dead or decaying. Flying flies in dreams might point to old issues left undone, habits that no longer work for you or memories you circle that no longer matter. They can represent conversations, environments or energies which feel dirty, dense or spiritually stale to you. Your dream is saying "This needs clearing." This needs closure. This has to go. "

Butterflies represent pure transformation language. To dream about butterflies is to dream about process. the hidden closed things in your life (just like the cocoon stage) then the ending and the flying stage. You might be in between identities - growing into one version of yourself and out of another. Some of your life may be dull, stuck or hidden right now but your dream is reminding you that change is coming even if no one else understands yet.

What does it mean to 'dream of bugs'?

Some dreams may include seeing spiders, beetles, wasps, grasshoppers or other creatures we simply call bugs. Spiders might represent creativity and weaving, but also entanglement. I always think spiders are associated with dishonesty (if you read my other articles). Wasps and hornets may represent anger, danger or situations that may hurt you if you get too close. Some grasshoppers signify sudden movement, leaps or restlessness. Symbolism for each type of insect in the dream relates to the same basic idea: Dreaming. Something small but powerful is occupying your timeline asking for your attention.

What does it mean to be covered in insects in dreams?

This is freaky. This is probably one of the most intense insect dreams. You may even wake up shaken from a dream where you were covered in insects, knowing the whole thing wasn't real. At an emotional level, being covered with insects often indicates feeling overwhelmed, invaded or consumed. You might feel that worry covers you, like you can not escape guilt, anxiety or other people's expectations. Something in your life may be crawling everywhere: Work going into homelife, stress going into sleep, fear going into decisions.

If you panic, shake them off or just can not get them off your body in the dream, your inner self is screaming for relief. Your daytime effort at holding yourself together may be working, but the dream shows just how trapped and exhausted you are. It is your soul saying "I can not hold this anymore." I need my skin back. I need my peace back. Sometimes old beliefs, old identities, and old pain are all over you before they go away. Just like a snake shedding its skin or a caterpillar dissolving in the cocoon, such a dream can be a messy, uncomfortable stage before renewal.

Insects in dreams may signal that something is wrong in your life. Such as things about your health, boundaries, finances plus relationships, could all be affected in some way. Things that you said "yes" to without reading the emotional contract. Those situations that looked good on the surface but had hidden terms attached to them. You may be asking your dream: Where have you ignored your instincts? In which situations did you feel something was off but went ahead anyway? Where do you need to spruce up, tighten up or show up differently? Your inner voice is telling you to look again when you see insects. Look closer. Live below the surface! Yet there is more under the surface. "

A butterfly in a dream?

If you have seen those spiritual youtube videos then you know a butterfly moves from state to state. I consider a butterfly transformation in motion. It is ordinary, earthbound, and stationary. It hides where all else seems to dissolve. They often show you bits of your life that are still in the cocoon - awkward, unformed, misinterpreted - not yet ready for display.

Your dreams about butterflies, or just feeling drawn to them, may be a sign that your life is not stuck; life is under process. Still not done. It might seem confusing, restricted, or strange at this stage but you are more than what people see now. The moth that is drawn to the light in the darkness also speaks of dreams. In the night it moth moves toward warmth, flame, illumination. And so your dreams are moths in that sense - your moving towards the light. Just like a moth keeps flying towards the light of what is true of you even in your shadowy waking life.

What is the spiritual meaning of insects?

Spiritually, insects say the divine is around you and in divine timing. So when insects appear in your dreams you are not dreaming bugs only. You are dreaming of tiny truths with big implications. Your dream is about quiet places in you that are ready to be seen, healed, cleaned or changed. Instead of waking up and thinking, that was awful, wake up and ask yourself, What is crawling around my life that needs attention? But what small truth is telling me? But what part of me is changing - that I can not yet explain?

Because sometimes your next chapter does not come with a label (telling you what is coming next). Sometimes it comes with a buzz, a crawl, a freaked out moment when you see an insect on you: It is a sign that small things are important too. There's still a message there even in this.

Final thoughts

I do think this type of dream is an invitation to ask honest questions: Where do I feel overwhelmed? Was it something that I have allowed onto my body, mind, my spirit that does not belong there anymore? So where do I need cleansing, boundaries or assistance, practically, emotionally or spiritually?