What does it mean when you dream about someone dying?

From time to time we experience a dream about someone dying and this leaves us waking up confused, worried and above all stressed out. There appears to be no logic to some dreams that form. They are just muddled images.

What does it mean when you dream about someone dying?

I have had many dreams of someone I love dying. Yes, it did freak me out! I have read superstitions that say: “when you dream of death - it might just happen!” Firstly, I have been researching dreams for over 20 years and I can reassure you that dreaming of death is normally just that - a dream. Death occurs quite often in most dreams but it is rarely a negative sign, it means that you are simply trying to remove something from your life.

Many of you have contacted me with disturbing dreams about death and puzzling images – I often read these over a cup of coffee in the morning and most are clearly a call for transformation. I like to think that when we sleep we are moving into our private self, which usually provides hidden thoughts and feelings.

Sigmund Freud came up with quite an interesting theory, he believed to some extent our dreams could be a wish-fulfillment. I don’t want to freak you out now, but this means that if you dream of an unpleasant death of someone you know, a loved one, then the latent meaning can imply you just wanted to be free of this person! Sorry to say, but the death of someone you love might be interpreted as a "wish-fulfilling dream."

I read some interesting literature by Vande Kemp who segmented “death” dreams into various categories. Firstly, the death dream could be telepathic. This indicates that you are dreaming of somebody that is already dead such as a friend or relative may be based on their fear. The second type of dream is known as premonitory, Which means that you are going to announce an impending death in the dream or in real life. The third type of death dream is known as hypermnestic, which indicates that your have forgotten the key details of the dream but can remember small elements. The forth is known as predictive, that you predict your own death or the natural death of loved ones. The next death type of dream is known as archetypal which means death is symbolic of something else (like a new job, relationship etc). It might be worth you putting your dream into categories. The final dream about death comes under the revelation which indicates that the person dying is trying to give you a message. Vande Kemp indicated that most death dreams fall into these elements, but that death is often connected to clairvoyant and premonitory dreams. This is because many dreamers have predicted death. Although very rare.

A lovely lady contacted me not long ago, who dreamed that every family member died night after night. She was undergoing surgery for an illness. This was one of the saddest circumstances as she wanted to escape her pain. Luckily she contacted me months after her surgery and she was just fine. Although our conscious mind may be shocked at the thought of death, our unconscious mind indicates that it is soothing to think of things in these terms.

Who died in the dream?

The first question we need to address is who actually died in your dream? It is totally common to dream of a mother, father, partner, child or sibling to pass away in our dream. Death generally symbolizes transformation and a new beginning! Dreaming of somebody else's death normally is representative of something finishing or an expansion of that relationship.

This could be symbolic such as changing life, a career move, a new relationship or alternatively a change of residence. In some cases, dreaming of someone else dying can be a reflection of our own internal desires. I'm not saying that you actually want this person dead! It could just mean the relationship has been strained for some time and the transformation is going to be a major step in moving forward within the relationship. If we look at the symbolism of the death tarot card, this represents that we are internally changing and often discovery areas of ourselves. I like to think that death of somebody that you love indicates a new chapter in life.

Turning the dream on its head it can indicate that you may be anxious about this person and it may manifest through your dream state. If you are stressed out worried (in real life) about the person that has died during your sleep - this could indicate why you are having such dreams. In some very rare cases dreaming of death can often symbolize that you wish to move forward and focus on yourself rather than your relationships. I hope you understand a little more now and the fear of seeing this person dying could just be the exact opposite. If we turn to Western culture dreaming of a loved one dying (from a superstition perspective) represents happiness and contentment. In some ancient Egyptian scripts dreaming of somebody else's death can also signify material advancement.

If the death actually feels real then this can mean that you are trying to impress something that is dying in the relationship with this particular person. I urge you to review the situations in your life and consider the relationship of the person that died. Society itself has often associated dying negativity. When is not necessarily true. Dying can provide some anxiety but it can also indicate fulfillment or acceptance of that person. If you try to your parent's expectations is not uncommon to death. It doesn't necessarily mean they are going to die the literal sense but it can reflect something you are feeling the moment. We all know we are going to die at some point in our lives, additionally, those people around us. Dreaming of someone dying could be classified as a nightmare. We often dream to learn important lessons such as how we feel about society, relationships and other people that are close to us.

What are the reasons for dreaming of someone dying?

Dreaming of someone dying can also be somewhat egotistic. It can mean that you want an aspect of this person in your life. For example, to dream of your mother dying could mean you want to be more caring. Dreaming of a father dying can mean you need more authority. Dreaming of a child dying can mean that you need to stop being immature. If you get my drift. This can also indicate there is a special relationship that you do not have. The relationships with your parents can often change as we move through different challenges and problems in life. As we get older our relationship does change.

Dying is often connected to our own emotions and the feeling of being over-burned in life if the person who dies is not someone you know.

What does dreaming of your child dying mean?

This is just the worst dream. It can symbolize your worries and anxieties. It indicates that you are worried about them. The dreaming of children can be represented in many different ways. in ancient times dreaming of seeing your child dying is connected to our own goals, growth, and also development infertility. The image death of a child in dream lore is connected to the development of children. In dreams as a parent we sometimes forget we lose our children due to independence and this can mean that we often have such a dream. It normally means that we are worried about them in real life.

What does it mean to dream of your boyfriend dying?

Well, I had this dream not long ago. I could see in horror my boyfriend dying and impending death. Basically, it boiled down to the fact that the relationship was moving into a new phase and he had a new job. It did not mean he was actually going to die but more about undergoing a change in his life. It is so easy to think this is going to happen. This is a good sign, according to superstitions.

What does it mean if a brother or sister died in a dream?

The dream of a sibling can sometimes represent an unconscious desire to move away from the relationship or a childhood desire to remove the sibling from your life. Turning to the dream psychologist, Sigmund Freud, he believed that older siblings often bullied the younger ones and this can often represent these types of dreams. Freud basically claimed that due to the relationship between siblings - a negative event occurred in childhood. Freud believed the content of the dream was probably triggered by an unconscious element. The dreaming of a sister or brother died can indicate a past desire, even though you don’t feel like this in reality.

What does a funeral in a dream mean?

Maybe in the dream, it was a total Tom Sawyer scene and you dream of a funeral of a loved one. You could possibly mean that you are focused on trying to hide feelings that you have or you stressed out about a relationship. Your dream is like a mirror that shows you what you think. Understanding yourself is the best way to understand your dreams. This is a good place to start the process of understanding yourself. Look at your dreams and find ways they relate to your present situation, the funeral is the end saying goodbye. What do you need to do to say goodbye to something in waking life?

What does it mean if your child dreams of death?

Well, my ten-year-old daughter often dreams of death and this did concern me for some time. Child dreams are so much easier to interpret. Some experts believe that if a child dreams of loved ones (dying) it is simply due to worry and life experiences. Carl Jung indicates that children display aggressive tendencies and if they have had a tantrum or not got there way they often dream of death. It is nothing to worry about, just their inner fears and dangers. If your son or daughter dreams of your death this can mean that they are worried they are going to loose you!

What does it mean to dream of parents dying?

Parents dying in a dream can be worrying. To dream of your parents are alive and well means that a person close to you will have success. If you see them dying spiritually speaking it can mean a misfortune I am afraid. In psychological dream interpretation, a parent dying can mean building on your relationships with them. The dream can show a change of relationship.

What does dreaming of someone dying who is already dead mean?

Dreams can (sometimes) involve a ghost of someone that has died. This is known as visitation dreams and often occurs in those that are grieving. There is a relationship between grieving and dreaming. After all, our grief is associated with our own subconscious mind. An apparition of someone that has died often means that you are connecting with them on a spiritual dimension. Hope this makes sense. To see this person dying can indicate that you are communicating with them.

What advice you should take from this dream?

There will be some internal changes, self-focused, positive relationships and also possible anxieties. Take a look at situations in your life and see about how this is making you feel. Have you been honest with yourself? It can reflect a true feeling of a problem or situation in your life.

Death psychologically, in our society is interesting. When facing death we are often scared. If we think of sleep as a vital function because we sacrifice so much to sleep, we don’t gather food, eat, or do all the things that we do in the daytime. Sleep is also quite expensive because we don't actually work while we sleep still mind is basic to all the dream states between sleep, being awake in death.

When we are asleep we are essentially quiet and our unconscious mind works. The key elements in the dream could represent a peaceful doorway to another existence, or alternatively, this is quite fear-provoking. There are various mysteries in life, but death often tops them all! There are many ways to interpret the dream of death and understand the meanings. A philosopher (such as Jung or Freud) will approach the interpretation differently from a spiritualist, for example. I read a publication about a study that looked at 700 death dreams (Death dreams: Mysteries of the unconscious, Kramer) and this normally happened in REM sleep. Dream recall was almost non-existent at this point. This is interesting because it was quite rare for someone to recall all the details of the death dream but only basically the gist of what happened.

There are many dreams that are repeated, these can be falling being chased. Often dreams can open up our own internal past and also future. Dreams can allow us to take a different role and also connect with people that we no longer see in real life. I do feel that dreams open up our own internal feelings which we sometimes hide in daily life. One could say, dreaming can often be unpredictable and the scene change extremely fast.

What is the summary of someone dying in a dream?

The dream itself can be defined as a mental experience that could include some disturbing imagery. Many people have contacted me after having a dream of the child dying, simply because they were worried that this was a predictive dream. Each dream portrays our inner experiences in symbolic form. For example, times are neglected and replaced with vivid situations that you actually real.

Strangely, there are many people that do believe surprisingly that dreams of someone dying is positive. It could mean that you have hidden your feelings about something and that these odd dreams may have been a visitation of your own spirit guides to focus your life in the direction of transformation.

Sometimes, the emotional content of a dream is more important than the visual content. Dreaming of someone during means that it is important to visualize yourself so you can relive the experience in the waking world. What emotions did you experience in the dream? Did you feel one emotion or did your feelings change over the course of the dream? You can write anything you think of, even if it is completely unrelated to this dream. You will remember everything you write in your dream journal. This has happened to you in the past. If we're going through an emotional crisis, it is common to have dreams that mirror those emotions. These dreams are very important and can often help us solve our problems.