Cheating Dream Meaning

This is one of the dreams people write to me or message me on Tiktok more than any other. When you wake up, your still freaked out by it, betrayed or perhaps both, and you know it meant something. In my countless years of being a medium I have shared this dream many times with myself and the thousands of people that have contacted me. Before we go any further, let me just say this: dreaming of cheating is almost never about cheating itself. It's about trust, connection and what you think you are losing.

Old dream books on cheating - 1930s meanings.

I love going to older dream dictionaries when I research something because the interpretations then are so direct and so different from how we now read dreams. One of my favorites is Zolar's Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Dreams, compiled from ancient dream books and used for nearly a century in occult dream interpretation. Here is what the old books said about having dreams of adultery and cheating - and I will add my own thoughts below each one:

• Dreaming of cheating yourself is good for your morals, Zolar said. This is so cool, I agree, in my experience this dream always belongs to people with a very clear conscience.
• Adultery by other people - old books in the 1930s say money is coming they suggested a general feeling of being betrayed or confused in waking life, not just in love.
• In old folklore, a wife adultering caused neighbour disputes - this to me indicates broader fear of your home and people around you.
• A husband adultery in the dream - old books said this meant an inheritance - so something unexpected coming your way from what appears to be a loss.
• Dreaming of an enjoyable affair - in older dream traditions this represented the fire of life burning again - a sign that passion and desire were trying to find an outlet in your waking world.
• The old books linked this to guilt about something unrelated to love - a secret that needed to come out - dreaming of being caught in an act of infidelity.
• To dream of avoiding cheating was considered a very positive dream, one of character strength and inner discipline, according to older folklore.
   

What does cheating mean in a dream?

In old occult tradition from Etteilla in the 1780s this card always represented dishonour rather than betrayal. When this card comes up in a reading alongside your cheating dream I take that seriously. One of the more precise confirmations the cards give is that it was done. The people in the back know him already. The truth is already coming to the surface in this card as it does in most cheating dreams. And here's something I've learned from years of reading for people, it is important to be completely honest with yourself. This dream happens when nothing in a relationship or you are not saying something out loud. When things are left unsaid. That's the real heart of it. It may not have crossed your mind, but there are many ways to cheat. Affairs usually falls under one of two categories.

• Hookups (emotionally related, but casual)
• Detailed full-blown romance (deeply emotional connection) affairs

The dream is not a future prediction. It is a mirror. But I will say, I did dream of my ex cheating on me 15 years ago, I don’t think he did but we did split up in the end as we just kept arguing.

I always say to people writing to me about cheating dreams that the Seven of Swords is the cheating card of the tarot deck. You can see here in the card above a figure is seen walking away from a camp with five swords and looking back over his shoulder as if thinking they got away with something. Two swords are left in the ground as the unfinished business - things not quite hidden.

What does cheating in a dream mean?

And this one everyone feels guilty about, which is perfectly understandable. You wake up and say,  just what does this mean about me? My experience is that it rarely says what you fear it does. The dreaming that you are the cheating usually involves a need for something that is missing in a relationship, it could be excitement, passion, freedom, feeling seen. It is not necessarily missing from your relationship. But, it may have it missing from your life more generally.

One particular good friend of mine had dreams where she believed her husband was cheating on her. In her marriage she was not unhappy at all. But as we talked about it she said she just stopped doing anything for herself. Her husband was not in the dream either. It was about her needs not being met. When she began making time for herself, the dream stopped.

Dreaming your significant other is cheating on you - what does that mean?

It is this that really hits hardest. I have been there…you get up and you believe it's real for a split second. What I tell people writing to me is look at what is going on in your relationship now - not on your significant other's phone. Insecurity or a sense of distance are almost always associated with this dream. It sounds like something changed between you and your subconscious. It doesn't mean your partner cheats. It means something in you is not feeling very secure right now.

If you are in a good relationship and this dream comes up ask yourself - am I feeling disconnected lately? Are we not talking anymore? The answer usually is there.

How do dreams of cheating but it features an ex?

This is one of the versions of this dream most people write to me about that always needs an answer. Dreaming of cheating with an ex does not mean you still love them - though sometimes you do. More often it means something from that relationship is not quite right. An emotion, an image of yourself that you lose. The ex in the dream often represents something else instead of necessarily about them.If you are happy in your relationship now and this dream comes up, just sit with it. What did that past relationship bring you that you might be ignoring now?

How do you dream of cheating with a stranger?

If you do not know the person in the dream then this is the most symbolic dream. In a dream a stranger is something outside yourself - something you haven't experienced yet. Dreaming of cheating with someone else is often your soul's way of saying you want something new. New direction, new you, new experience. The issue is rarely about the relationship at all.

What does cheating with someone you know mean in a dream?

It makes people panic more than any other version and I understand why. But knowing the person in the dream doesn't mean you have feelings for them in real life. What counts is what that person represents for you. With what quality do you identify them? Your dream is about that quality. But when this dream comes back and exactly the same person will keep appearing - you may want to actually be aware of how you think about the people around you. The stranger in my view is never just the stranger, it is more about who you are.

What does it mean to dream about your significant other cheating with a celebrity?

In a dream a celebrity is an ideal quality, something bigger than life that you think yourself or your relationship can not match. If your partner is cheating with a celebrity in your dream (ask yourself) as I always do, am I feel like I am not enough right now? Are you feeling like something or somebody is better than what we have? That feeling the dream is focusing on is what the celebrity isn't bringing you attention.

A dream about being caught cheating - what does it mean?

Being in a dream means almost always guilt, not necessarily cheating guilt. In all my years reading for people this dream has come up when someone is feeling guilt about something else. That is a lie they told, that decision they made, that they have been delaying dealing with. It is the symbol of the cheating. The real message is guilt. But more about being worried of people finding out about something important that you wish to remain hidden.

What does it mean to dream of cheating and regret?

This is one of the most meaningful versions of this dream, the regret says something: your values are intact. What matters to you is clear. In my belief this dream comes about when someone does something in waking life which they do not like, again not necessarily in a relationship, their soul is calling on them to right that wrong. It's the regret of the dream which points you in the direction of a thing you should pay attention to.

Just what does it mean to dream of your partner living with somebody else?

That particular dream is especially hard and people who write to me about it often cry. I have found over the years this dream is all about fear of replacement, that another person might come along and do for your partner what you feel you can't do. It's an insecurity dream and you need to feel compassion for yourself, not panic. Whenever this dream comes back, something inside of you needs reassurance. Speak to a partner. Not the dream specifically, but how you are feeling.

What does it mean to dream about cheating several times?

When cheating in a dream happens repeatedly or with multiple people I consider the theme of desire and variety rather than cheating specifically. This dream is usually about something inside you that needs more. This could be more stimulation, life choices, calmness. It isn't a moral failing. Your inner world is telling you something is limited or contained right now. Where do you consciously feel like you lack space to breathe?

When does cheating dreams start to mean something?

A single cheating dream is usually just your unconscious processing anxiety or unmet need, and most of the time nothing is wrong. If this dream comes back night after night or several times a week, however, I pay attention. These recurring cheating dreams are a spiritual sign because you did not answer the first time around. It could be you have been avoiding something that needs looking at. And as for timing, I find that this dream clusters around moments of real change within a relationship. A new job, a conversation not quite right, stress about you trying to complete something but you can’t.

My conclusion

My final view on this dream, cheating dreams are not predictions and they are not confessions. They are your subconscious alerting you to something. In my dreams, it meant my needs were are not being met. The cheating is a fear that is buried and waiting to be confronted. You or your partner (if you have one) are not being accused by the dream of anything. This is asking you to pay attention.