Here are some common dream symbols and their interpretation: , internal struggles.
It is important to consider how the animal behaves in your dream and what emotions it evokes in you, a portent for your passivity in a situation.
When we dream of animals, it represent different aspects of ourselves or the world around us, signifies a well-rounded experience. The type of animal and your relationship to it in the dream give clues as to what the dream is trying to tell you, suggests humility and humbleness.
If you dream of an animal that is traditionally seen as a symbol of power, such as a lion or bear, it represent your own strength and courage, a premonition for a divine influence. If the animal in your dream is weak or vulnerable, it represent a part of yourself that feels powerless or fragile, a hint for responsibilities and expectations. If the animal is wild or untamed, it symbolize your own untamed impulses or desires, you are drifting through life without fully paying attention to what is going on around you.
In some religions and belief systems, certain animals are seen as sacred or divine, unfortunately a warning for your ability to convert outside it for your own needs. For example, in Hinduism, the cow is seen as a symbol of wealth and fertility, while in many Native American cultures, the eagle represents wisdom, courage, and connection to the divine, a premonition for your need to turn or change your style. If you dream of a sacred or divine animal, it a sign that you are spiritually connected or that there is a message from the divine that you need to pay attention to, sadly a low sense of self-worth.
Different cultures have different beliefs and associations with certain animals, indicates your old fashioned attitude. For example, in Chinese culture, the dragon represents power, luck, and good fortune, while in Western culture, the snake is often associated with deceit and betrayal, a portent for how you in your life. If you dream of an animal that has cultural significance, it helpful to research its symbolism in that culture to better understand the message of your dream, points at tradition, wisdom and knowledge.
From a psychological perspective, animals in dreams represent our own primal instincts and desires, refers to the desire for freedom, high ideals, ambition and hopes. For example, if you dream of a snake, it represent your own primal sexual desires or your fear of being betrayed, indicates passion, loyalty, warmth, devotion, togetherness and unselfishness. If you dream of a bird, it represent your desire for freedom or your fear of being trapped, represents your feminine aspects of yourself. Think about your own relationship to the animal in your dream to better understand what it representing, suggests childhood pleasures or rewards.
If you dreamed of an animal, take some time to reflect on what message or symbolism it carrying, a worrisome issue that you need to work through. Journaling about your dream or discussing it with a trusted friend or therapist help you process and better understand its meaning, a clue for sorrow and longing. You also want to consider how the animal's symbolism apply to your daily life and what changes or actions you need to take as a result, an evidence for light-hearted companionships.
As a reflection of my instincts and desires: Dreaming of an animal represent my primal instincts and desires, a signal for the threat of failure in your endeavor. Each animal has its unique symbolism, and the specific animal in my dream reflect my current needs and desires, expresses barrenness, of isolation and hopelessness. For example, dreaming of a lion represent my desire for strength and leadership, while dreaming of a bird represent my desire for freedom and independence, suggests success in achieving your goals.
As a symbol of my personality traits: Alternatively, dreaming of an animal represent certain aspects of my personality, expresses longevity, creativity, romance, joy and spirituality. Each animal has its unique characteristics, and the specific animal in my dream reflecting my own personality traits, points to death. For example, dreaming of a wolf represent my loyalty and protective nature, while dreaming of a deer represent my sensitivity and gentleness, refers to repentance of your actions and errors.
As a reflection of my fears and anxieties: Dreaming of an animal also be a reflection of my fears and anxieties, an omen for a loss or a period of mourning. The specific animal in my dream and the emotions and feelings associated with it provide insights into what I am afraid of or anxious about, states sorrow and mourning. For example, dreaming of a snake represent my fear of betrayal or deception, while dreaming of a spider represent my fear of being trapped or helpless, refers to the spirit of rules you live by.
As a symbol of my connection to nature: Finally, dreaming of an animal represent my connection to nature and the natural world, unfortunately draws attention to unwanted or rejected aspects of yourself. The specific animal in my dream a sign that I need to reconnect with nature or that I am currently feeling disconnected from the natural world, denotes the sacrifices you are making for a person.
It is essential to pay attention to the emotions and feelings associated with the animal in my dream to understand its significance fully, an evidence for your life or your career. If I am feeling overwhelmed or confused, it helpful to explore the symbolism of the animal further or seek support from a therapist or counselor, a premonition for the undiscovered part of yourself.
(1) Parents may appear in dreams in the guise of animals. The animal will then usually be a focus for the dreamer’s ambivalent - love-hate - feelings towards the parent. For example, a spider or a cat may signify the threatening aspect of a mother from whose influence you need to liberate yourself.
Two of Freud’s most famous patients had animal phobias, as did a patient of Sandor Ferenczi (a member of Freud’s inner circle). One dreamed of white wolves in the branches of a walnut tree outside his bedroom window and the other had strong ambivalent feelings (fear and attraction) towards horses; the third was obsessed with poultry. Freud concluded that in all three cases the animals were father surrogates: in each case the person’s feelings for his father had been displaced on to animals.
(2) Animals may represent other people, besides parents. What you associate with the particular animal - slyness or aggressiveness or whatever — may be a characteristic of the particular person; the way you react to the animal in the dream may express your (perhaps unconscious) feelings towards the person.
(3) Animals in dreams may be symbolic of some primitive - ‘animal’, or even ‘beasdy5 - part of your psyche: some instinctive urge, for example. Thus, if in the dream your emotional response to the animal is one of fear, this would seem to indicate a fear of the instinctive urge (which, because of the fear, has been repressed).
If the animal has a threatening appearance, it may be a symbol of the danger that threatens the peace of the psyche when some part of it is neglected and confined to the ‘cellar’ - the depths of the unconscious - and not allowed proper expression at the conscious level. This situation may also be symbolized by the figure of a caged or wounded animal: we sometimes control our instincts too tightly or even maltreat them, and, just as animals are never more fierce or dangerous than when wounded, so it is with our Svounded’ instincts.
A view well worth considering is that we cannot - without detriment to ourselves - dispense with our animal nature, any more than with our ‘higher’ or ‘spiritual’ nature. The way to achieve peace and happiness is to allow both these sides of our nature to develop and find fulfilment in and through each other, in a symbiosis in which body and spirit, instead of going their separate ways, cooperate with mutual respect, each supplying means for the other’s fulfilment.
(4) A threatening or ferocious animal may represent aggression or anger buried in the unconscious.
If you think this may be so in your case (perhaps because you are prone to irrational, disproportionate outbursts of rage), look for the origins of the aggression. It may go back to early childhood: a child’s desire for a parent and its consequent jealousy and resentment towards the other parent may result in feelings of guilt, which in turn give rise to a desire to punish oneself. This aggressiveness directed against oneself (i.e. masochism) may then spill over into aggressiveness or rancour towards other people (i.e. sadism), especially loved ones or people closely related. Typically, an unresolved Oedipus complex (the ambivalent, love-hate feelings of an infant towards a parent) may display itself in later life in a similar ambivalence towards a spouse - an inability to love someone without simultaneously wanting to punish him or her.
Contradictory feelings towards others are a sign of inner conflict, usually a conflict between desire and conscience. And what we call conscience may be a morbid censoring and prohibiting mechanism set in motion by a childhood fear of punishment. This needs to be distinguished from a healthy conscience, which consists of all those moral guidelines we give ourselves by rational reflection. Some compromise between desires and the need to survive and succeed socially is almost inevitable; but a reasonably negotiated compromise is far preferable to the potentially dangerous inner tension that results from submitting to irrational phobias posing as the moral law.
(5) A tamed animal, or the act of taming an animal, may symbolize (the need for) that kind of controlled expression of instinct that is appropriate for living as a part of civilized society or for feeling that you are ‘king of the castle’ - that is, in control of your own actions.
(6) The wolf in the Little Red Riding Hood story exemplifies another piece of animal symbolism. The wolf here represents for a sexually inexperienced woman the terrifying aspect of the male, the fear of sexual contact. In its earliest versions the story possibly served as a warning to young girls against socially premature sexual relations with men. Animals in dreams may certainly have a sexual meaning and the wolf is an obvious example of this, if only because the word Volf is itself commonly applied to men whose sexual lust is unbounded and purely ‘animal’.
See also Frog, Wolf.
(7) If in your dream you arc being chased by an animal, the animal probably represents some (repressed) emotion or instinct. As long as you keep such things buried in your unconscious thev will continue to
plague and disturb you. Face up to whatever it is, and enter into receptive and patient dialogue with it.
(8) The killing of an animal may symbolize cither what has been described in (5) above (but now given exaggerated, dramatic expression) or the actual destruction of some essential, because natural, part of your psyche. The second alternative would indicate some fear of your own instinctive nature, some phobic undervaluing of the body, the senses, or sex. You would have to be very honest to work out which of these alternatives - an irrational slaughter (repression) of the natural self (a symbolic castration), or a rational taming of an instinct diat is threatening the balance of the psyche - is applicable in your own case.
A helpful animal normally represents the instinctive self. Look at your feelings and beliefs about this animal.
An animal relates to your own natural and inborn instincts. Good omens of a base nature as long as they are not being violent.
If misbehaving, it is an indication of a party where people are lacking good manners and are demonstrating poor judgment. This is all a reflection of the patterns that need to be repatterened within you. Your belief system is drawing you to these situations and people. Animals represent your primitive, physical and sexual mannerisms and expressions.
A heard: prosperity. Animal instincts (or human nature), sex, aggression. Animals may also be healing agents (e.g.An alligator to a timid person) or entities. Black Dog Animals represent the dreamer’s animal instincts (or human nature), sex, aggression, paternal or maternal instincts, social status, etc.
The choice of animal, its color and location indicate how the instinct is regarded.
For example, a black dog in the bedroom means the dreamer’s attitude to sex is dominated by fear. Animals may also be healing agents (e.g.An alligator to a timid person) or entities **Animals: “Carl Jung said that all wild animals indicate latent effects (feelings and emotions that we do not readily deal with). They are also symbolic of dangers (hurtful and negative things) being “swallowed” by the unconscious.
The interpretation of the animal in your dream depends on your relationship with it in daily life. Animals represent the qualities in our character or specific aspects of our personalities. They could symbolize our more intuitive and instinctive parts, or they could serve as messengers for the unconscious. Please look up each animal individually by name.
Something or someone you (at least subconsciously) associate with that type of animal in general.
Consider also the animal’s characteristics, actions, and what stood out about it during the dream.
For example, a cold and slimy frog might represent someone you think of as “cold and slimy.” If frogs remind you of Prince Charming in disguise, a frog could represent someone you consider a “hidden gem.” A frog making a big jump could represent the idea of quick progress in your life.
See also the specific animal.
See also: Baby; Animal Noise; Insect; Animals (the category)
The image of the suppressed or of the shadow, suggesting a chance for integration.
The type of animal in the dream is important. Jung suggested that we find out more about the innate character of the animal we have dreamed about. According to Freud, small animals always symbolize children and siblings, while wild animals are a symbol for sexually excited or exciting people, evil urges, or passions.
See also ANIMALS; BIRDS.
2. Aspects of one’s own or another’s personality as reflected in the characteristics of a certain animal.
3. Religious or spiritual representations.
See individual animals.
Wild animals: The lower nature, the unknown, fear, danger. Astrological parallel: Aries
See Zoo.
A study carried out by Robert L. Van de Castle found a larger number of animal dreams in children than in adults. Dreams of a group of 741 children (383 girls and 358 boys) aged four to six- teen were examined for the presence of animal figures. The frequency for each animal figure at each age level was tabulated for girls and boys. Animal figures were present in 39.4 percent of dreams from the four- and five-year-old children. The percentage steadily dropped for each subsequent age grouping (six- and seven-year-olds, 35.5 percent; eight- and nine-year-olds, 33.6 percent; ten- and eleven-year-olds, 29.8 percent; twelve- and thirteen-year-olds, 21.9 percent; and fourteen- through sixteen-year-olds, 13.7 percent).
Boys had higher animal percentage figures at ages four through six (44 percent, versus 34 per- cent for girls), while girls had higher animal dreams at ages nine through eleven (36 percent, versus 26 percent for boys). Overall, animal figures appeared in 29 percent of the combined girls’ dreams and 29.6 percent of the combined boys’ dreams. There were more than three times as many animal figures in the dreams of children as there were in the dreams of adults. The seven most frequent animal figures for children were dogs (30), horses (28), cats (15), snakes (15), bears (14), lions (13), and monsters (e.g., wolfman) (13).
If the frequencies for all animal figures are considered, it is clear that children dream more frequently of large and threatening wild animals, while college students dream more often of pets and domesticated animals. Bears, lions, tigers, gorillas, elephants, bulls, dinosaurs, dragons, and monsters accounted for twenty-seven percent of the animal figures in children’s dreams but only seven percent of the animal figures in adult dreams. This collection of wild animals appeared more frequently (forty-four times) in boys’ dreams than in girls’ dreams (twenty-seven times). Several theorists have suggested that these large, threatening animals may represent parental figures in the dreams of children.
An interesting gender difference was found in the types of animal figures. Women and girls reported significantly more mammals, while men and boys reported significantly more nonmammals. This may indicate females identify at some level with other forms of life that nurse their young with mammary glands, and this identification is reflected in the type of animals that appear in their dreams.
The meaning of animals in dream