Skip to content
You Are Here Dreams 1-2-3 » What Does Dreaming of Death Mean? Death Dreams Interpreted

What Does Dreaming of Death Mean? Death Dreams Interpreted

Death Dreams Interpreted: What Does Dreaming of Death Mean?

Death dreams are often distressing and can even make you wonder if the Reaper is coming. In dreams, though, death has a variety of interpretations, expanding on the idea to include figurative meanings. So to interpret a death dream, look beyond literal definitions.

Have you ever felt like you could “die from embarrassment?” Or an opportunity “died?” These are figurative ways death can be shown in dreams as, well, stone cold, dramatic, bloody or violent death. When used this way as symbolism, death is a figurative representation of a personal situation. It’s exaggeration, a dramatic way of expressing an idea.

Death dreams interpretedDeath dreams are distressing because the thought of death is distressing for most people, but with dreams, what you see is rarely what you get. The distress you feel is actually caused by subconscious knowledge of the underlying symbolism. In other words, while dreaming about death you subconsciously know what it means. And whatever it symbolizes distresses you.

Just the idea of death can be distressing. Someday your heart will stop beating, that’s a fact, so of course your dreams are going to prepare you. When you can accept death in a dream, you are empowered to live life more fully or pass away more easily. But dreaming about death is most likely to be symbolic.

Death in dreams can symbolize “loss” of something, for example, the loss or decline of a relationship. I’ve known college students to dream of a parent dying because that is what it feels like, in a way, to leave home and be away from a parent’s daily influence and care. Relationships that change can feel like “little deaths,” especially when they involve people you were once close to. Here is a dream that illustrates the comparison:

I dream that a friend calls and tells me that my ex boyfriend died. I feel sorry for him, but realize I don’t really feel anything for him anymore.

A relationship that ends is said to “die,” and related feelings that linger are said to “die slowly.” The dreamer’s ex-boyfriend is not about to literally die, but her feelings for him finally have. We can instantly fall in love, but falling out of it is anything but quick and easy, usually. This dream says that the feelings the dreamer once had for her boyfriend are finally “dead.” She is totally over him.

Subscribe to my “We Love Dreams” newsletter



View previous newsletters

I interpreted a death dream involving someone’s mother hanging herself during an imminent apocalypse, then being found alive. It is a way of illustrating a threat to the relationship between the dreamer and his mother. The dreamer is doing something in his waking life (involved with illegal drugs) that could lead to badly damaging the relationship. Hanging is a way of saying that what she taught him (don’t do drugs) isn’t getting through to his head, and he fears what could happen if he gets busted: their relationship could die. Hanging is appropriate symbolism because it cuts off blood circulation and airflow to the head.

Extend the idea and you can see why the apparent death of a father in this dream symbolizes disregarding their advice about premarital sex.

Another way dreams use death is for illustrating the phrase “dead to the world,” as in this dream (summarized):

I dream that I am in a coma for an entire year. When I wake from it, I read the Facebook conversations of my friends who thought I was dead.

Coma is a way of symbolizing social isolation. The friends think the dreamer is “dead to the world.” I (user name “RadOwl” in that thread) told the dreamer that the dream is a sign to really live again, to engage socially and come out of his funk.

You can go through transitions in life that are comparable in dreams to death. The transition from childhood to teen and teen adulthood involves the “passing away” of immature parts of oneself. Entering the professional world and losing the freedom to party all night can feel like death to someone used to having plenty of time for recreation.

Dreams about animals dying can connect with something about yourself that feels like it’s under threat or receding. I helped to interpret a dream about trying to save kittens from drowning in a pool. The young man who had the dream felt like he was losing his innocent and playful side, traits commonly found in kittens.

Dreams can foretell death – your own or someone else

The symbolic interpretations of death should be considered first, but sometimes dreams about death are all too real. Just before Abe Lincoln was assassinated he dreamed about seeing himself in a casket, dead, in the White House. Boxer Sugar Ray Robinson dreamed before a fight that he accidentally killed his opponent. He tried to back out of the fight but was convinced it was “only a dream” and ended up killing his opponent, Jimmy Doyle. Weezer guitarist Mikey Welsh dreamed he would die of a heart attack in two weeks and died two weeks later of a heart attack.

Sugar Ray knocked out Doyle in the 8th round. Doyle died that night.

Dreams with literal interpretations are much less common than dreams with symbolic interpretations, and to know the difference you begin by eliminating the symbolic ones as possibilities. If I was called to counsel Sugar Ray about his dream, I’d begin by asking him if he felt like he wanted to kill his opponent, even in the sense of, “God, I could kill that guy.” Was there bad blood between them? Or did he fear that killing an opponent was a possibility? In which case, the dream can be interpreted as bringing up a fear to confront it. He might hesitate to “go in for the kill,” making him a less effective boxer.

Read more about Sugar Ray’s dream and my way of interpreting it.

Stories about dreams warning against imminent danger are widely known, so it’s natural to wonder if a dream about death or tragedy is prophetic. The answer is, most likely, no. A guy once asked me about a dream of being in a plane crash. He was scheduled to take a flight the next morning and wondered if he should cancel it. I thought the plane crash symbolized something related to fear of flying or feelings about his personal life “crashing.” I don’t know if he took the flight, but I checked the news and no commercial flights crashed on the day he was scheduled to fly.

This guy dreamed about mocking the Grim Reaper and it related to drinking and driving. He knew he was taking a big risk and being too casual about it.

This girl dreamed a couple of times that her mom died. It’s symbolism.

People commonly dream about loved ones who have passed away. Usually, the purpose is to grieve and process the loss. But sometimes these dreams can facilitate contact with loved ones in the next life by working through emotional issues first, then opening lines of communication. The interpretation of a death dream is tricky when strong emotions like grief are involved. Dreams are known to fulfill wishes, and if something is wished for strongly, like the wish to see a deceased parent again, it is likely to pop up in some form while dreaming.

Follow this link to the original discussion of that dream about a deceased father. It’s a powerful story that deserves space of its own.

Along this line, dreams about the afterlife have many interesting possibilities for symbolism.

Death in dreams is most likely to be a symbolic representation, not an actual warning or literal representation. The difference is intuited by making associations with aspects of the dream: the settings, characters, actions, and your feelings. Bottom line is there is nothing to fear, even if a dream foretells death, but there is probably something that needs your attention. Dreams don’t tell you what you already know, so if you dream about death, ask what it is trying to tell you that you don’t know already.

52 thoughts on “What Does Dreaming of Death Mean? Death Dreams Interpreted”

  1. This is strange. I must start off with saying things are not normal these days. And i am anything but. I have felt different, sort of changed lately. Always wanting to be alone. But in a good way. So this dream came out of nowhere. I always dream its the end of the world on a regular basis. Its my most common dream. Today it was different. Something had happened in my dream to lead me to believe the world was over, i cant remeber the exact scenario but I was on a bus full of people from the town. Outside the sun was shining the roads were empty and 2 bears were strolling on someomes lawn near the highway. The world looked abandoned. This bus was headed to a cliff an hour from where i live. Everyone was crying, they had all lost hope for life. The bus was destined for mass suicide. I begged everyone on the bus to have hope, we can do it! We can survive! We just have to have faith. But noone was biting. These strangers ( which is weird i normally dream about people i know at my end of world dreams) they were hugging and caressing eachother as they cried .. unless i could convince humanity to want to save themselves i was going to die with them. I felt that in my dream. I wanted to live so bad but it was the end of the world, i couldnt do it myself and i knew that…. what does this dream mean? I feel it hard.

    1. I’d look at this dream as an allegory for giving yourself a reason to continue with whatever struggle or direction in life that you think will lead you to a better place. The people on the bus symbolize aspects of your psyche that need a boost. Or, looked at another way, you created the dream to spark your reaction of providing hope. When you speak to them, you’re actually speaking to yourself. The end of the world can symbolize a point you reach when you give up, represented as the bus reaching the cliff. It’s a breaking point, or point of no return.

  2. My sister had a dream that she and my stepmother were in a car driving and then all of a sudden they were in a ditch sideways in a convertible and my stepmother had a hose in her mouth that was attached to the tailpipe and was laughing maniacally like an insane woman. When she woke, my sister was very upset and wondering what it meant. I am hoping someone can help me on here.

    1. Your sister should ask yourself how the stepmother has been making her feel lately. The image of stepmonster huffing off the tailpipe maniacally could be a depiction of how your sister perceives her, but most dream character are actually expressions of something about the dreamer. Does she see a dramatized depiction of her own feelings and thoughts in that image? And in what way has her life gone off course like the car in the ditch?

  3. My son has had a recurring dream that requires 3 puzzles that have to be solved and says there are others in the dream besides himself doing the same thing (includes 4 others of which one is a traitor). Each starts out waking up in their own room and they all meet in the middle and follow the hallway and each of them goes to a door of which they automatically know that’s their door. They each enter and see their puzzle in a room. You have 30 seconds to look at the puzzle and try to figure out a strategy then the walls come down between the rooms and you see the other people. So if one of those people fail, you observe and hear their death. The harder the puzzle the worse the persons death is. The traitor is like a phantom. The one who is the phantom only knows they were the traitor when they die, if they don’t die they don’t get to leave and are part of the reset. The phantom is there to help you find the clues but usually it leads to a rabbit trail that leads to nowhere and if you believe those clues and run out of time you die. Everyone has their own puzzles but some require more than one person to solve so not only do you have to complete your three you have to help the others complete theirs. My son says he rarely needs a second person to help him. But ultimately if a mistake is made on any of the 3 puzzles that person dies. He said you also have to be sure to check the persons body who died to see if there is possibly something on them you could use later, (i.e. – he found string on one person that died he was able to use on a puzzle he had to solve), He says it’s hard to trust people in the dream because of there being a traitor. The one puzzle he remembers is similar to Jango (it requires balancing things as well as finding a solution), Think of the vertical tick tack toe game (similar set up to the battleship game) where you drop chips from the top into it and it zig zags down and lands wherever it stops. It includes 3 medallions in a box with a screen behind and a bar in front of it and requires some balancing, The middle medallion can’t be moved until the outside medallions are dealt with because there is a bar in front of the middle one that won’t let you move the middle medallion until the two side medallions are removed, then the bar can be moved and the first medallion removed. He said once the two medallions on the outside were removed it became easier. Then you have to put the medallions back in a certain order on the 1st attempt or you fail….in putting the medallions back if you didn’t put them back in the correct order, it doesn’t allow you to attempt a different way as once the medallion is inserted it fuses in place and can’t be changed. Once all the puzzles are successfully completed he said the puzzles are reset for the next person to try to solve. If you see the reset you will for sure be coming back, he feels it is like a taunt that the game isn’t over. My son believes these other people are real people (he feels like he is sharing the dream with 4 other people) and believes that when they fail and die in the dream that they truly did/do die in real life. Each puzzle has it’s own room, so once he has successfully completed one he goes to the next room and the process begins in the same way. Attempts to help the others at times. In some cases, they listen in others they don’t and if they don’t and fail they die. He is given 10 minutes to solve each of the puzzles.

    He has dreamt this twice so far, once in 2018 in the summer and then the second time was today and he says it was more dangerous as they thought he was the traitor, his experience told him how to handle the situations so when one of the people freaked out because of the hardness of the puzzle, of which that person decided not to take his advice and followed the rabbit trail. That person died. Because my son was not allowing himself to become emotional the other’s felt he was being heartless because he told them there was nothing to do to help that person and to focus on their own puzzle or they will end up dead to. He says the deaths are felt by everyone and the weight of it. And each one knows it is extremely important that no one fails and they all get back. They can communicate with each other. He stated that one person said they had been there 6 or 7 times already and gave him some advice to help him in the future. The person who dies, if they didn’t get to go to the second puzzle, that time is added to the surviving peoples puzzle…more to those with more difficult puzzles, less time to those with easier puzzles.

  4. I had a dream that I was holding deaths hand. Like someone dressed as the literal representation of death with black robes and a cows skull for a head. We were walking through a field full of wild flowers. When we stopped walking, he turned to me a said he didn’t want to take me to the other side. I didn’t know what he meant by that. But he took the skull off and it was my boyfriend who was crying.
    Since I had that dream. I’ve had three different dreams about holding his hand and walking down street shops and through parks. What does this mean?

    1. Wow, that’s some powerful dream imagery. Death is actually your boyfriend. OK, begin with the symbolic connection and analyze the story. The dream begins with a scene of you two proceeding forward in life together. Everything is great, it’s romantic. Then … death! What does that mean symbolically? What does it mean to take you to the other side? Unless you two are planning a suicide pact or something (like in the song “Don’t Fear the Reaper” by BOC), look at it as symbolism for crossing a boundary line that means “there’s no going back after this.” For example, if you decide to marry your boyfriend or have a child with him, it’s like crossing a line into a territory in your relationship. Do you fear something about that idea?

      Take note that the way dream characters look and behave is based on your feelings and perceptions. You could be picking up on something about your boyfriend that’s used to show him crying in the dream, but that imagery is more likely to be subjectively based. It’s how you feel. It could be how you WOULD feel if you “went to the other side.” Or, how you’d feel if you can’t make it. In other words, maybe you know that things with your boyfriend are great the way they are, but if you try to go further or deeper, you are likely to kill the relationship and that’s what the dream means by death.

  5. I had a dream last night that my kindergarten teacher had died. I dreamed that she was killed by a man with a gun. He pressed it to her head but didn’t pull the trigger. He pushed the gun through her head instead, killing her. When I found out in my dream that she was dead. I was immensely upset. What does this all mean ?

    1. One way of viewing this dream imagery is something innocent or childlike about you is under threat or receding as you mature or change. Think of the teacher as representing the time of life — kindergarten or thereabouts — and the teacher dying meaning “I’m changing.” Here’s the tricky part. View the dream figuratively and realize that as we mature, we add layers over top of what’s new about us. So, you become a high schooler but the younger parts of you are still there. You become a young adult but the high school kid lives on. It’s just underneath those layers. Sometimes you change so much you can hardly recognize yourself afterward, but usually it’s more like an evolution, and as you scratch through the layers you can find parts of yourself going all the way back to birth. They are still very much alive within you.

      In a dream like yours, what I propose above does not always hold true. Instead, look in terms of just a story about losing something important. But my hunch is, the dream chose to tell the story using the scenario of your teacher being killed because it expresses a feeling of threat to a part of you that has characteristics of a young child. If it was my dream, I’d ask myself if I feel like the fun of life is being taken. If I’m being forced into living in a way that feels like it’s killing me inside. I like to enjoy my work as an adult and be spontaneous. A kindergarten kid wants to enjoy school and they are known for being spontaneous. They are just old enough to have some independence in how they think. Now, notice that the gun pushes into the teacher’s head. View that as possibly meaning that something is getting into your thought processes and it’s killing your fun or independence or whatever. It’s symbolism for an idea such as “these thoughts have gotten into my head and they’re killing me, killing my spirit” or something like that. The good news is, if what I propose is accurate (I can only guess since it’s your dream, not mine) it shows a process going on that can be changed consciously if it’s caused by external factors such as stress or bad influence or even irritation or depression. Otherwise, it might be part of a natural process of maturing and you are having a hard time letting go of something about yourself that needs to change.

  6. My boyfriend dreamt he caught me sleeping with three men, so he shot and killed us all. He told me he’s never woken up feeling so invigorated. As he was retelling the dream, he said he had sex with me one last time and shot me when he climaxed. Then proceeded to say wouldn’t that have been weird if it ended that way, but no i just shot everyone. Only thing I can imagine is that in his last relationship, he caught his ex girlfriend cheating and now he’s insecure. But I’m also afraid he might feel trapped or want to end our relationship hence getting rid of me?

    1. His feeling in response to the action of the dream is a telling sign that he feels trapped, but not necessarily trapped by you. Instead, he could feel trapped by his own feelings of insecurity and inability to take action when needed. Something deep is going on within him. Exactly what it is, I can’t say. Most dreams relate to the dynamics of a person’s inner life. The stories can pull in people from outer life to participate as characters, but those “people” really have to be viewed as actors who help to dramatize what’s happening inside the person.

  7. Well, I have had what I’ve learned is called “precognitions” my entire life but most were minimal and not good/bad just there and thought nothing of it. Not sure when started getting more “off” ones but I just thought were “weird/bad” dreams and in day or so would forget them until I have 2nd one and so on. I had been really lost in life last few years or more, so anything I dreamed upon opening my eyes was more exhausted but didn’t remember hardly any of them if any of the dream at all.

    Then I had a “nightmare” about same person from earlier (was in their presence on two occasions and 1st one was testing my physic abilities for other reasons but instead I got “this person was going to be “this age” and die “this way”) :O :( anyways, this nightmare, was one that made me jump out of “bed” and so bothered by it (not remembering at the time the prior “dreams”) and person was in public eye so I googled it and it had not happened yet so was relieved (I thought they were older than the age it had said so made me feel better) but also when woke up from the dream tv was on crime show and the way they were going to die was on the tv :O :(

    A month after this “nightmare” THIS TRAGEDY HAPPENED :o :o :( :( and 1. feel responsible/guilty 2. do not know why when only been in presence never touched or met and I could not figure out why this death was affecting me more than anything I have ever experienced and how painful it was/is. Then I started remembering these “dreams.” To top it off, ever since this tragedy, everything (well 99.9%) Feels like deja vu (I know I dreamed of every path my life could take and every reaction I could have and dreamed about that too, so bizarre-creepy feeling but probably wouldn’t bother me so much if it wasn’t for the person’s death. Been trying to understand why I would see that person’s time & way of dying several times but not remember and not be able to do anything about it.

    1. Guilt and precognition (seeing the future) go hand in hand, unfortunately, because you think you are given the information to change the outcome, to rescue the person. Sometimes you can change an outcome if you recognize ahead of time that the dream is precognitive — which is a tough thing to do. And usually you are given the information as a sort of test to see how you handle receiving it — personally handle it. Most people melt down when their psychic abilities get strong.

      Every dream and feeling of premonition I’ve ever thought were going to come true did not come true. I even thought once that I knew when a big attack was coming and the day passed without incident. You do not have a responsibility to act based on a dream you think is going to come true, especially when it involves celebs or famous people. You are wise to deeply ponder such a dream, to seek further guidance and instruction, but that’s all. If the dream is about your fate or someone you love and you have the power to change something, do it. You know, you dream that the brakes go out on the car and it leads to a bad accident. OK, check out the brakes. Secure your vehicle.

      Otherwise, take it all with a grain of salt. Psychic ability is much more normal than is commonly realized. It’s like being left-handed or blue-eyed. It’s just different than the norm. You need higher guidance with such dreams. It’s too much for us humans in this 3-D box to handle alone. Your spirit guides and higher self know the meaning of what you dream. If you have another one of these dreams, ask for their guidance. Otherwise, what typically happens is the psychic will lose their touch. It’s too disruptive to daily life so the ability recedes. I also suggest that you look up Ingo Swann, a very talented psychic who went to the far edge with his ability and held his shit together well enough to remain highly functioning in society. Joe McMoneagle is another good example. Russel Targ trains psychics and he’s a very down to earth guy — his books are excellent. It requires a daily practice of grounding yourself, prayer, and laughter/lightheartedness.

  8. Hi! I recently had a dream that my boyfriend of 30 years old died of a heart attack. His father actually died 3 years ago of a heart attack at 45 years old, unexpectedly. Last night my boyfriends twin brother dreamt that my boyfriends heart just stopped. Called him at 3am to make sure he’s ok. My boyfriend suffers from anxiety since his dad passed away & these dreams are worrying him a lot. Is there more to this? Thank you so much. I need to help him because he’s really scared.

    1. The first thing to know is, even if dreams show the future, it’s only a possibility. You have the power to decide that you want a different outcome.

      I highly recommend that you watch “The Edge of Dreaming” by Amy Hardie. She had a dream where she was told very bluntly that she was going to die, and it almost happened. But she went on a personal journey and found in the end that she could live by making that choice and realizing her own power to determine her fate.

      For two people close to a person to have a dream about that person dying… it’s not unheard of, but it does give you pause. Just looking at the odds you can bet that it’s coincidence. However, I know how anxieties can worm into the mind and become self-fulfilling prophecies. I think it would be wise for your boyfriend to confront his fears and come to terms with himself.

      A friend of mine is doing an online Q&A about unusual dream experiences. Drop by. [Ian Wilson Reddit Dreams AMA](https://redd.it/75qwvc). He might be able to give insights beyond what I offer here. But my hunch is, the documentary I linked to above is going to give you the answers you seek.

  9. My husband has had nightmares since adolescence where it ends with him being shot in the face, usually by a shotgun. Sometimes it’s his father being shot and one time it was his dog. There is typically some unknown man coming after him and it happens in multiple locations, in the city, in his home, etc. He wakes up knowing he died in the dream and is shaken. We are at the point now where he smokes marijuana every night just to prevent dreaming because they have happened so frequent and for at least twenty years.

    No significant trauma in his life, a very average childhood and no gun violence that he’s ever witnessed. Just want to help him.

    1. Hi Rachel,

      I hope he gets the help to understand his dreams and use them to settle whatever deep inner conflict is driving these nightmares.

      Shot in the face… begin decoding it by considering possibilities for what the face can symbolize. It’s the seat for personal identity. It’s a person’s most recognizable feature. It’s the primary body part associated with attractiveness. So what does it mean to be shot in the face?

      It could show a deep conflict over personal identity. A very low opinion of oneself. Self-abnegation. The feeling of being attacked very personally. A shotgun is a powerful blast. It’s also rather indiscriminate compared to, say, a rifle, which is precise. It could be a way of saying that many attacks (shotgun pellets) come at him at once, or that the attack is powerful.

      Dad and dog shot too… very close and personal sort of attack. I’m picturing him being close to his dad and his dog, and dreams can use that association to mean “personal attack.” Keep in mind, the attack could be something he’s doing to himself. It’s in his head or heart. Like, an attack on his self-esteem. Since you say he had a normal upbringing, the likelihood is the attack is not from an external source that’s closely linked to him (like a parent or friend). Instead, let’s go back to the time of life when the dreams began.

      Teenage years. Ug. I wonder if he experienced bullying or personal attacks. I’m willing to help him explore this dream theme. Give me feedback on what I’ve said so far and we’ll explore further.

  10. I had a dream of being on the computer playing with my friends, as this troller comes in the chat room that seems like a Minecraft font, we were telling him to go out and I told him “kys”. After a while, we all hanged out and I was with one of my online friends. We were on some kind of mission ( I dont remember ) and said to text him when he finds the “thing”. He checked the back door if there was something there, and he didn’t come back. I texted him that I found the thing ( it was a cat ), and he texted back “oh really?” I heard a twisting knob from the opposite side of the back door, as I hid behind a refrigerator, but it didn’t cover enough of me because i was in the corner. I tried covering myself up as much as I can, but it was the troller in the chat room. She dragged me out of the refrigerator, made me sit, telling me how she remembers what I’ve said. She stabbed me, as I was slowly dying. She kept on ranting how I should’ve never did that. I figured all my friends were dead because there was silence at the last second. What could this mean? I keep having dreams of being killed, at least one a month or two.

    1. Dreams can create scenarios that trigger feelings and reactions, and in this case you feel scared and your reaction is you want to hide, presumably because you’ve done something wrong. Begin there. When a person says that they want to hide and they mean it figuratively, it means they’ve done something they’re ashamed of.

      Next, look at the scenario. Did you, or do you, troll? Or maybe your reaction to trolling is out of kilter? Telling someone to kys is pretty harsh. Some people actually take that shit to heart. Trollers are sometimes just looking for attention. Imagine if you got all harsh with someone in a chat room and told them they should kys and they went and did it? Then you find out it’s like some ten-year old kid?

      To be killed in a dream can mean there’s something about yourself that you want to change. You want to “kill off” a personality or character trait. There are many other possibilities for symbolism of being killed, but start there. Does the idea of “desire to change” ring a bell with you?

  11. I had a a nightmare that the grim reaper fell from the sky through a meteorite (there was an alien invasion going on) and I just got home from school. My mom was waiting outside for me, she was normal absolutely nothing weird about her. But then the Grim reaper shows up next to the two cars that were in the drive way. He hasn’t seen me and my mom yet so I hide behind the car and grab my mom. But as I look at her, she is smiles like nothing is going on, she something but I couldn’t hear it.(There were black clouds too.) The Reaper is getting closer to our hiding spot. So I drop my mom (unintentionally) and run to the other side of the the car, then I notice that my mom isn’t with me. I see the grim reaper punching her. I climb on top of the cars in the way and I start shouting, ” GET THE HELL AWAY FROM MY MOM” I was about to jump at him but as I was shouting he cuts her head off with a his scythe. I stand there in shock as he says, “The movie is about to end…” And I asked ” Is this the movie?” ( because I didn’t want it to be real. Then I remember this a dream and finally wake up from that nightmare. I felt like I had just exited hell.

    1. I’ve helped to understand other dreams with this theme of mom in danger combined with an apocalypse theme. First time out of thousands of dreams, though, that I’ve ever heard about one where the Reaper cuts off your mom’s head!

      First, understand that the dream is vividly portraying something that’s happening in your life. Most dreams about mom dying relate back to the idea of something changing in your relationship. In your dream, consider expressions that use “cut off,” like “my parents cut off my support.” A dream could show that idea as chopping of their heads. Why their heads? Because they were in charge, but after you’re cut off, you’re in charge. Follow me? It’s all symbolism.

      Your dream has a few clues along this line of meaning, expect think in general terms of a big change. It’s an apocalypse, which can be translated from dream-speak as “big change.” Death also means “major change,” or “the end.” Think of it in terms of the end of a stage of your relationship or stage of life. Your mom’s role in your life is changing. That’s OK, but it’s hard. For the child inside you it can feel like you’re losing her. You’re not, but you do have to let go and allow the change to happen. The goal is to eventually relate to her as one adult to another, not as child to parent.

      Another indicator of change is in the detail about dropping your mom when you’re next to the car. A car can symbolize the daily progression and activity of your life. Dropping your mom can mean “I can’t take her with me.” You’re not completely on your own (mom’s still “in the scene”), but you are about to embark on a solo journey. In other words, “this movie is about to end,” meaning “this stage of the movie of my life.”

      I hope my ideas help you understand your dream. And keep in mind, only you know what the dream really means.

  12. I work on high machines, I dreamed my co-worker fell off the top and hit the ground dieing. In my dream I turned my head not to see but since her hitting her head and body folding. Why would I dream this I have no conflict with her in anyway and she is a nice person.

    1. You could have this imagery appear in your dream could express fear of an accident. Does your co-worker take risks that would make you fear for her? The co-worker could be a projection of you at your work, so you’re actually telling yourself to be extra careful. There could be a metaphor here for sacrificing yourself for your job. Most likely, the dream has less to do with the co-worker and more to do with how you feel.

  13. i saw the grand ripper in a egg i rubbed on me and Put under my bed the next day i took the picture i still have the picture and seen 3 dark shadows in my room that night with a cold air that came up on me

    1. A bed is a place where you are alone with your thoughts, and an egg is something that’s nursed. Look at what’s in the egg in your dream, put together the clues, and the dream imagery suggests that you are nursing dark or fatalistic thoughts.

  14. Ive been having this wierd dream for like 3-4 years, no matter what i do i can run away from the waves but igotta drown to wake up and every time i wake up my heart is beating hella fast. Wierd af

    1. Consider the obvious metaphor here. Drowning figuratively in something you can’t escape. Could be debt, emotions, responsibilities or work. Many possibilities. Your feelings will tell you what the dream theme connects to in your life. And the next thing to consider is, what do you do about it?

  15. I just dreamt my boyfriend’s parents died. He didn’t tell me about it and they had a memorial for it. Which he gave a speech at and I learned that they died from a friend. I was going to go pick up food for a friend but ended up going to his house instead. My friend got very mad but I decided to stay by his side.

    1. With a dream like this, the question that helps to understand it is, are you being pressured by your friends because of your relationship with your boyfriend? Do you feel that it’s an “us or them” situation? The scenario with the parents could point toward a reason why you feel bonded with him. Like, maybe his parents are minor figures in his life and you feel like you’re filling a void.

  16. I just had a dream that the angel of death was after a me and a handful of people and he got them by leaving gifts. If you touched the gift that person was next. The thing is, some of the gifts were really meant for other people. And others would touch it by mistake. And death was embarrassed because he was reading the wrong people. I was talking to my coworker and death left me a bag of crystals. And I touched them right as my coworker says, “I think your next.” And I replied with “I think you’re right.” But I didn’t feel any fear. And I felt that in my dream. And it was an actual gift from death to me, but he wasn’t trying to reap me. Life it was to protect me, but I woke up because I was unsure if it really meant I was next or not. And now I can’t sleep and I’m terrified.

    1. Most dreams about death are symbolism unrelated to actual death. Since your co-worker is in the dream, I wonder if the reference to death is somehow connected to a situation at work. Like, perhaps you fear a layoff or something. You’re hoping that you won’t be unlucky in this respect. Either way, I don’t think you have anything to fear.

  17. The first night I received a threat that death is coming. The second night I had a dream that I was with my husband and we recieved a threat that I was going to die. Me and my husband just went on with our day. I never died and woke up. This all occurred right before my husband left for a trip to visit his family and friends. All of whom want us divorced desperately.

    1. And the good news in the dream is your life with your husband goes on. It seems to presage that his relatives will not be successfully in coming between you.

  18. I had a dream last night that my husband died. He was in a fight of some sort with a guy maybe two. And when they fell to the ground his neck was broke. My dream was in color. And I could see faces of people but don’t know who they are. As my husband was falling to the ground I heard I am in trouble. Then I see my self there holding him cry out for help and no one would. Looking at him. Was horrible I had no idea what to do.all I know is when I woke up I couldn’t go back to sleep. Most times I can’t remember my dreams or I do but for a split second…#wokeupscared

    1. I think the first possibility to consider is the dream is an observation about him and you sense he’s headed for trouble. Maybe he needs help but isn’t asking for it, or doesn’t know where to get it. But also consider that it could be commentary about your relationship (you sense trouble brewing), or even a way of saying that something represented as your husband isn’t meshing well with you.

  19. I had this dream just now and it leas me here. I hope someone can help me understand. I had a dream I got into a car accident with someone I dont know driving. As the car is flipping over and over im praying not to die and praying that whoever I was with lives bc they had 6 kids. Everything stopped. I heard call 911! Somebody help! I remember me and the girl I was with running towards the scene. By then theres ambulances and cops. Lots of people standing around. I look in the stret and both me in this girl are dead and linked arm in arm. There were 2 white sheets on the ground in front of each of our bodies. I was crawling trying to get back in my body and pulled the sheet closer to me but I couldn’t get any closer to my body. The emt saw the sheet slide across the ground and just shock nhis head with a sad look on his face as if he knew what I was trying to do. I look around for my family. The girls family was there but mine wasnt. Then suddenly there was a street to the side and my mom, daughter and sister were walking down it. I ran to them. I told my mom she had 2 come with me because I had something to show her. I grabber her hand and tried to drag her. She looked me in the face and said we burried you years ago. God brought you back just to have your daughter. She is special and will do great things. As Im talking 2 her my daughter and sister are just walking away. The rest is a little 2 vivid but I can say I was in hell and I asked saten I guess, what was so special about my daughter? He said I should ask God. There was a prayer phone of sorts. He tried to jam my signal to heaven but I got through. I asked God and as I was getting an answer, my alarm clock went off. I dont know what the answer is. Im not very religious so I have no idea where this all came from but I am very scared. Can anybody help?

    1. This is a tough one. Start by assuming that everything in a dream is a reflection of you and the story of a dream describes something about recent events in your outer life, or something about your inner life. To me, your dream looks like a story about revisiting decisions you made in the past (like having a baby) and reminding yourself why you did it (she’s special and you know it). Perhaps it’s a way of reaching deeper within yourself to give her more. Of course, I assume you really do have a daughter. If you don’t, she might represent something about yourself that’s special and it needs you to take a more active role in tending to it.

  20. Hi
    I saw myself in dream as dead .But during my funeral process I got live again .What could be the interpretation ?
    Your valuable inputs highly appreciated.

    1. Something to consider is something about yourself receded down into your psyche and in turn allowed something new to emerge. Like a Phoenix rising out of the ashes of its former self, or a caterpillar turning into a butterfly. Another way of looking at it is you have emerged from a period of feeling dead inside. Those are the two main possibilities to consider.

  21. I had this dream a few days ago.There’s a guy but I dont remember if I know him.We are…different I think.We have done something and now we are dying.It not a quick death.I remember just feeling sicker and sicker.There are other people too.But I dont think I know any of them.I still doing the normal daily chores.This guy told me to do something so I will be cured but I dont want to do it.I dont remember but I think it is too late for him.I thought to myself if there is no other way to recovered just let me die too.oh,there are also a lot of white I cant remember what it is just white throughout this dream.

    1. EDIT – I noticed that I actually replied to your comment but for some reason it went through twice. Anyway, this reply approaches the subject from a different direction so maybe it will help.

      Hey, my website wasn’t telling me about new comments so I missed this one. My guess is the dream could be related to continuing to do something that’s wearing you down and the situation is getting chronic. The other man is probably a projection of something about yourself. Notice that you are doing chores as the emergency is going on. I know that feeling when it’s midnight and I’m just getting around to doing the dishes, or I watched my girlfriend handle her job, our home, her elderly mother, and still find time to help out a friend. So consider the possibility that you are overloaded and something inside of you knows it, but you soldier despite what you know it is doing to you.

  22. I had this dream a few days ago.There’s a guy but I dont remember if I know him.We are…different I think.We have done something and now we are dying.It not a quick death.I remember just feeling sicker and sicker.There are other people too.But I dont think I know any of them.I still doing the normal daily chores.This guy told me to do something so I will be cured but I dont want to do it.I dont remember but I think it is too late for him.I thought to myself if there is no other way to recovered just let me die too.oh,there are also a lot of white I cant remember what it is just white throughout this dream.

    1. I think the key to understanding the dream is that dying means the figurative sense of the word, such as “die of embarrassment,” or “die to my old self.” It has nothing to do with actual physical death. My guess is the man you recognize is an aspect of yourself — a character or personality trait, perhaps — that is receding back into your mind. And that’s what the dream means by death.

      I used to be a helluva prankster, a real trickster. But at some point that personality trait receded back into my mind. The prankster had to “die.” It’s still part of me — I draw on that trickster part of me in my strategic thinking now because while immature, it’s also very clever. But at some point I grew up and realized the pranks and tricking people are for boys and now I’m a man. That’s an example of an aspect of oneself that recedes back into the mind and is portrayed in dreams as death.

  23. I had the most scarest dream off my life that I’ve ever had before, The Grim Reaper him self appeared in my dream, I did not talk to him but he was walking round my Nan and Grandads house at that point everyone in my family was disappearing it scared the living shit out of me, now I don’t know if he is coming to visit me any time soon but when he does I’ll be offering him either a beer or a spliff, sayin fuck that shit, its not my time to go haha scary shit not even lying it really happened, I think he’s trying to tell me something I wonder what it is?? I will never know!! If he comes back into mydream again i will ask him

As Dr. Frasier Crane says, I'm listening. Leave a comment.