Death and Dying Dream Meaning and Symbolism
Have you ever had one of those dreams where you wake up in a cold sweat, heart beating as if you just sprinted from your biggest fear?
Well, technically your body might have thought that’s exactly what you were doing if you recently had a dream about facing death or dying the last time you went to sleep.
For many people, dying and the concept of death is one of the biggest fears that we hold within the human experience.
This is especially true if the dream that you had pertains to you or someone very close to you.
It’s natural to wake up feeling stressed, worried, or fearful of the future when you have a dream about death or dying.
Believe it or not, the good thing about having intense dreams like this is that a huge change is coming into your life.
The symbolic meaning of dreaming about death or dying is that you’re about to transition into a new phase of your life…. and your dreams aren’t technically wrong.
The old version of yourself is passing.
All About Death and Dying Dream Interpretation
Although we’re here to help walk you through how you can easily interpret your intense dream experiences, truly the best person to interpret your dreams is you!
After all dreams are the active part of your subconscious that doesn’t normally get to show itself in your day-to-day life.
And the truth about your subconscious is that it has a lot to do with the patterns in your life that show up energetically.
What we mean by that is that what you don’t say or do outwardly is still attracted to you through the energy that is fed within your subconscious.
Many times our ego, identification with self, and the way that we wish to be perceived, motivates us to take certain actions within our life.
However the subconscious is what attracts certain people, circumstances, and situations within our life that “feel out of our control.”
Can you now start to understand why the subconscious loves to come out and play when your Logical mind is trying to finally take a break?
So, it’s important to ask yourself these questions when you have an “interesting” dream like this one.
Do you have any personal experiences with death?
It’s understandable to be uncomfortable with the idea of death and dying, but there are other people who are much more comfortable with it because they’ve had personal experiences with the human experience of transition.
And that’s just what it is—it’s simply transition.
The way that you personally view death, transformation, and the idea of dying will definitely have an affect on your physical reaction to your intense dream.
Take a moment to look back on past experiences where you may or may have not dealt with the idea of death in a positive way and see where those beliefs are rooted from.
In certain cultures or certain religions, they teach the idea of death in a much different way than other cultures.
Maybe your family has experienced death, but didn’t have any tangible tools or resources to help you and your loved ones process it.
This could help you understand how you interpret the symbolism in your dream.
Who is the person you saw dying in your dream?
Can you recall who you saw in your dream last night?
It may have been you or possibly even someone that you know.
It may even be surprising if you see someone that you have no connection to… Or so you think.
Sometimes if you pay attention to the descriptors of the person, you may notice that this person holds characteristics or traits of a part of you.
This may symbolize a part of you that is passing on or transitioning.
Can you remember any other details of your dream, like surroundings?
Again, your subconscious works in mysterious ways.
There may be very significant factors to pay attention to in your dreams including the setting of the dream, objects in your dream, and even the way that you or the person within the dream is moving.
It’s very important to also pay attention to the feelings that arise within your dreams.
Can you recall how the death took place?
As we all know, there are many ways to transition in the human experience… Some scarier than others.
The way that the death or active dying showed up in your dreams may indicate some important symbolism specific to you.
This is why it’s always so important to keep a journal near your bedside and drop down as many details as you can possibly remember when you first arise in the morning.
The Most Common Symbolism for Dreams About Death and Dying
Again, it’s very important to know yourself.
Sometimes your dreams are trying to help you learn more about yourself.
These are some of the most common dream interpretations when it comes to the idea of death and dying, but we recommend you meditate on your specific dream to figure out what it means for you.
Fear of What’s Next
It’s important to understand how the complex system of your human mind works.
The mind is a very sharp tool that can be used to keep us safe here in the human experience—that’s it’s main purpose.
However, that doesn’t mean that your mind can play tricks on you from time to time.
Again death and dying in this human experience it’s an inevitable fact.
That’s not discounting the feeling of fear that can come up when discussing it though.
Moreover, when a transition is happening that means that something has to be let go in order to make room for something new.
Your mind has a hard time conceptualizing new experiences, new possibilities, and quite frankly, the unknown.
The unknown is scary to your mind because it hasn’t been experienced yet so it cannot compute or predict certain outcomes.
However, when you allow your mind to run your life, you’re bound to repeat the same cycles, experiences, and circumstances over and over again even when you don’t like them anymore.
Subconsciously, you know that you’re ready to move on to something bigger and better.
And your subconscious is trying to show you that it’s ready to let go of the old patterns in your life so that you can move on to a much more bright, abundant chapter in your life.
The End of Old Cycles
As mentioned above, you know when you’re energetically ready to move on to the next phase in your life.
The logical mind is much like a computer.
It does what it can within the confines of the experiences that you’ve already gathered.
However when you are conscious of certain patterns — especially the ones that are no longer serving you— it’s your responsibility to head the signs and symbolism being shown to you and control and reprogram your mind.
When a dream of death and dying comes into your experience, this is actually a great sign that you are ready to move on and let go of old cycles that are no longer serving you.
It’s not to say that this transition will be easy or that you may not experience grief for your old self, but it is a necessary part of life just as death and dying are.
Processing Grief
Just as if you lose a loved one in this human experience, you may grieve parts of your old self that may have served you in the past.
But you must recognize that that part of you existed then for a reason and new parts of you are emerging to support you in bigger and better things.
Your dreams may be giving you a warning to give yourself time, space, and compassion through this transition into the next best phase of your life.
Communication From Someone Who Has Passed
The astral and spiritual realms are so beautiful and boundless.
Again this is not the realm of your logical mind that puts structure and boundaries between what we can physically experience and what we can spiritually feel.
Sometimes, especially if you’re having a rough time, your loved ones that may have passed may show up in a dream to give you the reassurance that you need to continue on your journey.
This may frighten you initially because it is something that we don’t experience here all the time in the human experience, however it’s meant to give you comfort knowing that you’re still being supported in other realms!
Keep a Dream Journal By Your Bedside
Have you had any dreams about death or dying recently?
What have your experiences with this type of symbolism been?
Do you have any other interpretations that we may have missed?
Share your thoughts in the comments section below!
