Dreams about Death and Dying
Dreams about death are fairly common. Like many people, you may have dreamed about people you love who have died, or about dying yourself. While these dreams can be sad or frightening, they don’t have to be. Dreams of death and visits from deceased loved ones are not necessarily about death in the literal sense. To find out what these dreams mean, you need to investigate how you have used the imagery of death in order to say something to yourself.
Death Dreams are a way of problem solving in our sleep
A dream usually concerns something that happened or was thought about the previous day. We prioritize during the night just like we do during our waking hours. From the hundreds of events that occur in a day, your unconscious will choose the most important and literally “dream up” different possible reactions and solutions. Dreams give us a marvelous opportunity to tap into our intuition and to be in touch with our whole selves when making decisions. Our dreams can show us how to become more flexible and more imaginative in our responses to the predicaments in our lives.
Recently a client of mine dreamed her young daughter was dying. The dream presented an emergency situation in which she did not react quickly enough to save her daughter. The dreamer woke in a state of panic. But she had felt no panic in the dream!
In this case the dreamer realized her lack of action in the dream mirrored her behavior in waking life. The dream turned out not to be about her daughter, but about her own inner child who was dying. So much worry and stress had built up in my client’s life that the youthful and playful part of herself was fading away.
“And in life,” I inquired, “would you be at a standstill if your daughter really was dying?”
“Of course not!” she replied.
The dream had served its purpose in seizing the dreamer’s attention. It was time for her to take a vacation and bring back that playful possibility inside her.
So what do our dreams about death tell us? The answer varies, but here are some tools you can use to uncover why you had a dream about death or dying, or why you chose to bring a deceased loved one into your dream on a given night.
Attach your dream to the current issue it is addressing
To help you attach your dream to a current issue you are attempting to resolve, here are the key elements to study and review.
1.) Write down how you felt in the dream. Ask yourself what situation in the last day or two made you feel the same way. Trust your first hunch when coming up with the answer.
2.) Say the dream out loud. Often the dream’s meaning comes to you when you hear yourself say it. We are constantly playing with words and puns in our sleep. For example, if something happened to you yesterday that made you so embarrassed you “wanted to die,” you might dream you are dying!
3.) What are the people, places or things that stand out in your dream? What pops into your mind when you think about these symbols? Who or what in your life is behaving in a similar way?
Recognize the solution or strength the dream is offering
Once you find the current problem behind the dream, the second goal is to look back to the dream, because therein always lies a solution or strength; this is the purpose of the dream. It may present a very direct solution to the problem. Or it may offer just a hint to help brainstorm the solution to your problem.
Solutions may appear in the form of a strength that you can use. A TV news anchor in New York City described herself as falling to her death, hitting the ground, then getting up and walking! In the context of a tough situation she was facing at the time, this was probably her unconscious reminding her that when she hits rock bottom she knows how to pick herself up and carry on.
Often dreams shine a spotlight on other people as a way to pinpoint a behavior that is missing in our response to a current situation. If you dream of a dead friend or relative you think was very assertive, you need to react like they would in your current situation. I might dream of my late father when I’m on a business trip, because I need to move closer to that business part of myself. Another question you might ask is if there is someone in your life who is behaving like the deceased person in your dream?
Sometimes Dreaming about Death = Change
We begin and end relationships, jobs, phases, experiences, and sometimes even behaviors. Endings and beginnings have an impact on us. We work out the effects of that impact in our dreams, sometimes with stories that are one step removed.
A client of mine dreamed her dad was dying. She expressed feeling both saddened and powerless watching the event unfold, knowing there was nothing she could do at this point to stop the inevitable. As we talked she linked the death dream to her current dilemma. It was in response to her failed marriage, which she knew was coming to an end. The dream mirrored the death of the relationship, and at the same time helped bring out the sadness she had been holding in.
One fellow dreamed of his deceased high school buddy at a time when his father was near death. The dream helped him reconnect to the sadness he had experienced and recovered from in his past. By reminding him of that past grief, his dream was helping him prepare for the loss he knew he was about to face.
One particularly unnerving type of dream features a person we know is alive who appears dead in a dream. Rather than worry about whether you’re foreseeing a grim future, ask yourself, “What character traits come to my mind about that person?” The answer might help you recognize a part of your behavior you are bidding good-bye.
Dreaming of Dead Relatives: Spirituality and continuing relationships
What about when death in a dream isn’t a metaphor? Sometimes seeing someone you love who has died in a dream can be a way of working through that loss – and then sometimes, it feels like more. Our most systematic knowledge relating to dreams about death comes from a study by Barrett (1992). Dreams in which the dreamer was amazed or upset to see the deceased loved one alive made up 39% of the 77 dreams of the dead. Barrett called these “back to life” dreams. They tended to occur within a few days or months of the loved one’s death.
When a loved one who has passed on appears in your dream, it is proof that the relationship does not end. You are giving yourself the opportunity to continue the relationship in a new way. One friend wrote of her mum:
“My mother once dreamed that her deceased father was standing near the end of her bed, soothing her as he always did and saying ‘It’s going to be okay… It’s going to be okay,’ during a time in her life when she was particularly troubled. He had always been a calming, loving presence in her life and while she awoke amazed and electrified by the idea that she had seen him again, she also felt bathed in his love and happy he was still available to her.
And who are we to say that dreams about dead loved ones are not in fact their spirits returning? Does the child in its mother’s womb realize there is a whole world of people, cars, cities, happiness, joy, starvation, wars, and sadness going on right outside its existence? No. It does not. And are we not like children in the womb? Perhaps we are unable to see the vast universe around us, filled with souls who continue to survive and learn.
The point is to stay open. Dreams about death and dying can open the window into another world, and open our eyes to a world within ourselves. If we learn to ask the right questions, and stay receptive to the answers that come from inside, our dreams will show us where our true heart lies. Then we can begin to attend to its desires.
Have you had dreams about death or dying that you want explained? Book a private consultation with dream expert Layne Dalfen.
Interpreting Your Own Dreams
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12 Responses
My daughter’s father was murdered and ever since about once a month or more I have a dream of him, ever dream he fades away as if he was being blown like a dandelion. I wish I knew why I keep dreaming this same dream.
Hi Brittany. Thanks so much for reaching out. When we lose someone, our healthy unconscious has several ways it might help us get used to, or accept the loss. One of the ways it may do that is by triggering a dream precisely like what you are describing. It’s exactly the same as a rehearsal. In the case you give yourself a rehearsal of saying goodbye…..realizing he’s gone….and you do it by creating this scenario in a dream. I also like your dream’s expression, as in one picture you have accomplished what is so true. We are here one day and gone so quickly in another. Finally, I will add that your imagery also fits so precisely since you say he was murdered and in the dream he’s being “blown like a dandelion”. The imagery fits you describing a murder. Finally, in response to your question as to “why”…..if his murder was recent, it’s you getting accustomed to accepting the loss. If his murder is not recent and instead from years ago, ask yourself 1) How do you feel in the dream? and 2) What is it THIS WEEK in your waking life that is making you feel in a similar way. For example, if you suddenly got fired, or lost your job, this dream of your murdered ex might fit you saying to yourself the shock you are feeling for being fired. I hope that helps!
i have got dream last night that i and my father with my fathers friend where traveling from car . and i have saw the stars making lion like figure in sky predicting danger to my father as per astrology so i told my father to stop the car and father stop but another car hit to gas container truck that leak of poisonous gas and my father get dull and gradually losing consiousnes . and after I serched about that constellation that is surya nakshatra that is coming from 21st of january to 25th of jan . what should i do now.
Hi Anurag Tak, As you read this article on my blog, you must realize I have a psychological, problem-solving approach to dream analysis. I am NOT a psychic or anything like that. For me the dream is a reflection of a conversation you are having with yourself about something that’s bothering you this week. You are problem solving! If you are dreaming there is danger coming, I would think about what I (NOT MY FATHER)…..But what am I doing in my life that could be dangerous. For example, am I in a relationship that’s not good for me and my intuition knows by continuing, I am headed for something “blowing up” in my face? Is it I am drinking too much? Or have I been working too hard?? Whatever it is, it seems as if you know inside yourself that you need to stop what you are doing that’s not good for you. If that was my dream, it would be there to grab my attention to be careful how I am behaving recently. Your dream, in my opinion, most certainly has nothing to do with danger to your father. Best to ask yourself the question what YOU are doing these days, that’s dangerous!
I had an odd dream that I was staying with a friend and an assassin came and killed him. When he got to me I asked if he could just shoot me to wound me so I could live since I didn’t even live there or know why they would want to kill me. He honored my request then left but 4 more assassins came and tried to kill me but instead I killed them (violently). Needless to say I awoke shaken. Can you help me decode this dream please?
Hi Trisha
Thanks for reaching out. It seems as if you weren’t able to connect your dream using all the steps and examples I offer in this blog, but just so you are aware, I have a psychological approach to dream analysis so I would need to speak to you (the dreamer), in order to help you “attach” your dream to your waking life situation that triggered this dream in the first place……
Working with me is the opposite of working with a psychic. It’s a two way conversation between myself and the dreamer and involves questions such as how did you feel in the dream? The process takes about a half hour. You can book a private session with me by going to
https://thedreamanalyst.com/dream-interpretation-consultations/
I look forward to working with you and bring you some clarity and understanding about your dream.
I dreamt that the road I was driving on ended suddenly and 2 of my daughters and I died after plummeting to our death. We are aware we are falling and I tell them I love them. Then we wake up in the snow. I told my girls let’s go find heaven. We end up walking home. Once we get the my house is a mess and my husband isn’t home. I was so upset I couldn’t find him, then I woke up. My kids were there, but they were just like me wanting to find their dad.
Hi Ashley. If I had this dream, I’d use a “Feelings” point of entry to try and attach my dream to the current waking situation that’s bothering me. You say you were upset because you couldn’t find your husband.If your dream was this week, what do you think you “can’t seem to find” that’s upsetting you? Or another question might be, What situation in your life this week feels like “a big mess”? Those are elements you might look for to name the specific situation you were discussing with yourself when you had this dream. If you want help uncovering a solution as it appears in the dream, I welcome you to book a private consultation here. https://thedreamanalyst.com/dream-interpretation-consultations/
Hi, yesterday I saw a book titled “12 Months to Live”. It caused me consternation about something I have been worrying about, but not my own death. However, last night, I remember hearing/seeing “six weeks to live”. There was nothing else in my dream that accompanied those wordst Any thoughts on why I dreamed that? It is unfortunately causing me stress about what it means. Thank you!
Hi Justin, As you may not be aware, a dream is an interior, problem-solving conversation that gets triggered by someone or something you thought about or happened to you yesterday. Since we so often use play on words and puns—when trying to attach your dream to the specific waking situation you were discussing in your dream, you might start by looking at what might be coming up in your life in the coming 6 weeks or so. Your dream reminds me of one of my daughters years ago dreamed she had 3 weeks to live——-It was about her exams being 3 weeks away, and yes……she was dying!! (I mean dying because she was unprepared and the dream served her well by giving her the kick she deeded to study. You might also look at how you felt in the dream and look for what’s up in your life this week that’s making you feel a similar way. Hope that helps!
Layne, thank you for the reply. I do not really know of anything specific on my mind in the next six weeks, other than the fact that it will be the end of the year in about exactly six weeks.
Could a couple of these things triggered the statement in my dream (other than the book title that I saw)? My wife is very early on in her pregnancy, and she is worried it could be a miscarriage, like what happened earlier this year. Also, I completed my annual benefits enrollment yesterday in which I selected the largest life insurance policy and thought about how much my family would receive if I die.
Thanks again!
Hi Justin. As I am not a psychic and happy I’m not, I have a psychological approach to dream analysis……So I don’t do “woo-woo”! The book title can play a role in the images in your dream, BUT ONLY IF it matches something you wanted to say to yourself. If you see a war on the news, you will not use the image in a dream unless you are “at war” with yourself or someone else about something. I offer individual private consultations and welcome you to book an appointment to better investigate your dream. I look forward to helping you understand your dream. Here’s the link: https://thedreamanalyst.com/dream-interpretation-consultations/