Relationship Dream Symbols

Our life revolves around the various relationships and people. And dreams are fabricated from our lives only. So it is no surprise that various people with whom we share various bonds appear in our dreams.

When you experience such a dream you may think that you have been thinking too much about a particular relationship or about the person, and as such the person has appeared in your dream. But the interpretation of your relationship dreams can go deeper than that.

They are more often than not symbolic representations of the various emotions in you – emotions that you perhaps associate with the person or the relationship. When it comes to significant relationships of our lives, they are always under our scrutiny, and how we feel about the relationship gets attributed to a particular emotion we experience. So when the subconscious mind wants to express that particular emotion through a dream, it gets translated to a dream related to that particular relationship.

• Why do people appear in dreams?

When you have dreams about people, particularly those who are close to you in some way or the other, it is but natural that you shall feel that those dreams are trying to contribute some message about that person in particular or the relationship (you share with the person) in general. However, more often than not psychologists and researchers have opined that, such dreams are symbolic representation of part of your own personality.

• What does it mean when you see a dead family member or relative in your dreams?

When there has been a recent bereavement, people often report seeing dead people in their dreams – this is an expression of their grief and also the fact that the dead person is being missed. At times seeing dead people may also mean that your subconscious is trying to send you some message – some sermon that you need to aware of in your waking life. Such dreams could also be symbolic representation of various emotions that you go through, and each dream when interpreted in proper context, would lead you to discover the emotions of your mind.

• What does each relationship symbolize when it appears in your dreams?

But we all also see those people in our dreams who are alive and kicking. When such living people you are related to appear in your dreams it does not only suggest that you are remembering them. It may also mean that you associate certain attributes to these people and these attributes are getting symbolically represented in your dreams. Here’s how!

o    Father – The attributes that we normally associate with father are a position of authority and a place where one can seek protection. It may be suggestive of the fact that you perhaps need to be more responsible, caring and assertive in your life. The dream can of course also be an imagery of the bonding that you share with your father.

o    Mother – Mom is a symbolic representation of development and nurturing, protection and guidance, caring and lessons. It could also mean abundance and growth. This may also suggest to you that you are smothered with love. However, the dream could actually be pointing at the kind of relationship you share with your mother.

o    Brother – Depending on the bond you share with your brother, a dream with your brother may either suggest affinity or rivalry. It can be also suggestive of certain attributes in you like immaturity, feeling of vulnerability, assertive, knowledge or understanding.

o    Sister – Apart from dealing with the relationship you share with your sister, this could actually be a symbolic representation of the emotional and sensitive side that you have. Depending on the bond you share with your sister, such dream could also signify care and love, or rivalry and vulnerability.

o    Son – A dream with your son can be a symbolic representation of resistance or responsibility. It may also indicate that you need to express your thoughts and feelings in a better manner. It could also be symbolic representation your hopes, dreams or aspirations. This dream could also be telling you about some potential opportunity that is knocking at your  door for you to grasp.

o    Daughter – A dream about your daughter can bring out a myriad of interesting characteristics and their various nuances that are embedded in you. Depending on the context it could be anything from support, rivalry, vulnerability, vanity, self pride, self doubt, or even streaks of jealousy.

o    Husband (or equivalent partner) – On one hand it could be a simple representation of the feelings you have for your husband or equivalent partner – an expression of the kind of bonding you share with him in your waking life. However, a dream about your husband could also be a symbolic representation of your feelings about intimate relationships in general and sexuality in particular. The dream may also bring to your notice some important issues in your relationship with your husband that needs to be addressed but have been overlooked. Your subconscious in this case sends you the message to take up the issue, act upon it and get it resolved.

o    Wife (or equivalent partner) – This is often an indication that there are some unresolved issues in your life. It could also mean that you are perhaps too keen to prove your worth to someone, but do not obviously like the fact that you have to prove yourself. A dream about your wife or an equivalent partner may also be a symbolic representation of a plethora of emotions, feelings, thoughts and ideas that are bottled inside you seeking expression.

o    Grandparents – A grandparent is someone you resort to for love and support, often unconditional. A grandparent is someone who has given you pearls of wisdom during times of your need. A grandparent’s love is something that made you feel anchored and secured in your growing up years. So when you dream of your grandparent it is indicative of the fact that you are searching for all these in your life. It may also suggest that you believe in traditions when in comes to family values.

o    Extended Family (Uncle, Aunt, Nephew, Niece etc) – The extended family is a representation of the various value systems that have been instilled upon you by your family, for example, generosity, sharing, traditions, morality etc. Seeing someone from your extended family in your dream is indicative of the fact that you perhaps need to focus more on any of these attributes, be more aware of them and nurture them so that your virtues are enhanced.

o    Friends – When you see a friend in your dream, think about the positive and/ or negative attributes that you associate with that particular person. Now consider exactly what you see in your dream. The cumulative result would lead you to the meaning of your dream. More often than not it has been found that dreams related to friends are often an indication on the qualities in you that have been ignored for a while and should be refocused upon, or indicative of such traits that you think you should nurture in yourself.