The deepest emotions of life. Desire,
sexuality or spiritual beliefs. How deep is the water? How deep
is the emotion and belief?
Dreaming of water can often symbolize
your emotional state at the time of the dream. But it can also be
symbolic of your Spirit, your Consciousness, your life force and
energy, your subconscious. Water is the source of all potentials
within physical existence. Water is associated in some way with
the Great Mother, with birth, the Universal Womb, fertility, cleansing
and purifying, and the Fountain of Life. Water is also associated
with the continuity and yet constant change inherent within all
physical life. Water is ultimately uncontainable and ever-changing,
and always only temporarily conforming to the container which holds
it. The color of the water, what type of water it is, how it is
behaving, and who or what is on or in it will help you with your
interpretation of his complex symbol.
Emotions, moods and flow of feeling
energy. Because of the nature of water it lends itself to depicting
aspects of how we relate to emotions; for instance, one can "drown"
in or feel swept away by some emotions, at other times we an feel
cleansed and refreshed. It also represents our potential to experience
many emotions because water can take any shape or move in so many
ways. How we relate to the water shows how we are meeting our emotions
and moods. Entering water: entering into strong feelings such as
might arise in a relationship or new job; sexual relationship; emotions
which might stand in one's way—as a deep lake might, or turgid water.
Deep water: the deeps of one's inner life. Hot water: strong emotions.
Electricity and water: emotions which can generate very powerful
reaction to a situation, such as jealousy or anger. Idioms: make
water; muddy the waters; tread water; water something down; turn
on the waterworks; water under the bridge; hold water; in hot water;
head above water; pour cold water onto something.
Also: The living essence of the psyche;
the flow of life energy; fertility. In its positive aspect it's
considered the fountain of life, the primal waters from which all
life emerged. Negatively, it can represent illusion; the underworld;
chaos. Metaphysically, the waters of life symbolize secret doctrine
or esoteric teachings. Frequently water symbolizes the unconscious
and emotions. Thus, a gentle wave may symbolize incoming (coming
into recognition) emotions. A flood, huge wave, or wall of water
can represent a rise in unconscious energy or overwhelming emotions
(sexuality, fear, anger?). However, waves are common images in the
third trimester of pregnancy. A constructed lake is likely to represent
the personal unconscious, while a large body of water (ocean, sea)
may be an archetypal symbol for the collective unconscious (Jung).
Although often considered a feminine symbol, during the Renaissance,
water was personified as the god Neptune. The Hawaiian god of life
waters is the father god Kane. A person carrying water may represent
the astrological sign of Aquarius
Ocean/Sea: The Great Spirit,
the Infinite, God, the First Cause, the Creator, The Primal Force,
you get the idea. The fountain source and ultimate destination of
all water (spirit). As spirit becomes manifested in life...it objectifies
inside us as emotion. Therefore water equals emotion or feeling.
Enormous emotional energy. A deep emotional
issue. If the waters are calm, the issue has been resolved, and
is at rest. If the waters are stormy and rough, the issue is turbulent.
If you are in the sea, you are dealing with the issue.
Sea: A natural body of water,
the sea often represents our emotions ("stormy seas" or "a calm
sea"), and our unconscious. As a pun, it may represent perception/understanding
("I see"). In this time in your life, is it rough or smooth sailing?
Because of its "unfathomed depths," Jung said the sea represents
the collective unconscious. It can represent the original source
of humankind; the womb; our personal mother; the archetypal or primal
source/mother of us all. More mundanely, it may refer to a situation
in which you're "all at sea," or feeling "lost at sea." You may
need to reassure yourself that there are "plenty of fish in the
sea."
Ocean carries much of the same
meaning as sea. Our vast unconscious reserve; the collective unconscious;
the depths of our emotions; memories; the mother or primordial womb;
the cosmic source or primordial mother. It can symbolize universal
life; transitional forces at work; endless possibilities/potentiality
(Cirlot). Ocean relates to the expansiveness, potential, and storehouse
of our being. Depending on how it appears, it may serve as a barrier
to access of, or protection from, something on the other side, another
world of awareness.
Also: Look at all of the details in
this dream. Is the water clear or murky? Is it calm or turbulent?
Are you catching fish, or are you stranded and afraid? Look, listen,
and try to comprehend the messages in this dream. No one is in a
better position to give meaning to your dreams than you can. Concentrate
and learn for yourself.
Lake: Lakes are symbols for the
subconscious and intuitive aspects of the human mind. Where is your
lake? What kind of person would like to visit it? What kind of life
lives in and around it? What colors are in and around the lake?
How do you feel about it in your dream? Why is it a lake or pond
and not a sea or ocean?
Flowing water: Symbolizes an
abundance of life.
Waves: Intensity of emotions
and beliefs. High waves show that you are being overwhelmed.
River: Your individual life running
back to its source. It is the journey of the soul through eternity
on its way back to its creator.
The Tao, the natural flow of the universe.
One’s relation to the dream river indicates one’s current positioning
in the waking world. Are you floating with the current? Are you
trying to swim upstream? Is the river an obstruction you must
ford? Are its waters rising to threaten you?
Rivers generally symbolize the way
you feel about how your life is moving at the time. But rivers
also symbolize your personal spiritual journey and your "true
destiny." Rivers symbolize the twists and turns, the pools and
eddies in your life at the time. Rivers are ancient symbols for
the journey between this life and the afterlife. They are also
strong symbols of the flow of the world in its many manifestations,
the passage and natural flow of life and time, and a return to
the Source.
A river can also be a good pun. Are
you about to cross over the river of no return? Are you paddling
upstream, or going with the flow? Do you want to cry a river/
Is the river moving, or standing still? Which direction is it
flowing? What color is the water? What lives or grows in this
river? How do you feel about that? Are you swimming, wading, floating,
or in a boat? Is there a bridge across this river? Why, or why
not? How easy is it to cross the river? Is the river flooding?
Does it have rapids, dams, or other obstructions or features?
What kind of environment does it flow through? Why?
Flowing River: A flowing river
is the universal symbol for Time, transitoriness, and perpetual
renewal. A flowing river is your life, your energy, your thoughts,
your stream of consciousness floating by. How well is the river
flowing? What is it carrying with it? And of course, what color
is the water? Is it at flood stage?
The images used in drama of rivers
helps us understand their symbolism. The river can be calm, in
flood, or even dried up, representing our state of feeling about
our energy, sexuality and emotions—the energy which as anxiety
can cause illness, or as pleasure sustain health. Similarly we
can drown in the river (drown in despair), float on it, be carried
along by prevailing feelings, or cross over, suggesting change
or eve death. Generally, then, it depicts the feelings which flow
through us or we are immersed in' the process of life in our body,
connecting with emotions, sexuality and changes of mood; the flow
and events of our life or destiny. Being in river: being
influenced by or immersed in one's internal flow of feelings and
energies. Crossing river: making great changes. If one
is in the water to cross, it means meeting a lot of emotions in
the process of change. Seeing someone cross river: feelings
about death; same as falling in river. Going against current:
resisting one's own feelings; going against prevailing influences
or attitudes; going back to the womb. Directing a river:
channeling one's emotional or sexual energy. Stagnant river:
restrained feelings or sexuality; holding oneself back.
Stream: An emotional issue
that can be easily dealt with. However, is the stream easily crossed?
Is it clean and flowing or clogged and filled with debris?
Calm water: Suggests that a positive
decision has been made and that good changes are in the making.
Turbulent water: Suggests that
the dreamer needs to decide on a path to take on a particular aspect
of his/her life. The same meaning applies if the dreamer is playing
with or moving the water in some way.
White Water or Rapids: Thrilling
ride. Scary but emotionally enjoyable learning spiritual secrets
of the superconscious pattern.
Fountain or Spring: Spirit flowing
out into life.
Muddy water: Unclear spiritual
principles. Information from the superconscious which does not compute
with how the conscious mind has judged the experience of its outer
life. The subconscious is seeking to clear up the misunderstanding.
Dirty water: Means that there
are problems in your life.
Clear Water: The opposite of
muddy.
Locks in a Waterway: A temporary
spiritual condition of feeling entrapped or stagnated necessary
to change to a new emotional level in your journey on the "river
of your life."
Log Jam on River: A stage in
life where many downed trees (karma [memory] from your past lives)
will hold up your journey.
Dam: A blockage of disbelief
or misunderstanding of spiritual Self's ideals or principles on
the emotional river of life.
Flood: Floods almost always symbolize
excesses of emotion, that you are feeling completely overwhelmed
by them at the time of your dream, and that as a result some part
of you feels strongly threatened and in danger for its very life;
see Drown. As an archetype, a flood symbolizes the Waters of Truth
pouring forth from human logic rather than from Spirit, and represents
the first cause of erroneous thinking and opinions, one of our first
steps away from Truth. In the same vein, a deluge is an ancient
symbol for the awakening of the human mind, but an awakening in
ignorance and error, a mind out of control. A deluge can destroy
forms but never forces or energies, always leaving open the potential
for re-emergence into a new form of life. Consequently, a deluge
often symbolizes the final stage of any cycle.