Death of a family member or partner Dream Meanings

A close family member has died and the remaining family are attending the funeral. Everyone, including you, is crying. Such dreams can be very unnerving because you may worry that something is going to happen to a family member but, contrary to your fears, dreams of death are often a reflection of change, rather than death. Changes that bring some era to a close or cause shifts in family roles, such as going to college, getting married or starting a family, are likely to trigger death dreams. Think of these dreams as a rite of passage. Your relationship with the person in your dream has not died but it will be different, because something is different in your life. Another explanation of the dream death of a family member or spouse, is to consider what aspect of yourself that person represents and what you may be rejecting or repressing.

For example, to dream of your mother dying could represent the death of your own motherly nature. Perhaps you should try to be more caring and maternal, or perhaps something or someone should be nurtured instead of ignored. Alternatively, you may be expressing hidden feelings for that person. Do you secretly resent or wish to be independent of him or her? Such dreams may also represent a positive or negative change in your relationship or attitude toward that particular person. Yet another interpretation suggests that dreams of being prostrate with grief at your father’s or mother’s funeral can be an emotional dress rehearsal staged by your unconscious to prepare you for the devastation you may feel when your parent really does die. Such dreams tend to be more common in women, especially concerning the death of a partner, as statistically women live longer than men.

Dreaming of a relative or partner who is dead in waking life is, not surprisingly, quite common. After all, that person may have played a big part in your life, and their influence and memories are still very much alive in you. It is not unusual to have disturbing dreams for some period after the death of a loved one; it is equally common not to be able to dream about the husband or wife at all, or to see the partner in the distance but be unable to get any nearer. Such dreams of dead people are expressive of attempts by your dreaming mind to help you make the transition from external reality to internal memories, or to deal with feelings, guilt or anger in connection with the person who died.

See also SPIRITS AND GHOSTS.