Dreams about death

Question

My daughter has been having really intense dreams about death lately – some are horrifically violent and they disturb her, but she has been able to glean some good insights from them regarding the sacrifices she is making in her life by her choices. Do you have any advice for “death” themed dreams? In them she dreams that various assorted loved ones die and she is faced with the losses and sometimes is faced with the challenge of “saving” them.  She keeps a dream journal. Thank you so much for any suggestions or comments you may have that can help her understand these dreams!  Kim

These dreams lie the past to rest and usher in the future.

Dreams of death are dreams of major transition and change in a person’s life. When a chapter in life closes, we dream of death, but it does not forecast actual death, it symbolizes a radical letting go of an old identity. Your daughter is in a time of accelerated change. The sudden death of the past is reflected by acting out the loss of those she holds dear. This marks the end of the line for her existence as a child. Now her relationship with you and other family members, as it used to be, will be finished. This does not mean that your connection will disappear or be negative; it simply means that the end of an era has arrived and a new parent-child relationship will be part of the future.

 These dreams mark a powerful and unalterable change. Your daughter is moving away from the family unit as a core of identity and into her own identity as a separate individual. She has no external ritual for this passage so her dream world is creating one. This can feel violent, unknown and threatening to the psyche. She is seeing who she can ‘save’ and looking at fatalities.   

People who battle in death dreams are usually excellent career people and successful at whatever they do. Any small disappointments can be upsetting because at their core they are fighting for survival. High achievers who excel in life are frequently dissatisfied, as if some invisible inner standard has not been met. Your daughter is fighting to find a kind of security that can not be taken from her. She is working to build protection in the physical world. It will be important for her to remember that the things that can not be lost reside in spirit, emotions and soul.

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