Kill

What does it mean to dream about killing or to be killed in a dream?

He dreamed that he killed me…

Dream: My boyfriend told me about his dream and I wanna know what it means… He dreamed that he killed me but he has no idea how or what he did to me. He saw me laying there dead and he was really crying and so sad. And I’ve been thinking what does it mean, made me wonder a lot.

DreamsMaster: Before I begin to offer my ideas, keep in mind that this is your boyfriend’s dream, and ultimately he’s the only one who can confirm whether or not an interpretation fits.

That said, here are some thoughts. Killing is the ultimate exercise of power. It’s not clear from your message whether your boyfriend killed you intentionally or by accident. If in the dream the killing was intentional, it may represent a sense of total dominance or internal rage. If unintentional, it could represent a fear of exercising one’s power irresponsibly or losing control. Either way, the fact that he feels intense sadness and remorse is very significant, suggesting deep internal conflict. All of this taken into consideration, here are some questions for your boyfriend to ponder…

– Is he concerned that if he lets down his guard, lets out his true self, that this could somehow destroy the relationship?

– Is there something he’s afraid of or feels guilty about, that if revealed would “kill” you metaphorically?

Killing is such a popular dream theme that there’s a special category for it on Dreams.com. Check it out if you’re interested in getting more ideas about what it might mean in this situation, and be sure to include your boyfriend in the discussion before jumping to any conclusions of your own.

See also:

Watching myself die…

Dream: I have been having a weird dream where I am being attacked by my family and I get lifted out of my body watching myself die!!!

DreamsMaster: In the world of dreams, death is symbolic of new life – out with the old, in with the new. Some part of you is dying off, making room for another part with clear vision to move forward.

Perhaps you have felt like a victim in your family, or what’s sometimes referred to as the “identified problem”, the target of blame for family conflict. If so, the dream could represent that you now have the ability to rise above that role and leave it behind.

If this is a recurring dream, pay careful attention to how the dream evolves. This will give you a clue as to whether or not you’re on the right track in regards to the message your inner self is trying to give you. If you continue to feel stuck, check out these tips for dream incubation, a process in which you can plant a seed to get more specific information from your sleeping mind.

See also:

Buried alive…

Dream: Last night I had a dream I was buried alive and it was spooky. Then, within my dream I awoke in my bed and was immediately pulled into my closet by a ghost. What does this mean???

DreamsMaster: My crystal ball tells me you watched the movie Paranormal Activity last night. Am I right? 😉

But seriously, most of our dreams have something to do with what was on our mind the night before. If you’d been watching a scary horror movie, it might partially explain the content of this dream.

That said, here are some other ideas to consider in regards to the dream themes and symbolism…

⇒ Buried alive
⇒ Pulled into the closet by a ghost

In both cases, you are a victim of someone doing something terrible to put fear into you. Questions to ask yourself, to see if there’s a parallel in your waking world:

Are you feeling terrorized by someone or something in your life today? There’s mention of a ghost – could there be someone or something from your past that’s haunting you?

Along similar lines, is there something going on in your life that’s contributing to feeling powerless? Could the image of being buried alive be a metaphor for feeling “buried” with work or smothered in a relationship?

Watch for similar themes of victimization and powerlessness in your dreams in the nights to come, and then look to the events and thoughts of the day and night before to identify the trend.

See also:

I dream of killing…

Dream: Every night I dream of killing someone I know. I don’t know why, but I always end up killing someone in my dream.

DreamsMaster: How you feel in these dreams is significant to their meaning. For example, are you angry when you’re killing, or are you remorseful? Can you identify that same feeling state in your daily life the day or night before the dreams?

Killing is an act of power. To be killing someone you know could be your inner mind’s way of trying to take control of a situation, to convert feeling powerless into feeling powerful. Have you been lacking assertiveness and giving your power away to others, to the point where you’re starting to resent them?

If a person you kill is not someone you’re particularly close to in your waking world, then your dreaming mind may be choosing that person to represent some aspect of yourself that you deem unacceptable and want to do away with. Think about how you would describe that person you killed. Do you identify with any of those traits, particularly the ones you judge negatively? If so, your dreaming mind may be sending you the message to be more accepting and forgiving of yourself.

See also:

Pushed into the fire…

Dream: My 12 year old daughter has been having the same recurring nightmare for the past week and I am having trouble coming to terms with it and why she is having them or what it actually is trying to tell us. Her dream consists of a fire and she is in the fire and sees everything but she sees herself as being dead. Then she sees a black figure who is pushing her into the fire. She feels like the black figure is controlling her and making her do what it wants. I hope you can help us interpret this.

DreamsMaster: Fire is often a symbol of transformation or destruction. Seeing herself as being dead may represent a part of her that has died. A thought that comes to mind is that your daughter is at that age where her child self is dying off as she crosses the threshold to womanhood. Has she begun menstruating yet? It’s not uncommon for a girl to feel “pushed into” womanhood with the onset of a changing body and the accompanying unfamiliar feelings, both physical and emotional. Adolescence is a time in the lives of both boys and girls when there’s the sense of feeling out of control in both mind and body.

Work with your daughter to try to pinpoint what was going on for her at the time she began having the dream. Does she identify with the sense that her body is changing? If so, how does she feel about these changes?

If this physical angle doesn’t fit, is she having a difficult time at school in one of her classes, or perhaps being exposed to some bullying? A dark figure could represent the perceived bully, and the fire could symbolize her rage.

An effective way to deal with a recurring nightmare is to consciously go back into the dream and change the ending. This particular dream ends with “a black figure pushing her into the fire.” When I project myself into the dream, I feel powerless and fearful of the unknown, so I need to think about what action I can take to regain my power and sense of control.

If your daughter is game, sit down with her with paper and something to draw with (e.g., crayons, colored pencils, markers), and tell her to draw a picture of the black figure. Encourage her to draw it with as much detail as possible. Then, tell her to add to the picture whatever it needs in order for her to feel in control of the scene. For example, she could draw a heavy-duty steel cage around the dark figure, or an image of herself that’s 10 times larger than it, whatever fits for her. Then, when she feels like she’s put everything into the picture that she can think of and starts feeling less scared of the image, you can cap it off by having her manually shred the piece of paper — tear it into as many pieces as possible — and invite her to vocalize anything that comes to mind while she’s shredding. At this point it might turn into sort of a game, where you both can shout whatever you want at the figure to prove who’s in charge now!

The primary goal is to help her gain a feeling of power and control by defusing the imaginary threat. Once she feels empowered, then you can start talking with her about what threats exist for her in the waking world (i.e., the symbolism of the “dark figure”). Once the two of you have unlocked the mystery, the dream will no longer reoccur as a nightmare.

P.S. Your daughter is fortunate to have a mother who takes her dreams and nightmares seriously.