What Does it Mean to Dream of Water? | Dream Symbols

Have you had a dream of water? The other night I had a significant dream. I dreamt that I was staring at a barren garden, and as I was staring at it, water flooded through the garden and it came to life. Trees, plants, flowers and shrubs started to grow up around the garden and it had completely transformed.

Like flying and falling dreams, dreaming of water is very common to us all. Water comes in many forms: our tears, the rain, the ocean, the water inside us… we are literally surrounded by it, inside and out. A dream of water is very common and most of us will have it at some point.

People who dream of water at night

I constantly dream of water. Mostly I dream of being on the high sea, completely surrounded by an endless ocean. Sometimes I dream of storms, sometimes I dream of swimming pools. So what am I dreaming about?

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From what I have come to understand, dreaming of water is dreaming of my own emotions. These wells of water symbolise the well of emotions within us, and so the water is indicative of our inner states. Sometimes we cannot properly express ourselves in our waking lives, so we demonstrate our emotions to ourselves in our dreams subconsciously, so that our higher selves can gain some learnings, even if our conscious minds remain in the dark.

But can you really tell me what my dreams mean?

No one can tell you what your dreams mean; only you can. And from what I have learnt, it just takes practice. Like learning anything new about yourself, you need to learn what your own symbols mean. This requires practice, dedication to understand and time. However, there are some symbols that tend to have a universal meaning, symbols that are common to everyman. I have previously written a post on what it means to dream of houses.

So I dream of the deep, blue ocean. What does that mean?

The Dream Dictionary says, “Ocean Water – Depending on where you are in the ocean has different ways of interpreting the dream. If the ocean is dark or deep it represents your emotional state in your walking life. If the ocean water is turbulent it means that there might be rough time ahead. If you’re crossing the ocean water with ease means that you show a great ability to experience freedom and independence.”

My water dreams vary quite a lot. Sometimes the water is turbulent. Sometimes still. Sometimes I dream of a swimming pool, sometimes of a stormy sea. When I need to work out what my dreams mean, I have to think about what is going on in my life at the time.

Huffington Post and the meanings of dreams

There is a great series on dreaming in the Huffington Post, although they do ask a few questions that are pretty silly, such as “Are there any tricks to avoiding or inducing dreams about this subject?” (I think that’s silly because you should not try to ‘direct’ your higher self to dream about anything in particular, you should be open to what you discover. Having said that, we all need spiritual help every now and then, and we may have questions to ask).

The Huffington Post speaks to Jeffrey Sumber, M.A., M.T.S., L.C.P.C., a psychotherapist and author in Chicago who gives some nice insights into water dreams. He seems to say the same thing that I do, that water is a symbol of the self and the emotional state, so the meaning is variable to the circumstance of the dream and the dreamer.

Native American water dreaming

He does say something which is quite significant: “Dreams about water have significant cultural symbolism for some groups. For example, many Native American tribes “incorporate water as a sign that a person is transcending this world or that a deeper state of consciousness is taking place.”

But I don’t remember my dreams!

If you don’t often remember your dreams, you need to keep a dream diary. If you practice using it, you will get better at remembering your dreams. Sometimes the images are so fleeting, but even if you can get down one or two words, you may find something significant. Don’t give up either. The process can take several weeks or months, but it does get easier. And the rewards are boundless.