HELP! Death and Decay in Water in My Dreams

Since my childhood, the earliest dreams I can recall and right up to the dream I had last night dreams of water have always been terrifying. Regardless of the source of the water terrible things happen. Oceans usually contain violent territorial behemoths, every lake and stream produces snapping alligators, venomous snakes, deformed monstrous fish, and in public swimming pools I may find dead bodies, dangerous obstacles, or drains that lead to horrifying sewers. Even aquariums that at first glance seem pleasant and bright and colorful quickly turn to cesspools of death and poison, and bathrooms without fail turn into disgusting cement chambers overflowing with feces and vermin. I have had rainfall cut me like knives, and wet mists choke the air out of me.

This phenomena is insidious and happens in 99.99% of dreams that contain water whether or not I am lucid, The only exception being when I am controlling water (aquakinesis) or when the amount of water is as small as a glass or bowl. A few times I have become lucid by seeing a body of water turn to something scary and recognize it as a dream sign. More often than not the water is inviting and clean when I first come across it but in minutes the dream changes, often the entire dream becomes a nightmare even if I leave the waters edge quickly, hoping to avoid the negativity.

I believe what makes this such an interesting issue for discussion is the fact that in waking life I have no fear of water of any kind. I swim in oceans, lakes, rivers, and ponds without reservation and in the summer I often go night swimming in a small lake and float and look at the stars, by myself if no one else is interested. I love to fish, but don't get to often. I have never lost anyone to drowning, never nearly drowned myself. I like fish and snakes and all manner of crawly things iwl and the whale is literally my favorite animal, I am utterly perplexed as to the origin of this dream fear.

So where does it come from? Do you or anyone you know have something similar? Have you ever noticed something triggering a nightmare consistently? If anyone just wants to share basic tools for dealing with repeating dream-fear I'm desperate to hear it.

Any thoughts at all on dream-water are welcome, or even better share an experience where water turned to something dark and menacing.

Well, although I cannot say that I've experienced anything similar- all my nightmares being based around terrifying demons & stuff, I can offer a purely logical explanation as to what I believe could possibly be the cause of your dream fears.

Based on what I could interpret, my best explanation would probably be a fear of something or someone you are close to betraying you, as it appears that you do enjoy water in the waking life.

Another possible explanation that I could interperet based on the information given is that you may subconsciously worry that what may appear harmless at first could turn out to actually be incredibly dangerous.

Or who knows, you might be absolutely terrified of water, and just not know it. I'm no dream interpretation expert, so I wouldn't know very well.

I also am too inexperienced to help with fixing the problem, so sorry about that. I hope that I was able to help some, despite my inexperience with dreams.

Hi,
Water is a symbol of my feminine. if you'd like to post a dream, I will be happy to assist you in interpreting it as mine. If you want to then select the one recurring dream where you have the greatest recall.

What I've learnt from my own dreams is that there is nothing in a dream by chance. Therefore, if you answer the following questions, to the best of your recall ability, I will happily give you an interpretation of your dream as if it was mine.

First tell me the number of scenes in your dream. THEN FOR EACH SCENE I want you to tell me the following:

Location:
I want you to look in your mind, as the observer, in the following directions and tell me what you see:
1. To your left.
2. To your right.
3. In front of you.
4. Behind you.
5. Above you.
6. Below you.

It’s all right if you can’t recall much. Simply tell me what you see and make sure I know what direction it is from you the dreamer. In my interpretation, you’ll see how this is a symbol itself.

When you are describing what you see, tell me in as much detail as you can recall about it. So things I am very interested in is what are walls, doors, windows, stairs, tables, etc. made of, age/style, colour, etc. The same goes for anything outside. You’ll see in my interpretations how all of this tells us lots about ourselves.

Lighting:
1. Tell me what the lighting was like, i.e. bright, dull, black, cloudy etc.
2. Then tell me where the light was coming from.
3. Can you tell the time of day or season?
Lighting is important in a dream because it’s a symbol of vibrational state. I’ll explain this during my interpretation for you.

Objects:
If there are any objects in a dream scene, then tell me about them as follows:
1. Shape, size, colour and what they were made of.
2. Where the object is in the dream relative to you, i.e. left, right, etc.

I’ve found objects in dreams are usually symbols of things we first need to concentrate on spiritually. I’ll explain this in the interpretation if you had any objects in any of the scenes.

People:
For each person in a dream scene I want you to do the following:
1. Describe them to me in as much detail as you can recall. This includes age, gender, clothes, colour of the clothes, what the clothes were made of.
2. Tell me where they were in the dream scene relative to you, i.e. left, right, below, etc.
3. Tell me if they were lying down, sitting, standing, walking, etc.
4. Tell me what they did with you. Don’t skip the details. Simply tell me exactly what happened.
5. If there are any conversations or thoughts between you and the person or others, then tell me EXACTLY WHAT WAS SAID. This is important.
6. If there were others you couldn’t see but felt, then let me know where you felt they were in a scene relative to you the dreamer, i.e. left, right, etc.
7. For people who you know in real life, tell me anything that's different about them in the dream versus the real life version.

Animals. Etc.:
If there were any animals, insects, birds, reptiles, fish or whatever in any of the scenes, then tell me. Describe them in as great as detail as you can recall. Also let me know where they were in the dream scene relative to you, i.e. left, right, etc. Then let me know of any thoughts that passed between you and them.

Thoughts/Feelings:
This is a very important part of every dream scene. Take your time, go back and tell me the following for each scene:
1. What was your first thought/feeling as the dream scene began.
2. Tell me of any thoughts/feeling changes as the dream scene progressed and let me know where in the scene this occurred.
3. Tell me your last thought/feeling as the dream ended.

I realize this is a lot of work. HOWEVER, I think you might be surprised by how much you can learn about yourself from a single scene.

With kind regards,
Guy:)

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The only exception being when I am controlling water (aquakinesis) or when the amount of water is as small as a glass or bowl.

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often the entire dream becomes a nightmare even if I leave the waters edge quickly, hoping to avoid the negativity.

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This is what I think about your fear of water in dreams. Water is the most fleeting "thing" for the mind. So water cant really be grasped by the mind in the same sense as a rock or even sand for that matter. So I believe that water is what represents your "cryptonite" as water. Because in dreams, there are even less controll of water than you can feel in waking life. I think that when you feel ready to face the water in dreams and develop a friendly relation with both the monsters that "live" in the water and the water itself. Then I think that your in for a rather more pleasant experience that might also effect you as a person in waking life as well. This is my take on this at least.

Another thing that I find quite interesting, is that you have a this Whale picture that is pretty much made up of a tribal pattern. Whales are the natural kings/queens of the sea because of their size and also represent stability controll and have an overall calm way of moving around in the sea. The tribal patterns that are orignated out of tribes, is an cryptic language that also shows an potential enemy what they might be up against, depedending on the symbolic value of the tribals. Your whale picture looks to be ready for fight or defence, and that is also a what tribals purpose many times was used to represent as well. Fighting spirit.

I think your whale avatar is linked to your dreams of water, and that it might be an expression of a sense of controll in water. Symbolically of course.

Anyhow, I hope this wasn't to personal for you, and that it might be to some help at least. I do like your Avatar as well, it's really neat!

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Originally Posted by SpaceGod

my best explanation would probably be a fear of something or someone you are close to betraying you, as it appears that you do enjoy water in the waking life.
Another possible explanation that I could interperet based on the information given is that you may subconsciously worry that what may appear harmless at first could turn out to actually be incredibly dangerous.
Or who knows, you might be absolutely terrified of water, and just not know it.

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Thanks for your interpretations! The mistrust concept is interesting, I've always thought of myself as an open inviting person, but that is not the same thing as trusting. You've given me something to think about!

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Originally Posted by ghuntington

if you'd like to post a dream, I will be happy to assist you in interpreting it as mine. If you want to then select the one recurring dream where you have the greatest recall.

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Thank you for your offer! It is a lot of writing but I appreciate your willingness to interpret for me, I'll PM you a dream or two and do my best to be specific.

Is it an issue that these are not exactly "re-occurring" dreams? I do not find myself in repeating situations, water itself is the only element that is always consistent, other elements, like animals, poison, scum, rot, and death are usually involved but vary dream to dream, other people are only present maybe 1/3 of the time.

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Originally Posted by DreamyBear

water cant really be grasped by the mind in the same sense as a rock or even sand for that matter. So I believe that water is what represents your "cryptonite" as water. Because in dreams, there are even less controll of water than you can feel in waking life. I think that when you feel ready to face the water in dreams and develop a friendly relation with both the monsters that "live" in the water and the water itself. Then I think that your in for a rather more pleasant experience that might also effect you as a person in waking life as well. This is my take on this at least.

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This ties in with what SpaceGod said about trust it seems. To interpret what you are saying (correct me if I'm wrong) I've made water my scapegoat for any feelings of lack of control in my life, and that in dreams water being the fluid element it is, I don't really have any defense against it.

I know you are correct when you say dealing with water and developing a better relationship with it will improve my experience, the difficulty comes in figuring out how to actually do that. Verbal communication with water or any elements in the water seems impossible to me, (which now makes me wonder if communication itself is tied up into this perpetuating cycle as well as control)

Do you (or anyone is welcome to answer) have any ideas for ways to develop a better relationship?
Thanks a lot for your time in answering Dreamy!

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Another thing that I find quite interesting, is that you have a this Whale picture that is pretty much made up of a tribal pattern. Whales are the natural kings/queens of the sea because of their size and also represent stability controll and have an overall calm way of moving around in the sea. The tribal patterns that are orignated out of tribes, is an cryptic language that also shows an potential enemy what they might be up against, depedending on the symbolic value of the tribals. Your whale picture looks to be ready for fight or defence, and that is also a what tribals purpose many times was used to represent as well. Fighting spirit.
I think your whale avatar is linked to your dreams of water, and that it might be an expression of a sense of controll in water. Symbolically of course.
Anyhow, I hope this wasn't to personal for you, and that it might be to some help at least. I do like your Avatar as well, it's really neat!

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Thanks :) the whale in my avatar is inspired from Link's Awakening, a gameboy game. Credit to the original artist, Songficcer on DeviantArt, he/she was imitating native american Inuit art style, I changed the color scheme to fit my liking

In the game you wake up on an island overrun with monsters, and through your adventures learn that the entire island, yourself, and everyone you meet, is part of the dream of flying whale called The Windfish. To win the game and leave the island you must awaken the Windfish, but this takes bravery as you are not sure whether or not you are real, and if the dream comes to an end so may you. I am very fond of this piece, do you think I may be able to leverage this image in my quest to overcome water?


Thanks again to everyone who responded, keep an eye out for that PM ghuntington!

I'm surprised no one mentioned emotion, which is fluid like water.
Are you terrified of them? Or some of them?
The ocean though might be more consciousness, and what lies under the surface that you are probably aware of but don't address.
And maybe your territory is an issue, and maybe anger, like with others.

A lake is a calm body, with no currents or waves, such as when you are emotionally calm or how you want to be.
A stream is like when life carries you along or is a narrow way like a direction.
Either that might produce bad or harmful communication, if snapping alligators mean that. Or some aggressive impulse. This could be you can't have peace and feel your way or direction is hampered.
And in poison fear of harm, what grows in such conditions is deformed.
In public, you or people emotionally may seem dead, have dangerous obstacles, or it drains you or sucks you down to waste.
Aquariums are the classic image of contained emotions, or keeping them in, which should be pleasant and colorful, but quickly turn bad, die, and poison you.
So you can't get rid of overflowing waste that has grown solid that results and infests you.
Even rain, that pure cause of gentle growth, hurts you.
Does even the hint of emotion choke you? Are your emotions choked, and blocked and clogged up? It's what it looks like. It is insidious, as you said, that is happening in you.

This aquakinesis as you call it is really controlling your emotion. So maybe the problem is you feel you can't or they just get out of hand.
A glass or bowl of water is to drink from, so you can be in control then, perhaps with that intention or with manageable amounts. When it's clean and clear, and beneficial. Like water is inviting at first, then becomes a fear.
I think you must have a lot of negative emotion. As you said the magic word: negativity.
Because it seems too much you would just be scared of emotion, unless there was some crisis or real-life nightmare cause.
You have possibly been hurt emotionally, and might not be reflective of you at all.. That could explain the behemoth of territory, if that seems too huge to control or you feel yours has been invaded or taken away.

So water in real life is a totally different thing.

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This ties in with what SpaceGod said about trust it seems.

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Yes I agree with that, that is pretty much hitting the nail on the head with all this. Trust is also fleeting as water many times, unless we dont put to much expectation to it.

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I've made water my scapegoat for any feelings of lack of control in my life, and that in dreams water being the fluid element it is, I don't really have any defense against it.

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You got it!:)

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I know you are correct when you say dealing with water and developing a better relationship with it will improve my experience, the difficulty comes in figuring out how to actually do that. Verbal communication with water or any elements in the water seems impossible to me, (which now makes me wonder if communication itself is tied up into this perpetuating cycle as well as control)

Do you (or anyone is welcome to answer) have any ideas for ways to develop a better relationship?
Thanks a lot for your time in answering Dreamy!

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You could try to talk to the water and it may work or not, but since you denied the aspects of water for so long in your dreams. I believe that is the very cause of all the monsters and unpleasant experiences in and with water. Your way of accepting water and there by communicating with water would be to not put any remebered expectations on it. Water isn't fear unless you expect it to scare you. This could be compared with swimming in real life and be scared of that the water might be to wet for you to handle. So even if you stil feel scared of water in dreams, then try to let in some of those scary experiences more and more. That would be to develop a true relationship with water, to let it communicate it's scary part to you if it will. You might find yourself looking at monsters etc, but not with less or no judgement. And thereby develop a trust and acceptance with water, I think you will find this a rather pleasant and exciting experience as you let water flow in your dreams, instead of trying to bottle it.


Your Welcom RebelSeven, just remeber to not be to much of a rebel against water from now on.. Good luck!;)

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I am very fond of this piece, do you think I may be able to leverage this image in my quest to overcome water?

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Ah, nice to hear the background story to it. It sounds like awesome game as well!^^ To answear your question: I would not suggest to overcome water. But rather overcome the trust issue with water in ways that feels natural to you. For example, you have honored the image of the whale by letting it being a part of your life and aslo putting your own color to it both in visual and what it means to you. So I think you would have a good chance to call for those qualities in your dreams as well, if you need to anchor or ground yourself in midst of what might feel like an overwhelming experience. Let the whale be with you in a faithfull manor through your exploration of water. The whale might not come to eat all the monsters who knows, but might present itself within you as a spiritual strenght of calming down of emotions and a trust of being being bigger than the situation you are faced with.