A dream about mother

Mother is the person who we are bounded with since the moment of conception. No wonder that she has a great influence on our life, as well as on how we see ourselves and reality.

It is not surprising that she happen to appear in our dreams. We may be dreaming about a meeting with her, during which we may be discussing the usual topics or the ones we have never discussed before. The meeting may be pleasant, kind and tender, but also very unpleasant – it may be an argument about something we did against her will, etc.

We may be dreaming about her death, although she is still alive in reality, as well as about intimate contacts with her.

How to interpret a dream about mother?

Mother appearing in our dreams is the symbol of the need of safety and comfort – at least theoretically, as everyone has different feelings to his mother. Interpreting a dream about mother, it is worth wondering what she is trying to tell us: how old we are at the time of the meeting, how old she is, what our feelings towards her are and what her behavior towards us is, whether there are any background characters, what the locale is – whether it is a place we know or totally unfamiliar. Our unconscious mind is putting us into this place intentionally – maybe to help us find solutions of the problems we have been facing recently.

It is also important while interpreting a dream about a mother, whether we are talking to her or not. A conversation with mother is always a good sign, whether she is alive or dead in real life. A silent mother, standing somewhere in the background, is the warning from our unconsciousness that we have found ourselves in a difficult situation, which – unless we are reasonable and manage to deal with it – may have negative consequences.

Dreams in which mother dies symbolize a transition period in our life, e.g, for teenagers it may mean getting more independence. Intimate contacts with mother have more metaphorical meaning – probably our partner reminds us of our mother in some way, and we react to it according to the old behavioral scripts.

How would Freud interpret a dream about mother?

For Freud, dreams about mother, especially in intimate contexts, were connected with the Oedipus and Electra complexes, which were the basis of his interpretation. As a result of his research, he came to conclusion that men subconsciously want to kill their fathers and have an intimate relation with their mothers, while women want to eliminate their mothers and get closer with their fathers… He also emphasized, that already in childhood, boys and girls consider the parent of the same gender as their rival for the other parent’s feelings.

How would Jung interpret a dream about mother?

One of the archetypes described by Jung was the Great Mother, symbolizing everything which is feminine, and epitomizing the cycles of life and death in the nature. It is also her who symbolizes our unconscious mind, the will to enrich our life with self-knowledge, and to enlighten or destroy our life with psychosis.