The father represents the archetypal symbol of worldly authority and competence. For a man to dream of a father figure suggests that he may be searching for a role model, whether negative or positive. According to Freud, dreams that feature hostility towards the father figure could be explained by the Oedipus complex. Freud claimed that the ancient Greek myth of Oedipus was a symbolic representation of the psychological development of the male individual. He thought that children between the ages of four and seven went through a phase during which they developed an incestuous desire for the parent of the opposite sex; a young boy would therefore have feelings of resentment towards his father, whom he saw as a rival. Normally the Oedipus complex resolves itself by puberty, but in Freud’s view, the failure to achieve freedom from parental influence could result in the Oedipus complex lasting into later years.
If it does, it should be fairly apparent from the content of some of your dreams, especially if you are attacking, insulting or feeling envious towards your father.
Jung also believed the symbol of the father played a vital psychological role in waking life. He thought that a man dreaming of hostility towards his father was a positive sign, as it showed that the unconscious was dethroning the father so as to enable the dreamer to achieve a sense of self and be a person in his own right. A woman dreaming of a father figure is often dreaming of the pattern upon which all her future relationships are based; her dreams may encourage her to work out a more appropriate way to have mature relationships. The more difficult the relationship with her father, the harder this may be.
For men, a father may represent the conscience, or in Freudian terms, the superego.
If this is the case, bear in mind that your father’s prohibitions and commands will probably represent either conventional moral options that may lack relevance to your true nature or ‘destiny’, or irrational fears and feelings of guilt that began to take shape in early childhood. Of course, a dream about your father may simply express your current feelings for him and issues surrounding your relationship with him. The presence of your father may be a straightforward representation of him, or of the way you see or remember him. In any case, the reason for your father appearing in the dream will be shown by the part he plays in the dream story. For example if, in the dream, your father features as a protector, it may be that you need to ‘grow up’ and rely on your own resources.
[1]The presence of your father in a dream may not be symbolic at all, but a straightforward representation of him, or of the way you see / remember him (which may owe more to your subjective distortions than to what your father actually is or was). In any case, the reason for your father appearing in the dream will be shown by the part he plays in the dream story.
(1) Specially for men, father may be a conscience figure.
If this is the case, bear in mind that your father’s prohibitions and commands will probably represent either conventional moral opinions which may have no relevance to your true nature or ‘destiny5, or irrational fears and feelings of guilt that began to take shape in you in early childhood. (On Oedipus complex)
(2) For a woman, father may figure in a dream as one who generates affection (See Also: Introduction, page26).
(3) If father features in the dream as a protector, it may be that you need to ‘grow up’ and rely on your own resources. After all, life can hurt you only if you let it, only if you identify with your emotional self instead of with that deep layer of yourself that is immune to life’s pains and perils.
(4) If you dream of your father dying, this may be a wish-fulfilling dream. Feelings of hostility towards parents are common, stemming
from childhood feelings of resentment or envy.
See Also: Dead/ Death, section (3).
(5) Frequent appearances of either parent, or both, in dreams may be a sign that you have not thrown off an infantile over-dependence on them (see (3) above). Jung cites a young man’s dream in which the man’s father appeared as a drunken driver, smashing his car into a wall. This was the exact opposite of the real father, who was a most respectable person, righdy - but too much - respected by the son. What the unconscious was doing through the dream was dethroning the father in order to enable the son to achieve a proper sense of himself as a person in his own right, with his own unique destiny and value.
(6) Father may be an animus figure, representing a woman’s (unconscious) masculine qualities. In this case, the dream may be suggesting that she should cultivate this contrasexual side of her nature. (For animus, see Brother / Sister, section (4))
(7) Father may, if highly respected (and properly so), appear in a dream as a Wise Old Man figure.
See Also: Wise Old Man) For father represented by an animal, see Animal(s).
[2]The interpretation of a dream whose central image is your father depends largely on the relationship that you have with him in real life. At a simple level, maybe the dream is offering you a bit of “fatherly” advice that you should consider. Or perhaps it refers to the masculine aspect of your personality, encouraging you to be more energetic.
If the father of the dreamer was ineffective as such, the dream may refer to an unconscious search for the father figure. However, if he was too strict, perhaps the dream is warning you not to repeat this behavior with yourself or with your own children. To dream of the death of your father may reflect your desire to break family ties and start being more independent. The father represents command, laws, and rules. In dreams, usually he appears through figures like a king, an emperor, a wise old man, the sun, or a weapon. Therefore, it symbolizes the world of moral precepts and prohibitions that restrain instincts. Thus, in dreams, the father often embodies traditional morality and the principle of authority.
It is no wonder, then, that in adolescence (formative period) it is very common for dreams of the father to appear, often as a hostile, tyrannical figure. According to Jung, this symbol played a crucial psychological role in the development of the individual. In contrast to the mother, which is the protection, security, and tenderness, the father symbolizes values closely linked to the masculine: risk, adventure, struggle, effort, rational inquiry, calculation, etc. In this respect, Freud emphasized the importance of the ancient Greek myth of Oedipus.
If the subject could not be separated properly from parental influence, it triggered a complex. According to his theories, in childhood (especially four to seven years) children experience a stage of incestuous desire for the mother. The complex arises when they do not overcome this stage and begin to harbor feelings of resentment, seeing the father figure as a rival to defeat. However, the Oedipus complex usually resolves itself during puberty. (See Also: EAGLE, AUTHORITY, SWORD, FIRE, LIGHT, TEACHER)
[3]General Meaning: A picture of masculinity, strength and authority. Often a picture of God the Father.
• Dreams • Assess your relationship with your father before deciding on what he represents in your dream.
• If you have a negative relationship, he might speak of the enemy in your life. He might speak of your failures, weaknesses, pain, hurt or conflict.
• More often than not, I have found that a father figure represents God the Father in an internal or internal prophetic dream.
Visions Positive:
A father is the perfect picture of masculinity and authority.
• Seeing a person’s father could be positive. He could represent the kind of image they will become.
• You might see a father figure to speak healing with regards to any broken relationship.
The Lord might be leading you to speak forth a restoration into the lives of those involved.
• Here is a passage that speaks positively about taking on the father’s image: • Luke 2:49 And he said to them, How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be about my Father’s business?
Negative:
It is common for me to see a person’s father when I pray for them.
• Sometimes it means that there is a generational curse coming from their father.
• If this is the case, I often see an umbilical cord or chains coming from their father to them. This also applies to a mother figure.
• Seeing a person’s father could also indicate past hurts he inflicted or any bondage or control coming from him.
• Once again, the same principle can apply to ‘Mother’.
• Speaking of generational bondage from the line of the father: • 1 Kings 15:3 And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD [Yahweh] his God, as the heart of David his father.
[4]The dream images representing father are many: God, a god, a giant, a tyrant, executioner, devil. Pan—and of course father.
A child is, figuratively, like a growing plant. It takes in lumps of external material and transforms them into its own being.
A child unconsciously either takes father or mother as its main model for structuring its behaviour and aims. But also, huge areas of our basic self revolve around mother and father. Even not having an available father leaves an enormous imprint in this archetypal area. Our father in our dreams therefore is most often the overall effect, habits, traits, which arise from our experience—or lack of it—of our father. Father is also the great figure of original authority and strength in our life. He therefore depicts our relationship with outside authority or power. Struggle or seeking to placate father: may show how we deal with authority.
Our baby or child self has no restraints and, in its relationship with father, at times felt urges which as an adult we might find hard to believe or accept. In our dreams we frequently release these urges. Killing father: expressing anger, getting rid of him so there is no competition for mother, gaining your own ability to make decisions and be independent. At some point we need to kill him inside us to claim whatever strength we can from our experience of him and become independent. Sex with father: for the woman fulfilment of childhood desires to possess; for a man desire to receive his love.
The father may not easily have shown his love, so the child becomes desperate to receive. Burying father most likely same as killing; or facing his death and one’s own independence.
[5]If the relationship with father has been successful in waking life, the dream image will tend to be a positive one. Father represents authority and the conventional forms of law and order.
If the relationship with father has been a difficult or negative one, there may be some resistance in waking life to resolving the various conflicts that will have arisen. Often this can be accomplished spontaneously in dreams. In a man’s life father becomes a role model, whether appropriate or not.
It is often only when the individual realizes that he is not being true to his own nature that dreams can point the way to a more successful life and perhaps an understanding of his father. In a woman’s life, father is the ‘pattern’ on whom she bases all later relationships with men. When she appreciates that she longer need use this pattern, she is often able to work out in dreams a more appropriate way to have a mature relationship. This can lead to dreams of her perhaps walking away from her father or leaving him behind.
[6]This symbol is highly personalized, and should be considered in light of your relationship with your father. Generally, dreaming of a father (yours or anyone else’s) represents authority, while mothers represent love and protection.
If your relationship with your father was good, dreaming of him implies advancement and/or assistance from authority figures in your life.
If your relationship with him was strained, however, dreaming of him indicates trouble coming from authority figures, such as your boss.
If you’re dreaming of a dead parent, especially if he or she is speaking to you, important news is coming your way. Whether the news is good or bad depends on other dynamics in the dream. Astrological parallels: Saturn (father) Tarot parallels: The Emperor
[7](Eyebrow) Seeingone’s father in a dream means attainingone’s goal. One’s dreams are most beneficial when he sees his parents, grand parents or a relative. Seeing one’s father in a dream when in wakefulness one needs help means that help will come his way from sources he does not anticipate. Ifin real life he is awaiting someone’s return from ajourney, it means that such a person will soon arrive.
If one is sick, it means that he will recover from his illness.
If he sees that his father is given a dwelling with high fences, it means that he will continue his father’s work and manage what he has left for him in this world.
(See Also: Governor)
[8]Chief, Teacher, King.
A person who teaches the laws of life.
The archetypal father figure stands for the need for security, order, authority, and achievement (Mars) and awareness / consciousness (Sun).
Having it appear in dreams is often an expression of a bad conscience.
If the dreamer has a problematic relationship with his father, the father in the dream would appear as the Pope, or as Almighty God-the Father, who guides and controls the dreamer’s world.
According to Jung, the image represents the one who generates and creates, the intellectual principle, the one who gives life.
[9]Dreams of a father or your father can represent your feelings and projections about the father archetype or God.
A father generally represents support, protection, and heroism.
If this is a pleasant dream where the father is amiable, then this represents that you are in balance and harmony with the father/masculine/God aspect of yourself.
If the father character is malevolent, this represents a distrust of God/ the universe of your own father, or the father aspect of yourself, as in the ability to provide or protect yourself from harm.
[10]To dream about your father signifies power and security. This could mean that you are too reliant on others. You should also be aware of your relationship with your father.
To dream that your father has died indicates that you should go forward with some caution in matters of business.
To dream that you hit your father suggests that you wish you had a better relationship with your father. He may not be accepting what you have to say.
If you are hitting your father with a rubber object, then the things you are telling him are making no difference to him.
[11]Dreams with fathers in them can be looked at on several different levels. You may be dreaming about your father and expressing your feelings about him in a safe way. Traditionally, a father dream can be seen as symbolizing authority and power. In the dream you may be expressing your attitude about strengths and weaknesses as they relate to your position in life and your general attitude toward society.
The image of the father could also represent the “collective consciousness,” the traditional spirit, and the yang.
[12]Dreams of your father represent the archetypal symbols of authority, responsibility, competence and the structures of your life.
• A man dreaming of his father suggests searching for a role model, whereas a woman dreaming of a father figure signifies a need to be looked after or taken care of.
For her it also links into the pattern of future relationships.
• Your father in a dream may be showing you, you need to “grow up” and rely on your own resources or take more responsibility for your life.
[13]Next to mothers, fathers usually exert the most powerful influence over our psychological makeup.
The appearance of the father or a father symbol in a dream is thus extraordinarily difficult to interpret, because the meaning depends so heavily on each individual’s experience with his or her own father.
At a general level we can say that fathers represent power, authority, caring, the law, responsibility, and tradition.
A father, as one of the co-producers of a new life, is also a creator.
[14]To see your father in your dream, symbolizes authority and protection. It suggests that you need to be more self-reliant.
A dream that your father is dead forewarns that you need to proceed with caution in conducting your business.
To dream that your father is trying to hurt or kill you, it could reflect a real-life concern about how your father relates to you. Perhaps he has been restricting you in some way, or behaving in a way that threatens your emotional happiness.
[15]Dreaming of your father indicates some difficulty is bothering you.
To a child, the father is a symbol of wisdom and power, so in later years it is not unusual for the mind to revert to the father in times of stress.
It is natural to dream of members of the family. Sometimes the dreams express resentment actually unknown to the dreamer while awake.
If you dream of killing your father, it signifies repression and a desire to be noticed.
[16]To dream of your father, signifies that you are about to be involved in a difficulty, and you will need wise counsel if you extricate yourself therefrom.
If he is dead, it denotes that your business is pulling heavily, and you will have to use caution in conducting it.
For a young woman to dream of her dead father, portends that her lover will, or is, playing her false.
[17][DREAM IMAGES: PATRIARCH; PROGENITOR]
This dream archetype represents the guiding wisdom that comes from within. A true father guides and shields those under his care, sacrificing his own desires when that’s appropriate. The shadow father emerges when that caring guidance and protection turns into dictatorial control or abuse of authority.
See Also: FAMILY.
[18]Traditionally, dreaming of a father can be seen as a symbol of authority and power. In the dream, you are expressing your attitude about your strengths and weaknesses, as they relate to your position in life, and your general attitude toward society.
[19]If, in your dream, you see your Father, and he speaks to you, it is a sign of coming happiness.
If he is silent, or if he appears to be ill or dead, then you may expect trouble.
See Also: MOTHER.
[20]To dream of one’s father portends a complete change in living conditions, A city dweller is likely to change to the country, and a resident of a rural section will move to the city.
[21]1. God;
2. Spiritual authority/covering;
3. Jesus Christ;
4. Natural father;
5. Ancestral/generational issue if diseased; 1 Cor. 4:15;1 Thess. 2:11; 1 Tim. 5:1; Eph. 5:31.
[22]Wiser, more mature masculine self; the wise old man within. Aspects attributed to God, the protector and provider; or qualities projected on own father or father figure.
[23]1. Highest authority, moral commandments.
2. Protection, security.
3. Self-reliance, independence.
4. Business-related activities.
[24]Father loves you.
If the father is dead, it shows a sign of affliction.
[25]A symbol of authority that may be represented by a father figure
[26]God-Mind within you.
[27]See Also: Parents.
[28]See Also: Family
[29]lucky numbers: 05-28-35-46-48-49
being a: a responsible and respected position to create and sustain life.
dead, being: a conscience catastrophe over the qualities of protection you must now have.
poor: fear that you have brought shame to the family.
father-in-law being alive: live up to the responsible father you wished you had.
dead: are subject to enthusiasm soon passed.
of own: take the commonsense advice with a grain of salt.
another’s: it wil be difficult to escape approaching troubles.
homage to you, paying: wil not be accepted without unsolicited advice.
of own: there is safety and security in the advice of elders.
others: wil benefit from group support and mentors capable of wise counsel.
own, passing away: faith in yourself is waning; you need it to succeed.
talking with your: need for forgiveness and guidance on both sides.
[30]