Water has no shape, but adopts the shapes of things you put it in; this makes it perfectly supple. Water doesn’t have a color of its own; but reflects all the colors of the spectrum, and can also be a brilliant mirror. Water represents fertility; it works in unison with the sun, like a marriage, to make life exist on Earth. Water has within itself infinite menace, infinite potential, infinite promise; it can cleanse you, it purifies things, it irrigates farmland, it swallows things, it can drown you and flood your home and breaks into waves and foam.
When water comes into your dreams it is always a sign of something important.
Dreams in which you are bathing are very common and often represent you washing your soul, cleansing your spirit; this can be a symbolic baptism, washing away perceived sins of the past. Another common water dream is where you are swimming; interpreting the mood of these dreams can be made easier by looking at how you were behaving in the water, whether you were struggling against a current or whether you were allowing yourself to be swept along by it – were you at ease in the water our facing difficulties in it, your unconscious? The current can symbolize the mother’s influence.
It helps to imagine the state of the water in the dream; was it a calm lake, a symbol of serene emotions; or furious ocean? A pond that is dark and stagnant? A rolling sea gathering a tidal wave? Water in dreams is pretty much always a symbol of your feminine side; representing the mother, the wife or the anima in men – in the case of the anima it will often be in the shape of rivers and streams, lakes, fountains, springs, waterfalls and oceans. You must look at the entirety of the dream to get a clear interpretation; is the anima peaceful, sparkling, gushing, malevolent, stagnant or black?
Dreams of being swallowed up and covered with water are very common; these are anxiety dreams which show that the unconscious is negative and holding you back – often the central image in a case like this is most likely the mother.
Water can be seductive, attractive and hypnotic, in dreams and in waking life. It can often produce unconscious suicidal desires. It is also a symbol of the peace we once knew before birth, warm in the waters of the womb.
Recurring dreams with frozen water in them are rare, unless you live near frozen water a lot of the time, and should be considered with caution; these dreams are warning that your soul is freezing over, your emotions are dying away, you are coming dangerously close to spiritual stagnation. Be happy if you are dreaming of warm, glittering waters.
Drinking Water
Water is connected with your spiritual self and spiritual growth, your eternal life thread. Different cultures all over the world have many stories that connect water with life, rebirth and the higher self, from Christian baptism to the healing waters Ganges River. Drinking water in waking life is a form of refreshment as well as staving off thirst. In your dreams, drinking water can symbolize spiritual refreshment, or the need for spiritual healing. If you are giving or sharing water with others it could be that you can gain spiritual healing or learning from other people, or a particular person, or that you have something to offer others in this regard?