Dream Dictionary: What Do Flower Dreams Mean?
A “Lovely” Dream Prophecy from a Symbol of Beauty
Many dream experts believe that a flower dream’s meaning depends upon the type of flower in the dream. While there are extenuating circumstances where the type of flower carries a lot of weight, I believe that flower dreams can pretty much ALL be dealt with similarly, regardless of the type of flower it is. Besides, a lot of people don’t know a Daffodil from a Lily!
Personally, I believe that the color of the flower or flowers is of greater significance, but we’ll get to those in a minute.
Like most things, flowers have a lot of different meanings to a lot of different people. They’re symbolic of everything from romance to funerals. We give/receive flowers when we’re in love, when someone is sick, when congratulations are in order, when someone has a baby, when someone has died, when someone has moved into a new home, and to celebrate special occasions such as Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day.
Flowers essentially represent the following:
- Beauty
- Emotion
- An attempt to make things better
Think about it, when we give flowers, we’re letting someone know that we care. We’re attempting to bring beauty into their lives with one of the most universal symbols of beauty: Flowers.
In dreams, if we are giving flowers to another person, it is symbolic of our desire to make something better for someone or to at least let them know we care. We may have done something that we’re seeking forgiveness for or we may simply want to show our love. Only the dreamer will know for certain when it comes to the motivation.
If we receive flowers in the dream, almost always the interpretation is the same: We are looking for love, concern, and for someone to acknowledge us in some way. Many people who feel under-appreciated and taken for granted will dream of receiving flowers.
If the flowers are flowers you associate with funerals or death (usually carnations or black flowers in dreams), the dream interpretation is that you are gravely concerned for someone’s health – possibly even your own. On the other hand, if they’re flowers you’d associate with a newborn baby (usually pink and/or pale blue), you have babies on the brain! Interestingly enough, this could even symbolize kittens or puppies. They’re babies, after all!
If the flowers in the dream indicate a wedding to you (Calla Lilies, white roses, baby’s breath…), the interpretation is that you are either, literally, thinking of a wedding, or you are contemplating a commitment of some sort.
The first things to ask yourself about the flowers in your dream are:
- What do I associate these flowers with? (gardening, love, sickness, funerals, beauty, Valentine’s Day, weddings)
- How did the flowers make me feel in the dream? (comforted, happy, sad, loved)
- What colors do I remember most about the flowers? (pink, red, blue, black, white, yellow, purple…)
The answers to these questions will lead you to your own personal interpretation of your dream.
A few Dream Symbolisms from Flower Dreams:
- Black flowers indicate depression, sadness, disappointment, and even death. Dreams are not prophetic, so don’t jump off the deep end when you read the word death! This simply indicates that death has been on your mind fairly recently – whether you’ve been thinking about your own life, someone who you are worried about, or someone you’ve already lost.
- Blue flowers generally represent something soothing, but they can also be symbolic for a male.
- Red can be symbolic of several emotions. The dreamer must look at how it’s used in the context of the dream (in other words, how did you FEEL in the dream when you saw the red flowers). Red usually symbolizes love, romance, and passion – but it can also represent anger and jealousy.
- Pink usually means romance, flirtation, or girls. However, it can also be symbolic for breasts – breast health, breast cancer, and breasts in general!
- Purple flowers stand for great success – royal success even. If you have purple flowers in your dream, you have success on your mind. You may have also recently achieved something that you feel very proud of.
- Gold, Silver, and Bronze flowers symbolize celebrations. Whether it’s weddings, anniversaries, or other milestones, flowers in these colors mean that you’ve recently had something of great importance on your mind and/or in your life.
- Yellow and/or orange flowers indicate pure joy, cheerfulness, and happiness. Generally when people dream of yellow or orange flowers, it indicates a clear conscience as well as a great mood.
- White flowers usually represent honesty, purity, and love. However, they can also represent a desire to CLEAN something or even someone! White is a highly complex color when it comes to dreams, so you really have to rely on how you felt at the time of the dream.
- Green is generally considered to be symbolic of jealousy or envy. If you dream of green flowers, you may have recently dealt with one of these common emotions.
Dream Interpretation: Why Garden Dreams are Particularly Fascinating!
Dreams about vegetable, flower, or herb gardens are absolutely fascinating for dreamers and dream analysts. What’s more, the dream interpretation can give the dreamer a lot of insight into their lives… and minds.
If you’ve had one of these dreams, the most important thing to do is to determine the condition of the garden, itself.
Here’s why: The garden is a symbol of our life, or more importantly, how we view our life.
If the garden in your dream is lush, beautiful, and causes you to feel at peace, content, and happy – it’s a sign that you are at peace with your life right now. The way the garden makes you feel in your dream mirrors your attitude toward your current life as well as the person you perceive yourself to be.
If, on the other hand, the garden in your dream “needs work” or “requires attention,” your subconscious mind could be trying to make a point – in a decidedly colorful way.
If the garden is in ruins, with dead/dried vegetation, weeds, and overgrown plants and leaves you feeling discouraged, angry, or even sad – your dream interpretation would be that there’s regret or disappointment somewhere in your life. Generally speaking, whatever emotion you feel in the dream is the emotion you feel about this REAL life situation. If you feel remorse or regret, you possibly have undealt with guilt in your life. If the situation causes you to feel angry, you obviously have an underlying anger that you haven’t fully dealt with.
If, in your dream, you feel angry at someone else for the state of the garden, as opposed to yourself, you are possibly harboring resentment and finding it difficult to forgive someone for something they’ve done or said (or failed to do or say, for that matter).
If the garden’s required work seems too much for you, it reflects a feeling of being overwhelmed in your life.
In the dream, if you find yourself simply observing everything that needs to be done… and then rolling up your sleeves to do the work, it’s a sign that you know there are things that you need to do in your daily life. If, in the dream, you don’t possess any negative feelings or emotions, it’s a sign that (deep down), you’re anxious to get started on the work you know needs to be done.
In fact, you may even be excited about the challenge!
Dream Analysis: A Mother Misses Her Baby Ducks
Every now and then, a Dream Prophesy reader will submit a dream to share on the website, simply for the sake of sharing. Because the dream’s meaning is obvious, they know exactly what the interpretation or analysis is.
They simply want to share it with other readers. I think that’s great and LOVE for dreamers to share their dreams. Other dreamers may be having similar dreams and can benefit from seeing what another person “gets out of” their dream.
Below is an e-mail (along with the dream and a very accurate interpretation!) from a reader in Florida named Sandy.
Over the past year, both of my daughters moved out of our home. Our oldest daughter got married and moved with her husband 46 miles away (south). My youngest daughter – two months later – moved away for college, 2 and 1/2 hours away (north). I’m stuck in the middle, missing them with all my heart.
I’m proud of both of them and I love my son in law, but I miss my daughters badly. I cry more this year than I have in my whole life.
My husband and I have not been getting along. He says I am always sad and never happy any more. He doesn’t understand. If I seem unhappy it’s because I am.
Anyway, two nights ago I had a dream that just makes so much sense and is so perfect, I wanted to share with you and other readers of Dream Prophesy.
Here’s the dream. I was helping people move farm animals from one part of the state to another. I would put them in cages and move them onto a truck. Then we’d drive them to their new farm. Everything was okay until they showed me three ducks that had to be moved. Before I could say anything, they put the mother duck in one cage and the two baby ducks in a different cage. The mother duck started sqwaking and crying – waving her wings and acting very upset. She became angry and aggressive, and if she wasn’t in a cage, she would have bitten us all.
I said, “She wants her babies!” but they put her and her cage on one truck and the cage with the babies on another truck. I had to drive the truck with the unhappy and mad mother duck. She was so loud that she was upsetting the other animals in their cages and none of us were happy. I felt so sorry for her. So instead of driving on the road I was told to, I followed the other truck and honked until they stopped. They thought I was crazy but I yelled at them, “She wants her babies!”
I got the cage with the two baby ducks and opened it. I put them into the cage with the mad mother duck and she pulled her babies close to her with her wings. I told them, “You will never be apart again.” Then I woke up.
The dream is obvious, isn’t it? “She wants her babies!” That’s me. And no one else understands but me, just like in the dream. You want to know something else about the dream that makes it cute? I have collected ducks (figurines, books, pillows, pictures, stuffed animals, and anything with ducks on it) since my daughters were in diapers. They even had duck diaper bags.
I just wanted to share my dream because it is neat how they show what’s going on in your life. Thank you for your website, I read it all the time. – Sandy
Thanks for sharing your dream, Sandy! Your dream is, in many ways, adorable. As a “mother duck,” myself, I understand all of the feelings you described. However, as a dreamologist, I think I see something that you overlooked, and it’s something that may actually help you. Notice that you say the mother duck acted mad (angry and aggressive – and that she’d have bitten you all if she weren’t in a cage). I actually think this is the most important part of the dream, even more so than the separation anxiety the mother duck felt which matches your own.
The mother duck’s intense pain and heartbreak manifested itself as anger and aggression. Could it be that your own heartbreak manifests itself as anger? You mentioned that you and your husband aren’t getting along. If your heartbreak were manifesting itself only in tears and a long face, that would be pretty bad, but I don’t think that would (in and of itself) lead to arguments or tension. It would probably lead to your husband taking you out to eat more or doing things to cheer you up!
Given the details of the dream PLUS the details you shared, I think your subconscious mind is trying to show you something of the utmost importance. Many people, when they feel pain, loss, or sadness, lash out in anger. What’s worse, they usually hit a target that had nothing to do with the pain in the first place. Different people react to pain differently. Some people keep it all in, some “cry it out,” and some “lash out.” It seems to me that you’re probably crying it out AND lashing out.
Like the mother duck in the dream, you have been (and are) beside yourself with loss and unhappiness. My heart breaks for you, because the pain is obviously hideous!
I could point out that your daughters (or baby ducks!) are each within a car drive and certainly within reach of a phone call. I could point out that you’ll see them on birthdays, holidays, and probably many other times as well. However, when the heart is filled with sadness, words won’t heal it. Only time can do that.
You need time to see that this isn’t the end of the road, it’s just a different road. Much like the one you took in the dream. I think that’s yet another dream symbol.
I hope you’ll realize that, like mother duck, your pain was showing up as anger and, possibly, aggression. Hopefully no one ever felt like you’d bite them, but with us moms, you never know!!!
On my Self Help Blog, Self Help Daily, I actually write frequently about empty nest syndrome and things you can do to make the transition easier. I think you’ll find advice and tips there that’ll help you out. Please feel free to e-mail me again any time you want to just talk and keep your chin up. Life’s FAR too beautiful to spend any time looking down.
Ghost Dreams: What do They Mean?!
A Haunted Dream Interpretation…
What do ghost dreams mean? I’ve been asked this question quite a few times over the years. Unfortunately, most people believe that ghost dreams are a bad omen of some kind. Most people believe either:
- Someone they know is going to die.
- Someone they know who HAS died is trying to get a message to them.
Actually, you’ll be relieved to know that neither is the case. When one dreams of ghosts, the dream interpretation is actually simple. Think about one of the main words we associate with ghosts: HAUNTED.
Dreaming of a ghost (or ghosts) indicates that the dreamer is haunted by something in his or her life. They could be haunted by guilt, they could be haunted by unfulfilled dreams, or they could be haunted by memories. These types of things “haunt” most of us, at least to some extent. However, some people have unresolved issues concerning these “haunts.” If you dream of ghosts, it’s probable that something you may have thought was in the past isn’t “so” in the past after all.
The subconscious mind tries to “sort things out” while we’re sleeping. If you have had one or more dreams about ghosts, your subconscious mind is trying to make sense of (or sort out) something that haunts you.
Only the dreamer knows for certain. If you ever find yourself in a situation where you’re trying to get in touch with your dream’s meaning, below are a few tips that’ll help you – whether your dream was visited by ghosts or not:
- Get in a quiet place with absolutely no distractions. You don’t want anything causing your mind to wander while it’s trying to figure out your dreams.
- Clear your mind of any stray thoughts or worries.
- Breath deeply and focus all of your energy on the interpretation of your dream.
If other people are in the house, one of the best spots to reflect upon your dreams may be an unusual place: The shower or bathtub! Think about it – people are less likely to disturb you here than anywhere else.
Finally, please keep in mind that dreams are not omens. They are simply dreams. That’s it!
Dream Journals and Dream Symbols
I always, always, always recommend that my readers keep a dream journal.
Dream analysis is utterly fascinating and the best way to get ALL you can from the experience is to keep a dream journal. Even if the dream seems unspectacular and commonplace, you should write down the details.
For example, in your dream journal you should include the following information:
- How you felt during the dream.
- How you felt when you first awoke.
- Who was in the dream with you.
- The predominant colors in your dream.
- Any dream symbols you recall
- The date
- VERY IMPORTANT: Include a few words about how you felt during the day. I’ll tell you why in a minute.
You don’t have to go into great, lengthy details in your dream journal (unless you want to, of course!). You can simply write down a series of words and names. Just remember to include HOW you felt during and after the dream. You don’t even HAVE to have an actual dream journal, you could most definitely use an old notebook! However, don’t use random loose sheets of paper. Why? They’ll inevitably get lost and unorganized. What you’re looking for is a pattern. You need to see what dream symbols you frequently dream about and what people show up often in your dreams.
You also want to watch for situations or emotions that recur in your dreams. Do you often lose things in your dreams (a sign that you feel overwhelmed)? Are you often mistreated in your dreams (a sign that you feel like a victim)? So, as you can see, it will greatly benefit you to have your dreams chronicled in a very organized and ordered manner.
Why What’s Happening in Your Life at the Time Matters
You want to include what’s going on in your life at the time of the dream. For example, if you’re feeling stressed at work, write it down! You’ll be able to see what sort of dream symbols and situations occur when you’re dealing with stress in your life. Also… and this is pretty cool…. you’ll often find out exactly WHAT or WHO is causing you the most stress! If you have recurring “frustration” dreams and a certain co-worker consistenly shows up in them, he or she is a source of your stress and frustration. It could be one small thing they do (or fail to do) that irritates you or it could be every single thing about them! On the other hand, the stress could possibly come from the fact you don’t know how to handle or deal with them. Only you will know for sure.
The thing is, the dream journal and your entries in it will give you a great place to start looking for the root of your stress.
Emotions we feel during the day impact our dreams like nothing else. If we experience FEAR during a movie, for example, we’ll probably face it again in an upcoming dream. That’s why we always say, “I dread my dreams tonight!” after seeing horror movies. We know all too well the fear factor will rear its ugly head again!
The same is true with other emotions. If we feel angry or annoyed, something will probably happen in our dreams that angers or annoys us. It’s as though our dream tries to sort out the strong emotions by “acting out” similar scenarios. Also, if we’re feeling particularly close to someone, we may have dreams that are very pleasant, positive, and even romantic.
This is why it’s so important to jot down a few words about how you’re feeling in “the real world” at the time of the dreams.
I hope you’ll strongly consider keeping a dream journal. The benefits are amazing and, trust me, you’ll have a really fun time!
The Bedside Dream Journal: A Nighttime Memory Book, shown at the top of the post, is an excellent dream journal. It’s available on Amazon for just a little over $10.
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