Dear Claire,
I recently had one of the creepiest dreams that I have ever had. It was really, really short, but it was really horrifying. I saw dried blood on some clothing for what seemed like a flash of a second. Then, I heard a man yell “Blood! Blood!” in this really loud, angry voice that was like something from Game of Thrones. It was like he was yelling at me and threatening me, but, at the same time, he was also warning me. The main thing that was so disturbing about everything was that it was all so real. It sounded like it was coming from the room around me and not from a dream inside of my head. I could not fall back to sleep, and, even though the dream only lasted for about three or four seconds, I was bothered by it for the rest of the day. I have been sort of rattled by it ever since. I would like to know why something so short would bother me for so long.
Blood is one of the oldest and most significant symbols in mankind’s history because it represents both life and death, as well as health, vitality, sickness, and injury. Blood has always been an extremely powerful symbol for our life-force, not only because blood is absolutely essential to life, but also because it is continually flowing through us, nourishing us, and sustaining us. However, at the same time, blood also stands out as one of the most powerful symbols for our mortality and the physical world because blood is a starkly blatant and visual reminder of the fact that we are mere mortal beings who will suffer. And it is that stark reality that explains its ability to affect us so profoundly.
Throughout history, blood has served as a symbol of family heritage and genealogy. This is seen in the idea of bloodlines and the idea that certain traits are unavoidable because they are in the blood. Blood has also symbolized a lasting bond or connection, as in “blood brothers,” and individuals have even gone so far as to ceremoniously intermingle their actual blood to represent this attachment. Throughout human history, many cultures and religions have believed that blood embodies the essence or spirit of the being from which it came. For this reason, blood has functioned as a dominant theme in cultural rituals, making it a vivid symbol of sacrifice. At an even higher level, blood has served as a symbol for guilt and murderous deeds, as evidenced by the enduring metaphor of having blood on your hands.
For a vast number of reasons, blood is, and always will be, one of the most important and potent human symbols in existence. It signifyies so many powerful human emotions and conditions such as life, death, love, passion, vitality, fertility, strength, sacrifice, genealogy, lasting connections, and more.
So which emotion and condition is being signified by the blood imagery and themes in the above dream? Without being able to ask the dreamer, that would be difficult to determine with certainty. However, the best guess would most likely be that this dreamer has recently experienced some type of injury or loss, or that the dreamer is going through an extremely difficult period in his life. W blood can symbolize positive things in a dream, this dream felt menacing, angry, and cautionary to the dreamer. In addition, the very word “blood” was being used to threaten and warn the dreamer.
As a result, the blood in this dream is most likely a reflection of something draining the dreamer’s health and vitality. The dream also appears to be a subconscious warning, possibly alerting the dreamer to the potentially negative effects of his current situation in life. However, to fully analyze this dream, the dreamer would need to be asked what could have brought about this imagery.
End note: Dreams can often serve as medical warning systems, alerting the dreamer to physical issues which need to be addressed. Recurring blood themes while dreaming prompted a different dreamer to seek a medical evaluation—which resulted in the discovery that she had seriously high blood sugar levels.
