By Claire Schild
Dear Claire,
I have been having a lot of dreams about scorpions lately. In all of these dreams, I am stepping on them, but not just because they are in my way. I am going out of my way to step on them when I notice them. In my latest dream I was stepping on small (but very fat and juicy) scorpions. No one could see them but me. The scorpions were in plain sight, but for some reason I was the only one who noticed them. In this dream I was not afraid of the scorpions at all. I went right up to them without any hesitation and stepped on them. I would spot one and say, “Look out!” and then I would rush over and step on it without being afraid or concerned. However, in real life I would never be like this. I wouldn’t go near a scorpion. So, what could this dream mean?
The symbolism of scorpions in a dream is usually always extremely powerful—as is the memory or the notion of a scorpion’s sting. As a result, the dreams initially may tend to appear threatening and/or negative in nature—and that is very understandable. Scorpions are quick to attack; they are venomous, dangerous, and potentially deadly creatures. For this reason, scorpions most often serve as symbols for threat, serious danger, evil, aggression, revenge, toxicity, and death. Furthermore, at a higher level of interpretation scorpions can also symbolize conflict or furious, war-like battles—and can also represent the dark, poisonous side of the natural world and/or humanity. However, some of the scorpion’s most significant symbolism originates from its ability to intently focus and boldly and fearlessly defend. As a result, scorpions can also represent positive qualities and conditions—such as courage, determination, fearlessness, persistence, survival, and strength. Moreover, throughout the ages, scorpions have also served as powerful symbols of health, life, protection, and rebirth. In multiple cultures, scorpion venom is believed to have both health and healing benefits—and ancient Egyptians believed scorpions to be the sacred guardians of souls who were in the process of transitioning from one world into the next. In fact, images of scorpions were even carved into amulets and mummification tools as further protection for the souls of the deceased as they made their journey into the next world of existence. For this reason, scorpions also represent life and death, as well as endings and beginnings—in addition to being a culturally significant symbol of power and protection in the afterlife.
As noted previously, scorpion-filled dreams may, at first, appear to be negative in nature–however, the final analysis largely depends upon the circumstances of the dream. In the above dream description, scorpions are most likely symbolic of some type of negative issues or threats which are present in the dreamer’s life. However, this dreamer’s scorpion hunts do not appear to be negative whatsoever—and these dreams, in general, actually appear to be quite positive in nature. The dreamer remains unfazed and unafraid of the scorpions that she sees—in fact, she literally seeks out the scorpions and then triumphantly puts an end to them. Furthermore, the dreamer demonstrates her power over these threatening scorpion situations by first warning others before she puts an end to the “fat and juicy” creatures—imagery which most likely indicates that these negative issues in her life have substance and significance. Noticing and stomping out the scorpions indicates that the dreamer is extremely aware of the negative issues and dangers in her environment and is taking the “steps” (pun intended) to eliminate them. The fact that the dreamer is highly conscious of these negative issues (the scorpions) while others around her are completely unaware of them, also demonstrates the dreamer’s confidence in her own ability to identify and then resolve any problematic situations, threats, or dangers surrounding her and those around her. Furthermore, it is extremely significant that the dreamer warns others as she swoops in to take action and conquer the scorpions because in doing so, she clearly illustrates her confidence in being able to recognize the need for action and precaution when others around her cannot or will not.
While these scorpions could possibly represent negative thoughts, feelings, or behaviors which the dreamer has fought and has successfully overcome, it is much more likely that they represent things from her waking world which are toxic, destructive, or dangerous—things which somehow pose a threat to her emotional, mental, or physical well-being as well as the well-being of those around her. However, regardless of the exact personal significance of the scorpions, these dreams definitely appear to have extremely powerful themes of courage, self-power, and self-confidence—dreams of facing threatening challenges and negative situations and then conquering them. The dreamer is the hero—she fought and she won. She courageously faced her adversaries, whether literal or abstract, and she was victorious over them. Fearlessly crushing those scorpions in her dreaming world—creatures which she is clearly averse to in her waking world—was merely a reflection of her triumph over toxic situations and/or negative events in her waking world. So, unless this scorpion hunter fell asleep while watching an “Animal Planet” documentary on arachnids, the best advice would be to just dream on.
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