As fires and record high temperatures bake parts of the planet, others are locked in snow and ice, freezing those places with record low temperatures. So with such extremes of weather around us, it is no wonder that a potent symbol like ice might start appearing in our dreams. For those melting in the heat, dreams of ice may provide a welcome relief, at least at a subconscious level; while for those in freezing conditions, to dream of ice may be the subconscious mind calling on images and sensations close to hand to form part of a bigger story.
But as we know is so common with dreams, very rarely will a dream have simply such a literal meaning as those above. What then, is the role of ice in our dreams? As usual, that will depend very much on what the circumstances of our lives are, and what our personal associations to ice may be.
As water is often a reflection of our inner emotional, creative or spiritual state, to dream of ice may be an indication of some feelings we have turned off inside so that we no longer feel them – freezing them and not letting them flow. These feelings may have even been frozen for so long, that we now do not recognise or remember them. Â If the ice is melting, this could indicate that long forgotten feelings are starting to come to life, thawing just as the ice does in spring to let the new life emerge. This is a wonderful dream symbol and a reason to be excited! If the ice is only starting, it could be a sign of great hurt or shock, and an inner desire to freeze any feelings so they cause less suffering. But this dream can be a warning, for feelings are not meant to be frozen but to flow freely. If our subconscious shows the start of ice, it may be a sign to seek emotional support, or do some soul searching and recognise where in our lives we are starting to shut ourselves off, before a real ice age sets in.
Ice is cold, so when relating to our emotions, this can indicate that we
are some how being cold in life, and maybe should consider showing someone we know some warmth. Alternatively, ice dreams may be reflecting the “frosty” reception we feel we have received from someone else, who perhaps was not welcoming or gave us the “cold shoulder.”
Ice in dreams can have other meanings beyond frozen emotions. As we freeze foods to keep them longer and we know of fossils being found in ice, ice can be a symbol of preservation. We may dream of ice when we feel we are working hard to “simply survive” either emotionally or financially, or when we feel we have successfully emerged from such a time with our souls intact.
Icy landscapes also have a certain beauty, which can symbolise wildness, extremes, adventure or isolation to some. Â Ice dreams to some may be cleansing and purifying, and refreshing to the senses. Â Or sometimes to dream of being in icy water or of having an icy shower can be a wake-up call, shocking our senses into something that we had perhaps become too relaxed about to notice, like taking a cold shower.
We can also look at how ice may used in language and what was hapenning in our dreams. If we are “skating (or walking) on thin ice” we may know subconsciously that we are taking a large risk, and perhaps should be careful. If in our dream we are “breaking the ice” it may indicate that perhaps there is someone we should approach and get to know better, or maybe we recently have started to.
Unless ice is a part of our regular existence, it is likely that ice dreams are reflecting a temporary state, like the state of water which can move between fluid, gas or solid as ice. If we dream of ice it may be time to look at our feelings, our creativity and our behaviour. It may be time to let the sunshine into our lives, and to feel the warmth and flow of life again.
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Thank you I really enjoyed this. My dream was of my laptop, frozen inside a domestic refridgerator which was fully iced in. Possibly there was a document coming out from the printer.
Just had dream if my world being frozen over. I recorded it on a dictaphone. Then I recorded some of the words if your explanation above also. They resonated. And from meditating on them, I got further insight. Feel like I’ve opened up my dream myself more as a result. Thanking you, Susan
Thanks for this article. Dreamed I was passing a large field of ice (had old, brown trees) and my brother was pointing it out to me and marveling, saying, imagine that being there for the next 67 years. Then we were passing through an old, poor house with ice everywhere, and a little vent-like area in a wall with a thin metal covering but I could see it was full of ice, too.
I had a sense of having had this dream before but I don’t remember when.
I dreamed I was on a ship submerging into ice water like a submarine. The water also had whales in it . What does it mean
The past month I’ve had a few dreams where I’m swimming in an ice lake, often looking for someone or something on the bottom, but it doesn’t feel disturbing, often there’s a blizzard but the scenery is beautiful, in an enclosed bowl of snowy mountains. There’s normally someone on the side of the lake that I’m communicating with. Hard to know what if any links it has to the potential factors mentioned in your article, but hopefully the dreams will subside soon.
Last night I dreamt of swimming in an ocean full of sea creatures below the surface and boats filled with people partying on the surface. Then suddenly a snow storm took off and the waves picked up and the ocean turned into a slushy mess that was difficult to swim in. The ocean that you could clearly see through was now opaque and fear of predatory sea life hunting in such weather frightened me. I felt vulnerable and stuck. Then it all melted away.
Because of pleasure, and wordly things, there will be punishment of God on those who do not seek His ways. i.e holines.
The water and sea creatures represent the world. And the issue was shown as the ”people partying and living sinful lives”. The waves and storm means Gods wrath and punishment..as the punishment hits, you will find it difficult to move, and fear will come over you…God is giving you this dream to give you a warning. If you will not turn away from sinful life, you will find yourself facing Gods punishment, and it wont be nice.
God bless in Jesus name <3
Hope it was helpful
I had this strange dream in which i was sort of going through these icy waters. Large and small chunks would drift by and my legs kept getting sliced and bruised by the ice. Im not sure how to dissect this dream exactly.
I dreamt i broke a big ice sickle off a big block of ice and i wrapped the ice sickle in a napkin and carried it around with me. I sucked and bite this ice. I was expecting it to hurt my teeh when i bit it but i didnt hurt. And that was the dream …me walking around eating ice until it was gone. But it was never gone.
I had a dream I was crushing around the country side and I suddenly stumbled upon this field of ice. So I stop there, marveling at all this isolating beauty of all this ice which made up all kinds of structures from the many thin sheets of 15 foot tall sheets. I accidentally bumped one of the sheets, which made up a doorway within the maze of ice. Someone who worked at this ice factory yelled at me because the whole structure then began to crumble. I apologized and told them I felt obligated to help them make new sheets. As I watched the extensive process, I really felt my laziness kick in and decided to walk off. Then I went to a bar and everyone was looking at me funny. I asked someone why and they told me that its because they heard bad rumors about me from a friend of mine. I confronted my friend in the dream through text and they just ignored me.
I was in dark water spinning and drowning and kept reaching for the edge of the ice. Then I was sitting on a floating piece of ice watching someone I loved about to commit suicide off the rocks into the icy water. What does this mean???
I dreamt of where I was carried away along side some people by an icy water and we were all so happy cos the icy water felt so good on us.
In that icy water I tried to help a child so as he won’t drown on it and he told me he is okay and we all laughed. Pls I don’t understand this dream.