The meaning of police in a dream is one of the most difficult symbols to write about. This is because few symbols are as ambiguous. Police dreams speak to power, and therefore may highlight inequality, as well as protection. Please understand that as I write this, I intend no disrespect to anyone, but in order to appreciate the various cultural associations of police men and women in dreams, I must explore a variety of perspectives (which I by no means assume is exhaustive.)
Police are first and foremost an authority. The relationship of an individual to the current waking authority will deeply influence what police mean in a dream. In many people, police can create feelings of both fear and respect simultaneously. Others have more polarising views. If you feel the current authority in waking life represents your interests, shares your values and is aligned with your personal life goals, the meaning of police in dreams are likely to be predominantly positive ones. In such dreams police may symbolise protection (from whatever you feel threatened by), they may represent law and order (especially if you have been feeling your life is chaotic and you seek such order), or they may symbolise justice (consider if you feel you have been treated unfairly, or are treating your own self too harshly.) In these circumstances, police dreams may create a feeling of safety, that everything is under control.
Or they may elicit more ambiguous responses. There may be an awareness that safety comes at the relinquishing of control and hence inherently a loss of freedom, or the nervousness that one is safe as long as you conform to what is “good.” Such protection then is somewhat precarious, and dependent on playing certain games that ensure balance is maintained. The meaning of police in dreams may relate to starting to feel exhausted about meeting multiple needs in your life at once, or balancing many other people’s demands. You may be beginning to question of it is ok to let go of some responsibility, or feeling guilty about not being able to do everything. Your own inner police are appearing to show you what rules you have placed upon yourself.
However, if you feel that present authorities in waking life either do not represent you, have taken power unfairly, are unethical or other similar traits, your dream symbols of police will also likely carry this sense of distrust, fear or anger (depending on your own individual circumstances.) In such a situation, dreams of police may symbolise control, power, force, the role of individual versus state and many more subtle and complex themes. Such dreams may invoke very strong feelings, including fear, anger, frustration and outrage. In a dream then, police may symbolise a sense of injustice in your life, or limiting control that you must fight against. The question for you then, is are these controls coming from without or within? The answer is usually somewhere between, but an honest exploration of this idea can be profoundly beneficial for those who truly seek to be free.
For most people, police represent concepts like control, boundaries, rules and restrictions. A key question in your dream of police will be to determine whether boundaries have been crossed or rules broken, and if so, by whom, and then what needs to be done to redress the balance. And it is essential to consider the counter to these themes. The opposite of control may feel like chaos to some, but to others it may be freedom. Behaving in line with rules may feel rewarding in some instances, but incredibly restrictive in others. Breaking the rules may instigate guilt or recklessness, those who have had the rules broken against them may seek retribution or offer forgiveness and compassion. All these themes may be at play in a dream about police.
Remember too, that other people in our dreams are often aspects of our own inner selves. If a police person appears in your dream, ask yourself:
- what areas of my own life need protecting? where do I feel threatened?
- is there a part of me that is too controlling? Or who or what else may be controlling me?
- where do I feel I am being unjustly treated? what do I think is fair?
- who is making the rules in my life? am I happy with these? what do I wish to change?
- what is the authority in my own life? who is making decisions? who do I defer to and why?
The meaning of police in a dream can can centre around questions relating to what is right and wrong, good and evil, and to explore our own boundaries or where certain lines are crossed. Police in dreams remind us that we all require some sense of order in our lives, and protection from that which would harm us. Dreams of police may encourage us to consider the role of authority, how we seek to influence others, or they us, and the way we set our own internal rules. When you “police” yourself you may be trying to set rules to live by in order to conform, or to meet the standards of someone who influenced you, (who has now become your own internal standard.) Dreams of a police person may come because you are afraid of letting those standards slip, afraid of letting someone down – even that person is no longer a part of your life.
Essentially, police represent power and control, law and order. If we dream of police we can move past our beliefs about the police force in general, and start to consider our own inner police force. Given you are the ultimate authority of you, how will you direct and mange your own police? What rules must they abide by, and what role do they play in your own inner self? Are your own inner police men and women kind and upstanding, there to serve and protect your own best interests? Or are they corrupt, or violent, or mindless, undermining your ultimate goals with brutish tactics and riding roughshod over values you hold dear? When must they be tough and when forgiving? Whatever you think about police in waking life, it is up to you to command your own inner world, and address disorder that keeps you from living your ultimate life and contributing to humanity. If you dream of police, consider what rules you follow, and whether these serve your own self and the greater good. Consider what is worth protecting, but also what lengths you will go to do so, and where a line is crossed that is unacceptable.
You may also be interested in Attack Dreams and Chase Dreams
Photo by Ricardo Arce on Unsplash
