What does it mean to dream about fish?
Fish in dreams often stand for feelings moving just below the surface. A fish flapping on land may be feeling out of your element; fish biting you, something eating at you; catching one, reeling something into your life. What fish are to you, a lovely pet or something slimy, shapes the reading.
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What fish mean in a dream depends a lot on you. To one person a fish is a lovely pet, to another something slimy. What the fish were doing, and the phrases we already use about fish, often hold the clue.
What dreaming about fish may mean
AFeelings moving below the surface
Fish live where we can't easily see. Watching them in clear water may stand for feelings and hunches moving just below the surface, and for being able to see them clearly for once.
The fish were swimming in clear water · You watched them with curiosity
BA fish out of water
Dreams love wordplay. A fish flapping on dry land may be about feeling out of your element, or floundering in a new situation.
A fish was out of water
CSomething eating at you
Fish biting or eating you may stand for something that's eating at you, often in a relationship. A dangerous fish like a piranha may point to sharp criticism that wears you down the more it bites.
Fish were biting or eating you · A dangerous fish, like a piranha, bit you
DTrying to reel something in
Fishing is patience and hope. Catching a fish may be about reeling something into your life: a relationship, a job, or a quality you want more of.
You were fishing, or caught a fish
ELearning, or going with the flow
A school of fish can be wordplay too: something you're schooling yourself in. Swimming among them may also be about letting go of resistance and moving with things.
You saw a school of fish, or swam among them
FSomething you're not looking after
A pet fish that's dying may reflect a feeling that you're neglecting something you're responsible for, often a creative project that needs more care.
A pet fish was dying
GSomething that has lost its spark
Dead or motionless fish may stand for a feeling, or a part of your life, that has lost its energy.
The fish were dead or lying still · You felt a loss of energy in the dream
HCreating something new
Fish swimming in water have long been linked with new life. The dream may be about something you're bringing into being, such as a project. For some people, it's about pregnancy itself.
You're pregnant or trying to conceive
These are possibilities, not verdicts. The reading that fits is the one that matches the details and the feeling of your dream, and what's going on in your life.
Questions that tell the readings apart
- Q1What are fish to you: something lovely, or something slimy?Your own feelings about fish shape the meaning more than any dictionary.
- Q2What were the fish doing, and where were they?Fish swimming in clear water, fish out of water and fish biting you point to different things.
Read your own dream about fish
- Reading your dream
- Picking out the images and feelings
- Looking up what the images can mean
- Working out how the pieces fit together
- Writing your reading
- Opening checkout