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Butterflies mean death?

Yesterday was my 26th B-day. Last night I had a weird dream I can't make heads or tails of.

I was watching a movie but I was in it too. While I was "watching" my husband was telling me (this is word for word) "Every time you see butterflies that means someone is going to die". So now as I'm watching I start noticing butterflies, but not real ones. They are on peoples shirts as the pattern and on jewelry, but no actual live ones. Then as I'm "in the show" I start noticing them too. In the show my apt building is a prison and some girl and I are smoking together and she's giving me the low down about what's going on. I notice she has butterfly tattoo on her neck. I feel like she is the one who is going to die. Then I wake up! Any ideas what the butterflies mean? I don't feel like they have the traditional meaning because they are just patterns not real butterflies.

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 26 Colorado United States

Have You Posted Before? Date of Last Post {Use Search and Your Post Name to Help Find Last Post} female

How Did You Find the Dream Forum? no

Re: Butterflies mean death?

Carling Ella,
I am going to take the long way to interpreting your dream by analyzing the images/symbols and breaking them done as I some to them in the dream {following the path of the dream which should expose a 'pattern'}. I have a good idea what the dream is about but because the best an experienced interpreter of dreams can do {with knowing so little about you} is see the periphery of a dream and not likely to be able to say exactly what the dream is trying to communicate. Here is the breakdown and an explanation why I see them in this way.

The analysis/interpretation
You are in the movie because the dream is a 'theater' reproduction of your life {as are all dreams}. Watching this theatrical play {what moves the emotions} is what we all do when we dream. The beginning of a dream usually points to the central theme of the dream message. Your husband would most likely represent himself {in relationship to you} and his actions would reflect experiences involving him and/or has to do in some way to him {closely related people are one of the few times when an image can be taken literal in dreams}. But his message about butterflies in the dream would be metaphorical, not literal {symbol and metaphor, the language of dreams}. You are the butterfly.

Butterflies are very often symbolic of a transformation of some type in the dreamer's life/psyche. It would represent a 'death' of one thing/phase/aspect and the beginning/rebirth/resurrection of another {butterflies go through a metamorphosis/transformation from one thing to another -4 stages}. Death in a dream symbolizes an end to one thing/phase/aspect. What is happening to the butterfly would in some fashion be happening to you.

You begin to notice the butterflies {something that is changing about you or are in your life}. But the butterflies are not real. That may suggest they are 'imagined' or illusionary. The butterflies are 'patterns' in the material life. I see these as 'imprinted' images and imprinted images in dreams would represent ''imprinted' unconscious aspects {archetypes} in the psyche. This would apply particularly to the different stages in life {you are a butterfly undergoing a natural pattern/stage in life}. When you realize you are at a particular stage {in the show} you begin to give conscious thought to the 'butterflies' {translated to the transformation/changes}.

Before I continue dissecting the images/symbols consider this as one possible aspect of the dream message {and one reason why you had this particular dream about butterflies}. Has there been a recent discussion with your husband that would have had to do with some type 'transformation' /change in you/your life? Something coming to an end perhaps related to your turning 26? Are you or do you feel you undergoing a transformation in some aspect? Apply the translation/meaning of the butterflies and determine what it could be on the day you turned 26 years old.

Then the dream seems to take a turn. The apt building is also you and would represent the 'compartments' within your psyche. You are a prisoner to the emotional affects related to the butterfly aspects. The 'some girl' would be 'one' part of you {one compartment}. ''Smoking with this part of yourself may be about shielding yourself against particular emotions, and/or something is not clear about an aspect of yourself {to do with butterflies}. The tattoo on the neck would represent visual affects between the mind and the body but it also would involve emotional aspects. This one part of you is what will/needs to die {end/change/transform} before the emotional aspect dissolves.

Final analysis
Because you did mention your birthday in your post, and from the dream symbols, I sense the dream is addressing concerns about aging and going through the stages of life {unconsciously if not consciously spoken}. Your husband may have said something that stimulated these thoughts and because they are 'naturally' emotional and something you will give thought to a lot over the next 30 years {the mid-life stage which usually begins in the 30} the dream is attempting to help you reconcile the emotional energies to do with getting older. The 'imaginary' part may relate to thinking about these things sooner than later {more likely to be an issue when you are in your 30 and 40s}, the 'pattern' {a word you mentioned twice which is a clue, and a term that applies to the 'pattern' of thought about aging the dream is about} beginning to show show itself at 26. The metamorphosis is about the 'age' pattern and the conflict is a subject you are dealing with at an earlier age {26} than usual. The traditional meaning is not real but the pattern represented by the butterflies {the end of one stage of life and a transformation to another-getting older}. I dare say when we examine your personality we would see reasons for these thoughts/conflicts in the emotions earlier than usual. Maturity may be a reason.

A long way round to explaining the message of the dream but a chance to explain how the images 'play' out and what their symbolic meaning may be. I can't say for sure this is the exact intent of the dream {for the reasons given in the beginning of my analysis} but I feel confident there are associations that apply that would be close.

Jerry

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 63 Space Coast, Fla.

Have You Posted Before? Date of Last Post {Use Search and Your Post Name to Help Find Last Post} Male

How Did You Find the Dream Forum? Host Dream Forum

Re: Butterflies mean death?

Wow Jerry thank you!

It's nice to have someone look at my dream and see what I may be missing. As for your insight to my dream I think you are dead on! I've been freaking out about getting older and what I'm going to do with the rest of my life. My husband and I have both been talking about going back to school and the things we want to have when we are older and our kids are grown. We also just celebrated our first year of marriage and I feel like I'm really a grown up now. A husband and the two kids he has from his first marriage who we have been raising without help from their birth mom for three years. I felt like the wild and crazy part of me is gone now. I really have changed a lot and I've been feeling it a lot lately.

Thank you for taking the time to interpret my dream!

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 26 Colorado United States

Have You Posted Before? Date of Last Post {Use Search and Your Post Name to Help Find Last Post} female

How Did You Find the Dream Forum? no

Re: Butterflies mean death?

Carling Ella,
I appreciate your response. It provides insights to how patterns in dreams will expose themselves in common language as well as symbolic references.

Some dreams speak loud and clear and there can be a good chance of being able to analyze them beyond just the periphery. Yours was one of those. What gave me the impression it was to do about age was the several instances where the word 'pattern' was mentioned. Dreams are messengers of emotional patterns that align with the dreamer's personality and psyche. Being your birthday {and the fact it was on your mind when you posted the dream} gave me credible evidence age and getting older were the 'pattern' this dream was addressing. The butterfly image is a common symbol of transformation and my experience led me to sense your dream death pretty much identified itself {butterflies mean someone is going to die}. When you read the dream the only image that was not symbolic was your husband. That said to me there was likely a real discussion with him about this issue. The other images are pretty much common 'self' symbols of you {the apt building and the 'some girl'}. Anytime there is a unnamed/unknown person in a dream it represents some aspect of the dreamer. Houses, cars, buildings are common symbols for the dreamer also. And of course so is the butterflies. Start with a birthday, add the butterflies {a transformation}, with dying {death to an old aspect/transforming}, along with the tattoo {inherent imprinted behavioral tendencies}, to the conversation with your husband and you come up with an emotional conflict that has been discussed and remains unresolved within your mind {dreams are all about emotional conflicts and their intent is to inform the dreamer of these conflicts so there can be a resolution-nature's therapeutic mechanism just as with the immune system is for the body}.

The maturity part seemed logical because you were giving thought to this issue at 26. This for me implied wisdom even though its exact application was not possible to read {a year of marriage and the experience with the two children}. Because there is an unnamed person who was to going to die and we take that unnamed person to be you then it would represent some aspect about you will die {transformation from one stage of life to another-midlife}. Tattoos are imprinted into the 'skin' which pointed to an 'imprinted' aspect, which would point to inherent aspects and the archetypes {the stages of life are governed by inherent energies we are born with}. The pattern became clear with all that was in the dream and pointed to an issue of age and wisdom.

Jerry

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 63 Space Coast, Fla.

Have You Posted Before? Date of Last Post {Use Search and Your Post Name to Help Find Last Post} Male

How Did You Find the Dream Forum? Host Dream Forum


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