What Does It Mean to Dream About Death?

Dreaming about death can feel unsettling, but it rarely predicts actual physical death. Instead, death in dreams often symbolizes endings, transformation, and emotional closure. It marks the end of one chapter and the beginning of another.

If you dream that you yourself are dying, it might reflect a major change in your life — perhaps you're letting go of an identity, habit, or relationship. This kind of dream can be a metaphor for personal growth or rebirth.

Dreaming of the death of someone else, especially someone still alive, can mean you're processing your changing relationship with that person or emotionally detaching in some way.

Seeing a dead loved one may represent grief, memory, or unfinished emotional business. Alternatively, it could be a comforting visitation — especially if the interaction is calm or healing.

From a psychological standpoint, death dreams are part of how we subconsciously prepare for transitions and reflect on impermanence. Carl Jung saw death in dreams as symbolic of the ego dying to make room for transformation or individuation.

Ask yourself: What in my life is ending or asking to be released? What am I ready to let go of?