Fish
Fish swimming through dreams often carry the emotional weight of abundance or its absence—what moves freely beneath the surface of conscious life, whether nourishing or just out of reach. The feeling matters more than the catch: does the water feel clear or murky, and what does your dreaming self hope to pull up from below?
A live archive of what the world is dreaming tonight: which symbols are rising, the collective mood, and where the dreams are coming from. Free, always.
See what’s rising tonight →What the old dream-books say
These are the entries the historical dream-books record for fish, in their own words. They are period voices, not predictions, and they do not always agree with one another.
Gustavus Hindman Miller, 1901
To dream that you see fish in clear-water streams, denotes that you will be favored by the rich and powerful.
Dead fish, signifies the loss of wealth and power through some dire calamity.
For a young woman to dream of seeing fish, portends that she will have a handsome and talented lover.
To dream of catching a catfish, denotes that you will be embarrassed by evil designs of enemies, but your luck and presence of mind will tide you safely over the trouble.
To wade in water, catching fish, denotes that you will possess wealth acquired by your own ability and enterprise.
To dream of fishing, denotes energy and economy; but if you do not succeed in catching any, your efforts to obtain honors and wealth will be futile.
Eating fish, denotes warm and lasting attachments.
Fontaine, 1862
To dream of catching fish is a sign of excellent good fortune, particularly if you haul up large ones; if the fish fall off your hook, it predicts troublesome fortune. If you dream of fishing without catching any, it shows that you will fail in some undertaking or speculation; and to a lover it is a sign that he will get the mitten. To dream that you see an abundance of fish, foretells the receipt of money, or success in collecting it.