If you’ve had a dream involving blood, it’s understandable that you might be curious or even concerned.
Typically, real-life experiences involving blood tend to occur in relation to injuries or medical settings, which usually do not carry positive connotations. Moreover, roughly 5% of the population is affected by a fear of blood (hemophobia).
However, dreaming about blood can have many positive implications for your waking life. And, like most dream symbols, even the less encouraging interpretations of blood dreams carry helpful advice to take with you moving forward.
Today, we will be exploring both sides of the metaphysical coin in relation to dreams about blood.
Blood Symbolism
Before we get into the classification of positive and ‘negative’ blood dream interpretations, let’s take a moment to explore some of the most common symbolic associations relating to blood.
Despite the frightening connotations of blood with injury, sickness, and death, it’s important to remember that blood, first and foremost, symbolizes life. It is the ultimate life force. Before all else, it symbolizes vitality and power.
However, most dreams about blood involve the experience of seeing blood (your own or somebody else’s) outside of the human body. These scenarios typically indicate the reverse of the positive connotations of blood: an uncontrolled loss of that same power, strength, and life.
Because of the associations many of us have with blood in our waking lives, seeing blood in our dreams may represent concerns about our health or a fear of death.
From the polarity of these symbolic interpretations, it’s clear that dreaming about blood can signify a whole host of different things. With this in mind, let’s start on a happy note with some of the more positive implications of blood dreams.
Positive Interpretations
Because blood is a symbol of vitality, seeing it in your dreams can have many positive meanings.
If you dream about blood flowing through your veins, this is a sign that you are feeling strong, energetic, and powerful in your waking life.
To see the blood of somebody who you view as an adversary or antagonist in your life may imply that you are becoming stronger and that this person is losing their power over you.
A lack of blood can also yield a positive interpretation. If you have been wounded in your dream, for example, but the wound does not bleed, this may be a sign that you are becoming more resilient!
The color of the blood can also be significant. Rich, red blood may be a sign of your subconscious mind tapping into some of the emotions that the color red represents, such as passion, love, or sexuality.
Negative Interpretations
Seeing blood outside of your body in circumstances other than those described above is generally an indication of some kind of loss.
This could be a very obvious loss, such as the death of a loved one or the end of a relationship. Alternatively, it could be something more subtle, such as a loss of confidence in yourself.
Blood loss in a dream may be an indication of some trauma that continues to affect you. In this case, the physical trauma of the blood loss is likely to be a symbol of emotional trauma. Perhaps somebody has emotionally wounded you, whether recently or a long time ago.
If your dreamed blood loss occurs following a fight or conflict, either in the dream itself or in your waking life, the blood could represent the draining, painful emotional impact this conflict is having on you.
It could also mean that you feel out of control in some way in your waking life. This is especially likely if, in your dream, you are watching blood pour out of your body and are unable to staunch the flow.
Maybe you feel unable to stop an unhealthy habit, or perhaps there is someone or something in your life that makes you feel physically or mentally overwhelmed, and you don’t know what to do. If you see blood on the wall in your dream, especially in the form of writing, this can mean that your situation feels hopeless or irreversible.
Seeing blood on your hands in a dream could indicate that you feel guilty about something in your life. Note that the presence of the blood does not necessarily prove that you are guilty of anything, but rather that the emotion of guilt or shame has been consuming you, for whatever reason. This may be an especially likely interpretation if, in the dream, you attempt to wash the blood from your hands and are unsuccessful.
If you are a person who menstruates, it is not uncommon for dreams about blood to be representative of your menstrual cycle. Admittedly, this may not always be a negative thing. For example, if you have been waiting for your cycle to resume following health issues, seeing menstrual blood in your dream may either be a sign of hope or anxiety about the situation.
Specifically, rivers of blood are a common dream motif during a person’s period, especially if the periods are heavy, messy, or painful.
It’s also important to consider the part of the body from which the blood is emanating. For instance, the feet represent emotional or moral foundations. Therefore, if your feet are bleeding in your dream, it could be that you are compromising your ethical principles in your waking life.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, it’s possible for blood to symbolize a variety of emotions and situations in dream form. You, as the dreamer, are best placed to interpret the meaning of your blood dream based on the circumstances within your waking life.
It’s important not to conflate symbolic representation with prophecy when analyzing dreams. For example, dreaming about blood in the context of a situation that frightens you should not be taken as an indication that your fears will be realized.
Instead, it may help to think of the dream as your subconscious encouraging you to improve your waking life by addressing such sources of anxiety or turmoil.
Most of all, remember that blood is primarily a symbol of life and love, which you have the power to harness at any time.