What Does It Mean If You’re Having Dreams About Snakes?

By Amanda Arnold@aMandolinz

Photo: Long Zhiyong/Getty Images

As one of the oldest and richest mythological symbols across cultures, snakes can seem to represent, well, a lot. Because serpents regularly shed their skin, many traditions associate the reptiles with upward growth, such as transformation or rebirth. But in other cultures, snakes can be a more menacing symbol, representing evil or even death. So what does it mean when a snake appears in a dream? Should you start considering what intentions you want to manifest, or brace yourself for your untimely demise?

According to professional dream analyst and author Lauri Quinn Loewenberg, snakes — a common dream archetype — typically represent a person in the dreamer’s life who exhibits low, dirty, toxic, or poisonous behavior. However, they can also represent something related to health or healing. Regardless of what you imagine the snake might represent, though, if a snake appears in your dream, Loewenberg says you shouldn’t ignore it.

“Just as you would not ignore coming across a snake in real life, neither should you ignore your snake dreams,” she told the Cut. “There is either a poisonous element in your life that you need to get rid of, or there is healing you need to recognize. Either way, acting upon the message or warning is a very good thing to do.”

Here’s what it means if you’re dreaming about snakes.

If the dream was terror-inducing…

Start with how the dream made you feel; that will tell you how urgently you want to identify the potential stressor in your life and address it. “A snake within a nightmare is a very good indication that your subconscious feels there is a toxic person in your life that is an immediate threat, meaning their toxic behavior has reached a point where your subconscious has had it and needs to slap you into attention,” Loewenberg says.

If the dream was more pleasant…

Well, then you don’t have to panic… yet. “A snake in a dream that is not terrifying will either mean the snake represents a health or healing issue or a toxic person or situation that isn’t in the red alert stage yet,” she says.

If you dreamed of a boa constrictor…

According to Loewenberg, nothing in a dream is ever random, meaning that the species of snake that appears in your dream is significant. (And remember, snakes tend to represent people in your life.) Think about the snake closely