Bears are creatures of the wild associated with an overpowering stature. They are big and powerful, so dreaming about them can leave you with many questions upon waking up. Is dreaming about bears a good or a bad thing?
Pay attention to how you feel when you open your eyes. Your emotions are the barometer of your dreams. If you feel good about dreaming about a bear, it might have a positive meaning; coincidentally, if you think badly about the dream, it might have a negative symbolism.
Dreams are more personal than literal. However, there are common interpretations of bear dreams that may apply to a general population, and this is what you will find here.
In this article, we’ll talk about the general symbolisms of bear dreams and the most common interpretations.
General Symbolism of Bear Dreams
According to professional dream interpreter Lauri Loewenberg, bears are among the seven most common animals people dream about. Because of this, a lot of literature provides possible common meanings of such dreams.
Loewenberg believes the symbolisms can come from the word “bear.” Dreaming about this creature can be a metaphor for things we find overbearing in our lives. We may have anxiety over a relationship, stress at work, or a problem we see too much to handle.
In ancient times, however, bears have always been given great reverence. In Native American culture, bears were respected and honored for their size, power, and strength. In China’s Han Dynasty, bears were seen as divine. During this time, it was believed a bear totem could help a person reach spiritual enlightenment.
Dreams don’t have a singular meaning, and their symbolism can mean something different from one person to another. When we try to understand bear dreams, we only need to look at their characteristics and relate them to the current issues and events in our waking life.
The following section will cover the most common bear dreams and their possible interpretations.
Common Bear Dreams
Here are the most common dreams about bears and their possible meanings:
1. Dreaming About a Black Bear
The symbolisms of a black bear are introspection, intuition, power, and authority. A black bear has such a strong presence that it reminds you of your own power. Dreaming about a black bear can mean you must remind yourself of your strength, inner ability, and capacity to move forward even after encountering obstacles on your way.
2. Dreaming About a Brown Bear
Dreaming of a brown bear is one of the most common kinds of bear dreams. A brown bear symbolizes integrity, balance, and harmony. Your dream might be telling you to reach out to people you may have had conflicts with to achieve peace and balance. It can also mean you must ground yourself in nature, as brown bears live in the wilderness.
3. Dreaming About a Polar Bear (White Bear)
To dream about a polar bear can mean someone in your life may be giving you the cold shoulder since polar bears live in the Arctic. Check if someone in your life is showing coldness towards you, and figure out why and what you can do to make this person warm up to you.
Polar bears or white bears can also mean purity, peace, and kindness. You may be reminded of your dream to practice these values in your life as you may need to improve in these departments.
4. Dreaming About a Bear Cub
A bear cub may symbolize your inner child, your nurturing side, or you want a better connection with a child. Try to see if you have childhood trauma and work on healing that inner child by going through therapy or giving yourself the things you never had as a child, such as toys or a loving environment.
5. Dreaming About a Panda Bear
In China, a panda bear is a sign of luck and prosperity. This could mean fortune will come into your life soon, or it’s a good omen. Other meanings state that since the panda bear has two opposing colors that don’t blend, dreaming about it could mean you are at peace with having different views about yourself.
6. Dream About a Grizzly Bear Attack
Grizzly bears are brutal and violent when they attack, so having this dream could make you feel distressed upon waking. Having this dream might mean there is someone in your life that you fear, or someone has already done you wrong, and you felt pain from the incident.
7. Dreaming About a Friendly Bear
Dreaming about a friendly bear brings good emotions. Thus, this dream symbolizes a good omen and can signify future social connections and gatherings. You may also be trying to find your inner ability or strength to handle situations in your waking life, but you are not confident, so your dream might tell you to believe in yourself more.
8. Dreaming About Bears Fighting
To dream about fighting could mean you are struggling to find an answer between two opposing decisions or choices in your life. You may want both things but can only have one, so you dream about equally powerful animals fighting with each other.
9. Dreaming About a Mama Bear
Did you know that 70% of all grizzly bear attacks are about mother bears protecting their bear cubs? Such is the power and strength of a mama bear that it can do anything to protect her offspring. To dream about a mama bear can mean your property, belonging, or territory is being threatened, and you want nothing else but to act like a mama bear in your waking life to protect what’s yours.
10. Dreaming About Being Chased by a Bear
To dream about being chased by bears could mean you are running away from something powerful in your life. You can avoid an influential person or fear an big job opportunity. The bear symbolizes something big, and running away from it means you don’t want it or fear it.
11. Dreaming About Being Attacked by a Bear
Dreaming about being attacked by a bear could mean you have repressed anger or rage. When you dream of this attack, you might feel scared, in danger, fearful for your life, or you can also feel angry. This dream could mean you have pent-up emotions over something, but you can’t express it in real life, so you act it out in your dream with a bear attack.
12. Dreaming About Trying to Wake Up a Bear
Dreaming about trying to wake up a bear could mean you once had the ability or power to do something and you want it back. This could be your ability to be fearless in the face of adversity, but you lost it over time, or your capacity to put boundaries, but you allowed abuse to happen.
To dream of waking up a bear means trying to bring back something powerful or significant you once had in your life.
13. What Does it Mean if I Dream I *am* a Bear?
If you dream that you are a bear, it could mean you want to have the characteristics of a bear. These traits include having strength, courage, and an overpowering sense over others. It could also tell you want time alone, such as when a bear is hibernating, such as wanting to spend time by yourself to focus on your creative pursuits.
Related: Bear Spirit Animal
A Word of Advice
A bear can be a scary animal to dream about. Don’t worry though, as a big, dark grizzly bear probably won’t come through your doors to attack you anytime soon. Dreams are all about symbolism and metaphors, reflecting issues, events, and people in your waking life.
Dreams force us to reflect on our mental and physical states, which is why it is so important that we write them down and relate them to our waking life.
Dream interpretation has been used as a tool for self-awareness, and dreaming about bears can have both positive and negative symbolisms.
One quote by an author perfectly sums it well:
“To understand the intricacies of life, study the antics of your dreams.”
-Michael Bassey Johnson
FAQ
1. Is it good to see a bear in a dream?
The general interpretation of bear dreams is positive, which could be a sign of a good omen. However, accurate dream interpretation lies in evaluating the symbolism in your dreams.
2. What does a bear in a dream mean in Hinduism?
Hinduism generally regards bear dreams as positive, bringing in good omens, peace, and happiness. The religion regards these dreams as powerful symbols of good news.
3. What is the superstition about bears?
Many different cultures have stories and beliefs about bears. One is the Sami, an ancient Nordic culture that believed bears could move between the spiritual and the material world. For them to be able to hunt bears for food and fur, a ritual had to be done to appease the spirit.
