- A dream about fish is traditionally read as gain: money, luck or, in many folk traditions, a pregnancy in the family.
- Miller (1901) writes that fish in clear water mean favour from the rich and powerful, dead fish loss of wealth, and catching fish energy and economy.
- Jungian psychology reads fish as contents of the unconscious, feelings and ideas rising from the depths toward the surface.
- Fish are common in dream reports where fishing and fish meals are part of daily life, in line with the continuity hypothesis.
- Dream interpretation is a tradition of reading symbols; it does not predict events.
What does it mean to dream about fish?
Folk dream books read fish as good fortune. Miller (1901) writes that fish in clear-water streams mean you will be favoured by the rich and powerful, that dead fish signify loss of wealth through calamity, that catching fish while wading means wealth won by your own ability, and that fishing denotes energy and economy. Many folk traditions read live fish as a pregnancy, either the dreamer’s or one in the family, and a large fish as a large profit. Fish in muddy water are read as gain that comes with trouble, and eating fish as good health.
Three ways to read a dream about fish
| Reading | Who says it | What the dream is taken to mean | Based on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dream books | Folk tradition, Miller (1901) | Folk dream books read fish as good fortune. Miller (1901) writes that fish in clear-water streams mean you will be favoured by the rich and powerful, that dead fish signify loss of wealth through calamity, that catching fish while wading means wealth won by your own ability, and that fishing denotes energy and economy. Many folk traditions read live fish as a pregnancy, either the dreamer’s or one in the family, and a large fish as a large profit. Fish in muddy water are read as gain that comes with trouble, and eating fish as good health. | Custom |
| Psychology | Freud, Jung and later authors | Jung read fish as living contents of the unconscious: what moves in the depths and occasionally breaks the surface. Catching a fish is bringing an insight or a feeling into consciousness; a fish that slips away is an idea not yet caught. Freudian writers read fish as a sexual and fertility symbol, which meets the folk reading of pregnancy halfway. Dead fish in a psychological reading are feelings that have gone stale, and a tank or aquarium is emotion kept in view but contained. | Clinical interpretation |
| Sleep research | Sleep laboratories, surveys | Fish appear in dream reports most often in coastal and fishing cultures and among people who fish or cook fish, which supports the continuity hypothesis that dream content follows waking life. Cross-cultural studies of dream symbols find the fish-as-pregnancy reading widespread but not universal, a learned association rather than a natural one. Water animals in dreams are seen more than fought, and their dreams carry less aggression than dreams of mammals. | Measurements and surveys |
Fish in the dream books
What each source says, in its own terms. Dream books are quoted as tradition, not as fact.
To see fish in clear-water streams denotes that you will be favoured by the rich and powerful. Dead fish signify the loss of wealth and power through some dire calamity. To wade in water catching fish denotes wealth acquired by your own ability and enterprise. To dream of fishing denotes energy and economy; if you catch none, your efforts to obtain honours will be vain.
Live fish mean a pregnancy in the family or money coming; a big fish a large profit; fish in muddy water gain with trouble; eating fish good health; a fish that slips away a missed chance.
Jung read fish as symbols of the contents of the unconscious, living things of the deep that rise into consciousness, and the act of fishing as the attempt to bring them up.
Fish dream meaning, by variation
The details change the reading.
| In the dream | Traditional reading | Psychological reading |
|---|---|---|
| Catching fish | Gain by your own effort | An insight or feeling brought to the surface |
| Dead fish | Loss of wealth | Feelings that have gone stale |
| Big fish | A large profit | A large idea or feeling in the depths |
| Fish in clear water | Favour and clean gain | Emotions you can see clearly |
| Fish in muddy water | Gain with trouble | Feelings you cannot make out |
| Eating fish | Good health | Taking in what the depths offer |
| Fish out of water | A plan in the wrong place | Feeling out of your element |
| Aquarium | Small, safe pleasures | Emotion kept in view but contained |
When in the night do such dreams happen?
Vivid, story-like dreams happen mostly in REM sleep. REM periods are short early in the night and get longer toward morning, which is why a dream like this is often the last thing before waking.
Spiritual meaning of fish in a dream
Spiritual writers read the fish as abundance and as the sign of the depths: in Christian symbolism the fish stands for faith and for feeding the many, in Eastern traditions for wealth and harmony. In this reading a fish dream is a gift from below, something nourishing that the conscious mind did not make. A fish that swims toward you is read as a blessing arriving; a fish that dies as abundance neglected. Water that is clear or muddy tells the state of the giver.
What is moving in the depths of my life that I have not brought to the surface?
Was the water clear or muddy, and how clear are my feelings right now?
What gain am I hoping for, and is it coming from my own effort?
Questions people ask
What does it mean to dream about fish?
Dream books read fish as gain: money, luck or a pregnancy in the family. Psychology reads fish as contents of the unconscious rising to the surface. Research finds fish dreams most common where fishing and fish meals are part of daily life.
Does dreaming of fish mean pregnancy?
That is a widespread folk reading, learned rather than natural, and not universal. No study links fish dreams to pregnancy. The dream more often reflects hopes or thoughts about a pregnancy than a pregnancy itself.
What does catching fish in a dream mean?
Miller reads it as wealth won by your own effort. Psychologically it is an insight or a feeling brought into consciousness; a fish that slips away is an idea not yet caught.
What does a dead fish mean in a dream?
Folk tradition reads it as loss of wealth. In psychological readings dead fish are feelings that have gone stale, something in the depths that has stopped living.
What does a big fish in a dream mean?
Traditionally a large profit. Psychologically a large idea or emotion moving in the depths, not yet caught or understood.
Is a dream about fish good luck?
In almost every tradition, yes, especially live fish in clear water. There is no evidence that dreams predict events; the dream shows an expectation of gain or something nourishing rising from within.
- Miller G. H. Ten Thousand Dreams Interpreted, 1901
- Jung C. G. Man and His Symbols, 1964
- Freud S. The Interpretation of Dreams, 1899
- Domhoff G. W. Finding Meaning in Dreams: A Quantitative Approach, 1996
- Folk dream books
Each symbol page sets three readings side by side and names where each one comes from. Dream books are quoted as tradition. Last reviewed on the date in the header.