Volcanoes and lightning create fire, an unstable earth unleashes quakes and avalanches, water creates floods and drought, and air stirs hurricanes and typhoons into furious motion. Manmade disasters also create explosive and devastating results. People’s lives are tragically ended or irreparably damaged in seconds, panic and fear take over, and the best and worst of human nature is exposed. It is small wonder, then, that the unconscious often employs the symbols of catastrophe and disaster to provide striking and memorable dream images or messages.
Dreams of disaster, such as those involving earthquakes and plane crashes, can be extremely detailed, intense, colorful and vivid. You may wake up terrified and concerned for your safety, or for the safety of loved ones. To dream of any kind of disaster is always unsettling, but it is important to point out that such dreams are rarely prophetic or precognitive; it is much more likely that they are an expression of your hidden fears or anxieties concerning events you feel are beyond your control. A disaster dream may be expressing anxiety about what the future will bring, or highlighting the fact that you are trying to do too many things, or trying to please too many people, at the expense of your own peace of mind. On the other hand, disaster dreams can also reveal great inner change and growth, but this change and growth may make you feel temporarily uncertain of yourself, your direction in life and your position in the world.
Group disaster dreams can be particularly frightening and they may even recur, making it easier to assume that they might be warnings of actual events. Although there are rare exceptions, it is important to point out that vehicles and locations crowded with people who experience disaster are usually symbolic, reflecting our experience with a social influence or a reallife group. For example, if you dream of being in a bus crash that leaves you dazed and miles from home, you may be feeling increasingly disillusioned and detached from the goals of your place of work; your hopes of achieving satisfaction in that area of your life may in fact be already wrecked. Your dreaming mind may be telling you that you have gone as far as you can with that group of people, or course of action, and it is time to change your approach or lifestyle.
In some instances, dreams about disaster that involve surroundings or people you know may be a simple warning. For example, you may have forgotten that your car is due for a service, but your unconscious remembers and tries to draw your attention to this oversight in a dream in which you are driving your car and the brakes suddenly fail.
If you have lived through a natural or manmade disaster, your dream may also be recalling the horrific events in an attempt to help you come to terms with the trauma. According to Gestalt therapists, dreams that repeat a disturbing event or focus on disaster scenarios following an experience of physical or emotional trauma are reminding the dreamer that there is an emotional scar that needs attention and healing.
Finally, when trying to interpret any dream that involved a natural disaster, remember that if you live in an area that is prone to them your dream may simply be reflecting your anxiety about being caught up in such a catastrophe. The same applies to manmade disasters, such as terrorist attacks or train crashes. Your dream may be triggered by the climate of fear, and intense media coverage and speculation that now surround these tragic events.
See also: ACCIDENTS, ACTION AND ADVENTURES; NIGHTMARES. [1]
Warning or fear of danger. Alternatively, consternation over your ability to survive upheavals.
Avalanche: Feeling trapped, frozen, or unable to act. Or, an overwhelmingly heavy burden that you feel was thrust upon you unwillingly (See also: Ice, Snow).
Cave in: Tlie crumbling of foundations or an insecure position. Also a type of burial dream.
Earthquake: Something is shaking your foundations, potentially to the core of what you regard as truth. Alternatively, breaking up with, or away from, a person, organization, job, or situation.
Flood: Feeling swept away by uncontrolled emotions or overpowering circumstances. Alternatively, a thorough cleansing before a new start (See also: Water).
Hurricane or tornado: An alternative symbol of the air element, which relates to the mind, voice, or breath. In this case, however, the element is destructive, probably revealing ill-health or an overly active conscious mind that does not allow the intuitive self through.
If related specifically to speech, this symbolizes an individual whose loudmouthed nature destrovs much of what it contacts.
Landslide: Backward movement or retreat. Returning to old thought forms and behavior patterns.
Oil spill: A renewed awareness of personal responsibility toward nature. Alternatively, a defiled trust, the adulteration of an ideal, or a slipperv situation.
Volcano: These are Earth’s cauldrons that stir up your temper or other hot feelings that have already been building to the point of violent eruptions (See also: Fire). Find a safe outlet before someone gets hurt.
If the volcano exhibits a slow lava flow, this represents a gradual venting of emotions. [2]
See also: Flood, Earthquake, Tornado [3]