dream symbol

Father Figure Dream Meaning

For some people it was the father who was the ultimate arbiter of discipline and authority when growing up and any appearance of your father in your dreams may remind you of punishments he may have dished out in the past.

If the father figure was absent when you were growing up or your father never punished you severely or unfairly, your unconscious may summon up a father archetype to bring to your attention immature attitudes that are holding you back.

Your older brother, uncle or boss may assume the dream role of the archetypal father, a benevolent provider and protector who uses his authority fairly and wisely; in dreams, such figures may appear to dispense invaluable advice. Bear in mind, though, that the father figure can also abuse his authority and if father figures appear as brutes in your dreams, they may have been pointing to your own brutishness and selfishness.

If you had an authoritarian father, a wellknown dictator such as Hitler, Stalin or Chairman Mao may appear in your dreams representing that relationship.

If you dream about your boss, this may simply suggest anxieties you have about your work. Dream bosses, however, can also represent aspects of your father and dreams of being fired can recall parental rejection.

If you ask for a raise in your dream, this expresses a need for more attention and love in waking life, whilst a friendly boss reveals a longing for less responsibility.

If you are the boss in your dreams, this represents your desire for more dominance in a waking relationship.

If you rebel against your boss in your dream, this can be a positive sign, as rebelling against parental authority or challenging authority that is dictatorial and unjust is a healthy part of growing up and becoming a self-confident adult.

Houses are often represented as images of the dreamer; so a dream of a landlord or landlady, or someone else who actually owns your dream house, may suggest you are not feeling in control of your waking life; or perhaps someone, such as a partner or parent, is being overly dominant. [1]

What Do You Think About This Dream?

Sources and Authors

  1. The Element Encyclopedia by Theresa Cheung [Back to dream]

What does Father figure mean in a dream?


Vision: Your father (or a father figure) is a symbol of your need for safety and security (particularly in women’s dreams).For women who change partners frequently, the dream is the...

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General Meaning: A picture of masculinity, strength and authority. Often a picture of God the Father.• Dreams • Assess your relationship with your father before deciding on what he represents...

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For some people it was the father who was the ultimate arbiter of discipline and authority when growing up and any appearance of your father in your dreams may remind...

Learn more about the meaning of Father Figure

See Companion. In the case of a woman, this dream may be pointing to a father figure or ego ideal.A strange man in a man’s dream always means his own...

Learn more about the meaning of Man

The supreme deity in the Greco-Roman pantheon is the father archetype at its most uncompromising, ruthless and dominant. The powerful presence of any authority figure in your dream may evoke...

Learn more about the meaning of Zeus / Jupiter

(1) The sun may be a symbol of the self (i.e. your true and total self), or of the conscious ego.(2) It may symbolize intelligence, as distinct from intuition.(3) It...

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Almost invariably a king appearing in a dream represents the father or father figure.A personality such as an emperor may indicate that some of the father’s attitudes are alien to...

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Guide and guru. Jupiter (father of the gods) is the ultimate authority archetype and father figure. The Jupiter archetype is associated with the Greek mythic figure of Zeus, the king...

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(Hitler, stalin etc.) If we have, or had, an overbearing father, a known dictator may appear in dreams as representing that relationship.It is as though our dreaming self cannot face...

Learn more about the meaning of Dictators

In a man, it denotes fear of losing virility or of feeling sexually forced.The myth in which Saturn castrated his father represents the fear of maturity and the desire to...

Learn more about the meaning of Castration

A builder is a father figure in dreams; this is because he is a typically male figure working on the house, which represents the self. He can be a reminder...

Learn more about the meaning of Builder / Carpenter / Architect / Engineer

See Grandmother.The all-powerful Father or the archetypal father, in contrast to the personal father.The father principle.

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Psychological / emotional perspective: Psychologically, we all need a symbol for a father or authority figure (a wise old man) and this is one such representation. In searching for knowledge...

Learn more about the meaning of Guru

Need for heroic father figure, boyhood hero.

Learn more about the meaning of Shane

Our concept of authority first develops through our relationship with our father or father figure. Depending on how we were treated as children, our view of authority will be anything...

Learn more about the meaning of Authority Figures Such As Judges, Teachers Etc.

1. Father figure.2. Creation.3. Striving for an unreachable perfection.4. One’s spiritual feelings.5. Deep need for emotional relief.

Learn more about the meaning of God

1. Father figure, wisdom.2. A feeling of trouble with the law or high officials.3. Good business news ahead.

Learn more about the meaning of Bishop

To see your father in your dream, symbolizes authority and protection. It suggests that you need to be more self-reliant.A dream that your father is dead forewarns that you need...

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1. Mentor;2. Wise counsel, like Mosses father in law;3. Actual father-in-law; Exod. 18:18-24; (3-4) Num. 10:39, 31-32.

Learn more about the meaning of Father-in-law

To dream of an abbot represents a powerful male in your life, usually a father figure given to displays of authority. Dreaming that you are ‘less than’ the abbot may...

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The symbols of the mother have a remarkable versatility. On the one hand, the mother appears as an image of nature (i.e., life) and, conversely, as a representation of death...

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An authority figure can represent someone or something in your real life whom you allow to have power over you somehow, or to whose opinions you listen.Being an authority figure...

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A religious figure or deity can represent: A religious figure that has meaning to you.Your desire for a spiritual connection (such as for guidance, clarity, or comfort).A reminder of how...

Learn more about the meaning of Religious Figure

Dreaming of one’s boss may indicate over involvement with work. Alternatively, it may represent a parental figure—the father if the boss is a man, and the mother if the boss...

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The figure of the teacher is very important. It represents the values of knowledge, experience, and wisdom. This dream, however, can have many nuances. For example, if you are a...

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Responsibilities. Saturn shows you your boundaries and limits, and where and how we need to take responsibility in life. It represents wisdom but also suggests gloom and pessimism. It is...

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We all have an inner awareness.The higher self or spiritual part of ourselves will often manifest itself as a figure that is giving advice, sometimes a figure of authority or...

Learn more about the meaning of Advice

See Priest. Father figure and guide for the soul. Indicates too much or too little self-confi- dence. It points to good support, a perfect disposition of life, and an accepted...

Learn more about the meaning of Minister / Clergyman

Symbol: The physician in a dream is not only a symbol of your own self-healing powers, but he or she can also take on the role of an advisor, or...

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Father, Mother. You are seeking help from the outside, as in Physician, Medication, and Pharmacist; however, the danger is not that great. Often an expression of considerable immaturity in adults....

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(Minister or Rabbi)A spiritual authority figure may symbolize the dreamer’s spiritual needs. In interpreting such a dream, one should note whether the figure was loving and caring, or dictatorial and...

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The hidden figure in a dream always relates to a quality, character aspect, or skill set that has not yet revealed itself to you. Often a specter of fear, the...

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To dream one sees his father-in-law, either dead or alive, is ill; especially if he dreams that he uses violence or threatening.

Learn more about the meaning of Father-in- Law

Having a father in-law in a dream and particularly for someone who does not have in-laws means strength, peace and tranquility.

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To dream of your father-in-law, denotes contentions with friends or relatives.To see him well and cheerful, foretells pleasant family relations.

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Bishop, Monk; the archetype of the priest comes to the fore, a person of authority (male or female), who is austere and dignified. Romanticized Father / Mother- figure, particularly with...

Learn more about the meaning of Abbot / Abbess

If anyone dreams tliat he hath a pain in his navel, if the grief be great he shall receive bad news of his father and mother, who will be in...

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Psychologically, guardians symbolize the forces that concentrate on the thresholds that separate the different stages of a person’s evolution. Hence it follows that, for many dream analysts, this figure represents...

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A man with a beard may represent a father or another figure of authority. As Santa Claus had a full white beard, a white beard in a dream may signify...

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This image refers either to the actual son, or to future ideas, creativity and something new.The son, according to Jung, is the absolute substitute for the father, guaranteeing the immortality...

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1- Often to meet the Pope in a dream is to meet the side of ourselves which has developed a code of behaviour based on our religious beliefs. He may...

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The feminine principle is embodied in the archetype of the great mother: the complete woman within whom the primary qualities of femininity manifest in harmony. Whether you are a man...

Learn more about the meaning of The Feminine And Masculine Principles

A man’s first close relationship with a woman is with his mother, so a dream in which his mother transforms into another woman can be symbolic of a kind of...

Learn more about the meaning of Transformation

Gives gender-specific: In a woman’s dream a banker may represent a type of father figure and the bank, depending on her own inherent personal abilities, a secure space.A man’s dream...

Learn more about the meaning of Bank / Banker

(1) A finger may be a phallic symbol.(2) Is it the finger of blame being pointed at you? It may be your father or some other authority figure who does...

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It symbolizes power, justice, and rigor; the Emperor marks a social and career advancement. However, if he’s in a bad mood the meaning of the dream will be the opposite....

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(Build, Contour, Frame, Profile) Having a tall figure in a dream signifies pride, arrogance, stinginess, ostentatiousness or pretending to be tall.(See Tallness).If one sees his figure shorter than his normal...

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An archetypal symbol of an overpowering father figure, but also of the universal beings that usually appear in the plural (“they” have no individuality). They are the antithesis to the...

Learn more about the meaning of Giant

An encounter with a giant or ogre in your dream suggests an uphill struggle in waking life. The giant or ogre may also be a symbol of insecurity or feeling...

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Your real-life grandparent.An authority or caretaker figure.Unconditional love and support, wisdom, understanding, maturity, or something else you associate with a grandparent.A spiritual authority figure or wise elder in your life.See...

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lucky numbers: 15-22-28-30-35-51of: When one’s father prospers, there’s more work for the son. speaking to: define your wishes, but be specific, they wil come true exactly. woman dreaming of: wil...

Learn more about the meaning of Adam

Often represents the mother figure in dreams and depending on the dream, this image can be caring or uncaring, or possessive and all devouring.If the bear is recognized as male,...

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Father figure, authority, and person of respect—in short, a symbol for the superego.A feeling of oppression and dissatisfaction, possibly a sign of immature masculinity. This dream image points to the...

Learn more about the meaning of Policeman

Example: T was in some kind of cave or crypt. My father told me and my family of his coming death. He was calm and caring but my mother, sister...

Learn more about the meaning of Catacomb, Crypt

You may have had a dream in which someone was uncharacteristically compassionate, merciful or generous towards you or someone else.If this is the case, your dreaming mind may have conjured...

Learn more about the meaning of Compassion

This is a powerful archetypal character aspect and a messenger from the unconscious, often thought of as the archetype of death. This image has its essence in anonymity and may...

Learn more about the meaning of Cloaked Or Hidden Figure

(1) If you are punishing someone or something else (an animal, say), the latter probably represents a part of you - some quite respectable facultv or instinctive drive - that...

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(1) If the pursuer is an animal, the meaning may be that some (‘animal’?) part of you made you anxious in the past and you therefore repressed it, but it...

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The act of incest in the dream may of course be a real-life one that you witnessed or were involved in.If so, have you talked about it to a good...

Learn more about the meaning of Incest

A to Z Dream Interpretation