Example: ‘Some two weeks before my dear wife died of cancer of the oesophagus, at about three a.m. in the morning, she shot up in bed screaming “No. No! No!” On questioning her she said her mother, who had died in November 1981, was trying to kill her’ (Gerry B). In this unusual dream the wife feels the approach of death, depicted by her mother. As dreams suggest, death is as much a new area of experience as adolescence was, it would have helped the dreamer if she had taken time to develop a more positive relationship with her mother as described in dream processing.
There will be disputes and you will have to make sacrifices. [2]
If you are killing a parent, you are getting rid of some of your outmoded parental behavior or the old way of relating to a parent.
If killing a child, you are destroying the child part of yourself or perhaps certain childish behaviors. Note whether killing male or female, old or young, and so on. Whether the aspects of self are useless and no longer needed or valuable and being denied, depends upon the dream context.
If you are being killed and bleeding, you are losing energy or the life force. Your own thoughts, actions or others in your life are taking your energy.
For example, if you dream of killing a male, then you are attempting to kill off your masculine energy; if you are killing a female, then you are attempting to kill your female energy, etc. Also, this dream may denote your desire to eliminate a destructive habit.
See also: Shadow, Integration Dreams, Venting Dreams. [4]
It is such a final act that in dreams it can often represent our perception of the need for an act of violence. In particular this may be against ourselves or a part of our personality that is no longer acceptable.
The impulse may not be correct, though some adjustment needs to be made. [5]
As we grow and change, it often feels like we are “killing off ’ old parts of our life. Alternatively, killing in a dream may mean that one has murdered the incentive or enthusiasm for life. (See also: Murder). [7]
To kill an animal is usually symbolic.
The dreamer wishes to be nil of a difficult situation that appears to be like an animal.