dream symbol

Sibling Rivalry Dream Meaning

The appearance of siblings in your dream may be a direct representation of them or it may actually stand for something else in your life. Some dream analysts believe that all dream characters represent aspects of yourself. So when interpreting dreams that feature images of your siblings, try to bear in mind these different layers of potential meaning. A dream in which your brother or sister is seen in a negative light may denote unresolved childhood feelings towards that sibling in waking life. According to Jung, dreams of a sibling often recall childhood competition for our parent’s love and the dream death of a sibling may show how intense this rivalry is. However, as even Freud suggested, this rivalry may be just a memory and may not relate to your waking relationship with your brother or sister. Dreams in which you are arguing or fighting with your sibling suggest feelings of doubt and insecurity, perhaps as to whether you were loved enough within your family.

Bear in mind that in dreams, siblings can also represent the shadow. This is because it is easier to project the negative or hidden side of our personality onto another member of the family than it is onto a nonrelative, and siblings tend to be the closest to you in age and experience. Your dreams may be an attempt by your unconscious to resolve this projection before it creates problems in waking life. When dreams of the opposite sex sibling occur, this may also be an expression of your anima or animus archetype. It could represent the tension—or union—of opposites in some way; your dreaming mind may be trying to create harmony and balance in your life by pointing to some aspect of yourself. For example, if your dream sister was incredibly rude, the dream may be highlighting your own feelings of guilt about being rude to some one.

Alternatively, such a dream may be urging you to be more assertive in waking life. The same would apply if you dream of siblings or step-siblings but don’t have any brother or sisters in waking life, or if your sibling behaves completely out of character in the dream.

If your dream casts someone you know as your brother or sister, this may be because you have brotherly or sisterly feelings for them, with all the associations of rivalry and platonic love that such a relationship implies. [1]

What Do You Think About This Dream?

Sources and Authors

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

What does SIBLING RIVALRY mean in a dream?


The appearance of siblings in your dream may be a direct representation of them or it may actually stand for something else in your life. Some dream analysts believe that...

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Siblings symbolize very clear tendencies in your personality. Dreams in which siblings appear—although the dreamer is an only child—foretell the need to integrate certain qualities that the dreamer lacks and...

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If you are fighting an unknown enemy in your dream, this may represent a struggle with the shadow side of your nature and the unwelcome aspects of your personality. For...

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According to Jung, the figures of Adam and Eve play a positive role in the unconscious mind as they are symbols of the ’self affirming ego’. Together they are seen...

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All people in dreams relate to some aspect of your own personality.If you dream of your actual brothers or sisters from your life, the character aspects that they represent as...

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Dreams that focus on happy family gettogethers, celebrations, anniversaries, meals or meetings could be explained as wish-fulfillment, nostalgia or even anticipation. Perhaps your dreaming mind is recalling a happy event...

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Dream celebrations tend to reflect feelings of satisfaction you may have about yourself in waking life.If images of Christmas, Easter, New Year or Thanksgiving appear in your dream, your dreaming...

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A brother can represent both feelings of kinship and of rivalry. In a man’s dream an older brother can represent experience and authority, while a younger brother suggests vulnerability and...

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To dream of a round full waist, denotes that you will be favored by an agreeable dispensation of fortune.A small, unnatural waist, foretells displeasing success and recriminating disputes.For a young...

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You will win more than a race despite keen rivalry.

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A pretty fan reveals vanity and a desire for frivolity. It also predicts good news for the dreamer.An old fan, rivalry.

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The meaning varies according to context and sex of the dreamer.For a man, it signifies emotional security, but for a woman, it portends domestic disagreements.An objective dream of sibling unity...

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1. Forward-moving attitudes and “drive.” 2. Rivalry and competition.3. Possible health issues related to lifestyle, a need to slow down.

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Sudden strong rivalry in business or love, whichever is your prime concern, is forecast in a dream featuring facial or any other type of distortion.

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A dream involving meatballs represents competition and rivalry for the things you want most.

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Crabs mainly inhabit the sea and therefore have traditionally been associated with aspects of your unconscious. They may symbolize the ability to cultivate homely energy in various circumstances, as crab...

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1. Rivalry and jealousy.2. A desire or need for spiritual cul­tivation or enhancement.3. Contentment in love relationships (faithful spouse).

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1. Unconscious rivalry, jealousy, comes to the surface.2. Fear of vulnerability in important, even intimate relationships.3. Need for an improved sense of self.

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In dreams, brothers tend to depict an aspect of yourself rather than the brother himself. They can also represent the characteristics you like or dislike about your own siblings and...

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1. Highly successful love relationship, domestic bliss.2. Some activity, task or project needs a partner to be successful (as in “two to tango”).3. Rivalry in relationships, usually in business.

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To dream of seeing a captain of any company, denotes your noblest aspirations will be realized.If a woman dreams that her lover is a captain, she will be much harassed...

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You must expect difficulties due to sudden opposition and/or rivalry if you dreamed of this unusual type of heavenly body, unless your main concern at the moment is a love...

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Are you, or someone you know, being arrogant and over-confident with little regard for the feelings of others? If you hear a rooster in your dream, this suggests bragging.If roosters...

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To dream of your cousin suggests that you haven’t been nurturing your natural talents or skills. You should encourage these attributes to grow and reach their potential.If you dream that...

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A woman who dreams that her waist is torn will find that she is open to criticism for misbehavior of one kind of another. To try on a waist, indicates...

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To dream that you are getting out advertisements, denotes that you will have to resort to physical labor to promote your interest, or establish your fortune.To read advertisements, denotes that...

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To dream of tacks, means to you many vacations and quarrels.For a woman to drive one, foretells she will master unpleasant rivalry.If she mashes her finger while driving it, she...

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To dream that you are a usurper, foretells you will have trouble in establishing a good title to property.If others are trying to usurp your rights, there will be a...

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A woman who dreams of putting ribbons on her dress or on her underwear will shortly have an offer of marriage from a serious-minded young man. But for her to...

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To dream of a multitude of unrelated figures is a forerunner to the discovery of some previously hidden rivalry or opposition; however, you will be better able to combat it...

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If the police are trying to arrest you for some crime of which you are innocent, it foretells that you will successfully outstrip rivalry.If the arrest is just, you will...

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To dream of a cheerleader symbolizes rivalry and success. Perhaps you should recognize the strengths and achievements of others and voice this recognition to them.To dream that you are a...

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The roar of rushing water in your dream is telling you that you are likely to defeat your own purpose by overaggressiveness; try a little gentle persuasion.If your dream featured...

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To dream of using a telephone is a warning that you have rivalry where you least expect it If your dream featured a telephone which was out of order, it...

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To dream of convicts or that you are yourself a convict is a dream of contrary; you will soon be free of all worries unless the dream involved an escape,...

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lucky numbers: 04-08-13-15-31-37disliking a: good results in own affairs tainted by nephew. disputes with, having: business rivalry wil come to an end. killed, being: an embarrassment in business, that your...

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Family relationships have been studied and written about for centuries, from the brothers Cain and Abel, through Joseph the favored son, to evil stepmothers in fairy stories and Mrs Robinson...

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Seeing quantities of onions in your dreams, represents the amount of envy you will get from others by being successful.If you see the onions growing, there will be just enough...

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To dream that you wear a sword, indicates that you will fill some public position with honor.To have your sword taken from you, denotes your vanquishment in rivalry.To see others...

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To be given to dram-drinking in your dreams, omens ill-natured rivalry and contention for small possession.To think you have quit dram-drinking, or find that others have done so, shows that...

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(1) A gun may be a sexual symbol, representing the penis.(2) It may be a symbol of aggressiveness.If there is any uncontrolled aggression in your behaviour, what is the cause?...

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A game of Ping-Pong in a dream, if evenly matched, predicts that you will easily achieve your current goals. But if the contest was definitely one-sided, you will have to...

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A game of Ping- Pong in a dream, if reasonably evenly matched, is a sign of fairly easy attainment of your current aims, but if the contest was definitely one-sided,...

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A game of table tennis in a dream, if evenly matched, predicts that you will easily achieve your current goals. But if the contest was definitely one-sided, you will have...

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Cinderella, the main character in the fairy tale of a waif turned princess, symbolizes the common psychological pattern of a woman who is waiting for her prince to come. She...

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Often relatives symbolize facets of your personality or personal characteristics of which you may or may not be proud. The interpretation of this dream will vary if it is close...

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To dream that you are nearsighted, signifies embarrassing failure and unexpected visits from unwelcome persons.For a young woman, this dream foretells unexpected rivalry.To dream that your sweetheart is nearsighted, denotes...

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To dream that you have aches, denotes that you are halting too much in your business, and that some other person is profiting by your ideas.For a young woman to...

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All people in your dream represent aspects of yourself. An aunt connects to family history as it relates to the previous generation, and so she will have a loose connection...

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All people in your dream represent aspects of yourself. An uncle connects to family history as it relates to the previous generation, so he will have a loose connection to...

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When the relationship with a daughter is highlighted in dreams, it often represents the outcome of the relationship between the dreamer and their partner. In a woman’s dream, the relationship...

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Pickles in a dream signify disputes, distress and rivalry. Eating pickles in a dream means distress. Seeing pickles and not touching them in a dream means financial losses. Making pickles...

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(1) Are your murdering someone? If the person is someone close, the dream may be expressing repressed hostility or resentment. There is often rivalry between siblings, or (unconscious) hostility towards...

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To dream of laundering clothes, denotes struggles, but a final victory in winning fortune.If the clothes are done satisfactorily, then your endeavors will bring complete happiness.If they come out the...

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To dream of a watch, denotes you will be prosperous in well-directed speculations.To look at the time of one, your efforts will be defeated by rivalry.To break one, there will...

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Monster dreams in childhood reflect dramatically frightening things that have disturbed a child, in particular how frightening it can be for a child when the people they love and trust...

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Archetypes may appear in your dreams in the disguise of in-laws or step-relations. For example, your mother-in-law or stepmother may appear as the devouring mother, and your father-in-law or stepfather...

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Petticoats in a dream pertain to marital or romantic affairs, and their meaning depends on the action and other aspects of the dream which must be correlated, but as a...

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For a young woman to dream that she shakes hands with some prominent ruler, foretells she will be surrounded with pleasures and distinction from strangers.If she avails herself of the...

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Strange or disembodied eyes in a dream are considered a prediction of a very beneficial change of events soon to come.To injure your eyes, get something in them, or be...

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(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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(see also Sacrifice)(1) Murder in a dream may express your hatred or envy towards the person. There is often enmity or rivalry between siblings, or (unconscious) hostility towards a parent...

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If you dream of an argument or rivalry with one of your parents, it suggests that you may be questioning yourself in some way. When a child is born it...

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To dream of seeing cars, denotes journeying and changing in quick succession.To get on one shows that travel which you held in contemplation will be made under different auspices than...

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Swarms of insects in dream can depict instinctual urges in life, such as sexual urges. Swarms may also represent small children or the sperm swarming toward the ovum, and therefore...

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The symbolism in fairy tales speaks to adults as well as children, and deals with childlessness, sexual maturation, remarriage, jealousy across the generations, sibling rivalry, incest, murderous rage, inheritance issues...

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A dream about a giant eye means the dreamer may have strong psychic powers.To dream that you have a third eye, symbolizes inner vision and insight. You need to start...

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In Jungian terminology, the game of chess represents the dreamer’s conscious (white pieces) and unconscious (black pieces). Chess originally signified the war between good and evil, so in dreams it...

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lucky numbers: 14-15-30-39-51-52alive, being: happy days ahead for your unrealized potential. apology from, receiving: your relationship has a future. apprehension over: present peril is escaped. around with, going: seek to...

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Symbol: Animals represent, as Archetypes, the depths of our unconscious or our instincts. Animals in dreams are always repressed symbols of our urges—a dream language of the forbidden.Bear: a symbol...

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Clothes are the protective layer that keeps you warm, but they are also a way to express your personality or hide imperfections. In dreams, what you wear is often a...

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lucky numbers: 05-13-39-47-51-52another’s: you have an infantile dependence on someone who does not know. bald, a: you want to return to when bald was adorable. beautiful, a: you need nurturing...

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lucky numbers: 02-07-17-18-21-33being burned by a: the search for wisdom is not without nodes of distress. blowing out: competition and rivalry at the end of a period of your life....

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You live two lives: an outer life of actions and an inner, hidden life of emotions and thoughts. These inner and outer parts of you are mediated by “the psyche,”...

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Snakes of different colors A black or dark colored snake may indicate that there is something ominous going on—or about to happen—in your life, as well as hint at potential...

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The accident may be a car crash, a careless dropping of a brick on someone’s head, or just slipping on a banana skin. Whatever it is, you have to ask...

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A lush tropical island can represent abundance, adventure, excitement, etc. Seeing yourself in a tropical place in a dream: Abundance and lushness Adventure and excitement Do not hesitate to move...

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(Person / Animal) / Death(1) Does the dream contain a dead person you actually knew? If so, the dream may mean you should take notice of what he or she...

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