Dreaming of a house
The psychological view
In dreams the house is often read with a person's own inner world: rooms suggest different sides of you, doors suggest passages, and the attic and the cellar suggest surface and deep feelings. This is not a fixed dictionary but a frame for thinking.
Dream research reports that dream settings are often linked to places a person lives in or has lived in (Source 2). If the house in your dream is familiar, thinking about your memories of that house together with what you feel lately enriches the reading.
Variations
Seeing an old house
An old house brings up your bond with the past and the feelings there. What affected you most in the house?
Unknown rooms
An unknown room describes a side of you or a chance you have not yet explored. What did you feel when you opened the door?
A flooded house
Flooding relates to a feeling that overflows. Note the height of the water and your reaction in the house.
A stranger in the house
A stranger describes unease appearing in a space you count as safe. Who was it and what were they doing?
Moving house
Moving describes a passage and a readiness for change. What were you leaving behind?
Ask yourself
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Keep reading
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Frequently asked questions
What does it mean to dream of a house?
A house does not tie to a single meaning. It is often linked to themes of self and safety; how the house looks and what you feel set the meaning.
What does seeing your childhood home say?
A childhood home connects to feelings from that time. It is enough to notice which feeling it calls up.
What do the rooms of a house say?
Rooms suggest different sides of you in the dream. Write which room drew your attention.
Sources
- Palgrave Macmillan (2018). Researching Dreams: The Fundamentals
- Consciousness and Cognition (2003). Continuity between waking activities and dream activities