Dream About Waves? (Interpretation & Spiritual Meaning)
Everybody knows water in life. But in the realm of spirits, angels, and dreams, it has other roles as well. It signifies emotion and travel between dimensions. And it can be calm, steamy, icy, or turbulent. So what does it mean when you dream about waves? The setting could be a sea, an ocean, a large lake, a tsunami, or even floodwaters. Let’s swim into the mist and see.
Dream About Waves (Interpretation & Spiritual Meaning)
1. Emotional Crisis
We’ve established that calm water signifies emotional balance and internal harmony. So it follows that dreaming of waves means your feelings are all shook up. One likely reason is you’re falling madly in love. Head over heels and all that. But it could be something else.
But your spirit guides could be warning you about any number of emotional triggers. You may face an event that shifts your core identity and makes you question everything. Or you could lose a person, item, or position that anchors you, the one you build your world around.
2. Unseen Conflict
Waves form when energy passes through water and doesn’t meet any barriers (like fish or rocks). A lot of the time, the wind or air above the water clashes with the current beneath it. This friction causes waves to form. Consider that water in dreams is a symbol of emotion.
And the space (and land) above the water represents your body, mind, and circumstances. The surface of the water is the portal between. So dreaming of waves suggests hidden conflict between your logical side, environment, and the desires of your heart, soul, and higher self.
3. Jesus Walks!
In the two dreams above, the metaphors are clear, but the context isn’t. So you’d have to go back to your spirit guides for further information on who or what is causing disturbances in the force. But sometimes, the message in your dreams is far more direct and instantly clear.
If you’re a Christian – for example – and you dream of walking calmly and safely through the waves, it shows spiritual mastery over otherworldly conflict. Jesus walked on water, so he’s with you, talking you through this crisis. He has your back, and you’ll survive this big mess.
4. Overwhelming Emotion
Mention the word tsunami and the same image floats into everyone’s mind. It’s someone in an urban building, possibly looking through the windows, and watching large waves crash towards them. Those shots are captured by news crews, and they often haunt our dreams.
You don’t see the body of the person that’s watching, so the dream – and the camera footage – seems like it’s you standing there and watching. This dream indicates intense repressed emotion that’s about to burst the banks and wash over you. Buy tissues and tranquilizers!
5. Internal Control
Think of the events that follow the dream above. What else happened before you woke up? Did you see yourself running terrified from the waves? Or grab a broken door or surfboard, yell Cowabunga, and cruise to higher ground? Did you sink under the water and sputter?
These responses send additional messages from your subconscious and your guardian angels. Your reactions show your attitude towards those massive emotions. Maybe you’re scared or sunk. Or maybe with your spirit guide’s help, you can sail safely through them.
6. Reluctant Leader
Suppose you have the unusual tsunami dream but from the water’s perspective. You see yourself roaring towards the shore and swallowing everything in your path. What are your feelings as a wave? Are you laughing maniacally or reflecting the terror of your victims?
This dream implies you’re in a position of leadership and authority – or you soon will be. You may get a promotion soon, and you’ll be in charge of lots of people. You have the capacity to build or crush them. Step back and ask your guardian angels to help you be a good superior.
7. Anger Issues
You know what they say – it’s always the quiet ones. So if you’re the type of person who’s always cool and collected, you may have a devilish rage simmering beneath the surface. Or maybe you’re known as a raging demon that flies off the handle at the slightest provocation.
In both these dreams, the waves are a warning. They’re showing you the damage that your untethered anger can do. Your guardian angels are letting you know something is about to make you furious, and you’ll need all your anger management techniques to make it through!
8. Dramatic But Gradual Changes
If you live in a coastal area or regularly visit one, you may notice two high tides and two low tides every day. But these tides seem to almost creep up on you. Even if you’re sitting on the beach, you may not spot water rising higher up your feet or further down the sandy rocks.
So if you’re dreaming of a beach and waves are zooming towards you at high tide (or away from you at low tide), the dream is warning you of drastic life changes. This could be a job transfer to a different state. Or your company closing down. Or your dog catching cancer.
9. Watch Those Hormones
Some people are naturally moody. And most of us face emotional turbulence during puberty, menstruation, manstruation (#NoTypo), or menopause. A good section of us even power through diagnosed disorders like depression, anxiety, bipolar, or borderline personality.
So if you have lability issues, it’s probably no surprise to you. What does dreaming about waves mean in this context? You already about know your haywire emotions – they’re easily triggered! But the dream is warning you about the potential to harm others with your storms.
10. Trouble is Coming
Often, dreams about water refer to figurative situations. But what does it mean if you dream of dirty waves? It could be mud splashing from a puddle as some driver zooms past, ruining your clothes. Or it could be waves of polluted water bringing flotsam and jetsam to the beach.
The dream here alerts you to troubling times ahead, so you need to call on your spiritual reserves for help. Oddly, you’d think a dream of clear waves would be scarier, like if you can see that shark coming. But these latter ones are better dreams – they promise mental clarity.
11. Rabid Rejection
One of the first interpretations we looked at mentioned waves of love flowing over you. But what does it mean when – like the example above – the water surges out of a puddle, river, or sandy beach? Dirty waves can imply passionate feelings as well as disastrous events.
But in this case, the dirty waves warn you that you’re about experience exquisitely beautiful pain. You may fall in love at first sight and get shot down. Or you may be a quarter-finalist or runner-up in a race or contest you value. Or you may receive a long-desired gift then lose it.
12. Future Shades of Meh
You’re unlikely to see waves in a swimming pool because the surface is too small and the water is too shallow. But you can install wave pools with artificial swirls and breakers. So what does it mean when you dream about waves in your small backyard swimming pool?
It means an event is coming that is expected (by you or others) to cause big … waves in your life, pun intended. But you’ll barely be affected. And this sense of meh will be surprising and disorienting, both to yourself and those around you. Your angels are giving you a heads-up.
13. Signs of Addiction
When you hear the word addiction, you probably think of junkies and negative depictions in the media. In truth, you can be addicted to anything from fentanyl to sex. The medical basis is when you keep using your ‘drug’ even when it harms you and people you care about you.
It’s why many casual smokers, recreational drinkers, and social stoners insist they can stop at any time. So what does it mean if you dream of calm, tickling waves that amuse you at first but gradually soak and drown you? It could be a spirit-driven warning of unseen compulsion.
14. Active Therapy
A therapist I know uses an interesting metaphor to explain how healing works. Often, when you start analysis, you feel worse after the first few sessions. Your issues were repressed, like a layer of mud at the bottom of a clear bucket. Therapy agitates the water, making it murky.
Instead of clean water with a muddy base, you now have dirty water, which feels worse. And that makes most people quit because they think it isn’t working. You may also have a lot of wave-filled dreams as you plumb your emotional depths. It hurts, but keep at it, it’s worth it.
15. Low Work-Life Balance
Have you swum in a lake, ocean, or large river? If you have, you may have noticed a kind of underwater wave. They’re called currents and are sometimes strong enough to pull you under the surface. They can feel like arms tugging you. What does a dream like this mean?
It means your soul is being tugged in different directions. Your practical obligations are interfering with your personal life. You’re working late to provide for the family and please your boss, but you’re neglecting your loved ones and could lose them. You need mediation.
16. The Baby is Coming!
This may seem silly, but it’s a pretty common dream when you’re pregnant, so we should probably mention it. If you’re expecting a baby and you’re in the third trimester, you (or your husband) might dream of waves crashing into the house. That could be your baby talking.
It could be a sign from your infant’s soul and your guardian angels telling you to wake up and get to the hospital or call the doula – your water is breaking! But if you’re not pregnant, this dream could just as easily warn you to get out of bed and change your sanitary products …
17. Ditch the Busybodies
Think of any photos or film shots you’ve seen of waves. Most of the time, you see them from the front as they approach you. But if you search for extreme sports videos, you might see a side view via GoPro or something similar. The water seems to coil and curl around you.
You might see the arch of the wave above you, or you may feel like you’re in a liquid tunnel with light at the end. This dream suggests you’re surrounded by other people’s suggestions and opinions. You’re striving to sift through the surge and define your own feelings about it.
18. Money, Money, Money!
Picture a wave in your mind. It probably has a crescent shape, whether it’s towering over your head or licking your feet on the sand. Is the curve facing towards you or away from you? Sometimes, smaller waves called inshore waves curls onto the beach as a kind of backwash.
They might tickle your feet and carry a shell or two. If you dream about these kinds of waves, it means money is trickling towards you. It isn’t anything grand. It could be a cash gift, a tiny scratch card win, a lateral promotion, or a seemingly insignificant raise that lifts your spirits.
19. Guard Your Tongue
You might have a particularly frightening sort of dream if you believe in sirens and sea spirits. In this dream, you may see yourself floating through dark stormy waves with the water whispering all around you. You spot shadows circling, and the waves seem like voices.
This is a warning from our guardian angels that people you trust might be gossiping about you and wishing you ill. It’s true that people will always talk and you should probably ignore them. But this warning is about alleged friends and family, so watch what secrets you share.
20. Creative Inspiration
Have you tried talking to someone that works in the creative space? These artsy types can range from product label designers to cartoonists, rock stars, ceramic sculptors, or orchestral composers. They might say something like, ‘I just channel my muse, it speaks through me.’
These masters (and mistresses) sometimes feel the words or music flowing through them from some unknown source. They simply take dictation or record those visual and aural impulses. A dream of waves means their muse is crowding out their practical responsibilities.
21. Child-like Wonder
Our final dream interpretation is easily our nicest one. What does it mean if – as an adult – you dream of playing among the waves? In the dream, you might be in a minor’s body or you might be your younger self. You might even feel adult but retain that child-like giddiness.
The water here is your emotional state. The waves are the ups and downs, the tiny triumphs and big battles you face every day. The dream means you’re facing negative and positive events with the same courage, fascination, and perspective of a safe and curious child. Enjoy!
When was the last time you dreamed of waves? Tell us all about it in the comments section!