Dreaming of Fish

People are rarely interested in each other's dreams. Probably because dreams generally lack the context for the listener that makes them so compelling to the dreamer. They don't make sense. And for the listener the emotion that was experienced by the dreamer is almost impossible to convey. At yet we all want to share the dream that we had last night. We are amazed by the strangeness of our own dreams and unwilling to admit that they hold a fascination only to us. We want to make sense of them and hope that discussion will shed light on what they mean or where they came from. And telling someone about our dream helps reinforce the memory of them and allows us to relive them.

I rarely remember my dreams anymore. When I did it was usually due to an epic struggle between the snooze bar and my desire to lay in bed with my eyes closed for five more minutes. I remember them but not vividly or for very long. They tend to all mush together. There are imaginary places that represent real places where many of my dreams used to take place. As I try to remember one dream, I find that I am remembering a bunch of dreams as happening at the same time or remember them as having happened in the same places concurrently.

Two nights ago, I dreamed about fish. I dreamed that I was in my house and there was a fish bowl and then a fish tank, and then two fish tanks, and then more and more fish tanks, stacked on racks like they are at the pet store. And then there was a fish pond and then another fish pond and then a tub with fish in it. And I was showing all the fish to some people. One of whom, was an elderly gentleman who was my father-in-law. I was trying to persuade him to take some of my fish, to build his own fish pond for them.

"Carp are so pretty and they can grow to such impressive sizes," I said, pointing to the orange and yellow carp now crowded and churning in one of the ponds. I saw goldfish and a tiny tetra who when grabbing onto a gum ball would expand to 20 times his original size. I had fish leaping up out of the water. A few lept onto my leg and were flopping their way up my body, I had to pick them off and put them back in the water. I had so many fish. I needed to give them away. I did not want to kill them, they all deserved to flourish. They needed new homes, room to expand. But people were not taking my fish, they were leaving more fish for me to collect. Fish in tanks and ponds all over my house. I considered scooping up the fish eggs from the tanks so that they would not be eaten.

So what does it mean? No idea.

The Fella suggested that it might mean that there are creative inspirations in my life that have been dammed up and are about to burst forward.

CK has suggested that I am subconsciously feeling really ovewhelmed.

According to dreamforth.com:

To see an aquarium in your dream indicates that you are aware of certain feelings that you possess but haven't been able to deal with. This may include needs, wants, and fantasies related to sex. Alternately, it may imply that you are at a stagnant point in your life and are confused as to which path to follow. It may also suggest that you are overly stressed and need to slow down, take a deep breath, and try to focus.

To dream of a carp suggests that you should be more humble and respectful of others. If you are too selfish and conceited, this can affect your personal relationships.

To dream about goldfish predicts that you will come into prosperity and many wonderful and thrilling escapades.

To dream that you see fish in clear water streams indicates that you will find approval from the wealthy and the distinguished.

For young women to dream of fish suggests that she will find a charming, good-looking mate. If the fish is swimming, then this could indicate conception. Some women will dream of fish swimming when they become pregnant.

To dream about a flying fish suggests that you feel unencumbered by your emotions and that you are unrestrained.

To dream about fish eggs suggests that there is some notion that has risen up from your subconscious.

So perhaps, I am repressing something, perhaps a desire to have children and I feel that my life is stagnant place. I have been too selfish and conceited but I am going to have wealth and adventure and things are rising up from my subconscious despite my efforts to repress them.

According to dreammoods.com

If you are watching the fish in the fish tank, then you may feel that your life is going nowhere or that you are going in circles with your life.

To see fish swimming in your dream signifies insights from your unconscious mind. Thus to catch a fish represents insights which have been brought to the surface. Alternatively, a fish swimming in your dream may symbolize conception. Some women dream of swimming fish when they get pregnant. "

To see a clear, well-stocked fishpond foretells of profitable enterprises and great pleasures.

To see a goldfish in your dream signifies, wealth, success, and pleasant adventures. Alternatively, goldfish represents some important emotional matter or valuable insight.

To see a carp in your dream indicates that you need to put aside your pride and ego and not let it get in the way of friendships and relationships. Alternatively, the carp is symbolic of patience, perseverance, determination, tenacity, courage and success.

To see a betta fish in your dream indicates that thoughts from your unconscious is close to emerging to the surface. You are ready to confront your repressed thoughts. If there are two betta fish in your dream, then it signifies conflicting issues that you are dealing with.

To see a flying fish in your dream indicates that you are feeling emotionally free and uninhibited.

To see fish eggs in your dream represent an idea that has emerged from your unconscious.

Consider the common phrases "like a cold fish", "fish out of water" or something that is "fishy" about a situation. It may also imply a slippery or elusive situation.

This site has almost identical interpretations to the other one. Again with the stagnation in my life. I have suppressed insights from my subconscious mind. They are leaping out of the tanks onto me, trying to get my attention and I am throwing them back in the tanks in denial. It's possible that prosperity and adventure are in my future or a significant emotional matter or insight. And I either need to put my ego in check or have patience, perseverance, determination, tenacity and courage.

According to dreamdoctor.com

Fish in dreams are fertility symbols, because they are small, primitive creatures that live in water, not unlike an embryo in the womb. Dreams of fish are not precognitive. It doesn't mean that you or someone you know is going to have a baby... only that babies are on your mind.

Dreams of fish in aquariums that are low or running out of water symbolize fears that time may be running out to conceive. Dreams of jellyfish and stingrays reflect concerns of getting “stung” emotionally in waking life. Dreams of fish attacking may symbolize concerns about reproductive health.

An aquarium or fish tank in a dream is a fertility symbol, made evident by the fact that pregnant women carry around an internal “tank” of embryonic fluid to sustain their little “fish.”

This one is all about the babies and my biological clock.

Ok, so at the end of this dream based tarot card reading session, all of this is plausible and probably all true. All pretty typical of the conscious and subconscious thoughts of a single, childless woman in her 40's. And I certainly have felt stuck for several years. I disagree with the pride and ego part of it all but who knows. Perhaps that is an issue that I have been unwilling to face about myself as well.

But the dream was more fun as a comical scene where I contended with lots and lots of fishes. In my dream it was a bit like the fish tank version of this: