Alligator Dreams Defintion
To dream of alligators and crocodiles is a symbol of fears and anxieties that you may be trying to repress.
While this post will focus the majority on dreams about alligators, keep in mind that there is a lot of crossover between alligators and crocodiles. While some of these dream meanings may apply for both, they won’t apply for all.
If you couldn’t discern whether it was an alligator or crocodile in your dream, then think back and remember if the reptile had a shorter and broader head – if it did, then it’s an alligator. An alligator can also be identified by its darker (almost black coloring) and wide, round snout. They also have no pores and release the excess amount of heat by opening their jaws.
Alligators are an animal that belongs in water and on land and should be a reminder to all of us that we can be everything we want to be all at once. We all exist in duality and need to refrain from the natural resistance to it. Once we learn to live with it then we can move forward and become our true selves. Be patient, your time will come – and if you’ve been dreaming of this creature, then it may be that your time is already here.
When you’re dreaming of them, the dream symbolism may vary depending on your personal opinion on alligators, but typically, they are associated with fear and anxiety. Alligators are pretty ruthless animals, so it’s no surprise. However, unless you are a frequent visitor of alligator population grounds, then you should be more or less safe.
Most Frequent Examples of Dreams about Alligators
Did You Dream About… an Alligator Attack?
If you dream of an alligator attacking you, then it’s perfectly normal for the dream to evoke many emotions.
Dreaming about alligator attacks is often representative of harmful and painful power. It might be that you’re struggling recently with your mental health or positive thinking over the subconscious mind, but a dream alligator has got its claws in you.
Whether you’re on a spiritual journey or not, an alligator attack dream represents the things we hide away from ourselves. And positive thinking is a conducive way to living a happy and successful life. Find a way to turn off the negative thoughts, and instead, embrace the positive.
Did You Dream About… an Alligator Chasing You?
If an alligator chased you in a dream, then this is a psychic dream of how you’re running towards your goal. In this dream, the alligators represent your own power and how you’re able to bring to life your wildest dreams.
Did You Dream About… a Baby Alligator?
In the instance that you dream of a baby alligator (or baby crocodile) then this represents how you’re interested in protecting your young in waking life.
You might not be a parent yet, and that’s okay. But consider who you look after in life, it might be a friend? or a family member? Either way, this person is quite immature and needs your support. Just remember that you need to give as well as receive.
Did You Dream About… an Alligator Bite?
For those who dream of an alligator biting them, then this could relate to how you find people can be quite snippy with you and have the tendency to shout at you. If there are people in your life treating you this way, then it’s time to cut them off.
Maybe you need to work on yourself, but you don’t deserve rude people in your life.
In the instance that you dream of an alligator attacking someone else, then consider your relationship with this person before you decode the meaning – although these two do have a similar dream meaning. Either you feel there are toxic people in your life or you are the toxic person; in the latter dream, you are the toxic person.
Did You Dream About… a Dead Alligator?
If an alligator appears dead in a dream then this is a symbol of good luck.
While it may seem macabre, killing an alligator attacking you can also represent your consistency and power to strive in the future. It’s quite a dark dream, but it can represent your strength and how far you’re willing to go.
Although this is a positive dream, it is also a sign for you to be more honest with your feelings. Success doesn’t need to make you lonely at the top. So enjoy your relationships and remember to have fun.
Did You Dream About… Alligator in the Water?
To have such a dream as an alligator in the water can be symbolic of the emotions and beliefs that you hide away.
Perhaps you feel that these feelings aren’t appropriate or that they’ll cause the wrong reaction. But you deserve to be open and honest – especially if you’re looking for a spiritual awakening. In that case, the only true way to connect with your higher self and intuition is to be aware of your true feelings.
Don’t be afraid of yourself, if anyone rejects your thoughts or desires then they aren’t for you. Worrying about whether you’ll succeed or not plants the seed of doubt in the universe. You are capable and important and matter.
There isn’t a right moment lurking in the water, only your only fears. Let’s bring that alligator out of the water and show the world your power.
Other Popular Alligator Dreams
Did You Dream About… an Alligator Eating?
If you dream about an alligator eating then this can symbolise a person who will create issues for you.
In the instance of having a dream about an alligator attacking and eating you, then this may suggest you have fears about being swallowed whole by a project or fear. You need to embrace your fear and go after the things you want regardless.
You are more powerful than you realise.
These crocodile dreams encourage us to grow and change, and question how we live our lives. So consider who the person you want to be is as you discover more about this dream – it may be that it’s time to stop the alligator or crocodile biting and eating you, and instead, it’s your turn to (metaphorically) kill the dream alligator or crocodile yourself.
Rememeber, this dream isn’t a bad thing. It’s a sign of big changes coming your way. There’s a push in your life, lean into it and make your dreams come true.
Did You Dream About… an Alligator and Someone Else?
To have dreams about an alligator eating someone else isn’t as positive a sign as the prior dream.
For many, this dream actually can bring up a lot of repressed feelings to the surface: some of these may be grief, anxiety, and helplessness – of course, that depends on who you watched get brutally murder.
As with every dream, you should always consider the finer details of it as these are the parts that hold the most meaning.
For instance, if the person in the dream is someone you’re incredibly close with then you may feel as though you’ve betrayed them or you may feel hopeless. This can transfer into a feeling of hopelessness in your own life and that you’re down the people around you.
However, if it’s your enemy or someone you’re not as close to then this may symbolise how you’re stepping away from trivial fears and worries. It might be that a relationship will come to the end, but this will allow for you to step into the person you need to be and the person you want to be.
You’re now free of the fear that held you back once before.
Did You Dream About… an Alligator or Crocodile?
We’ve briefly explored the physical differences between alligator and crocodile dreams – and while there aren’t loads of blatant meaning, they each have precise and spiritual meaning.
For the similarities, we consider the ways in which both live on land as they do in the water.
This helps us bridge a gap between our emotions (as represented by water) and our more spiritual beliefs (as represented by land and Mother Earth). While these both are nerve-wracking creatures, in theory, these dreams often show a new beginning coming up in your life.
However, the crocodile is seen with more of a kinder eye than the alligator is. In waking life, the crocodile is depicted more through popular media, and as such, we can see the crocodile and its crocodile tears (and other popular metaphors) as something to take in multiple ways. The good with the bad, or the misunderstood.
Whereas, for most, alligators represent what is lurking within us. They are more insidious in nature and therefore, more dangerous. If you can’t tell them apart in your dream, then survey your surroundings and what occurs. From here find a general meaning that resonates with you, if more spiritual insights are needed then they’ll appear as signs in your life.
Did You Dream About… an Alligator in the Zoo?
Dreaming of this wild animal in captivity will mean that you feel as though there are parts of you people are trying to lock away.
Don’t waste your time trying to break free or fighting back, instead, use your intelligence wisely and plan an exit route to your new self. There may be a sense of juxtaposition between masculine energy and the inner female, but they can both live inside of your harmoniously.
This dream means that you’re on the path to discover your true self and no cage will be able to lock you away. But embrace all aspects and over time this won’t feel like a rejection, but a lesson.
Did You Have… Recurring Dreams about an Alligator?
To have the same dream again and again, to be subjected to the same symbolism can be draining but is a sign from the universe that it’s time to listen up.
Consider what meanings are coming through in the dream and what feelings it evokes for you, but to have a recurring dream is a clear sign from the universe that you need to work through this blockage in your life.
Recurring dreams about alligators is a symbol of you working through vicious energy in your waking life. It might be that you struggle with your self-esteem or toxic people in your life, but multiple alligator dreams are a very positive sign as although it’s tough to experience, it is a reminder from the universe that what you’re going through will come to an end and allow you to step into the life that you truly want.
Of course, survey every aspect of the dream. This will give you an insight into what you need to tackle, which negative energy is following you around, and where your energies should go next.
Dreams About Alligators Could Make You Feel…
Positive Dreams
Surprised: having a dream about an alligator or crocodile can leave you waking up shocked in real life, considering the dream interpretations of an alligator are often quite vicious. To wake up conflicted or shocked could be a sign that you experienced a calm alligator or that you’re more comfortable with negative energy.
Exhilarating: to dream of an alligator and wake up ecstatic is a sign that you may have a hidden instinct or strong inclination to sex and the opposite sex – especially those who are more rebellious in nature.
Confused: if you wake up confused then your dreams represent the part of your subconscious mind, you may need to take some time alone to uncover what your dreams are trying to tell you.
Negative Dreams
Tired: if you wake up feeling tired, then consider whether these dreams are recurring dreams as often these dreams will distract the mind the most and not allow you to get the sleep you need.
Weak: when you wake from a dream feeling weak, this is often a connection to our own reality. It might be that you didn’t have the power to conquer exactly what you needed to in this dream – however, with time and working on yourself, there’s no reason why you can’t trigger another.
Terrified: angry feelings like being terrified are never pleasant ways to wake up. It often is a dream symbol of things that you are resisting in your waking life, take a look around and examine what you’re afraid of and then overcome it.
A Bit of Context Into… Dreams About Sharks
The Spiritual Meaning
In spirituality, alligators and crocodiles are often totems for those who are struggling with sleep.
They often prove to be positive symbols as they work at creating a harmony between the water and the earth, while also ridding of a dreamer’s anxieties. You may find that you find similarities between yourself and these creatures, or that they may represent you in some way.
Crocodiles and alligators have a hardened demeanor which can make it difficult to see them as a creature deserving love – but they do, and so do you.
Although only the crocodile was featured in Aztec cosmology, there are many crossovers between the two reptiles that its worth mentioning the important impact they’ve had on the spiritual realm.
For example, the crocodile appears as the symbol for the first day on the Aztec calendar. The crocodile symbolized the beginning of a journey, the beginning of you, the beginning of the earth, nature, the beginning of all things. As such, it also represents intuition, manifestation, and psychic powers – your most powerful tool is the mind, and it can shape the life you wish to lead.
Using your tools and knowledge, don’t fear your alligator or crocodile dreams as they come to you for a reason. You have a lot of power, it’s time you utilise it and become closer to your higher self.
The Religious Meaning
If you’re a follower of Christianity, then you’ll know in the bible, an alligator appearing in your dream could mean that you are a victim of sin, vanity, and arrogance.
However, this doesn’t need to define you. And now that you’ve highlighted it, you can work at putting yourself on a path that brings you closer to God. In Daniel 7:19, alligators are described as a creature with many teeth, we can take this depiction to mean that it is a creature with many ways to hurt you and that the safest route is to not be involved at all.
The Psychological Meaning
When looking at our dreams from a psychological perspective, it’s fundamental to work with Carl Jung who is known for his theories on dream meaning.
To Jung, for a dreamer to envision alligator motifs could depict the dark power that the dreamer may be plagued with. We all have a dark power and shadow side, but what matters is how we use that shadow. Do you let it take over your day? Or do you instead focus on the positive thoughts that you’re having?
Another leader of dream interpretation is Sigmund Freud. In his book, Truth is What Works, Freud found there to be a connection between the dream state and the waking state. In the case of alligator dreams, the dream signifies an already established connection towards alligators. It might be that you see someone you know in your dream with the alligator or you have an emotional reaction in some part of the dream – but these are the feature you should focus on. Sometimes they hold more meaning than the dark and stupendous forces and undertone.
Freud’s theory proves that dreams matter and the connection is applicable to people.
« Back to Glossary Index