What are amputation dreams about?

You can gain insight from thinking about any dream, no matter how strange. Only you, as the dreamer, have final say on what your dream may or may not mean. Each dream is unique.

The DreamWell dictionary provides information on how each dream symbol appears in dreams in general. Finding how experience amputation in dreams can be a key to understanding its meaning.

Our emotions in dreams can help us understand its meaning. Pay attention to how you felt in the dream. Pay attention to how you feel about amputation in dreams. See how you feel about amputation now, in your waking life.

Amputation suggests that you have harmed yourself, or been harmed, in a lasting or permanent way. Something happened, or is going to happen, that will cause serious and sudden loss. The loss can relate to your external life—a relationship, job, or opportunity—or it can relate to your inner life and aspects of yourself such as ability and skill, especially when manual dexterity is involved. For example, a pianist with arthritis can dream about it as having fingers amputated.

When body parts are amputated, it’s a sacrifice for the greater good, and that association can be stretched to connect with situations such as sacrificing a vacation to make more money.

Amputation can mean cutting off something that needs to go. Time for something to end. For example, if someone is financially draining you, you could dream about amputating a hand, because the hand is what reaches for your wallet or purse. It means you want to cut off financial support.

Or if you impulsively come to the rescue of people you know and don’t want to do it anymore, then you might dream about cutting off your feet or legs because they’re parts of the body associated with coming to someone’s rescue.

Amputating a leg can mean you feel as if you have no room to maneuver or legs to stand on. It can mean you do something that hinders your ability to move forward in your life. Or you had to cancel travel plans.

Dreaming about amputating your ring finger can mean it’s time to end a relationship or break with someone close to you, such as a sibling.

Amputation can symbolize trying to prevent yourself from doing something that you know is harmful. For example, if your sex drive gets you into trouble, then you could dream about amputating your genitals.

Then again, amputating your penis can symbolize loss of power, authority, or virility.

As with all dream symbolism, the meaning of amputation is defined by the context, your feelings, and especially your reaction.

For example, in a dream about scheduling a leg amputation, the dreamer reacts nonchalantly, considering the importance of a leg. The dream exposes the dreamer’s feelings about what the leg represents: his progress toward getting a college degree. Amputating the leg symbolizes dropping an important class. His reaction shows he is willing to make that sacrifice—perhaps too willing.

In a dream about being forced to amputate a hand, the dreamer’s reaction is much different. She is horrified. In the next scene she turns to her father for help. Amputating her hand symbolizes her inability to make her own decisions, and turning to her dad for help symbolizes her dependence on him to make decisions for her. She knows deep inside that she’s sacrificing her independence.

The particular body part amputated defines the symbolism. Look up the body part in this dream dictionary to get ideas. Here are a few suggestions:

Breast: Been cheated on. Menopause. Loss of desirability. Inability to nurture. Fear of disease.

Ear: Don’t want to hear something. Not listening. Hearing problems. Ignoring the obvious. Overhearing something you aren’t supposed to hear. Secrets.

Eye: Failing to notice something. Lack of vision for life. Vision problems. Sacrificing your identity or harming your reputation, a wordplay for “I.”

Face: Loss of personal identity. Self-image issues. Damage to reputation. Self-abnegation.

Feet: Making excuses. Shaky personal foundation. Unwillingness to do something.

Finger: Loss of feeling. Lacking “touch” or sensitivity. Clumsiness. Avoiding blame or notice (fingerprint). Can’t put your finger on something.

Hand: Difficulty making decisions or taking action. Theft. Inability to “grasp” a situation or concept. A weak hold, such as when a relationship is slipping away. Losing touch with reality.

Head: “Losing your head.” Not thinking clearly. Chaotic thoughts. Acting rashly. A message isn’t getting through.

Heart: Loss of a close relationship. Falling out of love. Sacrificing your emotional health. “Heartless.”

Nose: Failure to follow instincts. Needlessly overreacting in a way that’s self-destructive (cut off your nose to spite your face). Public disgrace. Nosiness gets you into trouble.

Penis: Frustration with sex life. Loss of virility or authority. Low emphasis on sex.

Toes: Loss of balance or poise. Overlooking minor details.

See also: Body parts, Breasts, Feet, Heads, Hearts, Knives, Legs, Panic

This interpretation is from ""The Dream Interpretation Dictionary: Symbols, Signs, and Meanings" and is provided by J.M. DeBord aka "RadOwl". He is the author of several acclaimed books about dreaming, the host of The Dreams That Shape Us podcast, and is a moderator of r/Dreams, one of the largest dream sharing communities on the internet.