Octopus dreams are much more related to animals, much more related to insects, and much more related to fantastic beings than dreams in general. They are less related to unnamed people, much less related to strangers, and less related to peers.

Dreams of octopus are less related to happiness, less related to sadness, and less related to grief and sorrow.

Octopus dreams are more related to natural places than dreams in general. They are much less related to home, much less related to work, and less related to human-made places.

Dreams of octopus are less related to aggressive acts, less related to friendly acts, and less related to death.

Octopus dreams are more related to sleep paralysis than dreams in general. They are less related to lucid dreams, less related to nightmares, and less related to recurring dreams.

Dreams of octopus are more related to touch than dreams in general. They are less related to hearing and less related to vision.

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 octopus 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 octopus in dreams. See how you feel about octopus now, in your waking life.

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. The symbolism of an octopus is usually derived from its tentacles and the way it engulfs prey. It can symbolize a situation or problem that has many facets or layers, or something entangling or ensnaring: multitasking, possessive relationships, juggling several relationships, being ganged up on. You’re involved in too many things at once, feel pulled in too many directions, overwhelmed, overpowered. An octopus can symbolize ability to camouflage and to squeeze through tight spaces. Think in terms of a physical representation of a personal situation. Such as camouflaging to avoid notice or scrutiny, or just to blend into your social environment. Squeezing through a tight space can represent getting out of a tight situation. Phew! An octopus attacking or ensnaring you can symbolize some way that your unconscious mind is pulling you into its realm. This imagery is common in the dreams of people who resist the call from deep within them to find out what’s down in their depths. They feel that something lurks beneath the surface, and it terrifies them because they know if they “go there” they’ll never come back. The experience will change them significantly. Like other sea creatures, an octopus can symbolize something from the deep reaches of your mind, the foreign, wondrous, sometimes frightening things encountered in the unconscious. See: Unconscious minds In psychoanalytic tradition, the octopus is seen as a symbol of an overwhelming mother figure, someone who will devour and possess you; an octopus sums up the idea in one image. People who lack security, solid identity, and healthy boundaries can be terrified of separation or loneliness. They attach to and feed off the light and energy of people around them. And if that person is the mother who raised you, an octopus is an apt metaphor for your relationship with her. Remember, though, that dreams are subjective, and if someone you know is represented as an octopus, it’s your subjective perception. Perhaps you feel that way because you have trouble setting boundaries or making attachments. The clinging, devouring octopus might represent something about you with which you need to contend. Clingy, afraid of separation, needing close attachments, sucking people in. Does that describe you? This use of the symbolism is more likely if you battle an octopus, or the dream recurs. The symbolism shows in the actions. An octopus has eight tentacles and is therefore associated with the number eight. As with all dream symbolism, the meaning depends on your feelings. If you see an octopus and react with fear, it suggests that whatever it symbolizes bothers you, is difficult, or arouses your emotions. On the other hand, if you eat an octopus it might mean you are looking forward to taking on several tasks at once, or are happily involved simultaneously in several relationships. Or maybe you just want to try something different. See also: Animals, Fear, Numbers, Oceans, Unconscious minds