What are snake 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 snakes 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 snakes in dreams. See how you feel about snakes now, in your waking life.

Interpreting dreams about snakes depends primarily on your associations with snakes and how snakes are used in the dream-story. The variations run the gamut. To some people, snakes are feared and loathed. Just the thought of a snake makes their skin crawl. To others, snakes are symbols of temptation and evil. To still others, snakes are associated with good health, virility, transformation, and the presence or blessing of God.

These associations form the basis of dream symbolism. The process of making associations can be as simple as whatever comes to mind first in relation to a snake. If I say “snake,” you say “____?”

The snake is an enigmatic dream symbol that can’t be interpreted using pat definitions. Instead, dig into the story and analyze.

How a snake is presented in your dream and how you react to it gives you a good idea of what it symbolizes. Is the snake dangerous, or just chillin’? Do you run in terror at the sight of it, or play with it? What role does the snake have in the dream-story, and what actions, if any, does it take? Where is the snake encountered and who, if anyone, is with you?

Begin with a common use of snake symbolism. Snakes are known for being venomous, and as symbolism snakes can describe venomous people and situations. For example, venomous people poison your thoughts or feelings. They’re a bad influence and say things that hurt; they’re “mean as a snake.” They strike and lash out. They’re reptilian in their approach to life, only looking out for themselves. Everyday comparisons between people and venomous snakes are common, so for dreams it’s an easy connection to make. See: Venom

If that’s how the symbolism is used in your dream, you’ll see it in the dream-story. The snake will be a venomous variety. It will bite and inject venom, or you will fear that happening. If the snake is not venomous, does not strike out, does not bite or provoke fear, then it’s probably not related to the symbolism of venom. See: Injecting

Dreams make comparisons based on your personal associations, and fear is a common association with snakes. They can symbolize anything that you fear: people, places, situations—or just the idea of something, such as speaking in public or health problems. If you fear it, a dangerous snake can symbolize it. The idea can be stretched from here to Mars. For example, fear of getting into trouble, of failing a test, or of losing something you love can be symbolized as fear of a snake. See: Fear

But if you don’t fear snakes, then they’re not likely to be used in your dreams to symbolize fear. Or if the snake is not a killer, then you have nothing to fear. Of course, some people fear any snake, so again, it depends on you and how you react to snakes in general and specifically to the snakes in your dreams.

If you dream about overcoming fear of a snake, it’s a strong indicator of overcoming a fear of snakes or some other fear symbolized by them.

Another word that sums up a situation with a snake is “danger.” This use of the symbolism is especially likely in scenarios where a snake rattles, or the situation is dangerous.

A snake blocking your path can symbolize an obstacle to getting to where you want to be in life.

Constricting situations in life are comparable to the killing method of boa constrictors and pythons. You feel suffocated, such as by a relationship, expectation, or duty. Something has a hold on you and won’t let go. The life is squeezed out of you. Situations in the work world can feel like a noose around the neck as the demands of the job sap the life out of you. People can become “ensnared” in all sorts of ways. See: Strangling

However, dreams are clever and varied with how they use symbolism. A constrictor snake can symbolize the need to loosen up. You’re wrapped too tightly.

A snake wrapped around the neck can describe a restricted airway while asleep, or poor blood circulation. A snake wrapped around a limb of the body can be a way of visualizing the sensation of a limb that’s “dead” because you fell asleep on it.

Snakes are known for attacking out of the blue. They can lie still and hidden for hours waiting for lunch to wander past. This characteristic of snakes can describe people and situations, too. Some people lie in wait for an opportunity to attack. Situations can be fraught with potential for danger summed up in the image of a snake waiting to attack. See: Ambushing, Attacking

Picture how a snake eats. It engulfs, opens its mouth and swallows whole. Imagine the possibilities for how that image can be used as symbolism. A relationship can engulf. A job can be all-consuming. An addiction or desire can encompass a person’s life. See: Devouring

In the story of the Garden of Eden, a snake tempts Eve to eat of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. It symbolizes humans’ separation from nature and natural instincts, and has evolved as a general symbol of temptation and evil. That association can be used for a snake to symbolize Shadow. See: Shadows

But wait, snakes aren’t all bad!

The possibilities covered so far are all negative, but snakes are marvelous creatures that have many positive associations that can be used as symbolism.

Snakes live in the ground and that closeness to the Earth creates a strong association with nature. Nature is associated with wisdom, fertility, and instincts. Snakes are used in rituals to bless crops for a good harvest and bless people with fertility and health. Cultural associations play a strong role in dream symbolism, especially with snakes because of the broad spectrum of perceptions and associations from culture to culture. See: The earth

Snakes are connected with nature, which goes through cycles, and with renewal and health. When you’re ill, sometimes the best medicine is to listen closely to your body and give it what it needs. Snakes are highly sensitive to their environment and sense the slightest vibrations. That sensitivity can be used to create associations with sensitivity to the subtle signs and signals from your body.

Women thinking about starting a family are known to dream about snakes; in particular, green snakes. The color green is associated with nature and fertility. A green snake in a tree is a particularly strong indicator because trees are also associated with families. See: Trees

The color of a snake can be a modifier that defines the symbolism. See: Colors

A snakebite, especially a bite on the wrist or hand, is known to be associated with a call from inside a person to “shed your skin” and transform. The idea extends further to include the need to take action. The hand is used to take action, so a bite to the hand can be a reminder or warning to act while you can. This use of the symbolism extends to any situation where a snake strikes. For more ideas, see: Bite.

Snakes are used on the Rod of Asclepius, which is the basis of the caduceus, a symbol associated with medicine. The good-health associations stem from a snake’s ability to renew itself by shedding its skin. This idea has strong connections also with personal development and the psyche, because “shedding your skin” means letting go of the old to allow something new to emerge.

Another very positive association exists between snakes and kundalini. Kundalini is an energy that rises out of the hips, travels up the spine, and emerges out of the forehead or crown of the head to connect with the “upper realm.” It’s visualized as two snakes intertwined and traveling up the spine. A snake emerging from the head is a symbol of deep insight and enlightenment.

The long, cylindrical shape of snakes creates an association with the penis. The association is easily stretched to include males in general. “All men are snakes,” a frustrated woman says. Taken further, snakes are associated with everything about men and masculinity, positive and negative.

As with all symbolism, look at the action to determine the meaning. If the snake crawls up your leg under your pants, it might be a phallic symbol. But if the snake is on a rock sunning itself, it might symbolize something “warming up,” as in “warming up to the idea.”

See also: Biting, Cages, Colors, Devouring, Evil, Injecting, Reptile, Shadows, Skin, Strangling, Venom

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.