Dream Wolf Symbol

Few animals are more menacing than wolves. They’re predators by nature, so when a wolf makes an appearance in your dream and invades an everyday circumstance of your life, it can be scary. Yet, the wolf dream symbol can be easily understood.

Wolves symbolize a threading, deadly presence. The context in which you encounter these predators has many, many variations. If you see a wolf near your home trying to get in, it represents a dangerous, predatory presence looking for an opportunity to gain access to your life in some way. If you encounter a wolf inside your home it means that presence has already gained access to your life and now it’s more difficult to remove. The context of your dream determines everything.

The Dreamer Matters

A dreamer who grew up around dogs like Norwegian Elkhounds, which closely resemble wolves, has probably grown to love them. Another dreamer who had a dangerously close call with a wolf in the wild would have quite a different opinion. Everyone’s different and if you don’t first consider the dreamer’s overall perception of wolves you cannot reach the true meaning of the dream.

Once the understanding of a dreamer is gained, the question what do wolves symbolize? becomes clear when you look at it with the eyes of simplicity. The most basic meaning of a wolf, as we understand them, is predator. Wolves may have many different meanings depending on the dream, but it’s a solid place to start.

Context of the dream is also very important to understanding what wolves symbolize in a dream. Let’s take a look at a couple different wolf dreams. As you’re reading try to figure out how each of the dream’s contexts could influence the meaning of the wolf symbol.

Here’s the First Dream:

My mother has plenty of vivid dreams, but this one has me very intrigued. In her dream my mom , dad, and I (I am 5 in the dream) are in the kitchen. I had brought a small baby wolf inside and put it on the counter. We then hear a loud knocking on the door so I go and answer it. My mom warned me not to answer, but I did anyway. I opened the door and there is a huge mother wolf. I try to tell the wolf that I have her baby, but she attacks me. My mom only sees me being flung around by this giant thing, but then the wolf throws me down the stairs. My mom then goes to check me out. When she turns me over, I’m the baby wolf. The entire side of the face is hanging off. She woke up right there.

Here’s the Second Dream:

So last night I had a dream that I was awoken to scratching underneath my bed. I look and it’s my childhood dog. (She’s still at my parent’s house in my waking life because I’m in college). I didn’t question it. I was just happy to see my best friend. I got her to come out from underneath the bed and we start playing together. Suddenly, I get a dream text from my mom that my dog was run over and died. I was instantly terrified and became aware that a low growling has begun from behind me where my dog was. As I turn I see a large mangy black wolf in place of my dog. It leapt at me and we begin to struggle. During that struggle it tore into my forearm. It caused a lot of blood to rush out. As it goes in for the kill, I wake up.

Here’s the Third Dream:

I woke up this morning from a very clear and very real dream. It was evening. I was walking in a dark forest. I heard a branch snap to my right, so I started looking around. I noticed a wolf running off, away from me. As I was watching this wolf, a larger one came up and stood a short distance away and made direct eye contact, snarling and showing its teeth in a predatory manner. Then another wolf walked up, then another, and another. They began walking around in an effort to form a circle around me and slowly walked toward me snarling and showing their teeth. I woke up out of breath.

I’ve chosen these three dreams because the wolves have uniquely different roles in each. In order to get to the bottom of the question What do wolves symbolize? I’ll summarize the surface meaning of each dream and explain what purpose the wolves play in each dream. Doing this will answer the question at hand.

 The basic summary of the first dream is this: The dreamer’s son has brought something small, but dangerous into the families lives. His actions bring the expected consequence (the vicious wolf mother comes looking for her pup). Even after he tries to approach the consequence with reason’s destroyed and is transformed into that which he’s brought into the family. The dreamer’s son’s identity is changed as a result. In this dream the wolf symbolizes something brought into the family’s life that results in destruction and the change of the dreamer’s son’s identity. The dream does not reveal what that something is.

The basic summary of the second dream is this: The dreamer goes looking for something that’s gotten their attention. This something is hidden in a hard to reach place. At first, it appears to be a best friend. When the dreamer’s notified that death has come to their best friend, they’re terrified and become aware that what they thought of as a best friend is a large, dark predator. In this dream the wolf symbolizes something the dreamer notices and brings out of its hiding place and embraces as a best friend. It however, turns into a large dark destroying force.

The basic summary of the third dream is this: The dreamer finds themselves in a dark place. They first see a fleeing predator. Then, a much larger one makes eye contact and shows aggression. Before the dreamer knows it they’re surrounded by aggressive predators. In this dream the wolves symbolize an aggressive threat.

 The Purpose of the Wolf Symbol

Now, let’s look at the purpose of the wolf symbol  in each dream. The baby wolf in the first dream is a very interesting symbol. In the beginning of the first dream its purpose is to draw its mother to the door. The mother wolf’s purpose is to present a danger. This is necessary because this is a warning dream. A warning is given by the dreamer to her son and that warning is ignored. There’s a choice to be made. The image of opening your front door to a mother wolf while her cub is in you kitchen is powerful metaphorical language. Destruction is imminent.

Then, at the end of the first dream, the son transforms into the baby wolf. The baby wolf’s purpose here is to further communicate the consequence of ignoring the dream’s warning. The dreamer’s son won’t only be thrown down the stairs, but will have severe facial damage. This is a reference to the son’s identity.

The purpose of the wolf in the second dream is to reveal to the dreamer the idea of danger associated with death in general, and the death of her beloved “best friend” from childhood in specific. If death and the wolf were taken out, this would be a totally different dream. It would be a happy, positive dream. I find it interesting that the dreamer’s childhood pet dies and then at the end of the dream the wolf, (formerly the childhood pet of the dreamer), attacks the dreamer’s forearm and goes in for the kill. This seems to have the connotation that death is after the dreamer.

The purpose of the wolves in the third dream is to again communicate a negative dangerous symbol. This time there is a pack mentality to the the wolves. This indicates a strategic attack against the dreamer. Why did the dream use the symbol of the wolf in the third dream to communicate danger? It could be as simple as to communicate the message that the dreamer will find a dangerous pack mentality in places of isoltated darkness. The answer to that question fits more under the headline of an interpretation of the dream and I would have to consult the dreamer in order to finish out that thought.

The answer to the question What Does a Wolf Symbolize? is as different and varied as the individual dream and individual dreamer.

EB

Can’t get enough of wolf dreams? Check out this link: Wolves in the Pool