Accident

The accident may be a car crash, a careless dropping of a brick on someone’s head, or just slipping on a banana skin. Whatever it is, you have to ask who is the victim of the accident and (where applicable) who caused it? Usually it will be you, or some aspect of you.

(1) If the accident in the dream involves only you - if, for example, it is a repeat of some accident diat actually happened to you - then ask yourself: am I accident prone? If you are, the dream may be expressing your worries about this accident proneness. It may also be asking you to do something about it.

Accidents are often less accidental than we think.

If there were no unconscious dimension to the human psyche, then we would be justified in speaking of ‘pure accidents’ - unless we subscribe to the notion of some implacable God or fate that causes them. But if we accept the existence of unconscious drives, unconscious desires and motivations, then what otherwise we might properly call accidents may be seen as misfortunes we have brought upon ourselves. We may, at an unconscious level, be playing the martyr or punishing ourselves for imagined guilt. Docs any of this apply to you? If so, try to discover - ask your unconscious to reveal - the cause of your neurotic selfpunishment. The cause will almost certainly turn out to be not so much a fact as a fantasy, and any factual element in it will almost certainly be quite innocuous and innocent. If, for instance, you concluded that the cause of your guilt-feelings and consequent masochism was connected with your father’s death, was it really you who killed him? Or if you think the cause is a childhood sexual desire for your mother or father, isn’t that a natural part of human development, and therefore blameless?

(2) If the dream strikes you powerfully as a premonition, act accordingly. Avoid whatever action might expose you to an accident of the kind depicted in the dream.

(3) If the accident happens to someone else in your dream, you have to decide who that person is or, alternatively, what part of yourself is represented by that person.

If the victim is identifiable as someone in real life, then, no matter how close the person is to you and no matter how much you love that person, you should consider the possibility that the dream is expressing an unconscious hostile wish or resentment towards that person. Even if the dream makes you anxious for the safety or well-being of the person, it may be that the anxiety is a cloak for repressed antagonism towards him or her. Feelings and desires arc repressed because they are felt to be unacceptable. But, however disgusting or morally reprehensible those feelings or desires may appear to you, it is better to face up to them in the clear light of consciousness than to leave them to brood and breed in the dark cellars of the unconscious. What is repressed does not cease to exist (what is out of sight is not out of mind!); nor does it cease to function negatively and destructively.

Siblings, as well as parents and spouse, are likely objects of jealousy and even of uncharitable death-wishes. For siblings, see also Brother / Sister; for parents, see also Father, Mother.

(4) Dream accidents of a rather different kind may be mere reviewings of actual happenings: forgetting your spouse’s / parent’s / sibling’s birthday, or failing to do in a certain situation what you normally do in that situation (e.g. complimenting a person on his or her looks or performance). What may appear to be accidental may, in fact, be the effect of an unconscious cause (see (1) above), and the dream’s repetition of the ‘absentmindedness’ or ‘inexplicable lapse of memory* may, in fact, be a prompting from your unconscious to get some inner conflict sorted out.

On the other hand, such dreams may be pure anxiety dreams, representing your fear of making such a slip. Remember, though, that anxiety can cloak unconscious anger, and it is anxiety that causes repression. (Freud began by saying that repression causes anxiety; but he later reversed that formula.) See also Anxiety.

Self-punishment. Unexpected trouble resulting from choice, decision or action. What have you done recently that is perhaps questionable as to whether you were right or not and in which you may be unhappy with your choice, decision or actions. Look for means to make amends, correction, and undoing. Perhaps someone else has pressured you to do something you know is wrong for you. You need to correct this situation before you are harmed by it. Take special care to steer clear of any situation where you could have an accident or be in danger until this matter is resolved.

To witness an accident instead of being in an accident means can mean the same thing, but when witnessing an accident you could be indicating that you are seeing someone else involved also being hurt by your choice, decision or action. This could be a warning of an upcoming event. Are you trying to punish yourself for something? Head: oneself or to one’s father. Foot, right: brother or sister. Foot, left: servant or distant relative. Hand, right: Mother Hand, left: Children Something unplanned. Any sort of accident - car, household, job related; is indicative of self-criticism. You have done something of which you are not proud. Examine your recent actions and see if you can undo the problem.

To dream about being involved in some sort of accident, or even witnessing one, is a warning omen that should be taken very seriously. You should be extremely careful, avoid travel in the near future, and steer clear of all potentiality dangerous situations. Also - Accident: The meaning of this dream varies greatly depending on the circumstances and surroundings, but as a rule it is a warning.

If you dreamed of an accident, as such, you would be wise to avoid unnecessary travel for a few weeks.

An accident at sea pertains to love affairs, on land, to business affairs.

If possible, you should avoid the thing that was involved in the accident (for the twenty-four hours following the dream), i.e., if you dreamed of a car crash, walk for a day but be careful crossing streets! Steer clear of planes, trains, horses, knives, sharp instruments, fires, electricity, high places, or whatever pertained to the dream accident, for at least a day.

If you can’t avoid them, take extra precautions. 

Studies have verified that some individuals have premonitory dreams, many of them about disasters or accidents; despite this fact, our oneiric activity is often an expression of our fears and secret anxieties. Therefore, dreams that portray accidents must not necessarily be taken literally because they tend to highlight a conflict in which we are immersed. So, if you are victim of an accident maybe there is something in real life that is not going well or you are taking too much risk. Sometimes it is necessary to review your existence and try to avoid making mistakes. When it is a car or train accident, the incident indicates that your judgments are precipitated, which may portend future arguments. But if you dream of a plane crash, the unconscious is transmitting a clear symbol of irrationality (the dreamer refuses to see reality as it is).

If you are driving at high speed, maybe the dream is telling you to take everything more calmly and to avoid rushing. When the accident victim is someone else, you must find the answer in your feelings. Perhaps, the envy or hatred you feel for that person can only find an outlet in your dreams. In the case of a home accident, the conflict is not far from the everyday environment of the person. Lastly, disasters caused by natural elements, such as fire or water (fires, floods, earthquakes), are usually related to a fact that has recently impacted us.

It is recommended to be cautious for twenty-four hours following this dream. According to some oneiric traditions, accidents in the sea represent matters of love. On land, they symbolize business problems. Witnessing an accident denotes cowardice; helping the injured, betrayal of a friend. According to gypsy tradition, this dream is a warning so the accident can be prevented.