Life is continuous movement and walking is its metaphor par excellence. To consent to this empirical law means to facilitate our maturation processes, to accompany our mutually physical or spiritual ones; moreover, walking indicates the intrinsic potential of the dreamer to autonomously choose his own existential path, to decide for himself the direction to follow, the roads to take.
Obviously, like any self-respecting dream image, here too we must pay close attention to the details that are in the background of our dream and therefore adapt the general interpretation to particular cases from time to time.
The road is the path chosen by the dreamer, it is the direction and the compass that he himself is following and that will lead him to change; the unconscious can in many ways paint the dirt road on which dreaming is found and this according to the moods of the dream traveler (concrete, earth, stone, asphalt, etc.).
In any case, the road is an indicator of our choice, of decisions taken, for better or for worse, it is what gives meaning and a goal to the change undertaken and of which walking is a symbol.
Walking on Water Symbolism in Cultures
It is by no means a coincidence that the main philosophical academy of the ancient world, born in Greece between the 4th and 3rd centuries BC, was called Peripatetic School (Peripatetic Skolé).
The Greek noun peripatetic refers to the very act of walking, it indicates something itinerant, wandering and therefore the general action of the movement; and peripatetic (walkers, walkers) liked to call themselves the main exponents of this school, starting from its founder Aristotle up to Nicholas of Damascus. And most of the great modern thinkers say in unison that the best thoughts have had them walking; therefore, walking has always been a source of great inspiration and refined thoughts, this action allows a total and complete immersion in the space category, crossing the surrounding areas you are able to create a deep synesthesia between moving, looking and contemplating.
Starting from our Pitecantropi ancestors, our species has assimilated this action as consubstantial with its own being, walking has become something absolutely natural, simple and spontaneous.
But how should this action be read from a purely dreamlike and anthropological point of view? The image of walking is deeply linked to the concept of movement, which is the main feature of this action; walking means moving, moving forward, continuing towards a path, a road. Onirically speaking it symbolizes the action of living as such, proceeding ceaselessly towards one’s own goal, towards one’s own aspirations or moral values that serve as a compass in the life of each of us.
Dreams about Walking on Water – Meaning
Water in dreams is a very complex symbol whose meanings embrace the emotional and psychological life of man.
Water in dreams, in different forms and situations, is quite common; for so many people water in dreams accompanies every other dream element, or it appears as a central image in recurring dreams that have the power to worry or intrigue the dreamer even when they are linked to positive emotions.
The sensations that the element of water causes are quite strong even in reality. Water attracts or scares: the charm of the great lakes, the movement and changing colors of the sea, the freshness of the streams, the gushing of the springs coexist with the destructive extent of the floods, with the great tsunami waves, with the dark depths and muddy swamps.
The variety of forms it takes and its presence in every place on earth, make water one of the most interesting symbols to explore, as well as one of the oldest and most rooted.
The symbolic meaning of water in dreams is linked to its natural characteristics: the flow without ever stopping, adapting to the space in which it is found, the capacity and beauty, the extraordinary and sometimes destructive strength.
Dreams about Walking on Water – Symbolism
Dream of clear water with fish – shows the contents of the unconscious that are going back to consciousness and the need to encourage the resulting changes.
It is a dream of awareness and maturity that generally causes satisfaction and pleasure.
Dreaming of water with snakes – snakes represent the instinctive impulses of the dreamer (sexuality, aggressiveness) considered dangerous because they threaten the tranquility and habits of the dreamer.
Snakes in water in dreams can also indicate equally destabilizing thoughts and feelings.
Dreaming of flowing water – it is connected to the flow of life, to time, to the becoming of all the things that come, propose and finally move away.
If the water is dirty or muddy, the dream concerns problems and difficulties that the dreamer is facing and from which he fears being overwhelmed.
Dreaming of a waterfall – it can indicate emotions that break down, “thunderous”, deafening (quarrels, conflicts, passions), emotional elements that flow onto the dreamer and can confuse him and disorient him, knock him down. The same image can have positive meanings related to the flow of events and the strength of feelings.
Also in this case the sensations felt in the dream will make the difference
Dreaming of stagnant or muddy water – opposite image to the previous ones, it can be a symptom of a discomfort, feeling in the presence of something incomprehensible or unmanageable, experiencing blocked situations or emotions, “stagnant”, without outlet. It means feeling sucked into events and not being able to show what you feel.
Dreaming of dark water – it is comparable to the first alchemical subject, it is elaboration, transformation, promise of life. It can represent creative chaos, emotional turmoil in the face of some new relationship or situation.
The positive or negative sensations experienced in water in dreams will determine its meaning. Dark waters in dreams can have a fertilizing and protective meaning and indicate the memory in the amniotic fluid, the next moment of birth and the passage in the uterine canal.
Dreaming of spring water – connects to the springing of strength and vitality, creativity, in the presence of unconscious energies that the dreamer can draw upon.
Dreaming of rainwater – (drizzle or thunderstorm rain) can direct the dream towards spiritual aspects, or bring to the surface aspects of sadness that are kept under control during the day.
Dreaming of high water – they are all images that show the water charged with latent, beautiful and dangerous energy that can be associated with the emotional world, with overflowing and spreading of it, with the fear or attraction that expression or contact with emotions causes.
The water in dreams will then refer to a need for containment, to a more appropriate mode of expression or it will be a symptom of the emotions that take over or are acting in some aspect of the dreamer’s life.
Dreaming of a tsunami – they are both linked to emotions that are repressed and excessively controlled in reality and that are released in dreams with all the strength of these great natural manifestations.
Dreams often linked to the transition from one phase of life to another, can recur for a long time as recurrent dreams when excessive control and fear of what one feels prevents the dreamer from confronting his or her emotions.
They can be considered a sort of oneiric catharsis that aims to rebalance an internal tension, while at times they signal a sudden and violent outburst in reality.
Dreaming of violent water – reflects an internal state that is just as “stormy” on an emotional level, an agitation that can sometimes indicate physical discomfort.
Conclusion
The sea, understood as an immense mass of water, is once again a positive symbol of our unconscious; it symbolizes all the psychic energy that is in our possession and determines our paths.
Obviously walking on a calm and serene sea is synonymous with great inner peace, on the contrary a rough sea could reflect all the disturbances of our existence.
In both cases the sea has to do with our psychic resources that will have to be committed in order to determine a new and creative path.