Rats are usually “recipients” of feelings of revulsion and horror, they move hidden in the shadows and are dirty and disease-carrying animals, a legacy, the latter, of the “black plague”, whose diffusion was facilitated by their swarm and their diseases.
It is also true, however, that rats communicate a lot of sympathy, and in fact one of the characters most appreciated by children is a mouse, Mickey rat (Mickey Mouse), as are Geronimo Stilton and Stuart Little, also mice.
And if you take a step back in time, you will discover a very particular symbolism, reluctant to be accepted precisely because of the mostly negative considerations that accompany these animals.
In ancient times, in fact, the rats were sacred to Apollo, and in the past they had the function of guiding the souls in the Hereafter, appearing for this reason in various tombstones and funeral monuments.
Rats Symbolism in Cultures
The rat boasts a rich symbolism and different meanings attributed to it based on dreams and ancient legends. Even this animal does not enjoy great esteem among people because it has long been considered a symbol of evil and misfortune.
This small mammal, in fact, due to its tendency to gnaw everything, from food to paper objects, from furniture to electric wires, to clothing and so on, has always been considered an index of nefarious events.
This, both when it was sighted in reality and in the dreamlike phases of our night’s rest. It has long been, like the Bat and the Spider, associated with witches and their rituals. Or used as a tool of extreme pain and death during medieval torture. Christianity, as usual, attributes a negative value to it. In fact, he associated it with the harmful activities and deceptions of the devil. Among the ancient Romans, however, it was a symbol of good luck. For the Egyptian sages it was considered a sacred animal.
As a totem, the Rat pushes you to be picky, exaggeratedly precise, since this small animal tends to look at everything closely and therefore meticulously evaluate everything.
This, however, sometimes makes him lose the point of the situation. In fact, due to his perfectionism he tends to get lost in the analysis of every little detail. Thus he can no longer have a complete vision of the whole.
Dreams about Rats – Meaning
It is true that it is possible to dream of different types of mice, but in most cases they are not a positive omen. What does the rat represent? The rat represents someone or something that is viewed with distrust and in some circumstances even with a reverential fear.
Someone or something that one would like to stay away from, like a person we don’t want to hang out with but we have to do it. As mentioned, it is possible to dream of different types of mice, and in different circumstances.
If you dream of a rat within the home, it means that there are important problems at home that need to be solved, while if the rat is encountered on the street, this indicates that the new path that has been taken is not certain. Of the most propitious and it is essential to reverse a route as counterproductive as it is dangerous for one’s life.
Mice that dream can be caged or free, of different colors and sizes: the larger the size of the mouse, the more serious the danger we are facing.
From a psychological point of view we live a period of emotional instability, we are confused and, above all, we are harassed – infested it would be more appropriate to say – from the concerns and the inability to reach the point in the questions of daily life, be linked to the professional sphere or to the sentimental one. We need a real breakthrough, but the path is more difficult and bumpy than we would expect.
Rats can be a negative omen for work and finances. Something else that is positive is happening from a professional and economic point of view. It is advisable to assess whether there is something that could upset one’s daily working life.
One of the few positive meanings of dreaming a rat is that something beautiful and exciting is happening in your life that could change your relationship with people or the whole world. You could renew optimism and see everything with different eyes.
You have high expectations and are confident, but someone above you is plotting and does not want to see you happy. Your ambitions and great prospects will be disillusioned and will cease almost in the bud.
Dreams about rats can have different interpretations. The most widespread wants our problems to have finally found a solution; would indicate a quieter life and less used to difficulties and pitfalls. However, it can also mean that you will experience unpleasant consequences regarding situations that you thought were closed and archived.
You know well what your priorities in life are and you have a clear and well-established goal in your head. You are also aware of what could hinder you, and you are doing everything so that everything flows smoothly, and ends in the best way.
This dream means that you are experiencing a situation without rhyme or reason. A stalemate that does not give you peace and that does not make you feel fulfilled as you would like and you should. You need a shake to live your life to the full.
If you have ever dreamed of a rural rat it means that in everyday life you are held back by circumstances, but you have a strong desire for freedom that drives you to escape before it is too late. If you have ever dreamed of catching a mouse, it means that in your daily life you will have a turning point that you have been waiting for a long time.
Did you dream of ants with the mouse? Rejoice, because shortly, in addition to freeing yourself from psychological obstacles that did not allow you to succeed in your private life, you will succeed in giving a decisive change to your profession. A period full of successes, then.
If you’ve come this far in reading this article, you’re probably interested in dream interpretation. Here is what it means to dream of telling a lie or to drown in the sea.
Dreams about Rats – Symbolism
Dream about so many rats – Will have to lead the dreamer to confront himself with less pleasing aspects of himself, with the emotions mentioned above: meanness, opportunism, envy, jealousy, rivalry, hatred. Or with the possible dangers, slander, pettiness present around him.
Dream house overrun with rats – It has the same meanings mentioned above but it is a symbol more limited to the mental confusion to the obsessive thoughts that can poison and infest (like mice) its own peace and undermine its balance.
Dreaming of a rat – will lead to reflect on what “gnaws” the dreamer, who will have to wonder what has hurt him, what has bothered him, what has envied or detested, what he is imagining or plotting to the detriment of others.
Dreaming of rats – It has a decidedly negative meaning, linked to plotting in the shadows, or to some problem that causes pain and fear, which invades the mind of the dreamer who cannot be chased away.
These dreams must be carefully evaluated, because rats and rats in dreams are protagonists of delirium tremens crises, and therefore dreams and visions with these animals and with the consequent panic can highlight an advanced phase of alcoholism.
Dreaming of killing a rat – It is linked to the will to react in front of what the unconscious perceives as a danger present in the reality of the dreamer but, at a subjective level, it can represent the desire to free oneself from thoughts and emotions considered negative and harmful.
Dreaming of dead rats – In the ancient interpretation it was considered as a favorable dream, because the death of the rat indicated the end of a difficult moment.
Dead rats in dreams are the symbol of something heavy, difficult or unpleasant that was part of the dreamer’s experience and which he freed himself from.
They can be connected to the most unpleasant and shameful thoughts judged by the primary system of the dreamer or to situations experienced, to people with problems and slander.
Dreaming of being bitten by a rat – Accentuates the feeling of danger. It is a rare dream that can also indicate a real physical discomfort, real pangs in a part of the body (the one affected by a rat bite) that the subconscious transforms into dream images in order to prolong sleep as much as possible.
Dreaming of black rats – As with other symbols in dreams, it accentuates the meaning and the negative sensations arising from the symbolism of the black color.
Dreaming of a large black rat connects to something even heavier and more extreme, something that is more dangerous and disturbing to the dreamer’s unconscious.
Dream of rats and rats that bite and eat – it can indicate conflicts present in the reality of the dreamer, or inner conflicts, inability to make decisions about something nagging and heavy to bear, inability to affirm one’s own will, one’s own self.
Dream white mice, pink mice, field rats – the negative meaning of rats in dreams is lightened when their color is white, pink or when it takes on a more pleasant connotation to the eye, because it refers to images of fairy tales and cartoons to pet rats that are often bought for children, natural attraction for small and defenseless animals. See for example the following dream:
I dreamed of so many cute white mice, what will it be? Unfortunately I don’t remember much else, maybe there was blood, but the image of the rats was positive. I mean, I remember they were very nice and I liked them.
The cute little rats of this dream can represent aspects of the young dreamer that face life. Aspects that are still a little bit unripe, naive and vulnerable (vulnerability suggested by the presence of blood) or desires, expectations, desire for independence and exploration.
Dreaming of domestic rats – that do not provoke repulsion, but tenderness and amusement, can be connected to the contents of the unconscious that face the conscience, to the aspects of the psyche that must “grow” to be understood and accepted by the dreamer.
Dreaming of running rats – frantic rats that run and shake, can indicate a dreamer’s hyperactivity, a way to go in many directions without too much construct, a nervous and draining agitation.
Dreaming of chasing a rat – If you run after the rat in the dream is an end in itself, the image can be a sort of metaphor for what the dreamer is doing wrong, dangerous or “dirty”.
The rat represents some situation, person, relationship that is “chasing”, to which it is devoting itself and which is judged incorrect by the system of the primary selves of the dreamer.
Dreaming of cutting a rat’s tail – It can have a sexual meaning, show the disgust towards a lived approach and the censorship towards the uninhibited, instinctive and sexual aspects of oneself. It may also indicate the need to put an end to a clandestine relationship.
Dream of rats in the bed – Refers to thoughts and concerns related to the most intimate sphere. It can relate to the unconscious perception of a betrayal or a deception, or show the dreamer’s fear, his doubts and his jealousy.
Thus we see that the meaning of rats and rats in dreams, generally so negative, can be greatly relieved by what the dreamer feels: indifference, surprise, curiosity, fun or, on the contrary, horror, panic, disgust.
Conclusion
Meanings, as you can see, a bit ambivalent. If this is in reality, one wonders what the “situation” in dream visions is, which, despite what one might think, very often see the animals that are the subject of this discussion as protagonists. What does it mean, therefore, to dream of mice? We’ll deal with it immediately, below.
In dreams, rats are the “rodents” of human consciousness, harbingers of negative thoughts that cause anguish and suffering, such as jealousy and envy, which “corrode” the soul. They are obsessive and destructive thoughts, which do not abandon the dreamer but which at the same time are not expressed, provoked by anger or fear.
And the movement of the nose of the mice, their continuous nibbling, represent precisely this eternal rumination, this “gnawing inside” of the individual.
Dreaming rats expresses inadequacy, lack of self-esteem, but also fear of not being able to face a given situation. It can also be a symbol of enemy presence between the relationships of the dreamer, or connected to the sexual instinct, and a symptom of a repressed or excessive sexuality.
But dreaming rats can also have a positive meaning, when the vision relates to domestic mice, white mice, or rats cartoon characters, communicating, in these cases, tenderness and joy.
In general, the rodent in dreams can be interpreted as something dangerous, uncontrollable and at the same time unpredictable. Something for which it is difficult to find the right countermeasure.