What does it mean to dream of serving food? Does it relate to the need to feed and to real feelings of hunger that also emerge in dreams or does it have more complex symbolic meanings?
The article analyzes the symbolism of one of the most common and loved actions, and the meaning of the many dream images that derive from it. If you had a dream about serving food, here are some possible interpretations.
Serving Food Symbolism in Cultures
Every step taken in cooking, every element used, every sensation experienced helps to enrich the original symbol, but also leads in different directions.
The symbolism of cooking in dreams and in reality is linked to transformation and to a process in which each separate element must change, become something else and merge with other elements
The preparing of food into dreams translates into an inner transformation of the dreamer or into transformation of his reality, of his relationships, of the circumstances he is experiencing.
Cooking is a sort of alchemical process which reflects the dreamer’s own path, his needs, his desires and the tension towards a goal to be reached.
But as in an alchemical journey, cooking also requires knowledge, will and planning, so that what is raw and separated (the different foods) is refined, melted and transformed.
Dreams about Serving Food – Meaning
Food is not only of fundamental importance in real life.
Also in our dreams are often food and food intake in the center. Dreams of food, food and drink have a profound symbolism, because depending on what you drink or eat in a dream, reveal certain desires and longings.
They say “you are what you eat”. This is not so wrong. When we eat or drink something, we absorb something into our body, it becomes part of us.
Not only is the food somehow inside us, it is metabolized and broken down into its smallest parts, which eventually end up in our bloodstreams and nerve cords.
Also in the interpretation of the dream food intake is of great importance, because in dreams it serves not only the preservation of the physical vital functions.
Rather, food symbolizes the metaphorical spiritual food as well as primordial basic needs as a dream symbol.
There are different ways to interpret dreams of food and serving it. If you want to find out the meaning of such dreams, you should consider all possibilities, because depending on the interpretation different interpretations are possible.
Dreams about Serving Food – Symbolism
They are all dreams that indicate, in general, that you are probably experiencing a heavy situation: you are tired of “swallowing”, of being treated badly, of receiving humiliations, of being little considered, or forced to do things against your will.
These dreams could also originate from digestive disorders (stomach ache).
Serving Poop, feces, excrement- if in the dream you don’t feel disgust, it can indicate that you feel the need not to waste your vital energies, you want to reabsorb all that you lose.
This also goes for serving Insects, worms, caterpillars, larvae, bedbugs, frogs, toads, mice, snakes … all bad things you have to swallow.
Serving dirt- it can also have the positive meaning of contact with one’s self. Attention, then, because if you often dream of serving earth this could depend on some food shortages (e.g.: iron).
Serving rotten food, spoiled, with mold and worms- you don’t take care of yourself, and you have little self-esteem.
Serving food with hair inside that you can’t get out of your mouth- it indicates that you want to get rid of something very “unpleasant”.
Serving bitter food- bitter dishes, with bad taste, in dreams have to do with the bitterness of life, and perhaps with the need to do penance.
Serving raw meat, raw egg- raw meat can denote a deficiency of iron, or even have sexual meaning; the raw egg can indicate that you need energy.
Serving salty food – salt in dreams represents tears, so it can mean suffering; dreaming of serving salt, however, can also indicate that you are taking little in your diet.
Serving glass, needles, stones- they represent wounds that you have suffered, hardness of life. “Unusual” animals (dog, cat, lion are the most common): indicates the need to assume the qualities they represent. To give and to receive to eat to dream of serving alone, or in secret: it means that you need independence and solitude.
Dreaming of serving in the company of friends, relatives, in the family- it represents harmony of relationships, a satisfying emotional life.
Dreaming of serving with strangers – if you feel uncomfortable and would like to leave, this indicates that you do not want to export publicly.
Dreaming of serving with people you don’t agree with- it could represent the will to understand them better.
Dreaming of feeding someone, dreaming that someone gives us something to eat- it indicates an emotional exchange between the people involved.
In dreams we often feed a child, a newborn or a dead person: perhaps because the former is in great need of our affection, and the latter misses us very much.
Dreaming of serving a tooth – swallowing your teeth can refer to the need to take back something you said.
Dreaming of serving a person- it can reveal our sexual desire towards him. Desire urges us to “devour” the loved one.
We think of vampires and all the imagery that surrounds this mythical figure.
Or this dream could represent the desire to acquire some traits of his personality; therefore this dream reveals a certain admiration for the person eaten, both in one case or another.
Dreaming of serving eyes, bones, ears, human fingers, one’s finger- serving parts of the human body as food can be explained as a need to assume the qualities represented by those organs; serving one’s finger is interpretable as a self-injurious act that aims to “harm yourself”, punish yourself.
Dreaming of being eaten, devoured- it can manifest a castration complex, or you feel hindered in your emotional, professional realization, etc.
Dreaming of serving oneself- it can happen to people who have food shortages (in particular iron) or undergo too strict diets.
If you exclude that it may be your case, then the dream could represent the need to “digest” certain aspects of your character to better accept yourself. Or the dream could also express your openness to sexuality.
Dreaming of serving dead – this dream will not surprise you if you think that, for example, in some primitive tribes it was customary to eat with devotion their loved ones dead, instead of doing them a funeral; serving a deceased represents the desire to keep it with you, make it your own.
Conclusion
Dreaming of serving food indicates a form of creativity that the dreamer is expressing or needs to express. Creativity that translates into ideas, actions and works that aim at a goal to be achieved.
Serving in dreams is a complex dreamlike image, because it involves a series of gestures, the use of foods and ingredients, recipes and utensils that the dreamer often remembers perfectly and which, in turn, have a precise symbolic value.