A temple in dreams is a symbol of guidance, comfort, welcome and protection. It is the place where the power of human faith is concentrated in transcendence and in the divine which contributes to accentuating the sacredness and relevance of the experience that is consumed there.
Visiting Temple – Meaning
Connected to the archetype of the divine Mother who protects, consoles, welcomes and gives security, she also identifies with the ideology that sustains her and in which the faithful recognize and become a reason for union and communion with others, but also for rules, precepts and rituals to follow.
Thus we see that the meaning of the temple in dreams can indicate an authentic religious feeling, a marked sensitivity, the need to find comfort and protection in religion and prayer, the need to rely on the spirit and to God, the need to be part of a group and to be recognized, to acquire the strength and to be confirmed in the ideas.
Or it may indicate excessive security and a closure towards the ideas of others that can border on dogmatism and fundamentalism.
The temple in dreams is a symbol of the welcoming mother (think of the expression “Great Mother Church”) and therefore represents the security of maternal love, the place where you always feel accepted or feel remorse and guilt for having disappointed, for having derogated from the values and expectations of those who love us.
But to understand the real meaning of the temple in dreams, one will have to start from the believer or non-believer dreamer, to know what his idea of church is, how much he feels supported and protected by the security of faith or feels alien, judge and reject it.
Visiting Temple – Symbolism
The temple in dreams surely has meanings related to your religious beliefs and your personal experience with religion, faith and God.
It can be a place of joy and celebration (marriage), or of sadness (funeral); popular interpretations are based on these ties and sometimes yield positive, sometimes negative, meanings.
But let’s see what it means to dream of a temple from a more psychological point of view.
Most of us dream of a Christian church, but, with due differences, the meaning is essentially the same even if we had to dream of another religious building like a mosque, a synagogue, a Buddhist temple.
Churches are particular buildings, built on the basis of complex symbolizes which modern man is often no longer aware of.
The great cathedrals were often erected in points where much older temples of pagan origins rose, places full of particular energies; it seems that their grandiose architecture (with numerical references and apses, chapels, columns, aisles, etc.) expresses an intricate system of esoteric symbolic references that would have to do with Freemasonry and alchemy.
In the interpretation of the dream, it is important to think about how this temple you saw was: was it big or small? Was it a simple country temple or rather a cathedral, a cathedral, a basilica?
Have you seen it from outside or were you in it? Were you alone or with other people? Where in the temple were you? How did you get here? What emotions did you feel in finding yourself there (emotion, fear, anxiety, loneliness, sadness, joy, bliss …)?
Try to see if you can trace a link with your experience and your spirituality. Sometimes, however, the temple in dreams also has other meanings outside the spiritual sphere; let us see in detail what they can be, even analyzing the most common dreams in which churches appear.
Sense of the sacred, of the religious that is felt in a more intense way in your life; perhaps you are questioning yourself on matters of faith.
Spiritual illumination, purification, rebirth: when you need to reconsider your choices or discover your true vocation in life.
Dreaming often of entering the temple can happen to you in a period of personal crisis, in a very difficult moment of your life; maybe something is putting your faith to the test if you are religious, or at least pushing you to ask yourself why all this is happening to you.
You are looking for a way out of the problem that afflicts you, help from above.
Consolation, refuge, protection: the temple is the “house of the Father, of God”; it is a safe and neutral place, there will be comfort for a soul plagued by doubts and suffering. If you feel guilty about something you have done, you know that you can reflect and consider how to get back on track.
For Jung the temple is a building linked to the maternal uterus and the maternal figure, in which to find shelter and love.
The temple in dreams can express the need for tranquility and isolation; a period of spiritual retreat can lead to regeneration and inner rebirth.
For weddings, baptisms, communions, funerals, etc.: there may be a link with the reality you are experiencing (if you really need to get married, you can often dream that you can’t get to church, that the temple collapses or is on fire: they are normal dreams dictated by the anxiety of the preparations).
To pray: being in the temple and praying, kneeling, lighting the candle in front of the statue of the Madonna or a Saint, expresses a request for help in difficult moments of life, or need for recollection, tranquility to be able to regenerate.
To visit it: in this case the temple often represents your unconscious, a part of you to explore, especially if it is an ancient church, with crypts, dungeons, etc., or if the temple in the dream is a part of your home that you suddenly discover.
People in the temple are important: they can be priests, friars, nuns, or an indeterminate crowd; their presence for you can be a source of joy and relief, or of fear, or annoyance; these distinctions are very important to understand the dream.
Some say they met a particular person in the church: a man, a child no, a woman, with the feeling that she could be an Angel: these dreams are very beautiful and inspirational for the soul.
Dreaming of a beautiful, illuminated church, full of people – If in dream you see a beautiful church, perhaps immersed in a beautiful mountain landscape, or even of the sea, or in the middle of the countryside, you can surely consider it a good sign.
Perhaps the temple strikes you for its facade, or for the high bell tower (perhaps you hear the ringing of the bells); the temple in your dream will be a symbol of peace and inner serenity.
A temple in dreams is a symbol of guidance, comfort, welcome and protection. It is the place where the power of human faith is concentrated in transcendence and in the divine which contributes to accentuating the sacredness and relevance of the experience that is consumed there.
Dreaming of entering a temple – reaming of entering the temple and seeing it lit up, with so many flowers, full of people, festively decorated for a wedding or other celebration, it is also in this case a very good sign: your soul is full of joy and you are ready to make it participate also the others.
Dreaming of a temple full of people – Dreaming of a temple with people who pray, who sing: joy and progression on the spiritual path.
If the temple is so crowded that you can’t find a place in the pews, this could be a discomfort or social insecurity for you (maybe you feel that there is no place for you, you feel inferior).
Dream of visiting a large temple – Dreaming of visiting a large church, full of beautiful frescoes and statues (of saints, Madonna’s, crucifixes, etc.), with ample times, with a beautiful light, this is also a positive dream, which shows you your inner richness, beauty of your soul.
Dreaming of black or white temple – Dreaming of a white, black, red temple etc. .: if you are particularly struck by the color of the church, consult the meaning of that color to better understand the dream.
Conclusion
The temple in dreams should not be considered only for aspects related to ritual, beliefs and religious observances.
The temple is a sacred building used for ritual celebrations, often built on earlier and more ancient places of worship (including pagans) that have been the scene of miraculous facts and apparitions and this material dimension, made of form and volumes, of beauty and elegance it can bring out in the dreamer attraction or rejection, emotion and awe, respect, fear, all sensations that can serve to contextualize the temple in dreams and to decipher its meaning.