Dream Experts Offer Two Very Different Meanings Behind Snakes in Dreams

It's hard to resist the urge to roll your eyes at someone who seems hell-bent on telling you the "craziest dream" they just had last night. And while everyone's personal dreams seem extremely interesting to themselves, that's not always the case when it comes to conversations with others. So for the most part, we keep our ramblings about our sleepy time visions to ourselves. But if you found yourself dreaming about snakes and asked what it all means, here are some dream experts who've got opinions.

According to author and professional dream analyst Lauri Quinn Loewenberg, snakes in a dream can represent one of two things. The first could be that the snake could represent a person in your life that is "toxic ... poisonous ..." or exhibits "dirty ... low" behavior. So think long and hard about the folks that you're associating with and who that snake could be.

Snakes could also mean something entirely different: It could pertain to salubrious changes in health or healing. Quite polar opposite meanings, but then again, we're dealing with dreams here and analyzing them isn't an exact science.

According to Lauri, you shouldn't ignore snake imagery in your dreams for a multitude of reasons.

In an interview with The Cut she said, "Just as you would not ignore coming across a snake in real life, neither should you ignore your snake dreams. There is either a poisonous element in your life that you need to get rid of, or there is healing you need to recognize. Either way, acting upon the message or warning is a very good thing to do." 

Mind Body Green echoed Lauri's dual-analysis, and, like the dream expert, states that there's a little bit of soul searching that's required to accurately analyze exactly what the snake means. Think about your life long and hard, as terrifying as that might be, and you'll probably ascertain exactly what that snake's supposed to represent. If you're bitten by the snake, it could mean that you were hurt by this toxic person.

Similarly, it could also mean that you were bit with a "healing serum" and that it's only a matter of time before those healing properties, either metaphorical or physical will begin to manifest themselves in your life. If you keep seeing the same snake in the dream, then that means there's a nagging aspect of your life you need to address, like a health issue you're ignoring or a bad person you're having difficulty just cutting out.

Let's say you saw a rattlesnake in your dream. That could mean that you're being given a warning or red flag about a situation you should probably listen to. I personally think it might mean you have a great fondness for the Texas Rattlesnake himself, Stone Cold Steve Austin, but maybe that just pertains to me and how I go about my life.

A garter snake means that you've encountered a situation you thought was threatening but is altogether harmless. An example would be that maybe you thought you got someone pregnant and it turned out to be a false alarm. You'll probably want to get a paternity test taken anyway, just in case, as I don't think dreams are admissible in a court of law.

A snake in the bedroom could mean you've got a huge problem or potential issue brewing with someone you're intimate with, so maybe look there for meaning. The same goes for work, and the color of the snake could hold significance. White snakes supposedly represent new beginnings, while black snakes represent the unknown, but both are challenges you should be ready and willing to take on.

Red snakes are red flags and green snakes could represent jealousy, especially if there's another person present in your dream. But again, it all depends on context. Maybe you're the snake in the dream and having feelings of malice towards another person, so maybe put some of the serpentine blame on yourself instead of others. Like I said, dreams aren't an exact science.