▲ Leans unlucky (a warning) Traditionally a warning — read it as pointing to what to watch, not as doom
Pursuing an ideal; if it stays out of reach, check whether your goal has drifted too far from reality.
Category: Actions & events (how to read this category)
Psychology
Chasing a rainbow shows both the drive to pursue an ideal and frustration at never catching it. Running happily means you enjoy the process; gasping means you may be pushing yourself too hard for the goal.
Folklore and history
A rainbow's position depends on where you stand, so it recedes as you approach and cannot be reached. In English, chasing rainbows means pursuing an impossible dream, and dream readers may take it as a caution about ideals set too high.
For setting up unattended at a haunted spot to record a fixed point over a long time with motion-detection capture.
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This site's view
In this site's view, notice whether you passed anyone as you ran. Those who watch only the rainbow miss the ground and the people beside them. If someone called out to you, that person deserves your attention. If you ran alone, check gently whether the goal has become an excuse for loneliness.
Going deeper: our reading
A rainbow appears in the sky opposite the sun, so anyone watching one always has the source of light behind them. In this site's reading, chasing a rainbow carries a question: in pursuing the ideal before you, have you forgotten what lights you from behind? If you turned around and saw a dazzling sun or someone's smile, it is time to recognise the people or origins that have supported your efforts. Chasing by bicycle or car suggests you believe better means will get you there faster, along with frustration at never closing in. Running barefoot and laughing like a child shows a light heart that enjoys the chase more than the result. Stopping to gaze means you accept the ideal stays even when you stop chasing. This is our speculation, but the dream may come when you want to pause and catch your breath.
What to do on waking
Take one goal you are chasing and restate it as something small you can reach by next month.
In this scene
- ◎Good It works out, you escape: you can overcome a real challenge (good)
- ▲Warn It fails, you are caught: feeling cornered — rest or ask for help (warning)
- Doing it again and again: an unsolved problem is still on your mind
- It felt good: the lucky reading gets stronger
- ▲Warn It felt frightening or painful: the warning reading gets stronger — rest first
- The same dream again and again: something your mind has not settled yet
Turning a bad dream
In Japan, people once tried to turn a worrying dream for the better: a baku charm under the pillow, telling the dream to a nandina bush, or reciting an old dream-turning poem. Read the column on dream trading and dream-turning
A long-selling survey of charm and ward-off-evil customs from across Japan — folkloric backup material for our strange-phenomena articles.
A Folk Record of Charms Against Evil (Tama Saito / Ronso-sha)
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FAQ
Q. Is dreaming of chasing a Rainbow a good or bad sign?
A. Traditionally a warning — read it as pointing to what to watch, not as doom. Pursuing an ideal; if it stays out of reach, check whether your goal has drifted too far from reality.
Q. Why do I keep dreaming of chasing a Rainbow?
A. A recurring dream usually points to something your mind has not settled yet. Research suggests such dreams tend to stop once the underlying worry is resolved. Keeping a dream diary helps you notice what triggers it.
Q. What should I do after dreaming of chasing a Rainbow?
A. Take one goal you are chasing and restate it as something small you can reach by next month.
Related dream essays
- True Dreams and Reverse Dreams: Why We Read Dreams Backwards
- Buying Dreams, Turning Dreams: A Japanese History of Dream Trading and Dream Charms
Read this dream with your own scene in the Dream Dictionary →
More dreams in "Actions & events"
- Escaping a Fire
- Watching a Distant Fire
- The Workplace on Fire
- Committing Arson
- Rescuing Someone from a Fire
- Engulfed in Smoke from a Fire
- Falling from a Tree
- Cutting Down a Tree
- Arguing on the Phone
- Being Hung Up On
※ Dream interpretation here is entertainment drawing on psychology and folklore — it is not scientifically proven. "This site's view" is our own interpretation.
