◇ Depends on the scene Lucky or not depending on the scene — see "In this scene" below
A symbol of lightness and free expression. A clean cartwheel means things turn for the better; a bad landing warns against rushing.
Category: Actions & events (how to read this category)
Psychology
The turning motion suggests a switch in life or thinking; it needs balance and timing. A light cartwheel shows room to enjoy change, while freezing shows bracing against it.
Folklore and history
The cartwheel is a basic gymnastic move and a child's full-body joy; in the Edo period acrobatic karuwaza shows drew crowds. In dream lore turning signals a shift in luck, good if you land well.
The third entry in the "Scary Floor Plans" series, a true-story report that also touches on how stigmatized properties have changed since the pandemic — a reference for our stigmatized-property articles.
Stigmatized Property Ghost Stories: Scary Floor Plans 3 (Tanishi Matsubara / Futami Shobo)
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This site's view
In this site's view, ask for whom you turned. Before an audience: a wish for your talents to be seen. In an empty field: a wish to be free of judgment. Unable to stop spinning: change is outpacing your heart.
Going deeper: our reading
A cartwheel is learned by putting your hands down and toppling sideways again and again until your body finally catches the feel of turning over. Many remember practicing on school grounds or in parks, racing friends. As adults we rarely go upside down. In this site's reading, an adult's cartwheel dream expresses a wish to turn the world over and see it fresh, perhaps because the mind is bored or cramped from always viewing things from the same angle. This is our speculation, but cartwheeling easily as you did as a child suggests a wish to recover forgotten lightness and fearless courage. Feeling too heavy to turn when you once could may mirror hesitation to try new things because of age or position. How the ground felt under your hands can also hint at how solid your footing is now.
What to do on waking
Take one minute to stretch your whole body. Loosening up helps you get ready for a shift.
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
For checking an upper floor, a high spot, or the outside of a distant building at a ruin from a safe distance.
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FAQ
Q. Is dreaming of doing a Cartwheel a good or bad sign?
A. Lucky or not depending on the scene — see "In this scene" below. A symbol of lightness and free expression. A clean cartwheel means things turn for the better; a bad landing warns against rushing.
Q. Why do I keep dreaming of doing a Cartwheel?
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 doing a Cartwheel?
A. Take one minute to stretch your whole body. Loosening up helps you get ready for a shift.
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"
- Playing Tag
- Kick the Can
- Tug of War
- Jumping Rope
- A Horizontal Bar
- Doing a Handstand
- Doing a Somersault
- Being Locked Out
- A Deadline
- Tidying Up
- Rearranging a Room
- Throwing Things Away
※ Dream interpretation here is entertainment drawing on psychology and folklore — it is not scientifically proven. "This site's view" is our own interpretation.
