◇ Depends on the scene Lucky or not depending on the scene — see "In this scene" below
A time of heightened sensitivity; check that you are not worn out by others' moods.
Category: Spirits & the spiritual (how to read this category)
Psychology
Seeing spirits in a dream can be read as the mind giving shape to vague unease you normally keep out of awareness. Highly sensitive people, who pick up every shift in mood around them, are said to have such dreams more often. Your feeling at the moment of seeing matters more than what you saw.
Folklore and history
Japanese tales have long treated the power to see demons and spirits as a rare gift; Heian-period stories tell of diviners who saw oni as children. Dream lore is gentler, reading such dreams as a sign you are about to notice a hidden truth.
An easy, illustrated guide to folklore, from annual festivals to urban legends — a beginner-friendly reference for our folklore articles.
Illustrated: Folklore So Interesting You Won't Be Able to Sleep (supervised by Yasunori Shimamura / Nihon Bungeisha)
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This site's view
In this site's view, a dream spirit is the lingering scent of someone's feelings. A stranger means tiredness absorbed from crowds or work; a familiar face suggests something left unsaid. Whether it faced you or turned away tells you whether to engage or step back.
Going deeper: our reading
After dreaming that you can see spirits, you may keep glancing at the corners of the room or out of the window for a while. Yet in dreams, seeing often reflects less spirits themselves than a state of mind that notices what is normally overlooked: a faint cloud on someone's face, the real feeling behind words, a shift in the atmosphere. When sensitivity runs high, you read people easily and tire quickly. In this site's reading, people who dream of seeing spirits are often absorbing so much of others' emotions that the boundaries of their own heart blur. This is our speculation, but no one believing in a spirit only you could see reflects loneliness at not having your perceptions understood. Calmly letting a spirit pass suggests you are learning to live with your sensitivity. Value how you felt when you saw it more than what you saw.
What to do on waking
Step away from crowds today and take ten quiet minutes with a warm drink to set down what you have absorbed.
In this scene
- ◎Good Watching quietly: you are protected, or something wants to be said (leans good)
- ▲Warn Chasing or attacking: an unfaced worry or exhaustion (warning) — rest
- Speaking to you: the words are the message — write them down
- 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
Useful for staying in contact during a group investigation, or in a mountain area or ruin with no phone reception.
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FAQ
Q. Is dreaming of seeing Spirits a good or bad sign?
A. Lucky or not depending on the scene — see "In this scene" below. A time of heightened sensitivity; check that you are not worn out by others' moods.
Q. Why do I keep dreaming of seeing Spirits?
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 seeing Spirits?
A. Step away from crowds today and take ten quiet minutes with a warm drink to set down what you have absorbed.
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 "Spirits & the spiritual"
- The Grim Reaper
- A Guardian Spirit
- A Spirit Behind You
- An Evil Spirit
- An Earthbound Spirit
- A Medium
- An Aura
- The Third Eye
- Your Higher Self
- Synchronicity
- Attraction
- A Power Spot
※ Dream interpretation here is entertainment drawing on psychology and folklore — it is not scientifically proven. "This site's view" is our own interpretation.
