When you dream about fire, what does it mean?

Most of my dreams are somewhat disturbing, for various reasons, but when I have one that is especially vivid I like to make a record of it somehow -- I'll either write about it and save the file, or in some cases, try to draw a blueprint if a dream takes me to a strange place. But the one from which I just awoke 3 hours ago was one whose significance I'd like to know because it could possibly save my life!

The dream began much like the real world in that we were coming home from Morgan City, LA, only that happened over the Christmas holidays in real life because my sister, a high school senior, has been back in school for 3 weeks. But what was unusual was that we stopped to spend the night at an intermediate location, which we've never done in my entire 26 years. We live southeast of Houston, less than 300 miles west, so we've always spent the previous or following night at our house because it's just a 6-hour drive to get there.

What's even more odd about this "motel" was that its blueprint was identical to Dad's apartment in Pasadena, TX (he hasn't lived with us or come to Morgan City in 5 years), which is a square of 2-story complexes with a grassy "courtyard" area in the middle, in which there's a fenced-in pool beside a brick cylinder containing a tree instead of a fountain. The parking lot surrounds the complex, and so do most of the sidewalks.

Anyway, in the last part of the dream, there was a fire that broke-out in the downstairs apartment across the courtyard from us (Dad's upstairs place in real life). It was caused by cooking, and out came a Spanish-speaking family with several boys under 6. So all I could do was sit at a park bench with Mom and my sister, whose arm she was grabbing to prevent her from going up to it, and try to see as much as I could. All we had with us were our purses (remember, I'm genetically just as female as they are because that's how I was born and am expected to present myself in the real world) containing our license, MP3 players, etc. and I had my 10 by 12" baby pillow I've slept with since I was 2 months old.

I kept asking Mom why she hadn't brought the green canvas suitcase full of stuff I'd bought in Morgan City, and she said she'd put it in the turned-off stove (the fireplace and stove are the last things to burn because just as they're made to keep fire IN, they can also keep it out). I kept asking if our complex would burn down, and she said of course it would! I was angry at the fire department for taking so long, but the last thing I remember before waking up was the sight of firemen shooting water into orange and gray smoke.

When I awoke, I was totally relieved to be safely home in DPTX with my baby pillow there beside me, my black purse hanging on the chair, the green suitcase in the closet, and all my Morgan City "treasures" having been packed away on January 4th when we got here by 8:00 PM. But I couldn't help but wonder why I dreamed about a fire at a place like that. So could you please try to tell me the significance of the fire and how it pertains to my life? And why would we stay at a "motel" that looks exactly like the apartment to which Mom is constantly threatening to send me to live? Which things should I be afraid of and which ones should I just shrug off as nothing?








Depending on the context of your dream, to see fire in your dream can symbolize destruction, passion, desire, illumination, transformation, enlightenment, or anger. It may suggest that something old is passing and something new is entering into your life. Your thoughts and views are changing. In particular, if the fire is under control or contained in one area, then it is a metaphor of your own internal fire and inner transformation. It also represents your drive, motivation, and creative energy. Alternatively, the dream may be warning you of your dangerous or risky activities. You are literally "playing with fire".

To dream that a house is on fire, indicates that you need to undergo some transformation. If you have recurring dreams of your family house on fire, then it suggests that you are still not ready for the change or that you are fighting against the change. Alternatively, it highlights passion and the love of those around you.