Dreams about cars and other vehicles can reveal something about the driving forces in our lives. Sometimes car dreams say something specific about how we carry ourselves, and at other times, they say something about what might be carrying us.
Our driving forces change with various stages of our life journey. There are times when we feel as though we are firmly in the driver’s seat. We have a clear view of our path and we know exactly where we are going. Other times things are not so clear.
The forces which drive us in life can be conscious or unconscious. While we might be conscious of what is driving us, for example, a steadfast mindset that compels us to succeed at all costs or to be the best at our jobs, we may be unconscious of the full effects of that mindset. Maybe our relationships or our health suffer because of that one-sided mindset.
We may be totally unconscious of who or what drives us. Some people think that their willpower drives them through life; however, anyone who knows themselves well enough is aware that despite our greatest efforts, our will power often fails us.
Other people feel as though they have no power whatsoever to steer themselves in the right direction. So, let’s a take a look at the many possible meanings of dreams about cars and the various life conditions under which these dreams come to us.
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Dreams about Cars: setting up your interpretation
As I talk about in my introductory post on dream interpretation and meaning, when trying to unravel the meaning of a car dream, we have to look, not only at the whole context of the dream itself, but also the context of our current life situation.
Carefully examine all of the images in your dream. Take note of your emotional reactions to the dream images, including having no emotional reaction to the images.
Next, compare all of that to your current life situation. Only when you have done all of that can you come close to what your dreams about cars illuminate about your life.
And finally, when you feel that you have touched on the meaning of your car dream, then you have to integrate that meaning into your conscious life. That’s always the tricky part.
Dreams about cars: overview
Below you’ll see some example questions you can ask yourself in regard to your dreams about cars.
Everything in the dream, from the style and condition of the car and how we’re driving it, to where we are going gives us insight into the meaning of car dreams.
And as I say in every post, keep in mind that the dream shows you something you are not aware of.
What’s the context of your car dream?
Are you firmly in the driver’s seat or is someone else driving?
If you could use a metaphor about driving that would describe how you carry yourself in life, what would you say?
Now consider whether or not that particular way of driving works for you right now
How does it affect you or those around you?
Do you drive with the flow of traffic or against it?
What is your destination?
Try look at it symbolically. If you are trying to get “home”, then this is a symbol for “home within”. The way you carry yourself in life can’t get you there.
If you can’t leave wherever you are, then do you need to stay there? Do you need to find another way to get where you are going?
Do you have a sense of direction or are you lost?
Are the mechanics of the car functioning properly or is it broken down?
Where were you trying to go? To work or a social event?
What are the conditions of your trip? Is it night or day?
In what direction are you traveling?
Are there any other characters or images in your dream?
If so, then these symbolize either part of the problem or part of a solution. Examine their qualities to determine which it is.
Dreams about cars: an image for our general mindstate and the direction we are moving in life
Car dreams are different from dreams about traveling by trains, planes, or buses. When you dream of traveling by public transportation, the dream is indicating some kind of collective or conventional pattern.
Think about how public transportation works. It follows a specific schedule and travels along well-laid paths.
In car dreams, both the car itself and the direction it travels represent a specific aspect of our current psychic atmosphere and the direction of psychic movement. For example, are we in a crappy old banger that’s barely chugging along, or, are we in a sports or luxury car? Is the car functioning properly or is it broken down or out of gas? Are we traveling forward, i.e., moving forward in life, or, are we moving backward, i.e., regressing in in life?
The type of vehicle in a dream illustrates the kind of movement or the manner in which the dreamer moves forward in time—in other words, how he lives his psychic life, whether individually or collectively, whether on his own or on borrowed means, whether spontaneously or mechanically.Carl Jung, Psychology and AlchemyIf I go back through my own dream journal, I can see that dreams about cars are some of the most frequent. Sometimes I am driving, and at others, I am a passenger. Sometimes my trip feels easy, and at others, I am totally lost and confused. All of these changes in scenarios change the meaning of our car dreams.
During times when I was uncertain about my place in the world, my dreams about cars involved losing my car or having trouble driving it. Whenever I was unconsciously drifting into old patterns of habit, then my car dreams were either of me driving an old car from my past or of me being driven around by someone else.
Dreams about cars: Dreams about your own car
Dreams about cars we own often say something about how we carry ourselves through life, whether or not our driving style is working for us, or if we are headed in the right direction.
If we dream about being in the driver’s seat, then we know the dream is saying something about what we are doing and how it affects our lives. We have to pay attention to the dream imagery: are we driving with confidence, navigating in the flow of traffic or in conflict with it, traveling with a good sense of direction?
For example, two women had the following car dreams:
Car dreams: going in the wrong direction
I am on the freeway, driving backwards and against the flow of traffic. I narrowly avoid colliding with the oncoming traffic.
I’m speeding down the road and make a quick exit. Suddenly I see that I am going the wrong way on a one-way road.
These two dreams about cars make it clear that something is going wrong for these two women. When we have warning dreams such as these, we should stop and reflect about our current life situation. For example, if you have a car dream where you are moving against the flow of traffic, close your eyes and really feel yourself in this dream space. You need to step into the emotional space of the dream.
Are we making a bad decision about a taking our lives in a different direction?
Is there something in our current attitude that puts us in conflict with others?
Are we just going in the wrong direction in general?
In each of us is another whom we do not know. He speaks to us in dreams and tells us how differently he sees us from the way we see ourselves.Carl Jung, The Meaning of Psychology for Modern ManConfronting ourselves with these questions can be challenging for the ego, but this is the point of dream interpretation.
We are submitting ourselves to something greater than the ego, to that Other within us who sees what the ego cannot see. Your ego will find all kinds of excuses for why you should keep doing what you’re doing.
You can easily fall under the spell of “where there’s a will, there’s a way!” The dream symbolically shows you what you are doing. If you fail to take heed, something will eventually happen to force your hand. Watch for signs of this, such as small accidents or other dreams which reinforce the message.
Dreams about Cars: in what direction are you moving?
When the dream gives us a clear indication of the direction we travel, it’s showing us a specific aspect of psychic 
movement. In order to understand what I mean by movement, think of it this way: going to college, graduating, and then getting your first job is forward movement in life.
Sometimes as we move forward in life, we hit an obstacle that sets us back. If we continue to regress from that setback, for example we fall into a depression, that’s backward movement. Not all backward movement is bad because very often, taking a step back is necessary.
Dreams often symbolize patterns of movement in our lives. For example, traveling uphill or northward can symbolize that you are coming out of a situation or that something new is coming into your awareness. Traveling downhill or southerly can be an image for going into a more reflective state or slipping into a state of unconsciousness.
Again, take note of the particulars about your dream, most especially your relationship to the mechanics of the car and your situation. Are you speeding downhill without any brakes? Do you stop yourself just before an impact or do you crash?
Many times dreams about cars show you in precarious situations:
Car dreams: hanging on the edge
I dreamed that I almost drove over a cliff. The two front tires are just over the edge of a deep ravine, but I do not seem to be concerned.
The psychological rule says that when an inner situation is not made conscious, it happens outside as fate.Carl Jung, Aion, Christ, a Symbol of the SelfI have seen many dreams similar to the one above! The dreamer is in a very dangerous situation, but has no emotional response in the dream.
So many people think, “but I wasn’t worried!”, not even realizing the dream is a warning about that lackadaisical attitude. If you have such a dream, you should ask yourself: what would I do if I were really in this situation?
In these cases, the car dream is saying, “You are in a dangerous situation, but you don’t seem to notice!” Throughout his writings, Jung shares story after story of people who did not listen to their warning dreams. Many of those people died because of it.
Dreams about cars: what does it mean when we are lost or disoriented?
There are many dreams about cars that involve us driving in circles, missing our exits, having trouble entering the highway, or losing our way altogether.
We often have these dreams during times of crisis or confusion. When this is the case, keep in mind that the dream is not just showing you a snapshot of what you already know.
The dream always attempts to show you what you cannot see. So, again we have to ask ourselves what is this dream telling me about my situation that I’m missing?
Pay attention to the scenario. Where are you? What other characters are involved? Write down as much as you can about each image. If the dream takes you back into your past, then you need to look back at that time in your life for answers. Here’s another example dream from my own dream journal:
Car dreams: Confusion on the highway
I am looking for an entrance ramp onto an interstate in the VA/DC area. The roads became very confusing. There were lots of overpasses running in many different directions. I have seen this intersection-imagery in previous dreams. Totally lost and disoriented and keep taking the wrong roads.
As I was getting onto the interstate, I zoom past a terrible car accident, but I am going too fast to stop. I see a reddish, chow like dog laying down in the road, with his front feet out, next to his “owner,” a construction-looking guy with long blonde hair and sun damaged skin, whose legs were severed just below the knees. I called 911, and got a woman on the other end, but I could not remember the name of the interstate, nor could I tell what direction I was headed. It felt like I was supposed to be going North.
dream #2 (same night)
Now, I am with P. and S. We were sitting at a table. I was trying to draw mountain imagery on a map. After I had sketched it out was looking to color it, I noticed that the paper I had used had lines embedded in it, which created the 3-dimensional effect of rivers and roads. I started to color them in. The most outstanding color of the map was blue.
Interpretation of car dreams where we are lost or confused
Let me start by pointing out something important because this happens often. Dreams #1 and #2 are connected, even though I recorded them as different dreams.
In the first dream, I am lost and cannot find my way. But in the second dream, I’m drawing a map, with an outstanding color is blue.
The second of half of this dream pair shows the possibility of orienting myself; it’s a positive symbol for my outcome.
The meaning of place in dreams
The dream put me back in the DC area, a time in my life where I was very unhappy, totally lost, and confused. So, the psychic atmosphere at the time of my dream was something like the DC area. When a dream makes a statement about a specific place, you need to put yourself there.
Sometimes the place in the dream says, a part of you is psychologically still here. This can mean either that a part of you is stuck in your past or that your current psychic situation is similar.
My challenge at that point in my life was to discover who this injured construction worker was. Something in me had been mutilated to the point of not being able to stand on my own two feet. It’s a terrible image, but even mutilation is an archetypal image pregnant with meaning. Mutilation and dismemberment is a state in the process of rebirth. This is a widespread theme in mythology and religion, for example in the stories Dionysus, Osiris, and Jesus.
I had to work out what that construction worker symbolized for me – what part of my personality he represented. I had to ask myself, did I lose something of myself in DC? What do I think about construction workers? Sunburn? A red Chow?
The appearance of the couple (P and S) , who were old friends of mine that I’d lost touch with, also has something to do with orienting myself. Did I need to integrate or disintegrate some aspect of those two? Everything in those two dreams was a clue, both about my suffering and the path to my healing.
Dreams about cars crashing: are you on a collision course?
Can a dream be more obvious than dreams about cars crashing? When we see dreams like this, we should be on the look out for the possibility of a collision in our lives. To be sure, collisions are scary, but they can also be a wake up call.
Sometimes a collision in our lives is absolutely necessary in order to break things up or to stop us in our fast tracks to nowhere.
As with any dream, dreams about cars crashing can be tricky to interpret because we do not always know whether these dreams are an image for a collision with the external world or a collision with the internal world.
Here are two dreams about cars crashing from two different women:
Car dreams #1: collisions and near misses
I am sitting on the hood of the car while my cousin J. drives. We are on the freeway somewhere in the U.S. suddenly I see we are about to collide with the car in front of us. There is a major traffic accident. I think, “what the hell am I doing on the hood of this car?? This is it. I going to die.” We stop just before the impact.Car dreams #2: collisions and near misses
Dreamed that I was with a male figure. We are in a very deep relationship. He is driving a large Truck – Texas-Styled – possibly a Chevrolet. At some point, while driving on the highway, I realize that he is no longer there – but the Truck is now driving itself. I think that I should get over and drive before it crashes. I have a very difficult time maneuvering over to the driver’s side – and once I am there, I cannot control the steering or pedals. The truck is literally driving itself.
The woman in the first dream was reminded of her father, who used to let her ride on the hood of his car when she was a child. While it was great fun for her at the time, when she thought about it, she realized how reckless that was. She could have easily slide off and been run over.
Her cousin, who was driving, lived a reckless, meaningless life. The dream let her know, you need to get off the hood of this car and start driving!
The second dream is a different image. This dreamer had lived most of her life in constant fear and self-doubt. She had finally started to see how life could work out for her. Things were looking great. This kind of change in attitude will often constellate an old pattern in the psyche, as if something rises up to keep us from moving forward.
At the time of the dream, she had fallen into an old pattern of not trusting her life because she couldn’t yet see how her future could unfold. This dream was a beautiful reminder that sometimes, unseen driving forces and helping hands are in control. It is psyche’s way of saying: Fear not; there is no crash coming. Something else is in control of your Fate.
Questions for your dreams about cars crashing
Is there something reckless about your attitude or how you are handling a current situation?
Do you know where you are going?
Are you driving too fast or too slow?
Do you have control over your car?
Dreams about cars: what does your car mean to you?
People can project a lot or very little onto their cars. To some people, cars are a status symbol, while to others, cars are just something practical – a means to get from A to B.
Cars are a source of stress for anyone who can’t afford one that is reliable. There are people who treat their cars like a baby or a lover, and then, some people don’t care at all about their cars.
Think about what your car means to you. All of your associations figure into the part of yourself that the car dream symbolizes.
… cars are an avatar. Cars are an expansion of yourself: they take your thoughts, your ideas, your emotions, and they multiply it.Chris Bangle, ex-Chief of Design for BMW Group
For example, if you say your car means “nothing”, then dreaming about your car breaking down could say, “You don’t put enough energy into how you move through life. You’re stalling.”
If your car is a status symbol for you and you have a dream of crashing it, then the dream could be saying that your self-image is too attached to a persona, i.e, you are not authentic and eventually, you will crash.
Dreams about cars: what kind of vehicle is in your dream?
In car dreams, the type of car and its condition says something about your current situation, your state of mind, and the way you carry yourself in life.
The following dream is from a woman who’d had to fight for most of her life in order to survive. Because of this, she unconsciously approached everything in life as a struggle, even though in reality, she was long past needing to fight. Even taking care of mundane things like going to the grocery store felt like an ordeal!
She always felt that she needed to be working in order to make something of herself. Taking time off, much less just being herself, was not even in her realm of possibility.
Car dreams: the meaning of the car you drive
I am in the Jeep, trying to get up a very sandy hill. At some point, I realize that whatever I am trying to do is futile. I say, “why am I causing myself so much trouble? I don’t need to get up this hill, I just need to park.
Her Jeep was an old Wrangler Sahara with big gnarly wheels that could climb over just about any mountainous terrain. That car could get her up and down hills, even in deep snow. Something about it made her feel safe, as though nothing could keep her from getting where she needed to be. It also gave her a sense of independence. However, the Jeep wasn’t practical for everyday use. Even driving it around for fun took a lot of effort.
The Jeep was a symbol for an attitude that could get her out of difficult situations. However, as with the Jeep, that attitude isn’t for everyday life. The dream came at a time when what she really needed to do was stop trying so hard. This short dream had a huge impact on her! She could finally laugh at herself and see what she had been doing all along.
Dreams about cars: who’s driving and what that means about your life
If you are not at the wheel, then take a good look at who is. The dream could be saying something about a driving force in your life, one that can help steer you in the right direction or one that takes you off track completely.
For example, maybe you dream about being in the car with one of your parents driving. You would need to ask yourself, have I regressed into an old family pattern? Sometimes, strangers are driving us around, as we can see in this strange car dream below.
Car dreams and serial killers
Traveling with two serial killers in an old white van. One of them is very handsome (like Ted Bundy) and we are attracted to each other. His name is Wayne Gacey (the name of an actual serial killer in my lifetime), but he is nothing like the actual Gacey who was fat and gross. I am intrigued and captivated by the fact that they have allowed me into their private journey across the country.
They are not actively hunting during my stay with them, but I seem to know something of their nature. That they have taken me into their company makes me feel special, almost protected in an eerie sort of way. At some point, I become afraid of them and urgently feel the need to leave their party.
We drive to their apartment where I meet another woman who works for them. This woman lives in the apartment with them. She is blind to how dangerous they are. I say to her, “Do you know who these guys are? They are killers. At first she does not listen, but a blood curdling scream makes her realize. We plan a way to get away from them.
Now this kind of dream is very complicated because it’s an image for a deeply unconscious process in this woman. She had come from a tortured past, one that almost killed her will to live. Something of her spirit still burned bright, but her past had left her impotent to make a place for herself in the world. She had absolutely no trust in her own ability whatsoever, even though she was highly intelligent and wise beyond her years.
There are several important pieces to this dream: the white van, the serial killers, her feeling special to be in the company of killers, and this naive woman and the fact that they end up in the serial killers’ apartment.
Here are her associations to the dream:
- the white van reminded her of a childhood incident where a white van slowly followed her as she rode her bike home. She got a bad feeling and found a place to jump off of her bike and hide, as the van drove back and forth for several minutes, as though they were looking for her.
- the naive woman she recognized as a part of herself who tended to get involved with people who were no good for her.
- the serial killers reminded her of people who have a morbid fascination with them, like the woman in her dream.
- an apartment in an apartment complex almost always symbolizes a psychological complex (click the link to read more about psychological complexes)
So, the question for us to explore was: what was her unconscious, morbid fascination (imaged by the other woman) that linked her to these serial killers? She admitted to me that any time she fell into depressive states about her lack of ability to make a place herself in this world, she often watched documentaries about serial killers. That was an interesting dynamic to both of us. What we realized is that the serial killers symbolized a self-destructive dynamic in her: an abject lack of self-worth kept her from taking the driver’s seat in her life.
Any time we are fascinated with strange things, whether in our dreams or in our lives, we should explore the symbolic nature of it.
Not all dreams of other people driving us point to something destructive or regressive. Sometimes, we need to let others take the wheel.
Car dreams with someone else driving
My dream lover and I are in the car. He’s in the passenger side and I am in the middle. My husband is driving. Clearly my husband is unhappy about what’s happening between this other man and me, but still, accepting it.
I am holding my lover’s right hand and my left is on his heart. Again, I profess the reality of this relationship. He seems better.
I say, “this is real. Nothing is in between what you and I have together.”
Now, for those of you who are worried that this is a dream about cheating, I suggest you read this article so you can get a better understanding of what those dreams typically mean.
In this situation, the dreamer was a woman in the process of setting up several businesses. During that time, she was financially supported by her husband. For some people, this may sound a a great situation, but for this woman, it severely challenged her sense of self-worth. She was on the verge of huge success in her, but at the time of the dream, she did not know this. As a matter of fact, she completely doubted herself.
Many times, a male figure in a woman’s dreams is an image for her ability to make her own way in life. Both male figures in the dream are parts of her own psyche. The image of her lover in the dream was in the form of a highly successful man, whom she very much admired. That he is her lover in the dream is a very good symbolic indication of her future success. The image of her husband being upset in the dream was an image for that disgruntled masculine in her – the one that kept telling her she was a loser for being in her situation.
What was important about this particular dream about cars is this: for the time being, she needed to let her husband drive. His financial – not to mention emotional! – support allowed her get to know this inner masculine, something which would eventually lead to her success.
This dream brought tremendous relief to this woman! She was able to let go of her feelings of guilt and worthlessness and focus on the golden opportunity she had.
Dream about cars dying, breaking down, or running out of gas
If your car dream involves your car dying or breaking down, then something about your way of moving through life isn’t working. In order to figure out what that is, you need to establish the context of the dream. Where are you going in the dream? Who is with you?
If the dream about your car breaking down was only a single image, then it could speak to your general way of interacting with the world around you.
If there is more imagery to the dream, you need to lay that out and take a look at it. For example, how do you get yourself through life? Are you timid or aggressive? Do you stay within the lines or do you cross boundaries?
If you are aggressive or too timid, the dream could say, “This way of moving through life isn’t working”. Once you get all of that down, then reflect on how it fits into your current way of moving through life. Whatever that it – it’s not working anymore. Something needs to change. Either you know this already, or, it’s coming your way.
In some cases, dreams about cars breaking down indicate a need to take a different approach to life. For example, in many car dreams the car breaks down and we end up walking or riding a bicycle to our destination.
Whenever we end up going from our car to using our own momentum, it’s often a signal that we are moving through life to mechanistically. Below I have shared the end of a long dream where a woman had all kinds of issues driving her car. At some point in the dream she said, “I think it’s best to ride my bike.”
Car dreams: leaving your car and traveling by foot or bicycle
As I ride, I realize that I am in a very busy traffic zone near 1-40 and 240. I am feeling a bit scared at the traffic. It appears that I have found my route, riding without much effort and keeping up with traffic. However, I feel exposed. I look to the side and miss my exit. The bike speeds up as though it’s going on its own and I am going up and down hills really fast. I can hardly see the signs.I decide to exit the freeway to get my bearings. My bike rolls into the entrance of a seemingly luxurious hotel. I come up at the marquis which says, “You have landed in the right place. Come in. Relax. Treat yourself to a full body massage.” I think, “this sounds lovely.” I walk in barefooted and realize the whole place is made of quartz crystals. The stairs and floors are rose quartz. The railings were amethyst. I am standing on an amethyst crystal.
I step back outside and get on my bike, where I now have my bearings and ride to my destination.
Sometimes, we driver our cars so mechanistically, we do it unconsciously. This is a pretty good indication that we go through life in a similar fashion. When we travel on foot or by bicycle, we have to use our own force to get things going. In the above dream, this woman realized that she’d gotten too complacent in her life.
Dreams about cars: what it means when you can’t find your car
Not being able to find your car in a dream is another common theme. We’re walking around in the dream, searching to no avail. When you have a dream about losing your car, it’s a symbolic image for being unable to drive yourself where you need go. You’re unable to access that energy to carry yourself forward.
Sometimes it’s frustrating. Other times, we move on and start walking. In order to get at the meaning of these car dreams, we have to look at all of the dream’s components.
If losing your car is a recurring dream theme, then that says something about the manner in which you carry yourself through life. You cannot drive. What is the emotion of the dream? If the emotion is fear, then where in your life do you feel fear about your ability moving forward? When frustration is your main emotion, then you have to ask, where in your life do you feel frustrated?
Car dreams: questions for reflection
What is the emotion of the dream?
Where in life do you feel this same emotion?
What needs to change about the way you carry yourself?
Where are you?
Who is with you or who else appears in the dream?
How does the dream end?
How do you feel at the end of your dream?
Dreams about losing your car: Dream Examples
Below are two snippets from longer dreams, both depicting the dreamer unable to find her car, but with completely different meanings.
Car dreams: losing your car
I’m at my favorite gift shop – a spiritually minded place – looking for something special, something symbolic. When I walked outside, I was disoriented. Things looked different. I started to wander the area, looking for my car. I could not figure out where I had parked. At one point, I was riding my bicycle, still searching for my car. I was beginning to feel the frustration of being lost. Then I was on foot, bare feet, walking around downtown.Trying to get my bearings. It was starting to get dark. I thought about calling my husband, but then I realized I had no cell phone, no purse, and no money. The only way home was to talk barefoot. I knew it would be a long walk. Oddly, I feel okay about this. Like it’s somehow necessary.
Losing your car: a real dream interpretation
Here’s what makes this car dream interesting. The woman woke up with a feeling of a breakthrough. Here are her exact words about the dream (shared with permission):
The feelings most associated with this dream are of feeling lost in a place I am familiar with. I knew where I was, but could not orient myself. This is what I do to myself in general. I get clear on a path, but lose my way. The last two days were psychologically unsettling because I got myself caught in great expectations. I had resolved last night that this path David and I are on together is dark and adventurous. We will not be given a solution/map of the path. The point is to enter this way. We can only do it for our sake, “without assurance and without sanction. There is something comforting in this dream.
The easy way home was not an option in this dream. I think I had gotten myself trapped into believing we had already done the hard work and that our payoff would be now. I keep desperately trying to consciously see the way that it is going to happen for us. The path before us is dark. We do not know the way. We have to find it as it emerges.
This reaction to not having her car was totally different that she would feel about not having her car. Her car was a symbol for being in control. Here, for once in her life, she felt okay about not being in control. It was the image of being in this spiritually minded place, looking for something symbolic that offered her comfort.
At the end of the dream, the dreamer is walking barefooted through downtown, again feeling comfortable. A city is an archetypal symbol for herself – her true Self. That is why she feels oddly comfortable.
Now you can see why it is so important that you really examine the psychic atmosphere of the dream. It shows you something about the situation that your ego doesn’t see. The dream gives you the full psychic picture, which includes both consciousness and the unconscious.
Now, from the same woman, here’s a totally different kind of dream about losing your car:
Car dreams: losing your car
Then came time to leave and by then it was dark. Can’t find my car. I felt so sleepy that I could hardly stand and I felt like I needed to get home. This time I never found my car. I was left in the parking and it was totally dark. At first, I thought I had left my purse in the car, but it was in the restaurant. I went in to retrieve it and they were closing down the place. I was able to get my purse.Then I called my mother, who answered her phone, but did not realize she had answered it. It was as though she picked up to place a call just before it rang. She was having a conversation with my grandmother. I was calling out to her and calling out to her, but to no response.
The dreamer woke up feeling “stranded” and “abandoned.” This was a woman with a terrible history and relationship with her mother, but she was unconsciously pretending that it had no effect on her. At the time, the dreamer thought that everything was fine with her mother – that she had worked out her childhood issues. This dream opened her eyes to the fact that something about her relationship with her mother had left her stranded and abandoned. She had her identity in tact, but she had trouble moving through her life, so to speak.
These kinds of dreams tells us where we need to do our psychological work.
Dreams about cars running out of fuel
Fuel is liquid energy. It is absolutely necessary for the life of the car. Our cars need fuel in order to get us to our destinations.
Throughout this post we have talked about the car as a symbol for the forces which carry us through the various stages of life. If we translate car fuel into psychological language, fuel simply means the energy of our life force, something Jung called psychic energy.
Psychic energy isn’t only that stuff which propels us forward or moves us along at rocket speeds. Psychic energy manifests in many different forms. Sometimes it is slow and steady. Other times it comes in the form of steadfast patience. It can move upward or downward, inward or outward. So, when you dream of running out of gas, then you have to ask yourself, what type of energy is appropriate for this stage of my life?
Dreams about cars running out of fuel are symbolic of the possibility of not having enough life force for whatever situation the dream symbolizes. Again, examine the atmosphere and general mood of your dream. Where are you going? What does this place symbolize for you? For example, if you dream about trying to get home and running out of fuel, the symbolic implication is that you don’t have enough energy to get Home to yourself – to that place within.
- Hidden Meaning in Dreams About Flying: A Jungian Analysis - December 17, 2023
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I had a dream I was at my church outside in the parking lot. A bunch of us would wait on our rides outside as young adults before we graduated highschool. I saw a man far away but it was as if he was close up when I looked and just starred and he starred back at me. He got in his car white Toyota Corolla older model (I have a gray Corolla 2010). He pulled up to the church driveway got out and cleaned out the passenger seat for me. Meanwhile a girl tried to distract me and I… Read more »
can’t really offer any insight without knowing your conscious situation: who are you and what is happening in your life? Apparently this man needs to drive your car…meaning some other part of yourself needs to take the wheel. The woman is interesting. Why do you push her away? She wants to come to you.
I’m female and the woman was being sexual and I didn’t like it. I’m currently trying to get my licenses for state board while working a new job after my last job dept shut down with 1 week notice I have a 2 year old. I’m not sure if it was my bf in the car or me looking at myself or Jesus but I wasn’t afraid. We were trying to get married but we keep having problems with communication on both ends either I want to be quiet n let it go n he wants to keep talking it… Read more »
I am alone, driving a car at night down a highway. I’m happy singing, Linda Ronstadt’s Blue Bayou. All of a sudden the road has water, beautiful crystal clear-bluish water. I don’t panic but have both hands on the wheel and I never lose control, I don’t know where I’m going but I seem so happy, like I was going home?
I dreamt that I was driving my car and as I was going through an intersection another car comes through in the opposite direction barely missing hitting my car. I look up and realize I ran a red light. Somewhat confused how I didn’t notice the red light, I continue driving and it happens again, I pass through another intersection barely missing another car Crossing from the other direction and again realize my light had been red. This happens at yet another intersection with a near miss and I’m wondering what is wrong with me that I keep running these… Read more »
I am on a university campus where I am lost. I can’t find my way back to my car (it is the car I currently own). I keep going around in circles and still can’t figure out which way to go. There are heaps of obstacles and challenges (flood water being a theme) which makes me have to backtrack, making me more and more lost. Eventually I run into my brother and he leads me to where I need to go. From there I can make the rest of the way back on my own. The feeling of relief when… Read more »
Hello, I dreamt that my wife and I were out at a work dinner, and drinking wine. When we left, my boss handed us the keys to his red lamborghini, but I was to drunk to drive, and I allowed my wife to drive. We were driving too fast, and she hit some random things like curbs, and stop signs. It made me angry that she was ruining the car, and she wouldn’t stop driving, so she kept hitting things. Every time she hit something I physically hit her(not a physically violent person, but have anger that I am working… Read more »
Hi Nathan, sounds like you have some unconscious rage to work out. This is not such an easy topic – “unconscious rage” – as it can be easily misunderstood. As I have said in all of my posts, without knowing your conscious situation, I cannot offer any insight. If you are interested, we could set up at dream reading to work through this.
I dream about myself driving the car but the was a lady I know that was blocking my way,was driving over a very small bridge,under it I saw a corpse and then I left the car the went inside the house which i do not know but there people i know in that house. Then when i came out of that house with my husband we realized that the bridge is finishing we can’t go forward.
I had a dream that me and my family were in our car and we were driving then all of a sudden we ended up at a place that I didn’t know of it was morning and their were white windows over these twin home type houses that were driving towards and I had this dream twice. Can u help find its meaning plz I am curious.
Hello, I had a disturbing dream. I was coming out of my house by just opening a door I saw my car being blown away and the tyres falling off but as I rushed to try to rescue it as I was seeing it moving in a slow motion but getting close to it a man appeared and shot me with many bullets in my body. I woke up.
I had a dream traveling in a public van being driven so fast.the driver missed a junction to the right direction for he couldn’t take the turn due to the speed.went the wrong direction.he decided to stop somewhere I didn’t know.I alighted and decided to ditch the ride though I had not reached my destination.angry and furious t that I almost saw my death.
Hi. Umm I had a dream I was driving a Mercedes Benz car trying so hard to get it parked in my compound, it was so difficult to drive it in. So I forcefully pressured the the throttle forcing the car into the building but it didn’t crash. Then I had my father come out of the house congratulate me for bravery and winning and I reassured him that I am a winner. Please I want a explanation of what’s all about. Thank you
Hello, can you help me with this dream my boyfriend had a dream about us driving to Oklahoma city, with we had already gone there and back, but he dream he was driving and everything went dark and he couldn’t see. Does this have something to do with me or does he feel control by me or do he feel like he’s making the wrong choice by being with me?
Dear Sister, please….curb your desperation and realize your own self-worth. If you had read this post, you’d have your answer. 🙏
Hi, I had the strangest dream about going thru a car wash with someone I’m not sure who with what appeared to be my yellow Lamborghini. I don’t own a yellow Lambo. Oh it gets better. I’m outside of the car with this semi stranger as it goes thru the wash with no water spraying no less. As it goes thru I’m stressing “large” because out of nowhere this ridiculous yellow Lambo is sustaining small damage. Of course small damage to this car is substantial. The whale tail in the back comes off and myself and another pair of hands… Read more »
definitely not about your kitchen. go back through post and make your associations to all of the imagery, then translate that psychologically. I show you how to do it in the post.
I had a dream last night where I had parked my car in the parking lot at Walgreens. I ran inside and when I came out the only thing in the parking spot was my bumper or fender(not sure which one) I asked a guy in the parking lot what happened to my car and he told me that it had been hit so he called a tow truck and had it taken care of for me, I remember feeling calm after he told me and saying Thank you and then I woke up. Very hard to interpret this one!… Read more »
After reading the post and following those leads, what are your feelings? This is not a complicated dream…
Jesamine, Thank you for responding to my post! The car in my dream is the current car I’m driving so I feel like it was representing me or my life right now. It was hit and taken care of without my knowledge so I feel like it means my angels are taking care of me, carrying me through what I have going on in my life right now. I had a very positive attitude in the dream and felt positive vibes when I woke up. I’m not sure what the bumper or fender represents that was left behind in the… Read more »
Jesamine, My dream about a car is a bit different. I dreamed that it was either my friend or my brother whom was living in their car. The car was a blue (vintage mustang or camaro) with white stripes on the hood. Upon entering the car I noticed that inside the car it looked like the backseat had been set up as living quarters. in other words when I entered the car it was ample enough to have a sitting area and a bed etc. looked like a bachelor apartment. I remember thinking oh this is so cool but then… Read more »
Hi Cesar, thanks for sharing your dream. As I say in the posts, all dreams have something to do with your current conscious life. You’d have to make associations to all of the figures in your dream, then apply what I have written in the posts to your current situation. The dream that follows is considered a continuation of the first dream.
I keep having a reaccuring dream a male friend is driving his car in reverse and going backwards on the freeway his car flips 7 times but when it starts flipping he is no longer in car hes laying flat on his back In the shoulder lane.
Hello Jesamine, I had a dream that I was driving along in my car and suddenly a truck came from my right side and smashed into my car full speed. Somehow I was completely unharmed but the car was ruined. And in the dream I was absolutely enraged and screaming at the truck driver who was completely unconcerned and ignoring me, smoking a cigarette, while the police kept telling me I should be happy I only lost the car and that I was actually really lucky, and not to worry because I would get some compensation from the truck drivers… Read more »
Hi Michael, thanks for sharing your dream and details. The truck driver is a shadow figure, not your anger. Stay with the dream imagery: the police in this dream tell you that you are lucky and not to worry because you will be compensated. Police are often jerks in our dreams, but not so much here. Here they seem more like your inner figures of authority, telling you to “take it easy, man”. Psychologically speaking, “compensation” would mean that whatever “energy” is bound up in your father’s car will come to you through the “destruction” of the car. This car… Read more »
I had a dream I was sitting in my driveway in the driver seat like I was leaving for work.
In real life I have a bad neighbor. In my dream my neighbor opens her garage, slams it shut then re opens driving a luxury vehicle. She takes off speeding south then I wake up
My recurring car dream is where I am coming out of either school or someplace else to find my car is gone. I keep looking for it going round and round walking up and down the isles. Sometimes in the dream the car turns up to have been towed away other times my dream just ends without finding it. When I find that the car has been towed I’m annoyed because I feel that it shouldn’t be towed I was allowed to park there. No one else is in the dreams with me. What could this possibly mean.
I’m driving in my new car on the freeway in California (where I live) and my wife is with me in the passenger seat. I’m driving pretty fast because there’s the freeway is pretty busy and I ask my wife if she could let me know when it’s time for me to take out exit (because for some reason I’m not able to take my eyes of the road ahead long enough to watch to my exit). She says yes she will. Then she yells in frustration “oh man, I missed it. Sorry!” And I say it’s okay just let… Read more »
I can’t remember much about the dream apart from I was sat in my car and an heavy metal cargo container tipped onto my car whilst I was inside. It crushed the car apart from where AI was sat in the driving seat but I was stuck inside the car. Don’t know the outcome as I woke up.
I dream we in a mini bus with my sisters and the driver is taking the wrong direction and I told him we going to end in a mine hole tunnel and he was ignorant we ended up in a mining tunnel but we were safe we could see the light at the back