Bull in a dream: meaning in Ibn Sirin, al-Nabulsi and Ibn Shahin

94 passages from 5 sources, quoted as written, every one linked to its page.

Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulsi, Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam

In a dream it is the chief of a people and the manager of a household, or of a town, or of a village. A single bull is a governorship of one year, and for the sultan, the merchant, and the craftsman, a year's trade.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, pp. 53–54

(And whoever sees) that he has many bulls, then he will assume a governorship if he is worthy of it, and under his hand there will be leaders whom he directs in his governorship in accordance with the degree of obedience he saw in them. And if he sees that he rode one of them, good and abundance are driven toward him.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, pp. 53–54

(And whoever sees) that he ate the head of a bull attains a governorship and authority, so long as the bull was not red. And if he is a merchant, he will obtain trade and partners who will be under his hand; and if he is a market man, they are his hired workers.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, pp. 53–54

The bull is an agent (tax-collector). So whoever sees that he rode a bull overcomes an agent. And if there was a load on the bull, then the agent will collect wealth for him in proportion to the load and its kind. And if he brought it into his house while riding it, then good is driven toward him.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, pp. 53–54

And if the bull was red, his son will fall ill or his family member will die. The bull is a king. And the bull is an enemy of the class of agents. And if a bull is slaughtered for food, then its flesh is lawful provision.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, pp. 53–54

(And whoever sees) that he bought a bull, then he will handle friends and the noble people gently, with soft, pleasant speech.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, pp. 53–54

Ibn Shahin al-Zahiri, al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat

Whoever sees that he is riding a bull and it belongs to him, then it indicates obtaining employment from the sultan and obtaining a blessing because of him, especially if it is black. And if it is yellow, then it indicates illness.

al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat, pp. 201–202

Whoever sees a bull coming out of a room and then wanting to return into it but being unable to, then it is interpreted as a word that comes out of a man's mouth and he intends to take it back but cannot.

al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat, p. 202

A rare anecdote: A man came to Ibn Sirin and said, "I saw a huge bull come out of a small hole, and I shook hands with it; then it wanted to return into that hole, but it was too narrow for it." Ibn Sirin said: That is the grave word that comes out of a man's mouth, and then he regrets it and wishes to take it back, but he is unable to.

al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat, pp. 263–264

And whoever sees a bull that gored him with its horn and drove him out of his house, then it indicates his dismissal from his post and the occurrence of harm in proportion to the pain he suffered from the bull's goring. And if it did not drive him out of his house, then it indicates the occurrence of harm to those connected with him, while he himself remains in his position and is not dismissed.

al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat, pp. 201–202

Ibn Sirin said: bulls are interpreted as non-Arabs, and whatever exceeds fourteen cows is interpreted as war, and whatever is less than that, down to a single one, is interpreted as a quarrel.

al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat, p. 202

And whoever sees an increase in one of the bull's limbs, then it indicates the occurrence of good. And the vision of the bull's flesh is the wealth of the scholar, and its hide and flesh are the wealth of his followers.

al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat, pp. 201–202

attributed to Ibn Sirin, Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam

(The bull) is fundamentally a worker possessing invulnerability, strength, authority, wealth and weapons — the weapons being his horns — unless he has no horns, in which case he is a contemptible, lowly, poor man stripped of blessing,

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 341–347

like the dismissed official and the impoverished chief. Sometimes the bull is a young servant, because he is among the labourers of the earth. Sometimes it indicates sexual intercourse on the part of men, because of his much ploughing. Sometimes it indicates the man of the desert and the ploughman. Sometimes it indicates the rebel, because he stirs up the earth and turns its top into its bottom. Sometimes it indicates the helper, the slave, the brother and the companion, because of his help to the ploughman and his service to the people of the desert.

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 341–347

So whoever owns a bull in a dream — if it is a woman, her husband will be submissive to her; and if she has no husband she will marry, or if she has two daughters she will marry them off.

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 341–347

And whoever sees that: whoever has a ruler over him will prevail over him and obtain from him what he hopes for; and if he rides it, that is stronger still.

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 341–347

And whoever slaughters a bull: if he is a ruler, he will kill one of his officials or one who rebelled against him; and if he is one of the common people, he will subdue a man and prevail over one whom he feared, and will kill a man by a testimony he bears against him.

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 341–347

And if he slaughters it from the nape of its neck, or from its belly, or from other than the place of slaughter, then he will wrong a man and transgress against him, or betray him in his person or his property, or have intercourse with him from behind.

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 341–347

Artemidorus of Daldis, Oneirocritica (1644 English translation)

the Bul signifies any great personage, especially if they threaten and pursue you;

Oneirocritica (1644 English translation), The Second Booke of Artimedorus His Exposition of Dreames.

to Mariners it is tempest, and if he wound you, it is hurt and shipwrack, by some inconvenience which shal fall from the top of the Mast, as I have often experienced, and it daily often falls out.

Oneirocritica (1644 English translation), The Second Booke of Artimedorus His Exposition of Dreames.

Freud and Jung, a separate view

the libido is dangerous when fecundating like the bull

Carl Jung, Psychology of the Unconscious (1916) / Collected Papers (1917), Psychology of the Unconscious, ch. IV The Song of the Moth

The bull is the well-known symbol for the fruitfulness of the sun.

Carl Jung, Psychology of the Unconscious (1916) / Collected Papers (1917), Psychology of the Unconscious, ch. IV The Song of the Moth

However, this sacrifice is probably to be interpreted through the Persian legend, as well as through the monument, as the moment of the _highest fecundity_.

Carl Jung, Psychology of the Unconscious (1916) / Collected Papers (1917), Psychology of the Unconscious, ch. V Symbolism of the Mother and of Rebirth

This bull signifies the concentrated significance of the monster, the father, who as giant and dangerous animal embodies the incest prohibition, and agrees with the individual libido of the sun-hero, which he overcomes by self-sacrifice.

Carl Jung, Psychology of the Unconscious (1916) / Collected Papers (1917), Psychology of the Unconscious, ch. V Symbolism of the Mother and of Rebirth

Who does not think of the Taurophoria of Mithra, who took his bull (according to the Egyptian hymn, “the bull of his mother”), that is, his love for his mother, the heaviest burden upon his back

Carl Jung, Psychology of the Unconscious (1916) / Collected Papers (1917), Psychology of the Unconscious, ch. VI The Battle for Deliverance from the Mother

The bull gods in the Mithraic liturgy were called κνωθακοφύλακες, “guardians of the axis of the earth,” by whom the axle of the orb of the heavens was turned.

Carl Jung, Psychology of the Unconscious (1916) / Collected Papers (1917), Psychology of the Unconscious, ch. IV The Song of the Moth

Kinds and conditions of Bull

slaughtering a bull

attributed to Ibn Sirin, Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam

And if he sees a bull slaughtered in a quarter or a house and they divide up its flesh, then that is a calamity befalling a great man who dies and whose wealth is divided up. The same applies to the camel, the ram, and the calf.

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 759–762

But if he slaughters any of these otherwise than in this manner, and its flesh goes into his cooking-pot or his food, then it is provision if he eats it, and wealth that he acquires.

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 759–762

bellowing of a bull

attributed to Ibn Sirin, Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam

The bellowing of a bull is the outbreak of strife.

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 195–196

65 more passages on this symbol are in the database and used by the interpreter.