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

177 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 indicates a powerful, awesome, dreaded, just, compassionate king whom all creatures need. The sea for the merchant is his merchandise, and for the hired worker his master.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, pp. 27–28

(Whoever sees) the sea will attain something he was hoping for.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, pp. 27–28

(Whoever sees) that he wades into it, then he will enter upon the king who has this description.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, pp. 27–28

(Whoever sees) that he is sitting upon the surface of the sea, or lying down upon it, then he will enter into the service of the king, and he will be wary of him, because water is not safe from drowning, and likewise one is not safe from the anger of the sultan.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, pp. 27–28

If he drinks all of its water — and none sees this except a great king — then he will rule the world and his life will be long, or he will obtain a third of the king's wealth, or the like of his authority, or he will be his equal in kingship.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, pp. 27–28

If he drinks of it until he is quenched, then he will obtain from the king wealth by which he becomes rich, along with a long life and strength.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, pp. 27–28

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

Daniel said: The vision of seas in general is interpreted as the caliph, or the sultan, or a virtuous scholar from whose knowledge benefit is gained.

al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat, p. 120

the world toward religion and righteousness; and perhaps drowning is a journey in safety.

al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat, p. 121

So whoever sees a clear, calm sea, then it is a just, religious king; and if it is otherwise, then its interpretation is the opposite.

al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat, p. 120

And it is said: whoever sees that he is standing upon the surface of a sea, then he will obtain something from the ruler which he had not hoped for.)

al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat, p. 121

And whoever sees that he drank from it, then he will obtain good and benefit from the one to whom that sea is attributed.

al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat, p. 120

And whoever sees that the sea rose up from the earth, then that is a tyrannical, oppressive ruler.

al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat, p. 121

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

The sea in interpretation is an awe-inspiring, powerful ruler, just as the sea is the greatest of the waters.

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 575–579

(The sea) As for the sea, it signifies everyone who holds authority over people, such as kings, sultans, tax-collectors, rulers, scholars, chiefs, and husbands, because of its strength, its great peril, and its taking and giving. Its water is his wealth and his knowledge; its waves are his men, or his onslaughts, or his proof and his commands; its fish are his subjects and his men; its provisions are his sustenance and his wealth, or his questions and his rulings; its beasts are his commanders, his helpers, his students, and his practices; its armies and its dwellings are his women and his trustees; its trade and its shops are his books, his copies of the Quran, and his jurisprudence.

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 579–583

And whoever sees the sea from afar, then he will see something terrifying; and it is said that something he hopes for will draw near to him.

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 583–586

And the sea may signify the world and its terrors: it honours one man and gives him wealth, and it impoverishes another and kills him; it gives him dominion today and kills him tomorrow; it smooths the way for him today and casts him down afterwards. Its ships are its markets, its seasons, and its ongoing journeys, which enrich some peoples and impoverish others. Its winds are its provisions, its good fortunes, its events, its calamities, and its illnesses. Its fish are its sustenance. Its animals and beasts are its afflictions, its calamities, its kings, and its thieves. Its waves are its anxieties and its trials.

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 579–583

And seeing the sea calm is better than that its waves be turbulent.

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 583–586

And the sea may signify raging, turbulent, overflowing sedition; its ships are Allah the Exalted's protection for whomever is protected in it; its waves are the successive waves of it; its fish are its sinful people in it, among whom the elder shows no mercy to the younger, but rather devours him, lives off him, and destroys him if he gains power over him.

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 579–583

Freud and Jung, a separate view

And since this woman symbolizes the same idea as the fish, which means the sea, (because we proceed from the assumption that the Sun descends into the sea as well as arises from it) thus the curious primitive answer is that this sea has previously swallowed the old Sun.

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

just as is the sea, into which the Sun sinks for rebirth.

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

Faust’s desire, like that of every hero, inclines towards the mysteries of rebirth, of immortality; therefore, his course leads to the sea

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

his kinsman and his cradle is the sea, the mother, similar to the world soul,

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

Consequently the resulting myth is, that the woman (sea) has formerly devoured the Sun and now brings a new Sun into the world, and thus she has become pregnant.

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

Kinds and conditions of Sea

gulf (inlet, channel of the sea)

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

Gulfs in a dream are followers, or gateways of that which the sea signifies.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, p. 108

So if it increases at the time when the sea is decreasing, he is one who rebels against the king and casts off obedience to him.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, p. 108

walking on the sea

Artemidorus of Daldis, Oneirocritica (1644 English translation)

FOr to walke upon the Sea, to him which would travell, as also to a servant and him which would take a Wife: the one shall enjoy his Wife, and the other shall have his master at his own pleasure

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

it is also good for him which hath a law suit, for the Sea represents the Judge, which handles some well, and others ill:

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

sea monster

Freud and Jung, a separate view

A hero is devoured by a water monster in the West (to devour). The animal carries him within him to the East (sea journey). Meanwhile, he kindles a fire in the belly of the monster (to set on fire) and since he feels hungry he cuts off a piece of the hanging heart (to cut off the heart). Soon after he notices that the fish glides upon the dry land (to land); he immediately begins to cut open the animal from within outwards (to open) then he slides out (to slip out). In the fish’s belly, it had been so hot, that all his hair had fallen out (heat-hair). The hero frequently frees all who were previously devoured (to devour all) and all now slide out

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

the whale-dragon myth so beautifully worked out by Frobenius, in which the sea monster devours the sun-hero for rebirth and where the hero must employ every stratagem to conquer the monster

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

sea vessel (ship/boat)

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

This was already dealt with under the letter Sīn, in "ship" (safīna). Fishing vessels in a dream indicate provision and benefit.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, p. 332

So whoever rides in a dream a foreign vessel, or owns it, or has command over it, will marry a woman from that land to which it is attributed, or he will buy a slave-girl, or he will triumph over his enemy, or he will travel in its direction, or he will come to own merchandise from there.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, p. 332

sea birds (cormorants and grebes)

Artemidorus of Daldis, Oneirocritica (1644 English translation)

TO sée in a dreame Dive-dappers and Cormorants, and other such like birds of the Sea, is perill to Marriners, but not death:

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

to others they signifye theyr friends and whores, deceivers, and wicked perjured Pyrates, which haunt Rivers and the Sea.

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

night sea journey

Freud and Jung, a separate view

During the night journey on the sea the Sun-god is enclosed in the mother’s womb, oftentimes threatened by dangers of all kinds.

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

Osiris, however, mated in the underworld with his second sister, Nephthys (motive of the night journey to the sea with incest).

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

great fish or sea monster

Artemidorus of Daldis, Oneirocritica (1644 English translation)

TO see a great Fish in the Sea, is good for no man, onely the Dolphin excepted

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

but out of the Sea every Fish and great monster is good, for they can hurt no more, nor save themselves, and therefore besides that, our dream signifyes that our Enemies cannot hurt us: it sayes moreover, that the wicked shall be punished.

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

squill (sea onion)

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

In a dream it is a foul-mouthed, dissolute man who is praised with what is disgraceful.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, p. 246

So whoever sees it in his hand, then he is seeking something that will bequeath him disgraceful repute.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, p. 246

sea cow

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

As for the sea cow, in interpretation it is close to it, but the difference between the two is that it is stable, unlike the dolphin.

al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat, p. 220

sea horse (hippopotamus)

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

As for the sea horse (hippopotamus), it is interpreted as a benefit for whoever takes possession of it. And it is said that it is interpreted as a person of a rank corresponding to its importance.

al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat, p. 220

riding the sea for battle

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

A rare account: Anas ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) used to visit Umm Haram, who was married to 'Ubadah ibn al-Samit. He came in to her one day and she fed him and began to pick lice from his head, and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) fell asleep. Then he awoke laughing. She said: I said, "What makes you laugh, O Messenger of Allah?" He said: "People of my nation were shown to me raiding in the way of Allah, riding upon the midst of this sea, kings upon thrones" — or he said, "like kings upon thrones." She said: I said, "O Messenger of Allah, pray to Allah to make me one of them." So he prayed for her. Then he laid down his head and slept, then awoke laughing, and I said, "What makes you laugh, O Messenger of Allah?" And he said as he had said the first time. She said: I said, "O Messenger of Allah, pray to Allah to make me one of them." He said: "You are among the first ones." So she rode the sea in the time of Mu'awiyah, and she was thrown from her mount when she came out of the sea and perished, may Allah be pleased with her.

al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat, p. 259

iron bridge over a sea of milk

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

A rare anecdote. It is related that a man was sleeping and beside him was a companion who was awake. Milk was brought in a vessel, and he set it down and cut off the top of a melon and laid the knife across the vessel of milk, waiting for his companion to wake. Then he saw something come out of his companion's nose like a fly, and he could not make out what it was; it walked along that knife and then returned into his nose. Then his companion awoke and said: "I have seen a wondrous thing — as if I were upon a bridge built of iron in the midst of a sea of milk." His companion marvelled, and informed him of what he had seen come out of him and return to him.

al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat, pp. 261–262

Also in the sources

drinking from the sea · sea-going god · drying up of sea or river · diving in the sea · raiding at sea

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