Dreaming of crows can bring up dark and ominous feeling, especially if other elements of the dream are spooky. Crows are historically associated with dark magic, occultism, psychic powers, and death, so it is not uncommon for people to wonder what a crow in their dream represents. However, crows can have many meanings and are often messengers of positive changes.
Crows in dreams often represent your shadow self or suppressed subconscious beliefs and emotions such as shame, guilt, hate, or self-sabotaging thoughts coming to the surface. Crows can show up in dreams to help guide you through self-transformation and long-term change. They can also represent higher intelligence, wisdom, and acceptance of your whole self including the mind, body, and spirit.
With all spiritual and dream language, the symbolism can vary depending on the context and journey of you, the dreamer. This article contains the most common crow dreams and the general interpretation; however, take into account your own emotions and the other symbolism that appears in your crow dream to come up with the most accurate interpretation for you.
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Spiritual and Symbolic Meaning of a Crow Appearing in Your Dreams
The symbolic representation of birds is usually associated with the element of Air because birds are creatures of the air. Air is also associated with Spirit, so birds have strong ties to the spiritual realm and are used to represent energies in the spiritual dimensions.
Crows are no different. They are strongly associated with spiritual energies. We often associate spiritual energy as positive, light, and pure; however, there are also dark, hidden and mysterious spiritual energies that are just as important in the process of spiritual transformation and inner discovery.
Crows represent unseen and often avoided side of spirituality, which is the shadow.
In alchemy, crows are said to represent the “great work of the soul.” Marked by their “nigredo” or darkness, alchemical texts use the crow to show an ugly yet essential part of the transformation process: death, decay, and decomposition. Alchemists saw that deep spiritual work required that we face the deepest and darkest parts of our soul in order to attain true knowledge of self and higher wisdom. This where the Divine phrase “know thyself” takes a dark and twisted turn.
The purpose of a crow is to serve as a guide in the process of navigating life’s mysteries and to accept the challenges that lead to deep inner transformation. Crows bring the subconscious to the conscious so that you can work through them once and for all.
In dreams, crows can represent the following themes:
- Shadow work
- Secrets
- Avoidance
- Guilt or Shame
- Suppressing a part of yourself
- Oppressive authorities weakening your spirit
- Wisdom
- Intelligence
- Acceptance of whole self: mind, body, spirit
- Transformation
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What Does it Mean If a Crow Attacks You In a Dream?
Crows attacking in a dream can be particularly frightening. Many people report that in these dreams they feel a sense of extreme fear, mostly about survival. There can also be a sense of hopelessness or powerlessness.
Crows attacking you in a dream represents the loss of control over your own power and lack of seniority over your energetic space. It is a warning dream that you have abandoned parts of yourself that can be open for energetic attacks from outside sources. This is often around areas of spiritual or energetic health or physical survival.
The crows are showing you the harm that abandonment of self can cause, especially if you are empathic or a highly sensitive person. You can become a target for energy vampires, manipulative people, and lose your sense of direction. The message is to focus on strengthening your inner power and confidence in yourself.
In your waking life, take note of the following questions:
- Have you been procrastinating or avoiding doing something that will set you up for success in your future?
- Are you working at a job that you don’t enjoy or know that your strengths and passions are not being developed and explored?
- Are you in a toxic relationship, either romantic, friendship, or with your family?
- Do you feel socially anxious, drained, or stressed in large groups of people?
- Do you have recurring health concerns that are related to your emotional well-being?
If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, this dream may be guiding you to recognizing the deeper spiritual harm that results from not pursuing your highest reality and living a life that you deserve. Choosing yourself first is the ultimate protection, so you can stand your ground and defend yourself against these attacking crows.
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What Does It Mean if a Crow Bites You In a Dream?
Similar to a crow attacking you in a dream, a crow biting or pecking at you in a dream can feel threatening and unpleasant. But unlike a crow attacking you in a dream, this dream has a most positive meaning.
Crows biting or pecking you in a dream represents the beginning stages you are taking to rediscover a deeper layer and higher essence of your being. This is a highly spiritual dream, showing the dissolving of your ego and a remembrance of who you really are from a Divine perspective.
In shamanism, being eaten or dismembered by animals in a dream is the highest spiritual gift you can receive. It is a sign that you are a great healer and have a strong spiritual presence. If you have a dream of being dismembered by an animal, you go through a process of “remembering” who you are that transcends that lower aspects of your being.
Having a crow bite you is a sign that this is your shadow animal and will help you through the transformation process of the deep internal shifts that will lead you to spiritual awakening. It may be a good idea to find a regular spiritual practice, such as meditation, or continue the spiritual work you have been doing.
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Dreaming of a Dead, Dying or Wounded Crow
Dreaming of a dead crow is not as negative as it seems. Because crows are often associated with the dead and the process of death, this is actually a fairly normal symbolic representation of a crow. Crows can often appear in dreams around other dead animals, plants, or people that give a similar message.
Dead crows appearing in dreams represents transformation and change. It often does not represent physical death, rather the symbolic death or end of a part of yourself or season in your life. This opens the door for new opportunities and new beginnings.
A dead crow can show up in a dream when you have recently gone through a period of grieving regarding something that has changed or ended in your life, such as a relationship, a job, a friendship, or moving to a different area. The dead crow is a reminder that it is important to grieve, but the pain won’t last forever. The void that death brings opens up space for new discoveries.
A dead crow also represents reincarnation. This dream invites you to move past the resistance you have to changing something you know is not serving you, and end certain chapters so that you can begin to live again at a higher reality.
Dreaming of a wounded crow represents the need to look at areas of your life that are holding you back, but you are holding onto. Ending these areas of your life will lead to long-term happiness and success.
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Dreaming of a Flying Crow
Crows in many cultures and traditions were associated with the spiritual realm in relation to being messengers between the worlds of the living and the dead. They were seen to carry knowledge that transcended this timeline and could give warnings about future events and psychic knowledge.
In dreams, if you see a crow flying near you or above you, the dream may contain premonitions about future events about to happen. Crows above head signify “higher sight” or a higher divine perspective on a situation. It can also represent you need to look at a situation with a different perspective to find your solution.
If you dream about a crow flying, the other elements of your dream are important to observe. Are there other people, events, or feelings you get in the dream? Is there information in the dream through signs and symbols that can help you solve a problem in your waking life? This is a highly spiritual dream, so it may be a good idea to write it down in a dream journal to see if these events come to pass.
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Dreaming of a Friendly Crow
Crows are typically wary of humans because we are their biggest predatory threat. In spite of this, crows have a strange interest in humans and have been known to form friendships with humans even in the wild.
Dreaming of a friendly crow is a sign that you have a unique connection to the animal spirit of a growing, and this animal might be your animal spirit guide or power animal. This is especially true if you have repeating dreams of crows, and see them appearing synchronically in your waking life. It can also mean good news will come your way.
Crows that are friendly to you in a dream can also mean that you are not afraid of the darker parts of yourself. You have moved past fear and avoidance of the darker parts of your subconscious. This is a positive sign, as it means that you are confident in who you are and have strong core values that are aligned in your mind, body, and spirit.
What does it mean if a friendly crow in on your shoulder?
Dreaming of a friendly crow on your shoulder is a common dream that represents a burden you are carrying, often related to insecurity holding you back, a negative relationship, or self-sabotaging behavior.
Once you let go of and move past this, you may feel as though “a weight has been lifted off your shoulders.” Examine what things you need to let go of in your life. With this dream, you will often know exactly what it is referring to.
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Dreaming of a Crow Inside The House
The house in your dream represents your soul and your ego. If a crow appears to be entering or flying into your house, this is a dream that represents deep shadow work. You are being asked to explore the deeper parts of your subconscious so that you can finally move past it so that it won’t keep holding you back in your waking life.
This dream is usually related to matters in your first chakra, as the home represents security, feeling grounded, and basic survival. If you have been having stress related to financial setbacks, domestic issues, fear for the future, or physical health concerns, a crow can represent some work that needs to be done in the first chakra.
The crow in the home represents deep internal and external changes that need to be made to this energy center in order to feel that you have strong foundations for your future safety and security. Look at other details in the dream to find clues as to what needs to be changed, ended, or let go of for long term health and happiness.
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Dreaming of a Talking Crow
Crows are fascinating creatures when it comes to language because they have a very complex way of communicating within themselves and the environment around them. Crows work harmoniously within their ecosystem, often warning other animals of predators nearby. They have a wide range of tones, patterns, and volumes to give a wide range of signals.
This complex communication system, as well as their historical belief that they were messengers from the underworld, gives these crows a special place as a spiritual messenger.
If you dream of a crow talking to you in your dreams, this is a sign that you are receiving a spiritual message from a spirit guide, a spirit that has passed on, or a part of yourself that is trying to speak to you that you have lost touch with. Even if the crow is speaking in “caws” instead of words, there is a deeper message that’s being communicated.
This dream will often carry other spiritual symbolism related to the message, so be sure to journal this dream to try to interpret what the message is.
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Superstitions of The Number of Crows in Dreams
There are superstitions that have been passed down through time that believe the number of crows that appear in your waking life or in a dream can give you information about what will come to pass in your life.
| One Crow | One crow is said to mean that bad luck and destruction is near. |
| Two Crows | Two crows is said to mean good luck, harmony, and good news. |
| Three Crows | Three crows is believed to mean you will be blessed with good health. |
| Four Crows | Four crows means that you will experience abundance, good fortune, and prosperity soon. |
| Five Crows | Five crows is an omen for poor health and illness to come to pass. |
| A Murder of Crows | A large group of crows is said to mean that death will come to pass. |
While these are some superstitions, they should not be taken as truth nor literally. Here is an article that explains the history of crows in ancient cultures, that can give you a wider perspective on why these came to be.
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Summary
Crows are complex creatures, and there is not a one-size-fits-all description of these birds. They are aggressive, they eat anything including the dead, they are territorial, they don’t make beautiful songs, and they historically have represented death and bad omens. They love to hang out in cemeteries and dead trees, which is just spooky.
On the other side, crows are extremely intelligent and coexist wonderfully with the world around them. They create unbreakable bonds with their mate and flock, they grieve for their dead, they can mimic almost any sound including the range of human vocal cords. They love to play, and warn other animals when a threatening predator is nearby.
Just like the crow being two-sided in nature, dreams with crows in them can have multiple meanings depending on the context, emotions, and other symbolism that appears in the dream.
Sit still, meditate and journal on your dream to see what information about crows comes up for you. While this is one way to interpret crows appearing in dreams, everyone has their own unique dream language.
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