One of the most common dreams that I get asked about is dreams about going to the bathroom. These dreams are often full of emotions such as shame, embarrassment, urgency, relief, and confusion, which makes them stick in our memory after we wake up.
So, what does it mean to dream of using the bathroom or toilet? A dream about using the bathroom or toilet usually has to do with energy or emotions that you are processing. It represents clearing away old toxic energy so that you can start the cycle of introducing new energy into your life.
Because bathroom dreams are so common, there are countless situations that can occur in this dream; however, I have put together the most common toilet dreams that people have asked to be interpreted. Depending on the context, emotion, and events that happen in your dream, your bathroom dream could give you a lot of information into the energy you are processing.
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Spiritual Meaning Of Dreams About Going To The Bathroom
Bathrooms are often a symbol of detox, cleansing, purification and have to do with our most intimate feelings. We don’t like to go to the bathroom in from of others, which represents the desire to keep these emotions private and hidden deep within.
When digested waste comes out of our body, this happens behind closed doors and is not something that we share with others. This is similar to how we process deeply repressed energies that we buried in our subconscious which are now coming to the surface. We prefer not to let others see our weaknesses, false belief systems, negative karma, and self-sabotaging thoughts.
Most dreams about going to the bathroom are a positive sign, even though they can seem a bit on the disgusting side. These dreams are a sign that you are eliminating energy that isn’t serving you, and moving past karmic energies.
If you have recurring dreams about going to the bathroom, and the theme of the dream is similar (i.e. always dreaming of a clogged toilet), this is a sign that you are stuck in energetic patterns or emotional cycles in your waking life.
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Meaning of Dreams About Using a Public Bathroom
If you have dreams about needing to use the toilet in a public bathroom, you are not alone. These are very common dreams, especially dreams about public bathrooms in the basement of a building.
So, what does it mean to dream about a public bathroom? Dreaming of using the toilet in a public bathroom is a sign that you are worried about showing your vulnerabilities to others. If the bathroom is crowded, or you are afraid someone is going to come into the bathroom, it means that there are parts of yourself that you are hiding from others.
This is often related to feelings of not being adequate enough, not being accepted by others, or feeling insecure around others. It may also mean that you often show parts of yourself to others that are inauthentic, for fear that others will reject you if you show your true self.
For example, I use to have a recurring dream about needing to use the bathroom at a day spa. I was a worker at the spa, and was always nervous that clients would come into the bathroom, and they would think I was lazy and not working. This represented a false belief that I had which was that I couldn’t let myself relax as it means that others may perceive me as lazy and unproductive.
Dreaming Of Bathroom Stalls
Bathroom stalls inside of a public bathroom represent your desire for privacy when dealing with certain energies coming to the surface; however, there are some things that will have to be brought out in public, to some extent.
Essentially, whatever energies you are working through will make others notice a shift in your behaviors and it may get their attention.
The message in this dream is that whatever energies you are moving past cannot be completely private; they will ultimately change your reality, and therefore the people in your life will start to notice the change within.
It is a calling to be true to yourself, no matter who is nearby.
Dreams About Bathroom Stalls Without Doors
Having a dream about using a toilet in a bathroom stall without a door is a very common dream, and one that I have frequently.
Dreaming with bathrooms without stalls deals with the multidimensional aspect of ourselves; specifically, the higher and lower self. As your conscious awareness of your dualistic nature expands (i.e. you start recognizing your own higher and lower aspects), you start becoming acutely aware of how the toxic parts of your lower self impact your reality.
As this awareness increases, many people go through a spiritual growth period of feeling shame, or wanting to hide from others. Seeing the divine more clearly in oneself also means having to see the ego or lower self more clearly as well.
This is similar to feeling insecure about parts of who we are. You may feel insecure about an imperfection on your body; yet, typically nobody sees it but yourself. Have you noticed in these dreams that usually nobody cares that you are going to the bathroom. It is only you that is concerned.
The message in this dream is to understand that growth includes seeing all parts of the self, including the lower parts, and accepting that this is part of the journey. Also understand that just because your are more aware of it does not mean that others see it as well. This dream can be an invitation to release the idea of perfection, and know that others don’t see what you are now able to see.
These dreams are typically ruled by Scorpio, Pluto, and on a higher esoteric plain, Mercury. They also have to do with processing aspects of your personality in your rising or ascendent sign. To learn what your rising sign is, you can look up your free birth chart here.
Dreams About Not Being Able To Find a Bathroom
In your dream, if you are looking for a bathroom, but can’t find one, this is a sign that you are in a period of transition in your life, about to step into the unknown. This could be a change in your job, a dynamic that changes in your relationship, an upcoming move, or an energetic shift. Whatever the change is, it will make you feel ungrounded and uprooted for a period of time.
The symbolism of looking for a bathroom means that you programed your energetic space to attract whatever changes need to take place in order for you to digest and process certain life lessons and karmic energies. Whether you believe this change was out of your control or self-imposed, there is something deep down where you know that this is for your own energetic health and spiritual growth.
There may be a period of grief for a lifestyle that you will have to walk away from, but the rewards from that change will quickly replace your grief with hope and optimism.
This dream is asking you to look ahead at your future goals and ambitions, and begin to make the mental shift towards alignment with your Higher Self and the successes that will come from that in the long-run. This requires a cleansing of your false belief systems, you just have to figure out how to get that process started.
A great place to start is to begin a period of introspection, being honest with yourself about any emotional attachments, mental baggage or spiritual obstacles that are dragging you down and preventing you from finding your way.
This dream is also an invitation to ask for help. In your dream, why aren’t you asking for directions? Could it be that you are embarrassed to let people know where you need to go? Or you can’t find anyone to ask? Identifying why you can’t find the bathroom could be a clue as to what you should ask for in your waking life.
Condition of The Bathroom In Your Dream
Other elements that appear in the bathroom can give you deeper insight as to what your bathroom dream means. Paying attention to the condition of the bathroom can give you clues as to what is happening in your external environment that is affecting how you process your subconscious energies.
Dreams About Dirty Bathrooms
If you have a dream about a dirty bathroom, it often means that there is something toxic in your environment that you need to get rid of as it is preventing you from moving forward in your life. This is often related to relationships, but could also be about a job, living situation, financial investment, etc.
Being in a dirty bathroom is letting you know that you may be the victim of someone sending negative energy at you, betraying you, or lying to you. You may feel as though there are relationships in your life that you cannot trust, or people that have a great influence in your life that you do not respect.
If you have a theme about dreaming of using dirty bathrooms, this could represent falling into a pattern of holding onto negative energy, and not being able to move past it. There may be deep wounds from a past relationship or childhood trauma that tells you it is ok to be treated poorly.
The message from a dirty bathroom dream is to begin the process of cleaning the bathroom, and as a result, cleaning up the negative energies that are constantly bringing you down. This usually means ending toxic relationships, saying no to people, and raising your confidence to see your true value.
Having a dirty bathroom dream has a lot of information buried deep within the symbolism of the dream, so it may be helpful to learn how to do lucid dreaming so that you can learn to uncover more information about what the message of the dream is to you.
Dreaming of a Flooded Bathroom
If you have a dream about a flooded bathroom, it is a sign that you need to take a step back from the distractions in your life and to bring your awareness inward to focus on your emotional well-being.
Flooded bathrooms are usually dreamt by those who are nurturers and give their energies to others; however, the dream is a message that it may be a good idea to start taking care of yourself. You may feel exhausted or burnt out, yet you can’t say no to people who are in need. It is time to fix the broken toilet or faucet so that you can stop the leak.
This may be a message that setting boundaries with others is necessary in your life right now, even though some people may be disappointed by your answer “no.” There may be others who are taking advantage of your goodwill and will make you feel guilty for not solving their problem.
A flooded bathroom could also mean that you are reliant on the emotions of others to dictate how you feel. For example, if others feel depressed, you also feel depressed. If others feel joy, you also feel joy. This can be dangerous, as it can lead you to be too reliant on others emotionally, which will always leave both of you feeling hurt or disappointed.
If this is you, analyzing your attachments to others, and learning how to be confident and independent in your emotional well being is a great step in the right direction.
Water is a symbol of your intuition in dreams, so a flooded bathroom could also be a sign that your intuition is working overtime right now, trying to get you to pay attention; however, you are not able to sit still long enough to hear. This could be a sign that your intuition is telling you that there are energies you need to move past, and it is time to sit still and listen to the next steps your Higher Self is sending to you.
Dreaming of Snakes In The Bathroom
Dreaming of snakes in the bathroom is something that can leave you feeling frightened even after you wake up. These dreams bring up a lot of negative emotions from the subconscious such as primal fears, survival, illusions and false belief systems.
Snakes often relate to an ancestral fear of survival and your primal energies, so having snakes appear in dreams means that your subconscious is kicking up deeply repressed fears from past lives, ancestral energies and fears of the unknown.
The good news about these dreams is that it indicates that you are ready to face your deepest fears, and ready to increase your awareness about how these fears are holding you back. The bathroom represents the process of cleansing so that you can finally move past them. This is a season of change, transformation, and emotional freedom.
This dream is asking you to stop burying your fears and doubts, and have the courage to face them. Once you face them, you can begin the process of having less fear, which will be replaced by confidence to make changes in your life that will make you more fulfilled.
Dreaming about snakes in the bathroom could also mean that you are going through a psychic awakening and are beginning to perceive messages from your intuition. This could be a sign that in order to understand the messages you are downloading, you will need to begin the process of clearing away fears, negativity, and baggage holding you back.
Dreaming of Blood In The Bathroom
Dreaming of blood in the bathroom is particularly alarming because blood is often associated with violence, pain, gore, and death. However, blood in the bathroom has more to do with the metaphors associated with blood, rather than a physical injury that might happen.
In this dream, blood in the bathroom could be a metaphor that there is “bad blood” between you and someone else that is dragging you down energetically. This is usually a conflict that you have with someone that you have a strong karmic agreement with, such as a family member, partner or close friend.
Seeing blood in the bathroom is a message that it is time to clean up and move past the disagreement, or end the karmic agreement so that you both can move on. If you can’t resolve the issues, they will keep coming back in this lifetime or in future lifetimes.
Dreaming of blood in the bathrooms could also represent a part of you that is “cut-throat” and highly competitive, which is preventing you from tapping into your intuition and connecting with your Higher Self. It may be time to put aside your ego and focus on your spiritual development. This is especially true if you put other people’s happiness in jeopardy for your own personal gain.
If you are bloody and go to the bathroom to get clean, this could be a message to accept your failures, clean up from them, and move on. It may take you time to heal, but you will eventually be able to face the challenge once again even stronger.
Spiritual Symbolism of a Toilet In Your Dream
A common symbol that appears in a bathroom dream that is important to pay attention to is the condition or activity that is happening with the toilet. The toilet itself is what gets rid of the waste, so this represents your unique spiritual condition that is processing your karmic energy. Toilets are the vehicle to flush away that which isn’t serving you anymore.
Below is a chart that represents the most common conditions of the toilet, and what they mean.
Condition Of Toilet | Meaning |
Broken Toilet Dream | Dreaming of a broken toilet means that you are starting to be aware of your energetic health, and realizing that you may have false belief or “broken” thinking that is dragging you down. It could also mean that there are broken relationships that are energetically harming you. |
Falling Into the Toilet Dream | Dreaming of falling into a toilet means that you are processing intense stress and anxiety in your waking life. This is often related to your career and finances but could be related to your mental health. It would be a good time to take a vacation, take time out of your day for mindfulness exercises such as meditation, or seek a professional to talk about it with such as a counselor or therapist. |
Dream About a Toilet With Poop | Dreaming of a toilet filled with poop or waste is a sign that you have a lot of negative energy or false belief systems influencing your life that need to be cleared away. This could be a good time to examine what isn’t serving you and take steps to get those out of your life. |
Dream of Toilet Water Overflowing | Dreaming of a toilet overflowing is a sign that you are emotionally overwhelmed and are giving too much of your emotional energies to others and not taking care of our own emotional well-being. See the section “Dreaming of a Flooded Bathroom” for more details. |
Dreaming of Cleaning the Toilet | Dreaming of cleaning a toilet is a positive dream, and is a sign that you are in the process of spiritual growth and emotional balance. You have taken the necessary steps to clear negative energies out of your life, and are cleaning up and starting new. |
Dream of a Blocked Toilet | Dreaming of a blocked toilet is a sign that there is an energetic blockage that is emotionally holding you back or dragging you down energetically. This could be due to a negative thinking pattern, or someone negative in your life. |
Dream of Unblocking the Toilet | Dreaming of unblocking or clearing a toilet is a positive dream, and represents that you have recently taken a huge spiritual step to move past some unhealthy thinking, or end a harmful relationship. You have cleared a lot of negative energy in your energetic space. |
Dream of Toilet Not Flushing | To dream that a toilet is not flushing is a sign that you are wanting to take spiritual steps, and are wanting to create a life that is more fulfilling, but doesn’t know to get started. Just like in real life, if your toilet isn’t flushing you would call a plumber – this a great time to ask for help, get an intuitive coach or join a supportive community that can help you. |
Dream of Toilet Paper | Dreaming of toilet paper represents the loose ends that need to be tied in order to finally move on. It represents the necessity of good communication. For example, if you know you need to break up with a partner that doesn’t make you happy, you can’t just leave the relationship without telling them why. Facing the difficult situation head-on and using good healthy communication is the best way to move forward for both of you. |
Dream of Running out of Toilet Paper | Dreaming of running out of toilet paper means that you are not communicating properly and efficiently, so the problem is still lingering. It represents avoidance, miscommunication, and a fear of confrontation. A lack of communication and poor boundary-setting could lead to others being misled or getting the wrong idea. This is a lesson about setting firm boundaries, even if you have to face confrontation. |
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Summary
Understanding the meaning of your toilet or bathroom dream can give you a lot of clarity as to the next steps to take in your waking life. If these dreams are recurring, it is a sign that you are moving through a lot of karmic energy, which is a very positive sign. The more karmic energy you move through in this lifetime, the more balanced and fulfilled you will feel.
Like everything on this site and on the internet, use your intuition when deciding what dream symbolism works best for you. While this is one interpretation of the spiritual meaning of a bathroom dream, everyone has their own intuitive and dream language. Sit still and listen to your own answers about what the symbolism of your bathroom dream means to you and your spiritual journey.