Fish
Contents of the unconscious surfacing; fertility; Christ.
The fish is what the unconscious brings up into the light. Early Christians used the fish (ichthys) as a secret symbol of Christ; Chinese tradition treats the fish as an emblem of abundance (because the character for fish, yú, is a homophone for ‘surplus’). Jung devoted a late essay to the fish as a symbol of the Self emerging — the word ‘Aion’ in his writing refers to the astrological age of Pisces, the fishes. A dream of catching a fish is classically the retrieval of something long held in the depths; a dream of fish swimming past, the contents of the unconscious not yet ready to be caught. Notice the number and color of the fish, and whether the water is clear or murky.
What to ask in your journal
If fish appears in your dream, sit with these prompts before reaching for an interpretation.
- What was the fish doing in your dream?
- How did you feel in its presence — drawn, repelled, indifferent, awed?
- Was the fish familiar from waking life, or unfamiliar?
- What in your waking life right now resembles the quality the fish carries?
- If the fish could speak, what would it say to you?
Frequently asked
What does it mean to dream of a fish?
Across the depth-psychological tradition, dream-fishs carry the meaning suggested by the dreamer's emotional response and the symbol's behavior in the dream. Contents of the unconscious surfacing; fertility; Christ.
Is the fish a positive or negative symbol in dreams?
Most dream-symbols are not intrinsically positive or negative; they take their valence from the dreamer's relationship to them in the dream. The fish is no exception — its specific weight depends on context, emotional tone, and the dreamer's associations.
How do Christian and other traditions read the fish?
Christian dream-interpretation places the fish within the broader Christian, Jungian, Chinese reading of the dream-life. See the page body and bibliography for the specific primary sources cited.
What if the fish keeps recurring in my dreams?
Recurrent dream-symbols generally point to material the conscious self has not yet fully integrated. The recurrence usually softens once the underlying material has been allowed expression — sometimes through journaling, sometimes through therapy, sometimes simply through more careful attention to the symbol on its own terms.
Cited works
Each interpretation on this page traces back to one of these primary sources. Quotation with attribution welcome — see our methodology for how we cite.
- Carl Gustav Jung (1959) *The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious (Collected Works, Vol. 9, Part 1)*. Princeton University Press. Trans. R. F. C. Hull.
- Carl Gustav Jung (1956) *Symbols of Transformation (Collected Works, Vol. 5)*. Princeton University Press. Trans. R. F. C. Hull.
- Artemidorus of Daldis (c. 2nd century CE) *Oneirocritica (The Interpretation of Dreams)*. Oxford University Press. Trans. Daniel E. Harris-McCoy (2012).