Dreaming of mice and rats
Mice and rats in a dream are usually about something small gnawing at you: a worry, an irritation or someone quietly taking something away. They live in the hidden corners of the house, and that is where the dream points too.
Interpret your own dreamWhy you dream about this
Mice and rats provoke disgust in many people, and you take that feeling into the dream. You see something dart along the skirting board, hear rustling in the wall, or find a rat in your kitchen or bed. Often you wake up with the feeling that something is wrong in the house.
That is exactly what this dream is usually about. Rodents are small, live out of sight and slowly gnaw through things. In dreams they therefore often stand for worries you push away, small irritations that pile up, or the feeling that something or someone is quietly gnawing at you. The image is rarely big and dramatic, but it is persistent.
There is a difference between the two, though. A mouse is small and shy, and is more often read as a small worry or something harmless. A rat is bigger, bolder and cleverer, and evokes associations with betrayal, dirt or something that eats its way through everything. In everyday speech someone who betrays is called a rat.
Each tradition reads these animals from its own worldview. The Islamic tradition names the mouse among the harmful creatures and links her with someone who quietly does damage. Wicca also sees in mouse and rat the power of survival, attention to detail and the ability to find a way through anywhere.
So the question is mainly: what is gnawing at you, and where in your life is it hidden?
What it means in each tradition
The same dream. 2 traditions. 2 different ways of seeing it.
Islamic
In the Islamic tradition the mouse is named among the harmful creatures that may be killed even within the sacred precinct. Classical interpreters therefore often link the mouse with someone who quietly causes harm.
Read the full Islamic interpretation →Wicca
Wicca looks at mouse and rat with less disgust than most traditions. Alongside the gnawing and hiding, many practitioners also see in these animals survival, resourcefulness and attention to small things.
Read the full Wicca interpretation →These differences are not opinions about one another. Each tradition reads a dream from within its own worldview, and that worldview decides what an image carries.
Common dreams about mice and rats
Mice in the house
Small worries or irritations that have settled into your daily life. The question is where they come from.
A rat that bites
Often read as betrayal or harm from someone close, or a worry that suddenly hurts.
A mouse or rat in your bed
Something disturbing your rest, close to your private life or your relationship.
Killing a mouse or rat
Favourable in most readings: you are tackling something that has been gnawing at you for a long time.
Very many rats at once
The feeling of being overwhelmed by small problems, or by something getting out of hand.
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Write your dream in the appFrequently asked questions
What does dreaming of mice mean?
Usually small worries or irritations gnawing at you, or something slipping away unnoticed. A mouse is often milder than a rat.
What does dreaming of rats mean?
Often betrayal, something you find dirty or unfair, or a problem eating its way through everything.
What does a mouse mean in Islam?
According to the tradition, the mouse is one of the harmful creatures. Classical interpreters link her with someone who quietly does damage.