Dreaming of rain
Rain in a dream can go two ways: gentle rain often stands for cleansing, growth and relief after a dry time, a downpour or thunderstorm for emotions that overwhelm you. Many traditions read rain as blessing.
Interpret your own dreamWhy you dream about this
In the Netherlands rain is mostly something to complain about, but in most cultures and traditions rain is a blessing. Without rain nothing grows. That is why rain in dreams often stands for renewal, growth and relief: something that stood dry for a long time comes back to life.
Gentle rain touching your face is usually read favourably: cleansing, comfort or tears that may flow. Rain after a long drought, as relief after a heavy period. Dancing or walking in the rain can stand for surrender and freedom: you let it happen instead of taking shelter.
A downpour or thunderstorm is more often about emotions that overwhelm you, or about a conflict breaking out. Sheltering from the rain can point to protecting yourself against feelings or criticism. Getting soaked without an umbrella, about feeling unprepared. And rain leaking through the roof, like a leak, is often about a worry entering your home or your safety.
Traditions see rain above all as a sign of care from above. In the Quran rain is called mercy. Jesus says that God sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. And in Judaism people pray daily for rain, in its season.
What it means in each tradition
The same dream. 7 traditions. 7 different ways of seeing it.
Islamic
The Quran repeatedly calls rain a sign of God's mercy: He sends the winds as glad tidings of His mercy, and sends down rain with which He brings dead land to life. In classical dream interpretation rain is therefore often read favourably, as rahma, mercy, and provision.
Read the full Islamic interpretation →Christian
Jesus says that God makes his sun rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. Rain in the Bible is an image of God's care for everyone, and of blessing after drought, as with Elijah. A rain dream is therefore often read hopefully in the Christian tradition.
Read the full Christian interpretation →Jewish
In Judaism people pray daily for rain for much of the year: the Amidah, the central prayer, contains the line who makes the wind blow and the rain fall. Rain in its season counts as blessing and as a sign of God's faithfulness. A rain dream is therefore often read favourably in the Jewish tradition.
Read the full Jewish interpretation →Vodou
In Haitian Vodou the rainbow is a lwa: Ayida Wedo, the wife of the serpent Damballa. Together they stand for balance between heaven and earth. Vodou also knows lwa of thunder and wind, such as Sogbo and Badè. Rain in a dream is therefore often read in a Vodou reading as blessing and renewal.
Read the full Vodou interpretation →Santería
In Santería storm and thunder belong to two orishas: Changó, lord of thunder and lightning, and Oyá, the orisha of wind and the whirlwind. Rain in a dream is therefore often read in Santería readings as strength, change and cleansing, and sometimes connected with them.
Read the full Santería interpretation →Hindu
In Hinduism rain is life: the monsoon decides harvests, and in the Vedas it is Indra who sends the rain. Rain in a dream is therefore usually read as blessing, abundance and cleansing, and a storm as upheaval that passes.
Read the full Hindu interpretation →Winti
In Winti, rain connects the sky with the earth and the water: it falls from the domain of the sky spirits into the domains of Mama Aisa and the water winti. Gentle rain is read as cleansing and blessing, a storm with thunder and lightning as a strong force that asks for attention.
Read the full Winti 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 rain
Gentle rain
Cleansing, comfort or tears that may flow.
Rain after drought
Relief and renewal after a heavy period.
Dancing in the rain
Surrender and freedom: you let it happen.
A downpour or thunderstorm
Emotions that overwhelm you, or a conflict breaking out.
Rain leaking through the roof
A worry entering your home or safety.
What does your dream mean?
Write your own dream and get an interpretation straight away. Free, no account.
You already have an account. Write your dream in the app: it goes straight into your Dream Book, read within your tradition.
Write your dream in the appFrequently asked questions
What does rain in a dream mean?
Often cleansing, growth and relief. A downpour or thunderstorm can point to emotions that overwhelm you.
Is rain in a dream a good sign?
In many traditions yes: in Islam rain is called mercy, and in the Bible rain is a blessing.
What does dreaming of a thunderstorm mean?
Often tension coming to an outburst, or emotions that overwhelm you.