Dreaming of a scorpion in Chinese dream interpretation: meaning
In China the scorpion belongs to the wudu, the five poisonous creatures: scorpion, snake, centipede, toad and lizard or spider. Around the Dragon Boat Festival people protect themselves against them. A scorpion in a dream is therefore often read in folk interpretation as harm to ward off, but also as strength you can use.
Within this tradition
The Dragon Boat Festival, on the fifth day of the fifth month, falls at the start of the hot, humid summer, when according to tradition illnesses and poisonous animals become active. That is why families hang mugwort and calamus on the door, children wear clothing or amulets with the five poisonous creatures, and realgar wine is sometimes drunk. The idea is that you fight poison with poison: the image of the scorpion protects against the scorpion.
That is why the scorpion is not only negative in Chinese folk interpretation. A dream in which you are stung can be read as a setback or someone who hurts you. But a dream in which you kill or catch a scorpion is read favourably: you overcome an opponent or illness. And some dream books read a scorpion that does not sting you as a sign that a danger passes you by.
In traditional medicine dried scorpions were used as a remedy, which strengthens the double meaning: what harms can also heal. That is an image from the tradition, not medical advice.
Old dream books are folk interpretation, not fixed rules, and are often used with a smile.
Common variations
Being stung
A setback or someone who hurts you.
Killing or catching a scorpion
Favourable: overcoming an opponent or illness.
A scorpion that does not sting
A danger passing you by.
The image of a scorpion as protection
Fighting poison with poison, as at the Dragon Boat Festival.
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Write your dream in the appFrequently asked questions
What are the five poisonous creatures?
The wudu: scorpion, snake, centipede, toad and lizard or spider. Around the Dragon Boat Festival people protect themselves against them.
Why do people wear the image of a scorpion as protection?
According to tradition you fight poison with poison: the image keeps the real danger away.
Is the dream book of Zhou Gong really by Zhou Gong?
No, it is a collection of folk interpretation attributed to him, centuries after his life.