Dream meaning
Seeing aliens
The short answer
Dreaming of extra-terrestrials usually reflects meeting something completely unfamiliar: a new person, situation or part of yourself. It can also come with feeling alien in your own surroundings.
9.5% of people in the study had had this dream. No. 51 of the 55 typical dreams · Nielsen et al., 2003
What does a dream about “Seeing aliens” mean?
What psychologists say
Dreams of aliens are relatively rare and, in the Canadian typical dreams study, more often reported by men, though the authors flag such low-prevalence differences as uncertain. Researchers link them to films and books as well as to sleep paralysis, which can produce sensations later read as abduction.
Nielsen et al., 2003; Denis et al., 2018
The Jungian reading
Jung wrote a whole book on UFOs and saw them as modern images of the Self or of the unknown. Aliens in dreams can be the unfamiliar parts of the psyche making contact.
Jung, 1958
In history and folklore
Earlier ages told similar stories with fairies, demons or spirits who took people away at night. Folklore researchers note the continuity between these tales and modern abduction stories.
Hufford, 1982
How common is this dream?
9.5% of people in the study had had this dream. From a survey of 1,181 first-year university students in three Canadian cities. No. 51 of the 55 typical dreams.
Common versions of this dream
What if I'm abducted?
Abduction dreams match feeling taken out of your control, and are sometimes linked to sleep paralysis.
What if the aliens are friendly?
Friendly aliens suggest openness to new things.
What if I am the alien?
Being the alien points to feeling different from those around you.
Had this dream? Tell it to Oneiros.
Oneiros reads your own dream, not a dictionary entry: what it was about, how it felt and what it may mean for you, and it notices when it comes back.
Oneiros offers reflective readings for self-discovery and entertainment. It is not a medical or psychological service.
Sources
- Nielsen, T. A., Zadra, A. L., Simard, V., Saucier, S., Stenstrom, P., Smith, C., & Kuiken, D. (2003). The typical dreams of Canadian university students. Dreaming, 13(4), 211–235. doi:10.1023/B:DREM.0000003144.40929.0b
- Denis, D., French, C. C., & Gregory, A. M. (2018). A systematic review of variables associated with sleep paralysis. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 38, 141–157. doi:10.1016/j.smrv.2017.05.005
- Jung, C. G. (1958). Flying Saucers: A Modern Myth of Things Seen in the Skies.
- Hufford, D. J. (1982). The Terror That Comes in the Night: An Experience-Centered Study of Supernatural Assault Traditions. University of Pennsylvania Press.