What does it mean to dream about a rat?

by Lucy Moore | 17 May 2022

Dreaming about a rat can be a pun for person in your waking life who is a 'rat'- do you feel betrayed by someone close to you?

Image courtesy of Unsplash

Rats are also associated with negativity- decay, rot and revulsion- perhaps the rat represents a side of yourself that you don’t particularly like. Is it time you worked on ways to attract the company of others rather than repel them? Or do you need to work on cleansing yourself of bad habits and things that are eating way at you?

Continuing with the negative theme- rats are also associated with disease- this could be a message to you to go to the doctor and get checked out if there is a health complaint that has been troubling you lately.

If the rat was biting at your feet, then you may be caught up in a competitive struggle for wealth and or power- you are a victim of the ‘rat race’.

A broken rat trap is indicative of driving people away and the things in life that are trying to cause you harm.

On the other hand, if you were able to catch a rat in a trap, then you may have contained the negativity that’s influencing you or found out the source. Now that you can pinpoint it, you may be better equipped to protect yourself.

If you tried to kill a rat in your dream and failed or you couldn’t scare one away, this could signify that your problems are going to hang round for a while longer.

Rats are known to scurry about- perhaps the dream is telling you to explore and make more of an effort to discover new opportunities. It’s possible you need to try new things outside of your comfort zone and embrace change.