Dream meaning Dreaming of a deceased grandparent

An ancestor in a dream, whether a grandparent, a great-grandparent or an elder of the family whose face is known from stories, is read with the same care the interpreters give to every visit from the dead. The departed speak truly in dreams, and what the ancestor says is received as said.

An ancestor who appears at ease, well dressed or in a green place is at peace, and the dream is glad tidings for the family; one who appears troubled or asks for something is in need of a prayer, a charity in their name, a debt settled or a promise kept, and the family answers it.

An ancestor who gives the dreamer something good, such as bread, a ring, a book or a key, is a blessing or an inheritance reaching them, sometimes a skill or a knowledge that runs in the family; one who takes something back is a trust the dreamer has neglected. An ancestor who is angry or silent is a right of the family left undone: a severed tie, a quarrel among heirs, a place or a name not honoured.

The dream asks for it to be repaired, and the Prophet said that among the finest kindnesses is to keep ties with the people one's father loved. An ancestor who guides the dreamer along a road or to a house gives counsel to follow, and one who warns gives a warning to heed. Many ancestors gathered together are a lineage standing behind the dreamer in a matter.

The Prophet also said, "Learn enough of your lineage to keep your ties of kinship." Lineages that honour ancestors with their own rites, in Africa, in China and in Korea, read these visits within those rites. The dream is never used to date a death or to accuse anyone. The best answer to such a visit is given to the living: call or visit the kin your ancestor would want kept close, and pray for the one who came.