My sister and I each have had disturbing dreams about our youngest sister. In the first dream I am at my sister’s house. (I have never been to her house in real life.) It’s dark outside, so I suggest we lock the doors. When my sister opens the main door to lock the screen, a man pulls the door open and hits her in the face. When I reach to stop the man, he shoots my sister with a gun.

Why would I have such an awful dream?

My sister then had a dream about our brother, who died twenty-five years ago. In the dream my brother had his arms around my youngest sister’s waist (the same one who was attacked in my dream), and was saying to her, “I don’t want to go yet. I am not ready.” What does this mean?

Our youngest sister is dying and she has told me that she is not ready and does not want to die. Are these dreams both about her?

—Marie, Age 50, Married, USA

Hi Marie—

Death certainly is making an appearance in your family’s dreams. Fortunately, the background information you provide helps us understand these disturbing visions.

Because your sister has a health problem that is threatening her life, the metaphor of an intruder in the first dream is explained. Your sister’s house (her self) is being invaded by a stranger (illness or disease) that is threatening her life (she is shot with a gun). The second dream also is explained. Because your brother died 25 years ago, we know that he, too, suffered an “early death.” Like your sister, he also was not “ready to go.” Your youngest sister’s current health problem is reminding your older sister, who had the dream, of your brother’s passing so many years ago.

Your dream does not signify that a literal assualt on your sister is imminent. Instead, your dream represents the loss of your sister as an “attack” by a stranger, Death, who has come to enter your sister’s home. Similarly, you sister’s dream does not mean that your deceased brother visited her, nor does it mean that he is in pain in the next world. Instead, her dream simply reflects her sadness at losing another sibling to an untimely death.

Both dreams demonstrate the caring of your family during a difficult period. We wish your family strength and support in this time of transition.