What is the meaning of stairs in dreams? Dreams involving stairs can be very confusing. You may feel like you have followed a lot of twists and turns in your mind all night, only to wake and feel like you have not arrived anywhere! This is not surprising, when you realise that dreams of this sort may be forcing you to look at where in your life you are feeling lost, or subconsciously preventing your self from reaching a destination you think you are consciously working hard towards. Getting nowhere in a dream of staircases may be challenging you to examine where you are sabotaging our own efforts, or putting off the inevitable. These kind of dreams may be asking you to finally take the next step in your life, instead of putting it off.
Stairs in dreams can also refer to your sense of hierarchy and progress in life. If you are happily ascending stairs or a lift, this could mean you are confident in the face of graduation, promotion or some other form of success “moving up in the world”. Or it might mean that you are growing in your own self-confidence, experience and wisdom. If you feel you have been overlooked for a promotion or failed exams, you may dream of going down stairs, like you are “descending” in your social or personal stature. These dreams may also occur if you feel you are slipping in someone else’s esteem or if you feel people are “looking down” on you.
But as with all dream work, only you know the entire story of your life, and it is worth remembering that “down” does not equate with “bad”. Stairs in dreams going down can also be a symbol for entering your “deeper” self, as when starting dream work and exploring your deeper subconscious. You may find all kinds of symbolic creatures or events here, as you journey into your deeper self and start uncovering the secrets you subconscious has kept hidden!
To understand the meaning of stairs in dreams, also look at the condition of the stairs. Old or decrepit stairs may invite you to revisit an issue from your past, or something you have been neglecting for a long time. Conversely, new shiny stairs may be a new issue or something you have not given much thought to yet. Also look at floor numbers, this could give you a clue to what the issue relates to. The number of the floor you can’t get to, or perhaps keep returning to, may be the age when the issue first came up for you, or else how many years or maybe even months ago a significant event first started.
Staircase dreams can seem frustrating and confusing, but they invite you to look at what you are in control of, and how you can take steps to get to where you want to be.
For more information on stairs in dreams, please visit The Dream Well, Stairs.
