Dreaming about a preto-velho: what this dream usually means

Dreaming about a preto-velho: what it usually points to

Dream interpretation is not prediction and not diagnosis. This article separates what sleep research observes from what popular interpretation associates with the theme, always saying which is which.

Dreaming about a preto-velho is not a sign of spiritual debt, of punishment or that someone is going to die. In umbanda, a Brazilian religion that blends African, Indigenous, Catholic and Spiritist elements, pretos-velhos (literally "old Black people"; the women are called pretas-velhas) are entities that, according to the religion's belief, are the spirits of enslaved Africans and their descendants. They appear as wise, humble and patient elders, often called grandpa and grandma. They are not orixás, the deities of the Afro-Brazilian religions. The dream tends to show up in phases of fatigue, overload, grief, a search for advice or missing your grandparents.

The figure carries the memory of slavery in Brazil, and that is why it calls for respect from people outside the religion too. For research, the dream reflects memory and emotion; the religious meaning belongs to each house. If the scene had a terreiro, an Afro-Brazilian house of worship, read dreaming about macumba or umbanda.

Read also: Dreaming about a grandmother or grandfather and Dreaming about a caboclo spirit.

Why the preto-velho appears in the dream

Studies on the continuity between waking and dreaming (Schredl and Hofmann, 2003) show that what fills the day tends to come back at night. A preto-velho gira (the umbanda ceremony with chants and dancing), the May 13 celebration held in many houses, a folk healer from childhood, a grandmother who prayed the rosary in her rocking chair or a period TV drama are enough for the dream to build the scene.

Longing comes in too. When mapping the typical dreams of university students, Tore Nielsen and colleagues included the scene of a person who has died appearing alive, reported by many people. In someone who has lost a grandfather or a grandmother, the gentle figure of the preto-velho can blend with the memory of the one who is gone. See also dreaming about someone who has died.

Sources: Schredl and Hofmann, Continuity between waking activities and dream activities, Consciousness and Cognition, 2003; Nielsen and colleagues, Dreaming, 2003.

How the preto-velho appears in the dream

If the rosary was the strongest detail, read dreaming about a rosary.

See also: Dreaming about the Buddha and Dreaming about Oxóssi.

When a dream about a preto-velho stirs up grief

This dream usually leaves a good feeling. When it comes mixed with the loss of a loved one, though, it can reopen the pain. If the sadness does not go away, if sleep becomes difficult or if you feel you cannot cope on your own, reach out to a health professional. If you are in intense distress, in the US you can call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline). If the dreams turn into frequent nightmares, see how to have fewer nightmares.

Source: Morgenthaler and colleagues, Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 2018.

The preto-velho in dream books

O Livro dos Sonhos, a Brazilian dream book by L. P. Baçan, has no entry for preto-velho. The closest is grandparents: in life, disorientation; in love, doubts. The book's reading is almost the opposite of what the figure represents in umbanda, where the preto-velho is precisely the one who guides. It is worth something as folk tradition, not as prediction.

Freud already pointed out this limit. He called the method of dream books "decoding", since it swaps each image for a fixed meaning, as in a code, and he noted that there is no guarantee at all that the key is right.

Sources: Freud, Die Traumdeutung, 1900; L. P. Baçan, O Livro dos Sonhos, 2014.

The preto-velho according to Freud, Jung and faith

In Freud's psychoanalysis. In The Interpretation of Dreams, Freud describes the composite figure: an image that gathers traits of several people, such as one person's face and another person's gestures. The preto-velho in the dream may have a great-grandfather's pipe, the hands of a folk healer and the voice of someone who took you in during a difficult phase.

In Jung's psychology. In Man and His Symbols, Marie-Louise von Franz explains that the deepest center of the psyche, which Jung called the Self, can appear in dreams as a wise old man. In the Jungian key, the elder who advises calmly can represent a wisdom the person already has but does not yet listen to.

In symbols and faith. In umbanda, pretos-velhos are associated with humility, patience, blessing and charity, and in many houses they are honored on May 13, the date on which slavery was abolished in Brazil, in 1888. In A Dictionary of Symbols, Chevalier and Gheerbrant show that old age, in many traditions, appears as a sign of wisdom and experience.

Bringing both readings together. Science explains how longing and fatigue shape the scene. Faith, for those who have it, asks what advice remained. One reading does not need to silence the other.

Sources: Freud, Die Traumdeutung, 1900; Jung (ed.), Man and His Symbols; Chevalier and Gheerbrant, A Dictionary of Symbols.

The preto-velho in the folk reading

In folk interpretation, a preto-velho giving advice is usually read as a call for patience and humility; one who blesses you, as protection and cleansing; one who smiles, as a sign that a hard phase is passing. The smoke of the pipe appears, in the belief, as an image of spiritual cleansing, what followers call descarrego. Dreaming about him more than once is usually understood as an invitation to stop and listen. These are readings from the tradition, which change from house to house, and not predictions. See what dream meanings look like according to science and culture.