You had a dream that it’s the dead of winter, or maybe it’s fall, or spring, or summer, and you have no idea what to make of it. What do the seasons mean? This blog will look at it from two perspectives: what happens Biblically during the season and what happens in our modern world. A great scripture to check out is Ecclesiastes 3, “There is a Time for Everything.” Due to its length, I’m not going to post it in its entirety, but here are a few excerpts:
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot (Ecc 3: 1-2)
I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. He has made everything beautiful in its time. (Ecc 3:10-11)
Spring
In Biblical times, the society was agricultural. It’s also important to note that Israel has a warm climate. The coldest month is January, when average highs are in the 60s and average lows are in the 40s. You may not live in the same climate, so your dreams will likely parallel where you live, but it’s worth understanding the planting and harvesting times in Israel. The scriptures will make more sense and, possibly, your dreams as well!
Deuteronomy 11:14 states,
“He will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil.”
The early rain is in the spring, and the late rain is in the fall. Passover occurs in spring. Passover is the remembrance of the exodus from slavery in Egypt. A few days after Passover is the Feast of First Fruits. It is the time of the first grain harvest. This occurs in March or April. Beginning with First Fruits, there is a counting of fifty days (or seven weeks). This ends with what the church calls Pentecost. The Jewish people call it Shav’out (weeks). The grain harvest ends at this time, which is late spring.
Spring is also the time when kings went to war (2 Sam 11:1)
In the modern world, consider what happens in spring in your region. Where I live, the farmers fertilize their fields, till them under and sow seeds. If you are a gardener, you may be starting seeds indoors. It is also time to put away snow blowers, break out the lawn mower, clean up the yard and landscape beds, and prune fruit trees and grape vines.
These things may be important to understanding your dream. Are you in a season of war? Planting? Or is it a rainy season? April showers bring May flowers! Spring is a time of new growth, fresh starts as in the case of Passover, or the beginning of a new growing season for you.
Summer
Summer. School is out, the days are long, and the nights are warm. Swimming, fire pits, s’mores, and maybe some vacation rest and relaxation are happening.
Israel’s summers are hot, with zero rainfall from June to September. Although it doesn’t sound like a good time for them to grow, it is when fruit is harvested. Things like figs, pomegranates, and grapes are ripe. I live in an area where grapes are a late summer to early fall crop. For me, it’s good to know, so when I read about these activities in the Bible, I know it’s summer and not fall.
What is happening in the summer where you live? Are you harvesting, planting, and fertilizing? Depending on where you live, you may be “back to school shopping” as classes begin in mid-late summer.
Are any of these things occurring in your dream? You may be in a harvest season, a time of rest, preparing for a new year of spiritual education, or in a dry time. All things to consider.
Autumn
Biblically, autumn is the time of the fall feasts, starting with the High Holy Days. The celebration begins with Rosh Hashanah (The New Year) and ends ten days later on Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement), when Jewish people fast for twenty-four hours. This is considered the most holy day of the year. Afterward, a seven-day celebration known as Tabernacles (Booths or Sukkot) starts.
In Israel, fall is a time of preparing the harvest for storage. They may be drying fruit, making wine, or pressing olives into oil. The fall rains come.
How about where you live? The days are getting shorter and cooler; maybe leaves are changing color and falling, harvest is finishing, and gardens and fields are being cleaned up. Lawnmowers and patio furniture are stored, pools are closed, and the furnace may kick on. It is a time of death.
In dream speak, autumn may be a time of change, completion, or an end of something.
Winter
In Israel, it is the rainy season. Mid-winter is also the celebration of Purim. It is when Queen Esther overthrows Haman’s plot to wipe out the Jewish people.
What does winter find you doing? You may be skiing, ice skating, snowmobiling, or sitting by a roaring fire in northern climates. The days are short, cold, snowy, or rainy. By midwinter, you may notice seed catalogs start showing up. The big box stores have seeds and seed starting kits on display. Planning for spring begins!
Symbolically, winter is often viewed as dormant, dead, or barren. I have a background in horticulture, and I can tell you that even when it looks like nothing is happening, the cold season is preparing for life! Many seeds will not sprout in the spring without a dormant cold season. The cold weather breaks the seed coating, allowing them to sprout when the temperatures rise in the spring. Winter may not be as dead as you think!
This may have been a slightly different approach to dream symbols, but I hope it helps you crack the dream code. Until next time under the palm, be blessed!
