Rainbow dreams often arrive after something hard. Note whether the arc was complete, where it stood in the sky, and what the weather had just done.
Which version was yours?
A rainbow at night, with no rain
Describe the sky and what lit the arc. A rainbow in impossible conditions may be a way to picture hope that does not quite add up, or a comfort you are examining for flaws.
Walking toward a rainbow that keeps the same distance
Note how long you walked and whether you gave up. A receding arc can picture a goal defined by its appeal from far off, and the dream may be asking what you expected to find at its base.
A double rainbow seen from a car in traffic
Record who was driving and whether the car stopped. A striking sky seen from an ordinary stuck moment can picture a good thing arriving in the middle of a routine you cannot pause.
A way to think about it
A rainbow needs both rain and sun, and it only appears from a particular angle. Dreams tend to honour that. A rainbow often shows up at the end of a dream that has included weather, difficulty or tears, and the question worth asking is what the dream had been doing before the arc appeared. It can be a way to picture relief, or the hope of relief, or a promise you are not sure you believe. Note whether the rainbow was complete or partial, bright or faint, single or double, and whether it seemed close enough to reach. Walking toward a rainbow that keeps its distance is a common report and may picture a goal that recedes as you approach it. Rainbows also carry strong public associations, including flags, children's drawings and weather forecasts, and some people's dreams use them in those registers rather than as weather. If the rainbow was in a place that could not have one, such as indoors or at night, record that; the dream may be deliberately making a hopeful image slightly wrong. Finally note your own feeling on seeing it. Not everyone is cheered by a rainbow in a dream, and a feeling of doubt or sadness in its presence is as useful to record as delight.
Take a question into your day.
Save it before it slips away. No account needed.
STORIES & CONTEXTThe stories behind the symbol
The stories behind the symbol
Most archive books call the rainbow a good sign, with conditions. The 1644 Artemidorus translation says a rainbow on the right hand is good and on the left ill, judged by the sun, but good for the afflicted because it changes the weather. Everybody's Book of Luck repeats the right-left rule. Miller (1901) gives unusual happenings; Fontaine (1862), the brighter the better, health and prosperity; Noe (1885), travel, agreeable news and foreign trade; Cielo (1917), better days coming. Craig (1918) is the odd one, reading a rainbow overhead as sometimes ruin and noting that the oneirocritics of his day regarded it as a sign of failure. Historical readings only.
Compare the historical accounts
These are the authors’ historical interpretations. Their forecasts and period judgments are preserved as source material, not as predictions or established meanings for your dream.
Gustavus Hindman Miller
Ten Thousand Dreams Interpreted; Or, What’s in a Dream · Gutenberg #926; bibliography identifies the 1901 original and subsequent reprints
Rainbow · Heading 1672; source lines 18760–18772 · Text transcription
Original source (English)
To see a rainbow in a dream, is prognostic of unusual happenings. Affairs will assume a more promising countenance, and crops will give promise of a plentiful yield.
For lovers to see the rainbow, is an omen of much happiness from their union.
To see the rainbow hanging low over green trees, signifies unconditional success in any undertaking.
Felix Fontaine
The Golden Wheel Dream-book and Fortune-teller · 1862
Rainbow · Heading 646; source line 4102 · Text transcription
Original source (English)
It is an excellent dream to imagine you see a brilliant rainbow—the brighter the better: it denotes health and general prosperity: to lovers it foretells a happy marriage, and riches. A young girl who dreams of a rainbow will either get an agreeable lover or a present.
Artemidorus; English translation attributed to Robert Wood
The Interpretation of Dreams · 1644; EEBO-TCP A25906 transcription
Of the Rain-bow. · Book 2, encoded section 98 · Text transcription
Original source (English)
THe Rain-bowe on the right hand is good, on the left ill: and we must judge the right or the left according to the Sun, and in what quality soever it appeareth, it is a good signe to any one that is afflicted, with poverty, or any other affliction, for it changeth the time, and ayre.
A. H. Noe
The Witches' Dream Book; and Fortune Teller · New York, Henry J. Wehman, 1885
Rainbow · Dream section, heading 443; source lines 1638–1642 · Text transcription
Original source (English)
To dream you see a rainbow, denotes great traveling and change of fortune; it also foretells sudden news of a very agreeable nature; it announces that your sweetheart is of good temper and very constant, and that you will be very happy in marriage; great success in business, through the means of trading with foreign ports.
Astra Cielo
Fortunes and Dreams · New York, George Sully, 1917
Rainbow · Dream section, heading 352; source lines 4709–4712 · Text transcription
Original source (English)
To see a rainbow denotes that better days are coming. It is a very good omen.
Anonymous
Everybody’s Book of Luck · Whitman Publishing Company edition; date not stated in transcription
Rainbow · Dream section, heading 214; source lines 4072–4076 · Text transcription
Original source (English)
Change of residence or manner of life: (if seen on the right hand) a change for the better: (if on the left) an "Irishman's rise."
Katherine Taylor Craig
The Fabric of Dreams: Dream Lore and Dream Interpretation, Ancient and Modern · New York, E. P. Dutton & Company, 1918; original US edition
Rainbow · Printed p. 248; NLM OCR lines 11632–11641 · OCR transcription
Original source (English)
A change in the dreamer's present condition; a rainbow in the East denotes benefits to the poor and the sick; in the West good for the rich but not for the poor. Overhead, a change in fortune; sometimes ruin and death to the dreamer and his family. On the right it is good, at the left ill, judging right and left according to the sun, but wherever it appears it brings good to poverty and affliction by changing the air (Artemidorus), Modern oneirocritics regard the rainbow as an invariable sign of failure.
Also indexed as: of the rain-bow · rainbows · double rainbow · rainbow in the sky
A little more to explore.
- Spiritual dream interpretation: reflect through your own beliefs
Explore a dream through your own spiritual beliefs while separating remembered details, personal meaning, and claims that require independent evidence.
Original DreamFolia editorial draft written on 2026-10-12. Reflection text is an invitation to personal writing, not a validated symbol meaning. Individual editorial review is required before publication. Updated 2026-10-12. Read our approach and sources.