What does it mean to dream about rain?
Rain often pictures release and renewal, or sadness washing through, the same water that cleanses in one mood and drowns the spirits in another.
Four ways to read it
Each reading below comes from a named tradition and a cited source, so you can see where it came from and decide what fits your dream.
Freud
Freud would link rain to emotion finding an outlet, tears and relief, or to fertility falling on the dreamer's life.
After Freud, The Interpretation of Dreams (Brill trans., 1913), public domain.Jung
Jung would see the unconscious descending into waking life, often a cleansing flow that clears the air and makes growth possible.
Jungian concept (our summary).Modern
Continuity ties rain to the dreamer's mood, gentle rain with calm or melancholy, a downpour with feeling overwhelmed.
Continuity hypothesis (our summary).Mythological
Rain is the gift of sky gods across the world, from Zeus and Indra to the rain-dances of drought-struck peoples, the blessing that ends the barren season.
Rosmerta Publishing editorial synthesis (after Frazer; Bulfinch).