Dreaming of Raccoon: Symbolism & Meaning

“Raccoon eyes …” well, I have not heard that expression “in a coon’s age!” Okay, I confess on the blatant wordplay there, but it works, right? And if you have this nocturnal, mischievous creature enter your dreams at night, you might find that the dreams allude to such sayings since your subconscious will speak to you in symbols and other ways you will recognize.

As such, to dream of the raccoon with its lovely black mask on might suggest you have dark circles under your eyes like a raccoon, and it is time you get some rest. Or, you might end up feeling so gosh darn tired from not resting that it will feel like you haven’t relaxed of slept “in a coon’s age (which happens to be a very long time because people use to think the raccoon had a considerable lifespan).

Of course, we can go well beyond playful language to interpret the meaning of the raccoon when it comes romping into the dream time narrative. One of the most obvious symbols associated with the raccoon is its “mask.” It makes the raccoon look like a bandit or, even more so like the McDonald’s Hamburglar (Who really kind of freaked me out when I was young)!

Essentially, when you see the adorable face of the raccoon in your dreams, it is a message telling you to think twice about the people you interact with in your waking life. After all, as cute as they are, the raccoon can be both destructive and dangerous, especially one that is injured or feeling threatened.

Likewise, the people in your life might present you with one image on the surface, and they might have a far different motive or countenance underneath the superficial mask they wear. When raccoon arrives, the creature calls on you to look past the “mask” of others and to their motives; the critter might be warning you to watch your back during daylight hours and to avoid all biting jealousy, back-biting, gossip, or slander.

In General Psychology coursework, students learn about the public and private self, with the public self as what we allow others to see and the private self as the person we are when behind closed doors and alone. This understanding can be easily explained as a mask on/mask off the presentation. The raccoon is calling on you to get back to your roots, your real self, and to embrace who you are without trying to meet the high demands of others.

The presence of raccoon in your dreams, particularly if the dream narrative is happening during daytime hours (raccoons are nocturnal), might beg the question, why are you disguising the real you behind a mask or acting out of character? Do you think others will find you more acceptable? Do you find it easier to interact with others if you put a superficial “barrier” between you and those you interact with? Perhaps you should question why you feel the need to distance yourself from others to feel less vulnerable.

Just as the bandit attributes of the raccoon can get the critter into a bit of mischief (as anyone living in the country who puts out trash bins for collection knows), such attributes are not always a bad thing to have; this is particularly true when related to the instinct of self-preservation. The bandit attributes are a constellation of features that include mischievousness, but also cunning, quick wit, and cleverness. In this way, the raccoon might come to represent the positive aspects of your own Shadow self, whereas raccoon is teaching you what attributes are best to embrace.

Now that you have learned the dream message of the raccoon, are you not totally intrigued about what other animal dream messages teach? I can help you in that realm of discovery … all you have to do is access the free information on dream meanings I present here at WhatIsMySpiritAnimal.com.