Rainbow in Dreams
rainbows · bow in the sky · arc of colour · double rainbow · rain bow · gokkusagi
The rainbow is read as a sign that appears only after difficulty and only under particular conditions, requiring both rain and light at once. It is commonly taken to signify a promise, an arc thrown across a distance, and the passage from one weather to another. Because it cannot be reached or stood beneath, it is also read as a beauty that is entirely real and cannot be possessed.
Rainbow imagery frequently registers reassurance rather than resolution. The rain has usually not stopped; light has simply found an angle through it, and readings take this as the mind's way of marking that hope and difficulty are occupying the same moment. Interpreters also note the bridge form, reading the arc as a connection between two positions that has no supports and does not last.
By detail
Colour
colours unusually vivid, or faint and washing out
Intensity is read as the strength of the assurance. Vivid bands are taken to signify a sign the dreamer finds convincing, one that settles something. Faint or fading colour divides readings: some treat it as hope thinning, while others note that every rainbow fades and read the dimming simply as the moment passing, which is proper to a sign of this kind.
Place
the rainbow forming an arch or bridge over a place
The arc read as a bridge is taken to signify a connection between two conditions or two people that stands without visible support. One line of interpretation emphasises the joining and reads it as reconciliation or a way across; another attends to the fact that no one walks on it, and reads the bridge as symbolic assurance rather than a practical route.
Action
approaching a rainbow, or trying to reach its end
Pursuit is widely read as a longing that keeps its distance by nature. The bow moves as the observer moves, so the dream is generally taken to signify a goal defined partly by its unreachability, valued because it recedes. Interpreters usually read this without severity, treating the chase as a description of desire rather than as a caution against having it.
Outcome
a rainbow appearing after rain or storm
The classic sequence is read as difficulty declaring its own end. Because the bow requires the rain still falling somewhere, interpreters generally take it to signify relief that arrives before the trouble has fully cleared. Readings usually stress that the sign confirms a turn rather than causing one, so the image is treated as recognition of a change already under way.
Other
a double rainbow, or one seen at an unexpected time
A second, fainter bow above the first is read as emphasis, the sign repeated for someone who might otherwise dismiss it. Interpreters generally take doubling to signify confirmation rather than doubled fortune. A bow appearing where the conditions seem wrong is usually read as significance out of sequence, meaning offered before the dreamer has a place to put it.