Ferryman
A person who takes others across a water — a figure long associated, in old stories, with the passage between worlds.
A ferryman in a dream is the dream's image of the figure who takes others across a water. In old stories the ferryman is more than a working boatman — he is the one who carries the passenger from a known shore to one that cannot be reached by any other means, and the fare must be paid. The dream brings the ferryman when something in your life — a grief that needs a witness, a major transition, a death — has placed you, or someone close to you, at a crossing that requires a particular figure to oversee it. A ferryman paid honestly and approached calmly is the dream affirming the respected crossing. A ferryman refused, or the fare withheld, is the dream noting that the rite of the passage is being skipped, and the far bank will not be reached cleanly.