Dead Mantis in dreams
A patient, predatory insect — stillness so complete that the prey arrives on its own.
How dead changes the reading
Dead in the dream means the symbol's energy is no longer in active circulation in your life. The reading is not necessarily grim — most often it is the dream noting that something you had been carrying has run its full course and you can stop carrying it.
The base reading of Mantis
A mantis in a dream is the dream's image of stillness used as a weapon. Mantises do not chase; they wait, fold their arms, and let other insects walk in. The dream brings the mantis when you are dealing with — or being — someone whose great move is to do nothing and let the situation deliver the result. A mantis still on a leaf is the dream telling you the patience is working. A mantis striking is the dream marking that the patient phase is over and a fast, self-contained move has occurred.