Is it though? In dream life is a kiss just a kiss like a cigar is sometimes just a cigar?
Dream kisses are pretty much still kisses, though what kind of kiss and what the experience of the dream kiss was may vary greatly.
In waking life, kisses are ways in which we humans show our affection, or love for one another. The kiss is often the most intimate of human activities, sometimes considered more intimate than sexual intercourse. It is pretty much common knowledge that prostitutes rarely kiss their clients on the mouth as kissing is a show of love and the act occurring there is meant to be little more than a business transaction.
However, in waking life kisses may be acts of betrayal such as the betrayal of Christ by the kiss of Judas. We have all also heard of the euphemism 'the kiss of death'--the kiss marking the beginning of the end of something, an action that marks the person or project's demise.
In fairy tales, kisses take on a much more archetypal meaning. Sleeping Beauty and Snow White were both retrieved from the land of death by a kiss. The frog becomes the prince from a transformational kiss. Kissing in fairy tales is much more than the simple momentary conjoining of lips. In that world the kiss is associated with rebirth of some sort, either physical or psychological.
In dreams, kisses may be of the simple variety or the complex kind. They may be symbols of transformation, rebirth, or the rekindling or a relationship or project—a ‘breath of new life’ delivered via the lips. Look at who is involved in the kissing dream, what kind of kiss is being bestowed as well as your emotional response to the kiss. Is the kiss a simple peck on the cheek from a relative? This type of kiss could signify a need for or actual approval from people in authority or parental type figures. If you are shying away from the kiss it might mean that you are feeling smothered by those in authority or are feeling like you are being made to feel childish.
Kissing someone with whom one is involved can indicate either a desire for closeness if it is missing, or may be an expression of deep affection for that person even on an unconscious level. Dreams of kissing someone of the same sex when one is a heterosexual can indicate a need for self-love or may indicate approval of self.
If you are kissing someone you do not feel any kind of attraction to or if the kiss is unwanted or leaves you with uncomfortable emotions, the dream may indicate feelings of betrayal as forced kissing is an violation of intimacy. These are the Judas-type kisses, the kisses that indicate you are feeling overwhelmed or over-pressured by someone or something in your life. Look at who is involved in the kiss to provide a clue to who or what the situation is.
Sometimes kissing can represent a longing for something that is missing. Are you kissing some unattainable crush? This type of dream may be a dream of wish fulfillment with the unconscious mind supplying that which that waking world does not.
The longing expressed in a kissing dream may be for love and intimacy, but it can also express longing for something missing in other areas of one’s life. For example, if one dreams of kissing an actor it can be a play on words, it can mean one is longing for the ability to take action in some area of one’s life.
So, in short, a kiss may be just a kiss in the waking world…but in dream life kisses, like most everything else, are rarely a simple symbol.
Until next time, sleep well and dream out loud!
*~Aisling Ireland~* is an ordained Spiritual Counselor providing dream interpretation and Tarot readings. To make an appointment check out her website at: web.mac.com/aisling.ireland
Below are links to two of Barbara Walker's books. Both have interesting information about god/desses, mythology, and symbols. I use both frequently to help interpret symbols in my own dreams!
