Dear Claire,
In my dreams for the last two weeks, I keep smoking cigarettes. But I don’t smoke, and I have never smoked. The place where I am smoking is a cross between work and school. Sometimes, it will seem more like a school, but then it becomes more like I am at work or at someone’s house. In my dream, when I am at these different places, I keep leaving the main area to smoke. I move off to the side, or just outside a room that people are in, and I light a cigarette and puff on it. The cigarette catches on fire, and then I blow the smoke out of my mouth and run to put the cigarette flame out in a sink or a bathroom nearby, before I am seen and the smell is noticed. I always feel like people are going to catch me doing it, so I always put the cigarette out right after I take a puff and it flames. Then, I leave and go to a different place so that by the time the smoke is noticed, I will be gone. But I can always catch a glimpse of people (who don’t see me) as I am sneaking by before the smoke can reach them, and I get blamed. The weirdest part about all of this smoking in my dreams is that, to me, smoking is a totally terrible and unhealthy habit, and I have never smoked.
Fire is definitely a theme in the above dream because smoke originates from fire, and when the dreamer lights the cigarette, it “flames.” Fire is a primal, all-consuming force, which can be extremely destructive; so, in the negative, fire often symbolizes something which can consume and destroy, as well as something which is evil and ill-doing. In addition, fire can also represent emotions and/or experiences in life that are destructive, painful, intense, or “inflammatory” – like anger, rage, life-changing occurrences, and devastating feelings of guilt, sorrow, or betrayal. In its positive dream form, fire can represent passion, purification, and creativity; for example, when artists are “consumed” by a creative “fire.” Fire can also serve as a positive and powerful symbol of transformation, rebirth, and regeneration, stemming from the fact that a fire’s flames can consume what is old, or from the past, in order to make room for what is new, fresh, and in the present.
However, this dream’s connection to fire does not appear to be a positive association – or even a type of “trial by fire” association. Why? Because this dreamer is starting the fires, and starting a fire in a dream usually serves as a symbol for the instigation or origin of something negative, destructive, or totally devastating. While the fires that this dreamer starts may be controlled in nature, small in size, and resulting in merely smoke and a small flame, and while she may be immediately taking action to put out the fires that she has started, she is still, nonetheless, the one who is lighting those fires. Furthermore, when the dreamer rushes to extinguish the fires, it appears that she does not do so to avoid harmful or destructive outcomes from the flames, but, instead, to avoid detection, condemnation, and “blame” – fearing that the scent of what was lit will expose her deeds and bring negative consequences for her.
Another notable aspect of this dream is that the focus of concern is mainly on the smoking, which requires that smoke be both inhaled and exhaled through the mouth. Mouths not only symbolize speech, and the ability to speak, but are also important symbols of creation and destruction – because when we speak, we create, and when we eat, technically, we destroy. In addition, the drawing in and out of our breath has always served as a symbol for life and the human spirit. However, what the dreamer is breathing in and out is cigarette smoke, something which she views as negative and unhealthy.
Traditionally, smoke can symbolize a lack of clarity, and the act of smoking can symbolize the act of obscuring, hiding, or deceiving, so trying to escape from the smoke in this dream could represent a need for clarity or a need to halt or remove oneself from deceptive, subversive, or negative behavior. I believe that the dreamer’s smoking, as well as her flaming cigarette, signifies that the she may be initiating, instigating, and/or engaging in negative words, behavior, or interactions in her waking world which she is not proud of and which make her feel angst and her dream world smoking habit is merely a reflection of that angst. It is my belief that her dream actions of putting out what she has lit, and leaving before the smoke has been detected, merely represent her attempts to disassociate and absent herself from whatever inflammatory situations she has initiated or been involved in during her waking hours.
However, the true and core significance of this dream is most likely to be found in the dreamer’s last statement. She writes that, to her, smoking is a “totally terrible and unhealthy habit” and she has “never smoked.” What could this dreamer be doing in her waking world that she normally does not ever engage in – and something which she views as negative, unsavory, and unhealthy? In addition, what could the dreamer be involved in that is making her feel guilty and fearful of detection? Because the “sneak” factor appears to also be a major component of this dream, when she instantly scurries to put out whatever fire she has initiated and is “sneaking by” people to avoid detection and consequences. What could be causing this dreamer to feel the need to be subversive, negative, and underhanded? If the dreamer can identify current actions or behavior in her conscious world which might be creating these feelings, she will, most likely, be able to unlock the meaning of these cigarette and fire-starting dreams and be able to give up her dream world smoking habit for good.
