Dream question: Why do I dream about cigars?

Sigmund Freud, the famous psychoanalyst who encouraged the exploration of dreams and promoted dream work, was well known for believing in phallic symbolism in dreams. 

So whether you dreamt about a canoe or a banana, if it looked like a man sword, Freudian school of thought suggests its something to do with sex, or at least a repressed desire about it. It’s fair to say for some people this may well be the case.

However, even Freud is believed to have said, “Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar”.

So what does a cigar mean in dreams?

Cigars can be associated most commonly with status and celebrations. 

In the movies, the head of the mob or a wealthy business man is usually seen sitting with his crew enjoying a cigar as a symbol of his power and wealth. It may be that at the time of your dream you have been thinking about status and, in particular have some ideas about how to live a more lavish life. You may be in a rare position of authority where you feel comfortable in your surroundings and your every wish is someone else’s command. Or you simply desire it to be that way.

When a baby is born and his or her arrival is celebrated, men (and women) may be seen smoking a cigar. If you’ve had a cigar dream (depending on the context) you may feel it is a time for celebration or that some important reason to celebrate is on the horizon.

All of the above can apply whether you are male of female but traditionally a cigar is a male status symbol. (There are also many different types of cigars which women can and do smoke and like any dream analysis the interpretation will be individual and subjective). If a woman is dreaming of smoking a cigar, she may be asserting her masculine qualities (or those associated with masculinity) such as strength and power.
A common complaint from non-smokers is the pungent smell which emanates from cigar smoke. If cigar smoke appears in your dream it may be that a powerful (and possibly annoying) character around you in your waking life is hiding you from something which you feel you need to see (or know).

Keeping a dream diary is a useful way to notice patterns in your dreaming and understand why you dream what you do. You can access a free guide to keeping a dream diary in the members area of the Helping you Sparkle™ website when you subscribe to my dreams mailing list.