- A dream about kissing is traditionally read as affection, reconciliation or a new acquaintance, depending on who is kissed.
- Miller has no separate entry for kissing; folk dream books read a kiss from a stranger as news and a kiss from an enemy as peace.
- Psychology reads the kiss as a wish for closeness and acceptance, not necessarily desire for the person.
- Surveys of typical dreams find sexual and romantic experiences reported by a majority of adults at least once.
- Dream interpretation is a tradition of reading symbols; it does not predict events.
What does it mean to dream about kissing?
Miller (1901) does not give kissing an entry of its own, so the folk tradition carries this symbol. Dream books read a kiss by its partner and its setting. Kissing your own partner is harmony at home; kissing a stranger is a new acquaintance or unexpected news; kissing an enemy or someone you dislike is reconciliation. Kissing a friend is loyalty tested and kept. A kiss on the hand is respect, on the forehead protection, on the cheek a formality that hides something. A kiss in the dark or in secret warns of gossip and of a relationship that would not bear daylight. Kissing a dead relative is read as a farewell or a blessing. A kiss that is refused or that disgusts the dreamer is trouble with the person concerned.
Three ways to read a dream about kissing
| Reading | Who says it | What the dream is taken to mean | Based on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dream books | Folk tradition, Miller (1901) | Miller (1901) does not give kissing an entry of its own, so the folk tradition carries this symbol. Dream books read a kiss by its partner and its setting. Kissing your own partner is harmony at home; kissing a stranger is a new acquaintance or unexpected news; kissing an enemy or someone you dislike is reconciliation. Kissing a friend is loyalty tested and kept. A kiss on the hand is respect, on the forehead protection, on the cheek a formality that hides something. A kiss in the dark or in secret warns of gossip and of a relationship that would not bear daylight. Kissing a dead relative is read as a farewell or a blessing. A kiss that is refused or that disgusts the dreamer is trouble with the person concerned. | Custom |
| Psychology | Freud, Jung and later authors | Freud read kissing in dreams as an open expression of desire, but even he noted that the person kissed is often a stand-in. Later psychology broadens the meaning: a kiss is contact, acceptance and being chosen, which is why many kissing dreams are less about the person than about wanting to be wanted. Kissing an ex usually points to something unfinished, not to a wish to return. Kissing a friend tends to mark a closeness you value and may have taken for granted. Kissing a stranger is read by Jungian writers as meeting the anima or animus, a quality you are drawn towards. A kiss that goes wrong, missed, unwanted or watched, usually pictures anxiety about intimacy or exposure. | Clinical interpretation |
| Sleep research | Sleep laboratories, surveys | Sleep research files kissing under sexual and romantic dream content, which is among the most widely reported themes: in Nielsen and Zadra's Canadian student survey a large majority had dreamt of sexual experiences at least once. Hall and Van de Castle found explicit sexual interactions in a small share of dream reports, more often in men's, while affectionate contact appeared more evenly. The continuity hypothesis holds: people in new relationships or with a current attraction dream more of romantic contact. Dreams of kissing acquaintances, colleagues or celebrities are ordinary and do not indicate hidden feelings; the brain reuses available faces for the feeling it is working on. | Measurements and surveys |
Kissing in the dream books
What each source says, in its own terms. Dream books are quoted as tradition, not as fact.
Kissing your partner means harmony; a stranger, news or a new acquaintance; an enemy, reconciliation; a kiss in secret warns of gossip; a kiss from a dead relative is a farewell or a blessing.
Kissing and embracing in dreams express desire fairly directly, though the person embraced is frequently a substitute for someone the dreamer cannot name.
An intimate encounter with a stranger of the opposite sex in a dream often stages the meeting with the anima or animus, the inner figure carrying qualities the dreamer needs.
Kissing dream meaning, by variation
The details change the reading.
| In the dream | Traditional reading | Psychological reading |
|---|---|---|
| Kissing a stranger | A new acquaintance or unexpected news. | Attraction to a quality you have not yet owned in yourself. |
| Kissing an ex | Old ties are not closed; a message from the past. | Unfinished emotional business, not necessarily a wish to return. |
| Kissing a friend | Loyalty tested and kept. | Closeness you value; rarely a sign of hidden romance. |
| Kissing a celebrity | Ambition and a wish to be noticed. | Wanting the qualities the celebrity stands for, or wanting to be chosen. |
| Kissing someone of the same sex | Folk books read it as a firm friendship or a secret shared. | Acceptance of a side of yourself; it says little about orientation. |
| Being kissed by someone you dislike | Reconciliation, or a false friend showing sweetness. | Ambivalence; a truce inside you with something you have rejected. |
| Kissing your partner | Harmony at home. | Security, or a wish for more tenderness than you are getting. |
| A kiss refused or a bad kiss | Trouble with the person concerned. | Anxiety about intimacy, rejection or being seen. |
When in the night do such dreams happen?
Vivid, story-like dreams happen mostly in REM sleep. REM periods are short early in the night and get longer toward morning, which is why a dream like this is often the last thing before waking.
Spiritual meaning of kissing in a dream
Spiritual writers read a kiss as a transfer of energy or a blessing: a kiss from a departed loved one as a visit, a kiss from a stranger as a soul connection, a kiss on the forehead as protection or awakening. Some read a passionate kiss as the union of opposites within the dreamer, the sacred marriage of older esoteric texts. They tend to ask about the feeling rather than the partner: peace suggests a blessing, unease a boundary being crossed.
Who did I kiss, and what quality of theirs do I want more of?
Did I want the kiss, and where in my life do I feel chosen or unchosen?
Is there someone I am not finished with?
Questions people ask
What does it mean to dream about kissing?
Dream books read it by the partner: your own partner means harmony, a stranger news, an enemy reconciliation. Psychology reads the kiss as a wish for closeness and acceptance rather than desire for that person. Research places romantic contact among the most common dream themes.
Does dreaming of kissing someone mean I have feelings for them?
Usually not. The mind borrows familiar faces to carry a feeling, so kissing a colleague or friend more often reflects wanting to be wanted, or a quality you admire, than hidden attraction. Notice the feeling in the dream rather than the face.
What does it mean to dream about kissing an ex?
Folk books read it as ties not fully closed. Psychology reads it as unfinished business: something unsaid, ungrieved or unlearned from the relationship. It is not usually a wish to go back.
Is dreaming about kissing a bad sign or does it come true?
There is no evidence that dreams predict events, so a kiss in a dream neither forecasts a romance nor a betrayal. Dream books read a secret kiss as gossip, but that is symbolism, not prophecy.
What does kissing a stranger in a dream mean?
Traditionally a new acquaintance. Jungian psychology reads the stranger as the anima or animus, a part of yourself you are drawn towards. Ask what the stranger was like, not who they were.
Why did I dream of kissing someone while I am in a relationship?
Such dreams are common and do not indicate a wish to cheat. They often appear when you want more attention or novelty, or when a quality in the other person is missing from your life. The continuity hypothesis says they track waking preoccupations, not intentions.
- Freud S. The Interpretation of Dreams, 1899
- Jung C. G. Man and His Symbols, 1964
- Hall C. S., Van de Castle R. L. The Content Analysis of Dreams, 1966
- Nielsen T. A., Zadra A. L. et al. The typical dreams of Canadian university students. Dreaming, 2003
- Folk dream books
Each symbol page sets three readings side by side and names where each one comes from. Dream books are quoted as tradition. Last reviewed on the date in the header.