Alcohol as 'spirit' or essence is the conjunction of opposites, a combination of the principles of fire and water. It is a means of changing consciousness. In dreams where alcohol is a feature there is an element of attempting to transcend the ordinary and approach the Divine (the Essence). When the normal constraints we put on ourselves in waking life are removed, we can often reach our own truth. Alcohol as a symbol of the removal of restraint enables us to accept dream ideas we might otherwise reject. There is the recognition of the potential for emotional confusion out of which can come clarity. To dream of an alcoholic suggests that we need to look at the way we handle excess and obsession in our daily lives. When alcohol appears in a dream it suggests that in a mundane sense we may need or require a largely pleasurable experience or influence. We have available means of changing perception. We can afford to let go and 'go with the flow' of what is happening to us. As the use of alcohol becomes more prevalent in the everyday, it can have the effect of changing the quality of dreams, bringing more frightening or incomprehensible images to the fore. Often these images need to be interpreted in the way that they were in previous times, as gremlins and hidden fears and anxieties. Men tend to be less inclined to interpret such images and to dismiss them as being irrelevant, women may choose to take note of them. You may like to consult the entries for Abandonment, Drunk and Wine.