Wealth and Poverty

• Lobster is currently perceived as a luxury food. Before the twentieth century, however, eating lobster symbolized poverty, because its shape resembles that of an insect. In fact, the word "lobster" derives from the Latin word for "locust."
  
  

Dreams and Tarot

• According to dream theorists, a lobster seen in a dream represents strength and determination in overcoming problems. If the dreamer eats the lobster, it symbolizes regaining confidence. In tarot, the lobster represents regeneration and protection, because it follows a cycle of shedding its hard shell and growing a new one.
  
  

Surrealism

• For Surrealists like Salvador Dali, the claws of this crustacean represented danger. In his sculpture "Lobster Telephone," Dali replaced the handset of a telephone with a lobster. With the onset of World War II, the lobster became an important symbol of the dangers of war for the Surrealist art movement.