If you are bitten or pinched by a crab in your dream, it is possible that some part of your current situation is resistant to change; this might be because of yourself, or because of another. The armored body of the crab suggests the need to protect yourself against something or someone, and the pincer-like claws show a willingness to attack or tackle whatever obstacles lie in their path.
If a crab appears in your dream, could it be a reflection of a crabby or bad-tempered aspect of your personality; an aspect that resists the attempts of others to penetrate the rough outer shell you have developed in waking life to protect your soft emotional center?
If your dreaming mind saw a crab or lobster without its shell, this is a symbol of your feelings of emotional vulnerability.
If the crab scuttled sideways in your dream, this may mirror a tendency to be evasive when others try to get too close to you or it may also reflect your inability to think logically or in a straight line. Additionally, with their habit of burrowing under the sand, the crab may represent anything that is sapping your energy. Bear in mind, too, that the crab is the symbol for someone born under the astrological sign of Cancer, so your dream crab may be referring to them.
If a shrimp appears in your dream, this may represent rivalry or resentment towards someone, as ’shrimp’ is often a disparaging nickname. But when coupled with the mother image of the sea, the shrimp may represent the reawakening of dormant sibling or childhood rivalries. [1]