“Since the dawn of time, when the very first tendrils of consciousness began to unfurl in the recesses of the mind, humans have led a seemingly dualistic existence, torn between the world of daylight and the nocturnal world of dreams. Sometimes profoundly beautiful and at other times terrifying, dreams have captivated the minds of some of our greatest thinkers. Dreams have been to many, an object of wonder, vibrant and potent with mystery.” – G. Taunton
The Importance of Dreams and their Interpretation
It is the alchemy available in the process of working with dreams that has urged human beings to look inward since prehistoric ages.
For as long as human beings have been looking up to seek meaning in the Stars, they have also been looking inward and longing to find similar insights in the magic terrain which is the dreamscape.
The Divination of Dreams, to predict the future (oneiromancy) has deep roots in all the Ancient Cultures of the world.
Perhaps this is because dreams are universal. Absolutely everybody dreams, usually several times when they fall asleep; and just because we do not always remember our dreams this doesn’t mean that we do not have any!
Dreaming should be experienced as a time of transformation and healing. It can be used as a means to receive wisdom and guidance from our very depths. When approached with respect, the simple act of laying one’s head on the pillow can be the doorway to a whole new world in which the many mysteries of our depths are decoded.
In this new world, the concepts of time and form dissolve, and, to a certain degree, we are set free: free to explore on a level beyond the physical: free to process and simultaneously express without superficial boundaries.
My ancestors intensely valued their dreams and kept dream journals as well as worked with others dreams. People would come to them and ask for predictions through the medium of Dreamwork.
Dreams were normally understood through interpreting the symbols as well as conducting specific divinations to assist the process. People would also come, expressing their dreams and requesting support in decrypting their meaning, often wishing to know the implications for their health, since health and dreaming are too, interlinked.
Dreaming is indeed a phenomena we share that is closest to dying.
Scientific studies and ancient beliefs have shown us that awareness or consciousness isn’t restricted to the body and brain, so therefore, lives on somehow, after our physical form ends. If we learn to engage with our dream state more confidently and meaningfully, it can transform our entire perspective on all that is this life.
A Broad Tradition
Oneiromancy has been part of Greek culture since age-old times. To that culture we owe one of the most significant books about dreams ever written: the Oneirocritica (Interpretation of Dreams) attributed to Artemidorus, who believed that dreams predict the future. His work is the basis for many contemporary approaches to dreams. There is also a powerful Hermetic tradition of Dream Interpretation.
Aristotle is said to have taught that human beings are capable of achieving the pure form of wisdom only during sleep, when our minds are liberated.
In the belief systems of Ancient India and in many Buddhist Teachings as well as Traditions, there are active beliefs connected to Lucid Dreaming, Dreamwork and Dream Yoga.
The Sufis consider that the function of our dreams is to provide an opening between the world of the spirit and the waking world. Energetic information moves from the spiritual world into the waking world through the dream state and then the communication reverses back from this world to the spiritual one. In dreams, these two impulses meet; our dreams manifest the mixing of the otherworldly and the worldly.
Shamans, traditionally, were those members of a community who experienced vivid and powerful dreams; it is in the language of the dreamtime that the Shaman receives. These men and women are said to “die” and return to life many times, and to know how to orient themselves in the unknown regions they enter during their dream journeys.
The word Shaman comes from the Tungus language of Siberia and is usually translated as “one who knows” or “one who can see in the dark.” In Europe, those who were once the most knowledgeable about herbs and healing were practicing some aspects of shamanism and were known as Witches or Wise Women. The healing power of female Shamans was occasionally stated to have been so far-reaching that they could restore life to the dead.
The indigenous Chontal of the Mexican state of Oaxaca use Calea zacatechichi, a flowering plant, for Oneiromancy by placing it under the pillow of the dreamer. Similarly, Entada rheedii is used in various African cultures.
Shamanic principles are universally part of the human experience because they are based on spiritual and healing practices that have been passed down from our ancestors. Dream Journeys, Dreamwork and Dream Interpretations are known to also be an expression of ancestral blessings.
What I do
When I divine dreams, I work with shamanistic divination and symbolism as the principle mediums.
Some ways I can work with Dream Interpretations are:
- soul retrieval
- divination and prophecy
- healing
- strengthening
- prescience into past lives and/or key karmas
- dream health
A popular method is receiving a Delian Divination
“This form of divination helps the Querent interpret their dreams using the Tarot and Symbolism. The complete dream does not need to be remembered: recalling a few key points is enough to gain guidance related to the dream.”
You can also request a Delian Divination to receive advice connected to your own truth-seeking journey and/or spiritual practice, how it is developing, the karmas at play, as well as ways to work with current energies hidden and obvious.
Closing expressions
Our modern lives are mostly spent in conceptualisation and this habit of mind can filter out much of the true and sincere communication that the universe likes to make known to us in gentle ways.
With the right awareness and intention, our dream life allows us to flush out the daily conceptualisation, which in itself can often stand in the way of what we truly are or are to become.
Our waking lives are often bound in conventional form: in dreams, we go beyond the physical/relative time and space. We are opened to a vast world, in this world, we are open to communications from the most sincere and serene parts.
Dreaming opens us to an alchemical process—transforming what we discover through the Dreamwork into tools to become alchemists of our own making. Our nightmares can be redirected and, when worked with correctly, their energy (if trapped) will find ways to be released.
When the depths have been understood and transformed, our exterior life and whatever lives in-between is automatically transformed.
I encourage people, inspired by all my teachers, to say aspirations and prayers before falling asleep, beneficial ones for all beings and our universe.
Upon waking, if we can awake with good intentions, this too can assist the overall Dreamwork routine.
With gentleness upon waking, we will be able to remember more of what happened during the course of the night. Keeping a journal near ones bed, to write about our experiences is a popular tracking method and recommended.
One very important piece of advice: Please do not think that what happens in dreaming is the same as what comes from the use of hallucinogens and other chemicals—which if ever used should be used with impeccable intention and never abused. I, myself, feel that such substances are definitely NOT needed and tend to do more damage than benefit. The natural process of dreaming is what should be understood/worked with.
Blessed and Healing Dreamwork everyone!