I'm not going to go into great detail on this here because I need to sleep soon. But I'm going to get it off my chest before laying down for the night. Maybe I'm the only one ...
I was reading the CNN website last night and found 
A couple of days ago I mentioned that I’d had a dream about someone and then saw them the very next day. I wouldn’t have known this without the use of a dream journal so I could track how my dreams tend to work and what mean for me. When I begin training someone in the Craft, I have them set up a magickal journal. This later becomes the base of their Book of Shadows. One part of their magickal journal is dedicated to dreams.
To say that dreams are important in the training of a Witch is one of the biggest understatements I can make. Dreams provide valuable information about ourselves, our hopes and fears, what is and what will be and what we fear may be. Dreamwork can show us where we are on our path and what lessons we are currently learning. There are, of course, the dreams that are just our physical computers “processing” the input and experiences of the day. And then there are the really significant dreams that mark milestones, give us warning, and help us grow. Keeping a dream journal helps you sort out between these kinds of dreams by learning your own dream patterns and dream timing as well as your personal dream symbology.
Here are some tips for creating and working with a Dream Journal:
GET A SPECIAL BOOK DEDICATED SOLELY TO YOUR DREAMS. Don’t mix your dream work in with all your other magickal notes. They really do need a separate place for ease, convenience and just the sheer dedication of having it all in one place.
KEEP IT BY YOUR BED AT ALL TIMES. It won’t do you any good to have it if you can’t find it or if you have to go get it. You won’t believe how many things I forget in the morning between the bedside and the toilet. By the time I get up and moving and start mentally ordering my day, if I haven’t taken care of the dream-writing-down-thing, there’s a good chance I won’t get to it. Keep pens by the bed, too. The curse of never being able to find a pen when you need one works just as well in the morning as it does beside the telephone.
WRITE DOWN YOUR DREAM AS SOON AS YOU WAKE UP. Don’t wait. Remembering a dream is like chasing after the tail of a receding Dragon. The Dragon is powerful and wise but always on the move. If you want to own your power in your dreams, grab that Dragon as soon as you wake and write down every thing it grumbles before it fades into the morning mist.
SAY A MANTRA BEFORE YOU SLEEP. Before you lie down to sleep, tell yourself as you drift off, “I will remember my dreams easily and in great detail.” The more times you can say this as you fall asleep, the better programmed your mind will be to do just that upon waking.
KEEP SOME STONES THAT AID WITH DREAMWORK BY YOUR BED. I keep Labradorite by my bed (really, I keep it on me pretty much all the time). Kyanite is probably the best dream stone with which I’ve ever worked. It is a strong psychic opener, however, so if you find yourself too tired after using it, put it aside for a few days. Sugilite encourages symbolism in dreams to help with spiritual development. Holding these stones for a few minutes as you say your dream recall mantra helps give a little boost to your dreamwork. Sleeping with them under your pillow gives a stronger input from the stones. For strongest energy influence, I suggest making a small medicine “bracelet” (a tiny pouch worn on the wrist). I do not recommend sleeping with the stones in direct contact with the skin unless you are well-developed in your dreamwork. Definitely do not fall asleep with these powerful stones directly on your chakras.
MAKE A DREAM PILLOW FOR RELAXATION AND DREAM WORK. These are easy to make and give you the benefits of the stones and aromatheraphy. Make a little cloth pillow and fill it with mugwort and lavender. Put in a small piece of the stones listed above as well as a piece of protective stones such as onyx, obsidian, black tourmaline or smokey quartz. Make the pillow about the size of a small sachet and keep it in your pillow case. The aromatherapy will help you relax and the herbs themselves and the stones provide a supportive net for dreamwork.
PRAY. Never underestimate the power of asking the Gods to bring you dreams and help you remember them.
WRITE DOWN THE FACTS OF THE DAY. These would be: the date, the time, the moon phase and the sign the moon is in. If you’re a woman, you might consider writing down how close you are to beginning your menses or your ovulation (women have peak days for dreaming that are tied to their cycles, and they can be different for every woman).
WRITE DOWN WHAT YOU REMEMBER WITHOUT THINKING ABOUT IT TOO HARD. If you have the ability to write in shorthand, it will help you. Get the dream down as fast as you can in as raw language as you can. You won’t be interpreting the dream today anyway, so it won’t matter. What does matter is getting down everything you can possible recall. Fast.
PUT THE DREAM AWAY FOR ABOUT A WEEK. Don’t try to interpret the dream for about a week. It can be hard to interpret a dream when you’re too close to it. Putting the dream aside can make things pop out you never connected together because your brain has integrated the experience of the dream more. Try it — you’ll see. It’s easier if you separate the notation from the interpretation.
SHARE THE DREAM WITH SOMEONE WHO IS GOOD AT DREAM INTERPRETATION. This happens to be one of my talents. I know I’m not the only one good at it. Having someone go over your dream with you can help you figure out what it means. It also allows the Gods to speak through someone else and offer up a meaning you might not have seen for yourself.
If you haven’t already started writing down your dreams and keeping them, please do. It’s worth all the time it takes to do it and you will grow in leaps and bounds faster than those who are not harnassing the power of their dreams. If you have questions about a dream or a symbol, feel free to post it to the Q&A section of the blog here. Just remember to let me know if you want the question shared or not — I want to make sure your privacy isn’t violated.
Let me know how it goes!
Photo by Eddi 07 (via Flickr).
Avren |
Tuesday, 1st September 2009 at 11:00 PM