Image Interpretation
House you and your life; the basement represents your unconscious, the main floor shows your daily living situation, the attic or upper floors describe your mental or spiritual side
Car your body and your passage through life; the driver represents who’s controlling your life; the car’s condition reveals health and physical matters
Water emotions; the type of water (deep, murky, cold, turbulent, etc.) indicates the quality of your feelings
Sex merging your masculine and feminine sides, or incorporating another person’s qualities into yourself
Death a transition or change; something is moving out of your life
Birth a new direction, perspective, or endeavor; creativity; opportunity
School learning lessons; taking an exam represents being tested in an area of life
Monsters things you fear or parts of yourself you haven’t integrated
Dreams about Gems
It’s said that when you dream about gemstones you’ve received a message from the Divine. To understand the message, consider the meanings associated with the particular gem (see Chapter 16).
Keep a list in your grimoire of the symbols you encounter in your dreams and describe what they mean to you. Do some appear frequently? Do they usually turn up in similar scenarios, or in a variety of ways? How do you feel when you encounter a particular symbol in a dream? After a while, you may identify certain symbols that are unique to you, or that hold different meanings for you than those commonly associated with them—pay special attention to these.
INTERPRETING YOUR DREAMS
If we agree that our dreams are trying to tell us something, it behooves us to learn to interpret them. Whether dream insights emerge from the subconscious or are sent to you by entities in the spirit realm, they may provide valuable information you can use in your everyday life and in your magick work. Each night as you enter the dream world, you have an opportunity to delve into areas that may not be available to you while you’re awake.
Although dreams rarely play out in logical, easily comprehensible ways, with a little patience you can learn to understand their symbolic language. Think of dreams as your own personal movies, intended solely for you. Therefore, your own impressions are more important than standard textbook interpretations.
The following tips can help you get to the essence of your dreams:
Try giving your dream a title that relates to what you remember as the most vivid or distinct image. The title could reflect the strongest event that occurred, the main action around which the events of the dream revolved.
Write down what happened around you, to you, or because of you. These circumstances may be within or outside the realm of your control.
Look for the crossroads, or the point in the dream at which things began to change, either for positive or negative results. Did your dream spiral up or down, either into delightful pleasure or a nightmare?
Did some sort of resolution to the situation occur? How did this come about?
How did you feel during the dream? Happy, sad, frightened, angry, confident, peaceful? How did you feel when you awoke?
Who was in your dream? Are these characters people you know in your waking life? What associations do you have with them? If you don’t know these people in waking life, do they represent something or someone?
How did you interact with these characters? What transpired between you and them in the dream?
Did any animals appear in your dream? If so, what associations do you hold with these animals?
What images, actions, or scenes stood out most?
Did anything in the dream seem totally fantastic and impossible in earthly terms? Or did the dream scenario play out in a relatively realistic manner?
Words have many meanings, both literal and symbolic, and dreams often play on words to get a point across. Once I dreamt I was in a long-distance race with many other people, and although I wasn’t a trained runner I managed to keep up with the leaders in the race. Later, I won a contest and realized the dream had signaled that I was “in the running” for the award. Pay attention to words and phrases in your dreams, and note them in your grimoire—they may contain hidden meanings or puns that can provide insights.
Magick takes you into the secret recesses of the mind and makes you aware of your connections with other levels of reality. Dreams provide access to these realities. Keeping records of your dreams will lead you to a better understanding of your inner dynamics and what goes on beneath the surface of your ordinary mental processes. While in a dream state, you could even tap into the reservoir of knowledge contained in the Akashic records, the great cosmic “Internet” in the universe where many people believe the wisdom of all time is stored.
“Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.”
—CARL JUNG
Recurring Dreams
Scenarios and images that show up repeatedly in your dreams are especially significant. If you experience recurring dreams, your subconscious may be trying hard to get something across to you. For instance, most of us periodically dream of being in a classroom taking a test for which we feel unprepared. Not surprisingly, we tend to have this dream at turning points in our lives, when we’re facing new challenges or moving into a new phase of life.
Pay close attention to your own recurring dreams. Does the dream replay pretty much the same way every time or do you notice variations? Examine any changes in the dream’s narrative, setting, or characters—these will tell you how the situation is progressing. Once you comprehend the dream’s message and address the situation, you’ll probably stop having the dream.
Problem-Solving Dreams
Because dreams take you into a perceptual realm that’s different from your waking one, they can provide answers that elude you in your everyday life. Many famous people have used dreams to help them solve problems. Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Harry Truman, and Benjamin Franklin were known to “sleep on it” when confronted with a problem or important decision.
One well-known example is Elias Howe, who patented the lock-stitch sewing machine. For ten years Howe had been struggling to perfect his machine. Then one night he dreamt cannibals captured him and told him he would die a horrible death if he didn’t solve the problem. As he sat in a large cooking pot, waiting to be boiled alive, he glanced up at their spears and noticed holes near the pointed ends. Howe had his answer. He put the hole near the tip of the needle and the sewing machine was born.
Some researchers, including Michael Newton, PhD, author of Destiny of Souls, suggest that spirits or disembodied entities may slip information to you in your dreams. Others believe your subconscious already knows the answer to the conundrum, but the answer hasn’t percolated through to your rational mind yet. If you have a dilemma and want help resolving it, write your request on a piece of paper and put it under your pillow at bedtime. Tell yourself you’ll receive an answer while you sleep. Ask the Goddess or a favorite deity to assist you. If necessary, repeat the process for a few nights until the solution comes to you.
Healing Dreams
Sometimes dreams suggest cures when we’re ill or offer advice about how we can heal ourselves physically and emotionally. They can also illuminate health problems that could develop if we don’t take corrective action. Additionally, dreams may tell us that a treatment we’re undergoing is right or wrong for us.
If you want your dreams to give you advice about a health situation, use the process described for problem-solving dreams. Also, pay attention to signs and symbols in your dreams that could warn of potential problems. I once dreamed I was driving dangerously fast and wrecked my car. My dream advised that if I didn’t stop pushing myself so hard I could damage my health.
Want to help someone else with a health issue? Before you go to bed, hold in your mind an image of the person you wish to help. Ask him or her if it’s okay to offer assistan
ce. If you get the go-ahead, envision that person completely healthy, happy, and at peace (don’t focus on the ailment or injury). Affirm that while you sleep, you will send healing energy to that person for his or her highest good. You may wish to invite the Goddess, a guide, a guardian, or a deity to aid you. Be confident that the good vibes you project during the dream state will reach your target.
Precognitive Dreams
Sometimes dreams reveal the future. When your perception is loosened during sleep it can range far and wide, even beyond the limitations of time. A dream that lets you see in advance what’s coming may help you to prepare yourself or avoid a problem altogether. Some precognitive dreams are laden with poignant images. Others are straightforward and nearly devoid of symbolism. You actually witness an event before it happens in the physical world. For example, three months before his brother died, Mark Twain dreamed of the death and funeral—exactly as it happened, right down to the smallest detail.
The more aware you become of your dreams, the more likely you are to have precognitive dreams and to recognize them when they occur. Often the feeling content of precognitive dreams differs from what you experience during other types of dreams—you may get a sense of heightened clarity, immediacy, or authenticity. Keeping track of your dreams in your grimoire will strengthen your resolve to transcend time and space in order to glimpse the future. Think how useful that could be!
Dreams and Divination
Because dreams erase the boundaries between past, present, and future, you can use this colorful technique to tap the wisdom of your dreams for divination.
From a sheet of posterboard, cut a dozen or more 4" × 6" rectangles.
From magazines cut images, words, and/or symbols that represent what you witnessed in one of your dreams.
Paste the images on one of the posterboard rectangles to create a picture card that depicts the key elements, emotions, actions, etc. in your dream.
Do the same thing for at least a dozen dreams, until you have at least twelve dream cards. (You don’t have to stop at twelve—you can make as many as you like.)
Use these personal dream cards as you would tarot cards to do readings.
Record your readings in your book of shadows, along with your interpretations.
Lucid Dreams
In what’s known as a lucid dream, you realize you are dreaming. You experience a sense of detachment and clarity as you observe yourself and the action going on in your dream. From this place of clarity, you can guide the dream—like a director controlling the action in a movie. You can transform a nightmare into a sweet dream or make an upsetting scenario turn out the way you want it to. Learning to control your dreams can help you gain better control over situations in your waking life too.
Here’s a technique you can try. While you’re dreaming, look at your hands. Then give yourself some sort of hand signal, such as pointing or counting on your fingers. This lets you know that you are, indeed, aware and guiding the action. Or, you can say to yourself, “It’s only a dream” while you are in the midst of the dream. Once you feel in control, you can guide your dream to help solve problems, peek into the future, journey to other realms, make connections with beings in the spirit world, and more.
Record your dreams in your grimoire. Also note how your experiences in the dream state influenced your waking life. The more you practice lucid dreaming, the better you’ll get at taking charge of your dreams and their outcomes.
Herbal Dream Pillow
Crafty witches sometimes sew dream pillows to help them sleep better and/or to inspire meaningful dreams. You can too.
TOOLS AND INGREDIENTS
2 rectangular pieces of blue or purple cotton cloth, about 4" × 6" (or whatever size you choose)
Needle and thread
Dried mugwort leaves
Dried lavender blossoms
Pinch of mint
Flaxseeds
Sew the 2 rectangular pieces of cloth together on 3 sides.
Turn the cloth inside out and fill with the dried herbs. The mugwort induces psychic dreams and lavender has a calming effect. The touch of mint aids mental clarity.
Fill the remainder of the pillow with the flaxseeds.
Sew up the fourth side.
Sleep with the pillow and allow it to influence your dreams.
Write any significant results in your book of shadows.
Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris), nicknamed cronewort, is considered sacred to the moon goddess Artemis because of the silvery color of the underside of its leaves. Mugwort symbolizes the gifts of vitality and freedom from repression. You can also use it for centering, grounding, and renewing strength. When burned in small bundles, mugwort can enhance psychic visions.
Chapter 19
DEITIES, ANGELS, AND OTHER NONPHYSICAL ENTITIES
Although ordinarily we can’t see them, many beings share our world with us. Perhaps you’re aware of nonphysical entities around you—you may see or hear them, or simply sense their presence. Some of them reside on earth, others exist in what is often thought of as heaven. These distinctions, however, are a bit misleading, as the various levels of existence aren’t really separate—they interact with and permeate one another.
How you choose to view nonphysical beings is up to you. Most witches believe in at least some of these entities, although our conceptions may differ. In the magickal view of the world, all forces—physical and nonphysical—are linked energetically. When you improve your relationships with gods and goddesses, angels, faeries, elementals, and others in the spirit realms, everything in the universe benefits.
THE GOD
Wiccans, as we’ve already discussed, believe that instead of one Divine Source (as patriarchal religions teach) there are two distinct powers: Goddess and God. We often think of the God as the Goddess’s consort and recognize that both feminine and masculine forces are essential for existence. But the concept of dual forces operating in the universe isn’t limited to Wiccans. Many cultures speak of both principles existing in and around us. The Chinese refer to these two energies as yin (feminine) and yang (masculine). Native Americans respect Mother Earth and Father Sky. These two polarities function in tandem to balance one another and create wholeness.
Throughout this book, we’ve talked about the Goddess. In Chapters 9 and 10, you’ll find lists of goddesses, their areas of influence, and how they can assist you in your magick work. Now let’s look at some of the aspects, powers, and attributes of the God.
Aspects of the God
Since the beginning of time, cultures around the world have honored a masculine force. The yang energy of the universe has been depicted in various guises and personalities, as individual deities with specific natures, characteristics, and responsibilities. The many faces of the God express qualities associated with the male archetype: strength, virility, daring, leadership skills, logic, protection, knowledge, and courage. The following list includes some of the god figures found in cultures around the world and the attributes connected with them.
GODS OF THE WORLD
Name Culture Attributes
Adibuddha Indian ultimate male essence
Aengus Irish youth, love
Apollo Greek beauty, poetry, music, healing
Bunjil Australian vital breath
Ea Chaldean magick, wisdom
Ganesh Indian strength, perseverance, overcoming obstacles
Green Man Celtic fertility, nature, abundance, sexuality
Horus Egyptian knowledge, eternal life, protection
Itzamna Mayan written communication
Lugh Celtic craftsmanship, healing, magick
Mars Roman aggression, war, vitality, courage
Mercury Roman intelligence, communication, trade, travel
Mithras Persian strength, virility, courage, wisdom
Odin Scandinavian knowledge, poetry, prophesy
Osiris Egyptian vegetation, civilization, learning
Pan Greek woodlands, nature, fertility
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br /> Shiva Indian destruction, transformation
Thoth Egyptian knowledge, science, the arts
Tyr Teutonic law, athletics
Vishnu Indian preservation, stability
Zeus Greek authority, justice, abundance, magnanimity
Archetypes transcend nationalities and religions, appearing in similar forms in many different cultures. For example, the Greek god Zeus corresponds to the Roman god Jupiter. You can see overlaps between the Egyptian god Thoth and the Greeks’ Hermes. Mars and Mithras, both gods of war, were worshipped by soldiers in Rome and Persia, respectively.
Gaining the God’s Assistance
On days when a witch wishes to identify with certain godlike qualities, she or he can ask for help from a deity who embodies those attributes. If you want to ace an exam, you can call on Mercury, Thoth, or Hermes to assist you. If you hope to overcome a formidable challenge or obstacle, ally yourself with the god Ganesh. Regardless of your goal or concern, you’ll find a god who can provide the help you need.
In your grimoire, make a list of some gods with whom you feel a particular kinship. Also list some from whom you may seek assistance or think you might like to work with magickally. Then take time to learn all you can about them before you call on them for aid. Study the myths associated with them. Read about their powers and the areas in which they operate. If you are part of a coven or other group of magicians, discuss with them how they’ve worked with the Divine Masculine. The more you know about a particular god, the more effectively you can use his energy.
The Modern Witchcraft Grimoire Page 22