Carolina Dean

The Science Behind Dreaming

The Magick of Dreams

Interpreting Your Dreams

Dream Classification

Dreams are a fascinating areas of study and many have been made about them due to the fact that we all have them, whether we remember them or not.  With so many studies being made about the same subject, there are bound to be contradictions and inconsistencies. However, for the moment, we will turn our attention to the matters upon which most scientists and researchers can agree.

The act of sleeping consists of several stages that repeat, or cycle, throughout the night.  Types of brain waves determine the stages of sleep.  The sleep cycle begins with four stages of Slow-Wave Sleep (SWS). The first state of SWS is the transitory stage between wakefulness and sleep, and it is characterized by ALPHA brain waves.  At the second stage of SWS, the brain waves begin to peak higher and higher, into THETA. A third stage of SWS brings one to DELTA, or deep sleep. Finally, the fourth stage of SWS has the brain altering between DELTA and THETA, with the majority of brain waves being DELTA. 

At this point, the four stages of SWS quickly reverse, and are followed by the first REM (Rapid Eye Movement) period.  Lucid dreams occur in this 5^th stage of sleep, also known as the REM stage.  It is interesting to note that during the 5^th stage of sleep, the brain exhibits BETA brain waves, the same as are present during the normal everyday consciousness. Also some scientist and researchers add a 6^th stage, that of waking up in the morning.

On average, a person will go through stages one through five about 4 to 5 times during a normal eight hour sleep period. Stages 3 and 4 of the sleep cycle decrease the longer that one sleeps while at the same time, the length of REM sleep increases, and can last up to one hour, but only after the sleep cycle has repeated a few times. So the longer one sleeps, the more one dreams, and for longer periods of time.

Dreams can be categorized into three types. 

·        Dreams in which your subconscious mind is analyzing the problems of the day or a particular issue that you are presently dealing with in the waking world.  These dreams can be about things that we are ignoring, things that we fear, an event that happened to us during that day that we would have like to have handled differently.

·        Dreams in which you are actually astral projecting into either this realm or the astral planes. These dreams normally, but don’t always take the form of flying or floating.  These dreams can be quite enjoyable, and they often help reduce stress and allow one to relax and enjoy oneself.  Nonetheless, they sometimes occur for another purpose, relating to your spiritual work.

·        Dreams which are psychic episodes of events that have not yet to come to pass, or things which have occurred in the past, but which are having or will have a direct influence on the present, and therefore the future.  Prophetic dreams, like all other forms of divination, are not written in stone and do not automatically have to come to pass. As in all cases, you are in control of your own life. Prophetic dreams are regarded as an early glimpse of one of many possible futures, however, what you do with the information is completely up to you. 

All dreams have a function and therefore all dreams are important, regardless of what category they fall into.  Often, the biggest obstacle to learning to control and use your dreams is actually remembering your dreams in the first place. However, with patience and training it can be done.

To begin, choose a day which has followed your normal routine, and not a day that has been overly stressful. Before retiring for the night, put a pad and pencil near the bed. While lying in bed, in the most comfortable position for you, begin to relax by breathing deeply.  Review you day in reverse, from what you did most recently to what you did at the start of the day.  This process will help you develop that ability to focus backwards in time. 

As you come closer to falling asleep, repeat to yourself that when you awake in the morning that you will remember your dreams. When you wake up in the morning, stay relaxed and keep your eyes closed.  Tell yourself that you want to remember your dreams from the previous night, and allow yourself to recall your dreams.

It may actually take your anywhere from one week to one month of practice before you being to remember your dreams. Once you start to remember your dreams, start writing them down, so that you can begin to analyze them.

The subject of dreams has a long history of speculation in many cultures. They have been both a topic of philosophical and scientific conjecture as well as a source for inspiration.  Dreams have been thought to be the body’s response to outside stimuli such as stress; or alternately as reflections of our innermost thoughts and desires; and finally as messages from God or glimpses into the future.  Mankind has always sought the hidden meaning in his dreams, and many ideas have been suggested as to how to unlock the secret language of dreams Many cultures have beliefs and practices concerning dreams, what they are, how they are interpreted, and what they mean.

Among the Hebrews, dreams are believed to be a connection to God; and dreams were incubated in order to receive guidance from God.  In the Talmud, as well as the Holy Bible, God is described as visiting many historical figures in their dreams such as King Solomon, Jacob, Nebuchadnezzar to name a few.

They have a basic belief concerning dreams interpretation, that is, dreams are only subject to fulfillment according to the interpretation that is given to them. What this means is that should you have a bad dream, you can interpret it in a positive manner and in doing no ill effects of that dream will occur.  The traditional ceremony for ‘making a bad dream good,” is called Hatovat Chalom. Through this rite disturbing dreams can be transformed to give a positive interpretation by a rabbi or a rabbinic court.

The Babylonians, a civilization which lasted from circa 1800 to 600 BC, believed that their world was made up of invisible powers, called spirits, which represented forces of both good and evil. Their beliefs and observations regarding dreams were therefore deeply colored by their world view. The desire for living a balanced, peaceful life, in harmony with God, nature and the spirits led the Babylonians to develop many techniques concerning the foretelling of the future, magick, and understanding the will of god.

The study and interpretation of dreams represented one path to that understanding. The Babylonians kept note of strange occurrences and odd dreams, and carefully examined events that occurred shortly after these episodes. For example, if a man dreamed of meeting a stranger on the road and shortly after a loved one died; then the next time someone dreamed of meeting a stranger on the road, then surely one of his loved ones would die as well.

Dream books which were written before the emergence of modern psychology, bear a remarkable resemblance to the notes and books regarding dreams written thousands of years ago by the ancient Babylonians. Most definitions are still written in the same style - that the dream will bring good or bad luck regarding money, romance or health.

It has been put forth that these dream books were derived from the ancient Babylonian dream books, which were themselves a collection of observations, conjecture, and beliefs concerning dreams. These dream dictionaries were studied by King Assurbanipal who had them copied and took them to Nineveh. Later, the scholar Artemidorus consulted these copies for his own education. In fact, the part of the Jewish Talmud that was written during the Babylonian captivity contains dream interpretation and ways of dealing with dreams are believed to have been inspired by Babylonian beliefs and practices.

The Egyptians divided dreams into three categories.

1.      Those that happened as a result of ritual.

2.      Dreams that contained warnings.

3.      Dreams where the Gods were demanding some type of action.

They believed that the Gods revealed themselves in one’s dreams. People often slept in temples to receive guidance from their gods, and Priest would be available the following morning to assist the individual in interpreting their dreams.

More than any other group on Earth, the aborigines have the longest cultural history dating back an estimated 65,000 years. The Dreamtime, associated with the Aborigines, is that part of aboriginal culture which explains the origins and culture of the land and its people. It represents both their religion and their culture.  

The Dreamtime consists of several parts. It tells of things which have occurred in the past, the origin and formation of the universe, the creation and function of humans in the cosmos. In addition, the Dreamtime represents the Aboriginal cosmology which is made up of God and Goddess who, like humans, are both kind and cruel.  

The Aborigines believe that everything in the natural world is a symbolic footprint of the metaphysical beings whose actions created our world. As with a seed, the potency of an earthly location is wedded to the memory of its origin. The Aborigines called this potency the "Dreaming" of a place, and this Dreaming constitutes the sacredness of the earth. Only in extraordinary states of consciousness can one be aware of, or attuned to, the inner dreaming of the Earth.

The Chinese believed that the soul of the dreamer is the guiding force in the production of dreams. During sleep, the spiritual soul would leave the physical body and communicate with the dead. Dream incubation influenced politics and government policy, as high officials were required to report to dream temples in order to receive dreams that would guide them in their missions. In addition, high officials such as judges and lawmaker were also required to seem insight from their dreams.

The ancient Greeks believed that their gods physically entered their dreams to impart knowledge, and then leave the same way they entered. Through contact with other cultures, the Greeks came to believe that the soul left the body during sleep.

Hippocrates, the father of medicine, theorized that during the day the body receives images, and during the night it produces them, thus we dream. Conversely, Aristotle did not believe that dreams were divinely inspired. He felt that during the sleep the body was devoid of external stimuli and therefore dreams were a representation of what was occurring within the body itself. Some physicians believed that one’s dreams held the key to diagnosing illness.

Much like the Egyptians, many Greeks would travel to temples or shrines dedicated to Gods associated with health, medicine and healing where they would perform sacred rites and then sleep in the temple hoping to have a dream which would hold the cure for their ailment, or which would predict a healthy recovery.

With the advent of modern psychology many “educated” people came to look upon dreams with a more rational, scientific view, rather than accept the cultural beliefs of their people. Sigmund Freud, considered the father of modern psychology, once believed that all dreams contained some form of sexual content. A theory he later withdrew. However, he continued to believe that every dream contained a seed of wish fulfillment.  Building on Freud’s theories, Carl Jung espoused the idea that dreams are a natural phenomenon which we can study, thereby gaining knowledge of the hidden part of our mind. The images are symbolic of conscious and unconscious mental processes. Some modern scientists claim that dreams are nothing more than images resulting from random electrical activity in the brain as it “housecleans” itself during the night.

It seems that modern scientists are no longer closer to unlocking the secrets hidden in our dreams than the ancient priests, kings, and magicians were. The truth probably lies somewhere in that gray area between science and magick.

Many books have been written about this subject, and not doubt, many more will be written. However, it is the general consensus of many witches that dreams are personal things and no set of symbols will mean the same thing to millions of people, and therefore these books are of no use in the interpretation of one’s dreams. 

The subconscious mind does not work like the conscious one. It speaks in the language of symbols. To discover what these symbols mean to us as an individual is to interpret our dreams.   The most common method of Dream interpretation is that of word association. To do this, take out your dream journal, and begin to write out the elements of your dreams on a separate line.  For example, if you dreamed about a three legged, purple hippo, your list will look something like this:

• Three legs
• Purple
• Hippo

You would also include any other things that you may remember, such as time of day, what anyone or anything may have said to during the dream, over all mood inside the dreams, etc…. Now beside each word, you would either write the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear that word, or write what that word means to you.  After having gone through the entire list you may begin to see a pattern that has a direct bearing on an issue of which you are aware.

If not, the dream may be speaking of an issue that you are ignoring or subconsciously blocking for some reason.  You may have to study the dream for a number of days or weeks, before it makes sense to you.

Sometimes you will dream of those whom you do not know, however, the dream may be presenting a personality or situation which you are uncomfortable accepting, or one which you are not willing to admit.  When our conscious minds are not willing to accept the reality of a situation, the subconscious mind will compensate by creating a similar drama with different people playing the parts in our dreams.  If you were to examine these personalities and/or situations in depth, you may find yourself or someone you know among them, and draw a parallel to your own life.

There is yet another aspect to interpreting your dreams, which occurs during the dream itself.  Some individuals will often wake up within a dream, called Dream-Scaping. Dream-Scaping allows one to then control the dream itself. In this state, it has been shown that you can communicate directly with the elements of your dream.  As in the case of the purple hippo in the earlier example, you will be able to ask it what it represents and it will answer you! Your task is then to determine what the dream is trying to tell you about the situation, or problem and to work towards a positive solution. 

According to psychic and author Sylvia Browne in her Book of Dreams, dreams are defined as "one dimension of our minds that gives us access to a wealth of knowledge."

She believes that dreams can be classified into five categories. They are:

EXERCISES

1. Obtain a separate journal in which to begin recording your dreams, and do so for a period of one year. Remember to date each entry and leave space for future information.

2. Using the method given in this chapter, interpret your dream to the best of your ability.

3. Using the information given in this chapter, determine in which category your dream falls.