ToTM: Dream Work

April's Topic of The Month is Dream work!

We all have dreams, the question begs how many of yours do you remember? Tell us how you go about disecting a dream and analyzing it's symbolism. Have you seen departed loved ones in your dreams? Do you think this was psycological or really them comunicating with you? Did you ever see something in a dream and it somehow in it's own way come to happen in the waking world? Did a dream ever help you solve a difficult problem or show you something to avoid? Do you keep a dream journal? Many see their respective deities in their dreams. Have you ever experienced this? When it comes to dream work there are so many herbs you can use. Which ones work best for you? Have you ever made a dream pillow before? If so, would you mind telling us how you went about it?

Yay! Dreams!

How many of yours do you remember?

I honestly don't keep track, but I would say 90% of the time I can remember my dreams. Usually, if I don't remember, it's because I was really tired and was in a deep, deep, sleep.

H ow you go about dissecting a dream and analyzing it's symbolism.

I usually go by my gut feeling, unless I notice a repeating pattern/symbol/animal/etc. I once had a dream that during each segment there were wolves. Different events happened in the dream, but wolves were always the connecting factor.

Sometimes I don't look too deeply into symbolism, because I feel that what may represent fear for me, could mean something totally different for another person. So that's why I usually go by my gut feeling.

Have you seen departed loved ones in your dreams?Do you think this was psycological or really them comunicating with you?

Yes I have, many times. My cousin, Kameron, passed away when he was 14 due to a brain tumor. That was roughly 6 or 7 years ago. I remember having very vivid, and life-like dreams when he first passed. I remember hugging him in those dreams, as if it was his way of saying that he's okay and that he loved me (we were very close, like siblings). Throughout the years, I've had dreams of him. The more time goes on, the less frequent these dreams become. The last dream he entered was about a year ago. He looked like he was in his 20's, which is what he would be if he were still alive. He hugged me and I felt a surge of pure happiness as a white glow surrounded me.

I do believe that it is him that enters my dreams. It's hard to describe but these dreams with him simply feel different. I could be dreaming about something totally irrelevant and the scenery will start to change. As the scenery changes, I become more lucid. Then, when Kameron appears I am completely lucid, I'm aware that I'm dreaming, but at the same time, I can't control the dream. I describe it as him setting the stage. He's in control of what everything looks like, but our conversations are real. I hope that makes sense.

Did you ever see something in a dream and it somehow in it's own way come to happen in the waking world?

Kind of. Not really big events. Usually conversations.

Did a dream ever help you solve a difficult problem or show you something to avoid?

Yes, I often work out problems when I dream, or the dreams have ways of revealing solutions to current issues. I've also had warnings in dreams.

A good example: A few months ago, my boyfriend ended his friendship with a co-worker because she was jealous of me, and she wanted more from him (even though she's married). A few days after he had told me that their friendship was over, I had a dream of all three of us sitting at a table. (We used to hang out some, have lunch together or go play disc golf). But the look she had in her eyes scared me. Keep in mind, this woman is not scary, at all. I've never been scared of her, and I'm still not. But in the dream, the look she gave me sent shivers down my spine.

And now, several months later, she's trying to stir up trouble. The morning I woke up from having that dream, I had the sense of "don't let your guard down." So, the fact that she's trying to start something does not surprise me. I had a feeling that she would try sooner or later.

Do you keep a dream journal?

Yes and no. I have one, which does have many dreams recorded in it, in addition to some I typed up. But usually, I'm really good at remembering my dreams. If it's a dream that I want to remember every detail (or as much as I can recall) then I will write it down so I can analyze it later. But if I can get the gist or the gut feelings from dreams, I typically don't write them down.

Many see their respective deities in their dreams. Have you ever experienced this?

Yep. And it has only happened since I became a Heathen. I've seen Thor, Loki, and Odin in my dreams. I'm sure there have been other deities as well, they just weren't as obvious as those three.

When it comes to dream work there are so many herbs you can use. Which ones work best for you?

I used to tie a bag of lavender to my bed frame and angle it so it would sit under my pillow. But since I got rid of my bed frame I can't really do that anymore lol

Have you ever made a dream pillow before?

Nope, never even heard of that. Sounds interesting though. Might look into it.

I absolutely love talking about dreams. I'm so glad that this was the topic of the month!

How many of yours do you remember?

From science they say roughly 70% of your dream is forgotten the moment you turn over after waking, it's true in a sense but alot of the time there will be very vivid points which I can remember.

How you go about dissecting a dream and analyzing it's symbolism.

For me it depends on what happens in the dream, alot of the time I can very quickly realise okay this is just my subconscious or actually is there a message going on here.

Have you seen departed loved ones in your dreams?Do you think this was psycological or really them comunicating with you?

Not particularly, I once had a dream where I felt like I was me but I wasn't, It was during a time of revolution maybe between the 17th to 19th century and I remember very vividly running through a crowd into a line of infantry and getting shot in the back. Just this terrible pain. I woke up and the pain was still there to the point I looked at my back for wounds. very strange experience to be honest.

Did you ever see something in a dream and it somehow in it's own way come to happen in the waking world?

I very often had precognition when I was younger to the point I actively looked for other people like me. The 'visions' were never long maybe 10 seconds at max but they would suddenly happen during sleep and then go straight away and then ranging from 5 days to maybe months the event would occur. Never anything serious just small things but noticeable.

I believe this in part has attributed to my insomnia or lack of wanting to sleep. I still have these visions but very rarely and infact maybe down to 3 seconds or so now, only just capping on dejavu feelings.

Did a dream ever help you solve a difficult problem or show you something to avoid?

Considering I subconsciously try to avoid sleeping then when I do it's often a deep sleep with only subconscious dreaming.

Do you keep a dream journal?

I was supposed to when I joined my initial community but I never did.

Many see their respective deities in their dreams. Have you ever experienced this?

I cant say so mainly because I don't have the knowledge to understand I suppose. I do have to admit I see alot of death in my dreams, as in people dying. Call that what you will maybe just a psychedelic undertone of my own personality or I don't know.

When it comes to dream work there are so many herbs you can use. Which ones work best for you?

Never used any.

Have you ever made a dream pillow before?

No idea what that is!

Must say awesome topic, dreams have had a huge impact on my life so it's nice to talk about it! :)

How many of your dreams do you remember?

I remember most of my dreams though some stick out in my mind than others.

Tell us how you go about disecting a dream and analyzing it's symbolism.

I usually start with the images that stick out to me first and look up the symbolism of said images, and from there find which meaning feels right to me or that jump out to me. Then I put all of the meanings together and see what I get.

Have you seen departed loved ones in your dreams?

I have not seen a departed loved one in my dreams in a long time, though after my maternal grandmother died I did see her a few times in my dreams. It was so long ago though I am not sure if those dreams she showed up in was her communicating with me or not. After a good friend died maybe 10 years ago, I was visited by his animal spirit guide within a week of his death and I do feel that it was a purposeful communication from my departed friend.

Did you ever see something in a dream and it somehow in it's own way come to happen in the waking world?

I get deja vu a lot, mainly from little things that happen in dreams. Like say in the dream I was riding a horse through a park I have never been to, I would find myself in said park at a later time and remember it from the dream, things like that. Every once in a while it is something bigger than that. I tend to see deja vu to be like a little road sign along the path I am walking that letting me know I am on the right path and heading in the right direction.

There are however, times when I have dreamed of a big event, only to have it play out in real life before me. this happens much less often than the deja vu.

Do you keep a dream journal?

I have in the past but do not currently.

Many see their respective deities in their dreams. Have you ever experienced this?

I have not seen the Deities I am devoted to in a dream, though I have while scrying and doing other workings. I have however felt Kali's and Kuan Yin's presence in my dreams.

When it comes to dream work there are so many herbs you can use. Which ones work best for you? Have you ever made a dream pillow before? If so, would you mind telling us how you went about it?

I have not used herbs to aid in dream work, but have been planning on making a dream sachet for a while now. Some of the herbs I am thinking of using are violets and lavender

So I looked it up and got different measurements. Some sources say we have three to five dreams per REM cycle. Some say two to six, but either way we have more than one dream being the point. I however remember one dream from each night on average. There are a few times I don't but on a weekly basis I'd say four or five times out of seven.

For how I analyze a dream it's usually in a personal way. What I mean is I look at how it relates to what is going on in my life and how it might apply. Some I have had are semi-vision like as it is something that somewhat ends up happening. Others might be giving me advice on a situation in a coded way. So I usually don't look at dream books as I find a lot of them are too..."this means random thing A based on nothing." So I usually find dream books unhelpful unless they expressly state the symbolism of how blank flower represents purity because of this Chinese Myth, etc.

In my dreams I have seen my mother, father, grandmother, grandfather (both on my fathers side). All of which have long since been deceased. I feel positive that they were all psycological and not really them. They were usually pretty creepy and some downright scurry. So too horror movie esque with the exception of one. This one was with my grandmother who was being grouchy and complaining at McDonalds and gave me this gold dollar. When I woke up my spouse got money from HIS grandmother and took me to Burger King and I didn't even tell him about the dream. My grandmother was never grouchy but his sure is so it was one of those semi-visions for me because not exact but like dang tho.

I do keep a dream journal on my altar but I have just started recording them in my OneNote BoS because it's much easier for me. I hate my hand writing and am a fast typer. I'm also lazy and my computer is in my bedroom, where as my altar is in my living room. Sometimes I get really bad depression spikes where I can't get out of bed and if you don't write the dream down shortly after waking up you'll forget it.

For deities I've had some with a few different deities. All Greek and all of them I very much treasure. My first one was as a child of Thanatos where I was running from him and he was just walking casually not being intimidating. I was just a fradey cat. He was actually pretty chill and very soft voiced. I never put any stock in that until earlier this year looking bad at it and having that, "a-ha!" moment.

The first dream I had as an adult was with Ares where he was torturing two men on a rack and screaming at me to stand up for myself, never let myself be hurt like that again, I deserve better, etc. So many times do people think, "HE SCREAMED AT YOU!?!" And just completely miss the point in my experience. That is him being passionate, that is what he does. That is how he does encouragement. To cause a din, stir things up, think Brave Heart rallying the troops.

The next deity was Enyo playing her golden horn on a rock in a forest clearing as if to help calm me, to ease my pain. Which such a simple thing means everything to me. It was this moment of, "move aside brother; this is a job for a womans touch!" Which the thought of how that conversation must have transpired makes me chuckle. Note that Enyo is also a war deity. She is the sister and lover of Ares. In many versions she is in fact said to be his twin and one of his chariot companions along with Deimos and Phobos, his sons by Aphrodite. This is important to mention for the sake of the fact she is no less brutal. But I appreciate her approach of being so calm and serene because it was very thoughtful to not try to scare the little human (me).

Don't get me wrong I enjoyed Ares approach a lot too as no one has ever been in my corner or upset by anything that I've gone through. It was that manly protective fatherly thing I always wanted but never had. Where as Enyo was more the calm mother who is like equally terrifying when she needs to be but has that softness a mother shows to her child. Keeping in mind that in which deities rule over they rule over the oppisite as well. That in which they can do they can prevent. By Greek standards of course.

This helping to explain why Ares as a god of war is also a god of peace. Enyo whom is a war goddess so the same could apply. Additionally, Homer equates her with Eris, another of Ares sisters who rides on the chariot with him. I actually believe this to be the same woman as well. So as a goddess of chaos...the oppisite would be to quell the chaos which was what she seemed to want to do for me.

The dreams with Hermes which come next are often him being the puppet master. He is never directly in the dream but I feel his presence as if he is standing above me like I'm in a dollhouse. In the first dream I kept looking up and shouting to him because I knew he was there. He wanted me to know. So he sets the stage for a series of uncomfortable and down right unplesant dreams. This being to help me face my demons and conquer them. So it is done with the best of intentions which I recognize. I can't run from things anymore. I have to find a way of coming to terms, of dealing with it. Supressing the pain won't work, not anymore.

The final one was with Haides I had a dream of walking through the forest alone in the afternoon. There were no people or animals in this forest. It seemed very much like Asphodel Meadows by the structure. I saw there was already a coffee table like structure there for me to use as my altar. I was searching for it as if I knew it was here. I was prepared and brought a libation cup made of bronze. I poured him some wine, knocked as hard as I could on the ground as is traditional to get his attention. I could feel him listening. I just...talked to him. I told him I thought he was a really great guy. That I don't want anything from him. No help with money, no trying to cheat death, no ass kissing my way to a better place in the underworld. This seemed to amuse him as it felt as if he smiled and chuckled a bit allowing me to continue. So I just curled up by the altar and talked to him like a long time friend about anything and everything.

I am working on a dream pillow actually! I found where Walmart stores their essential oils. I kept wishlisting ones on Amazon as none of my local metaphysic shops sold them and I didn't know Walmart had them. My husband said he would get me some more so I would be well stocked. I am more encouraged to work on something when I know I have ample materials and choices rather than getting into it, half way doing it, then realizing I need something else but don't have it and have to wait a while to get it.

As for how I will do it I will soak some white rice uncooked with essential oil blends in tupperware for a few nights in the fridge. Then, when it's all soaked in I will cut up an old sock I don't have a mate to and sew up the end with the ride inside of it to make the pillow. I will use a bayleaf with their name pained on outside of the pillow and then put this cute little sachet over it to use as the pillow case. I'll give the specific recipes when I actually have them finished. I'm going to be using measuring spoons so I can record how much rice I used, how much essential oil was used, how much of what herbs were used, etc. It will be good for me to know in the future. Just like cooking knowing the base recipe is good even if it has to be adjusted here and there.

For the majority of my life, I've usually remembered at least part of a few dreams each night. But a few years ago I couldn't remember anything and I never understood why. Just recently, I'd say over the past year or so, I can remember them again. Not every night though, but most. Personally I believe all dreams have symbolism. Whether it's a symbol for something that may happen in the future, or just a symbol for what's going on in your subconcious. When I analyze a dream I usually look at the overall situation first and what it means to me, and then I start to pick at the details such as if the people are some I recognize, how I feel about the people, the setting of the dream, and if it's something that could actually happen in real life.

A few times I felt as though my deceased pets were communicating with me through my dreams. Just recently I lost my rabbit, he was very sick and I had to put him to sleep and I felt awful about it. But the night after I put him down, it's like I felt his presence and I went to sleep after crying about it for awhile. And to be honest, right now I can't remember the dream anymore. I just remember waking up remembering the dream I had and feeling like he was okay wherever he was.

Also, a few months ago I honestly believe I saw a Goddess in my dream. I don't have a particular deity I worship as of right now so it was a bit different for me. What I saw I can still remember. I was in what looked like a room of just white light and she appeared in front of me. She was much bigger then I was and she was just sitting there. She started talking to me telepathically because neither of our mouths were moving but we could still communicate. She told me a few things about some previous lives I've had and one thing in particular about my boyfriend. She said that he has been with me through lifetimes and that we were created as opposties. She told me a few other things too, but I'll leave it at that. I just wonder who she is and why she contacted me that night.

But dreams can be very different for anyone. Some people remember the dreams and like to analyze them, and others either can't remember or choose not to look into them. It's all very interesting though!