O is for Oneiromancy

Photo Dreams by Andrew Beebe
http://www.flickr.com/photos/aerophish/

What is Oneiromancy you ask?

It is the ability to tell the future with your dreams.

Have you ever had a dream about someone you have never met, only to meet that person a few months later?

Have you ever dreamed about the birth of your future child?

Have you ever dreamed about an event months prior to it taking place?

These are all examples of Oneiromancy.

At one point or another we have heard the phrase, "trust in your dreams", "listen to your dreams", "follow your dreams".

Dreams are supposidily a factor of each person's well being.  They help a person understand or deal with circumstances and events that happen in our everyday lives.  Sometimes our dreams will just simply let our imaginations soar and give us opportunities to experience things in our everyday lives that we may never phyisically experience (for instance a person unable to walk in real life participating in a marathon running on their own feet). 

Dreams are also a way that some people communicate with the Gods. 

Sometimes a persons dreams mean absolutely nothing at all.  It could just be your brain shifting through various objects in your mind and simple going thru them to process and file away for another day to be understood.

Dreams can help you deal with emotions that you would never in real life act upon such as punch a boss whenever you are angry with him, kiss a beautiful woman just because she's beautiful, or have that final conversation to say goodbye to a loved one that you were unable to do before their died.

Just with other forms of divination there are "Dream Dictionary" books out there that provide information about the symbols a person sees within their dreams.  Just with every other form of divination out there just because its written down in a book somewhere does not mean it will be the same interpretation for each and every person.

For example:

Say I dreamed about an Accordian.  According to most dream dictionaries I have read, this instrument is supposed to be a sign or symbolic of something sad or depressing.  For myself, it means the total opposite.  Anytime I have dreamed about an accordian it was in the hands of my grandfather Ernest.  Man, oh man, could he play that thing!  For me it is a symbol of my heritage and love for music.  It is a symbol of my family at gatherings, reunions, and special occassions.  Its a symbol for celebration.

There are many other symbols that I disagree with the books upon and I am sure there are others out there that feel the same way as I do.  One way I have begun to understand what my "dream dictionary" is was by creating my own dictionary.  I began keeping a dream journal many years ago. 

I only write on one side of the notebook (when open flat it would be the right side of the book).  I will highlight items I think are important to the dream.  On the left side I will write down my first interpretation of what I think that symbol means.  I will only choose a few things to focus on, because if you choose too many at once then you will not be able to keep up with their meanings if they are consistant.  I will leave enough clear space on the left side of the page to go back at a later time and write notes about any instances should the dream come true. (Those that may have taken my tea leaf reading workshops might recognize this procedure as its the same manner I use for my tea leaf readings, I write each and every single reading down in its own notebook as well.)  I have had a few instances of meeting new people, sucessfully seeing the gender of a pregnant friends baby, another friend winning a large amount of money due to lottery, plus other events in my life. 

My dream journal is a nice reminder that I was able to document an event months prior to it even happening. 

So do you listen to your dreams? 

A few books should you want to read further on this subject matter.

Dream Dictionary: An A to Z Guide to Understanding your Unconcious Mind by Tony Crisp

Dreamer's Dictionary by S.Robinson and T. Corbett

The Illustrated Dream Dictionary by Russell Grant

The Element Encyclopedia of 20,000 Dreams by T. Chung


Wishing you Sweet Dreams tonight!

Blessed Be,
Crystal T.