Should a magically powerful dream catcher be made myself?
Nightmare problems? Native American dream catchers are popular for a reason. If crafted well they have potent magical potential, protecting your sleeping body.
Native American tradition is ancient in wisdom and is grounded in an understanding of the natural processes of the planet along with its manifold living manifestations.
The balance between positive negative is deeply understood and can manifest itself in the dreaming process. The night air is believed to be full of good and bad dreams, influenced by spirits. Beyond this the physical body is believed to become vulnerable and less powerful during the dreaming process, especially with children who do not have the knowledge to protect themselves.
This is why in Native American communities dream catchers are crafted, often to protect infants during the dreaming process. It is said that the dream catcher captures bad spirits and filters them. The bad spirits cannot make it into the dream catcher and into the mind of the sleeping body, while good spirits find their way to the center and float down the sacred feathers.
Dream catcher symbolism (Cherokee):
- The web represents the web of the spider, web of life, destiny, cycles of life.
- The outer ring represents the Earth Mother, and the sacred journey we do upon her. Together with the web it creates unity and oneness.
- The multicoloured beads represent the 7 directions, as learned in Shamanic tradition.
- Red (East): Spring, victory, success and power. A colour/direction of protection and good fortune.
- Blue (North): Winter, defeat, failure, disappointment, the finite. A colour of waiting and surviving, the negative principle of the ebb and flow of life.
- Black (West): Autumn, death. Autumn brings the final harvest and the end of the seasonal life cycle.
- White (South): Summer, serenity, growth, fire, passion, fertility, happiness and peace.
- Yellow (above): Sky, unknowable universe.
- Brown (below): Mother Earth and all of her children.
- Green (center): Self, center of all paths, sacred fire, heart of creation, where dreams are caught and filtered.
- The feathers represent manifested reality, where dreams pass down into the sleeping body after being filtered through the web of life.
The craftsmanship or design of the dream catcher is hardly significant in comparison to the intention and energy put behind it. It is generally more advisable to create your own dream catcher, not only to better understand the symbolism of each part, but to have a direct input or intention while crafting.
Purchasing a dream catcher from an unknown seller may have very little intention or energy put behind it, unless it has been purchased from an initiated shaman.
A pentagram is nothing but a geometric shape without power to the uninitiated person. To the practitioner of magic a pentagram is the basis for great feats of manifestation, magic, and symbolic of divine archetypes. Similarly, dream catchers made as decorative ornaments will offer very little protection or power.
It is also important dream catchers are cleansed regularly, especially if not in view of direct sunlight. Sage is always a reliable way to cleanse most objects. Light the plant with the intention of raising the vibration or invoking positive energy and shake some smoke onto the dream catcher. More practiced Shamans use drumming or mantras to create more powerful spiritual effects.