Mind, Body & Spirit
The Story Behind Dream Catchers
Jan
Dream catcher story goes way back in the Native American Indian history, but even to this day dream catchers fascinate people and are found in many homes all around the world.
According to the Native American tradition, dream catchers are intended to protect people during their sleep from negative energy and bad dreams, while letting through the positive energy and good dreams. The good dreams go through the hole in the center of the dream catcher and then glide down the feathers to the person sleeping below. This is why dream catchers should always hang over your bed.
The story behind dream catchers according to Native American tradition:
Long ago when the word was sound, an old Lakota spiritual leader was on a high mountain and had a vision. In his vision, Iktomi, the great trickster and searcher of wisdom, appeared in the form of a spider. Iktomi spoke to him in a sacred language. As he spoke, Iktomi the spider picked up the elder’s willow hoop which had feathers, horsehair, beads and offerings on it, and began to spin a web. He spoke to the elder about the cycles of life, how we begin our lives as infants, move on through childhood and on to adulthood. Finally, we go to old age where we must be taken care of as infants, completing the cycle.
But, Iktomi said as he continued to spin his web, in each time of life there are many forces, some good and some bad. If you listen to the good forces, they will steer you in the right direction. But, if you listen to the bad forces, they’ll steer you in the wrong direction and may hurt you. So, these forces can help, or can interfere with the harmony of Nature. While the spider spoke, he continued to weave his web.
When Iktomi finished speaking, he gave the elder the web and said, the web is a perfect circle with a hole in the center. Use the web to help your people reach their goals, making good use of their ideas, dreams and visions. If you believe in the great spirit, the web will filter your good ideas and the bad ones will be trapped and will not pass.
The elder passed on his vision onto the people and now many Native American Indian people have a dream catcher above their bed to sift their dreams and visions. (dream-catchers.org, 2022)
