Dream Catchers: Ancient Wisdoms

There are many beautiful legends tracing the origin of dream catchers, which can have a bearing on how the catcher works. The Lakota, for example, believe good dreams are caught to become part of the web of life, while the bad dreams slip through the center hole. The Navajo, Ojibwe and Chippewa legends hold that the web catches the bad dreams, preventing them from passing into dreamtime, while the good dreams slip through the center. In these legends, morning sunlight purifies the web of bad dreams. Children's dream catchers fashioned with the latter legends in mind have a feather at the center hole so that the good dreams can slip down the feather into dreamtime.

Traditional dream catchers have eight points where the web attaches to the circular hoop, representing the eight legs of the spider. The spider is symbolic of female creative energy, wisdom and learning. In Native American culture, dream catchers are particularly important to hang over cribs in order to protect babies from bad dreams or "bad air" (bad energy). These dream catchers, made of all natural willow hoops and sinew webs, are not intended to last. By the time the child is grown, the dream catcher is customarily replaced with a new one for his or her next cycle of life.

Though the idea of dreams has been stressed in dream catchers, their ultimate meaning appears to be broader. The Lakota legend holds, for example, that during the course of a lifetime many forces come into play that can block awareness of the Great Spirit. Faith in the Great Spirit causes the dream catcher to hold not only good dreams, but also good visions, ideas and opportunities to help people achieve their ideals and goals. Therefore, dream catchers are not just for sleeping, but totems believed by some to concentrate good energy and neutralize negative energy.