How have you been sleeping?
I don’t know about you, but I have been sleeping extremely deep. Part of it is that I am filling my days with so many projects that it’s become a full time job. I’m not watching anymore television than normal. What has changed though is that I am sleeping very deeply and having vivid dreams. It seems that we all are having crazy dreams. Everywhere I look on social media people are talking about their weird dreams.
Right now, many of us have been in self-quarantine and isolation. Other than things like Zoom, FaceTime, and Facebook Video we are not having much social interaction. The few times we are going outside we are covered in masks and now that it is warmer we have added sunglasses to the mix. All of these things are causing us to disconnect from society and our social norms and go within ourselves. This is not a bad thing at all! Our modern culture has become one of focusing outward and never on ourselves. Smartphones and social media have increasingly directed us to focus our attention on other things except learning about ourselves. I find this ironic because there have never been more self-help books than there is on the market right now! The quarantine has forced many of us to disengage from social interaction and helped us focus on the inner self.
One of the more famous axiom’s of magick is the phrase , “Know thyself”. We know this is important because witches, Spirit Walkers, and magicians cannot learn to have the discipline to do magick and evolve spiritually unless we know our hopes, dreams, fears, and anything else that makes us unique. With our busy lives it’s been increasingly difficult to carve out time to go within through meditation and magick and learn about us. The quarantine and social isolation has changed all that. Many of us have more time to practice mindfulness and start magical practices.
So what does all this have to do with our dreams? Our dreams are one of the ways we are connected to the Otherworlds. I think of it as an interdimensional doorway between the worlds. This is a place we can visit with our beloved dead, our gods, and many other beings from the spirit worlds. When our energies are balanced and connected to the Universe, our dreams become one of the ways that we connect with the spirits. However, when we are unbalanced our dreams may become unbalanced as well. Some people may experience nightmares or they may not dream at all. We are all different so this is just a generalization that I have observed. Now, that we are quarantined, our focus is back on ourselves and, for many of us, our inner development.
Have you ever heard of a magical device called a witch’s cradle? Essentially, this is a bag or a hammock like structure that is hung from a tree or rafters. The witch gets into the bag and other witches spin the bag around to wind the rope that is holding the bag. Once wound up, the bag is released and spins the witch into a trance. The witch then is able to astral project or go into a deep trance for magick and communing with the spirits. The idea behind this technique is to help the witch focus on their inner self while spinning. These two things together force the witch’s mind to let go and allow a deep trance to occur. Essentially, this is what the quarantine and self-isolation is doing to many of us. Forcing our mind to let go and go into a deep trance during the dreamstate.
When we are socializing with other people we are connecting to them with our energies. This is not a bad thing at all. In fact, social connections are important for our own mental and emotional health. What we need is balanced social interaction. With self-isolation, we are allowing ourselves to be alone, or with limited people, and focus on our spiritual needs. Many of us are spending hours alone in our homes. It’s not the same, but this has become our own personal witch’s cradle. So, as we go to sleep, we are propelling ourselves into a deeper state of trance. Along with this, we are experiencing increased stress and anxiety. We are worried about our friends and family, our health, and the wellbeing of our community. With these things combined, our dreams are increasingly weird and strange.
I think part of the reason our dreams are vivid and strange is because our consciousness is trying to detox itself. Our minds are trying to get rid of the anxieties that we are feeling. Thus, we get an onslaught of pictures, feelings, and scenarios that make little sense to our conscious awareness. Another reason, I believe, is that we are reconnecting to the spirit worlds. The Otherworlds are usually strange to human standards, but they are excessively strange right now it seems. I for one, believe that the Otherworld has to compensate for everything that is going on in the world right now. Also, if someone’s connection to Spirit has been neglected or our of practice, the mind is making the best attempt to reconnect. Upon doing so, the conscious awareness (our everyday inner monologue) is trying to make sense of these energies and creating pictures and feelings the best it can to express what it is experiencing. Once the everyday consciousness becomes acquainted with putting these energies into pictures, we will once again find meaning in our dreams. Don’t get me wrong, our dreams always have meaning, but sometimes the meaning is “I need to get rid of these feelings of anxiety and repressed emotions!”
My advice I have for you at this time is to continue your spiritual practice and take care of yourself the best you can. Connect with your ancestors, gods, and nature spirits the best way possible and reconnect with the Universal energies. I have been learning a new spiritual lesson for myself, trust in the Universe and yourself enough to know you and your family will get through. Be open to the possibilities and opportunities that the Universe is presenting to you at this time. Be connected and be well. By doing this, your dreams should make more sense to you.