# Sleep and Dreams > General Dream Discussion >  >  What Are Dream Catchers?

## really

What are Dream Catchers? Some weird spider web thingy that hangs above you head at night...somebody know what they are supposed to do? How?

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## Peregrinus

According to many Native American traditions, the intertwined "spider web" of the dream catcher with its attached beads, feathers, and such offerings is supposed to "catch" bad dreams and bad influences at night, thus protecting whomever sleeps beneath it.

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## Vex Kitten

It&#39;s a lovely Native American creation. Many native nations believed that dreams were very important for many reasons. Recalling and sharing dreams with othes was an everyday occurance that effected the lives of everyone in a community. They respected and relied on dreams regularly until that tradition was stripped from them from settlers who thought it was some kind of evil practice or some such Bs. Anyway, enough of the history lesson. 

From what I was always told a dream catcher is supposed to be hung in your bedroom window. The &#39;spider web&#39; part catches and captures bad dreams so they don&#39;t get to you. It allows the good dreams to pass through and enter your room through the circular opening in the middle of the web and they trickle down the feathers to find the dreamer. 

I think there are many interpretations of how a dream catcher works. I mostly hear the version that I gave.
I kept one in my bedroom window for a while when I was having really horrible dreams a few years ago. It &#39;worked&#39; but probably because I believed it would, thus my dreams changed to accomadate my belief. Or maybe it really does work? Who knows.

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## Burns

I&#39;ve heard the same type of stuff about dream catchers - they snag the bad dreams but let the good ones through.

I&#39;ve had this dream catcher hung in my bedroom (though not in a window as Vex said) since I was a kid. I&#39;ve obviously had some nightmares or scary dreams in the 15 years I&#39;ve had the thing, but I just think it&#39;s cute. 

It&#39;s just a little one - I wonder if size matters??

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## ilovefrootloopz

I&#39;ve had a little on for 8 years. It&#39;s not over my bed, it&#39;s about 3 meters to the right of my bed on my bookshelf. I got it when I was little, when almost every night I would have nightmares. Of course, even with the placebo effect, the dream catcher didn&#39;t work  ::?:

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## Howie

Check out --[ To catch a Dream ] in the research team.
A good topic in regards to them&#33;   :smiley:

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## really

Thanks for the info guys  ::content::  .

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## Leo Volont

> What are Dream Catchers? Some weird spider web thingy that hangs above you head at night...somebody know what they are supposed to do? How?
> [/b]



Its a misnomer.  They should have said "Dream Filters". 

You see the screen blocks all of the larger grosser bad dreams and nightmares, while allowing the higher and more etheric spiritual dreams to get through.   A filter.

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## Burns

Thanks for the link, Howie - I&#39;d like to see a pic of the one you made if you still have it.

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## tiddlywink101

They don&#39;t actually work of course, dreams happen WITHIN you

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## really

Yeah, that always seemed wrong, I mean dreams don&#39;t come flying through the window&#33;

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## NeAvO

My mums got one in her car for some reason  ::?:

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## tiddlywink101

I think that they make a good car decoration, as opposed to fluffy dice

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## Vex Kitten

> My mums got one in her car for some reason 
> [/b]



Yeah, that&#39;s the only place I see them anymore. Hanging from vehicle mirrors. Just like anything else they&#39;ve become mass produced and sold as pretty decorations.




And of course dreams don&#39;t come flying in through the window. A dream catcher is simply a cute trinket to trick the mind into having nice dreams. Similar to the tactic of putting a bible under your pillow to stop nightmares. Which I also tried before.. and it didn&#39;t work.

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## PenguinLord13

> According to many Native American traditions, the intertwined "spider web" of the dream catcher with its attached beads, feathers, and such offerings is supposed to "catch" bad dreams and bad influences at night, thus protecting whomever sleeps beneath it.
> [/b]



I doubt they actually work other than placebo effect, but that&#39;s still a really cute idea  :smiley: .

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## Casualtie

dream catchers are a native american superstition that supposedly "catches" all the bad dreams out of the air in its inter-twined strings, a lot like a spider web. i think the native americans believe that dreams floated all around us and entered our brain.

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## Rav1

How a dream catcher could tell the difference between a good dream and a bad one? What for Native Americans was regarded as a good sign in a dream, i.e. a horrible skull of a enemy on a pole, for us now would be considered as a nightmare.
Everything is relative.

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## Burns

It&#39;s fun folklore - not to be taken too seriously.

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## Rav1

> It&#39;s fun folklore - not to be taken too seriously.
> [/b]



Nice cats. We got 7 like these. They hunt around the house, in the garden.

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## really

> It&#39;s fun folklore - not to be taken too seriously.
> __________________________________________________  __________
> Nice cats. We got 7 like these. They hunt around the house, in the garden.
> [/b]



Hah&#33;  ::D:  I get it&#33;

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## CoLd BlooDed

I&#39;ve had a dreamcatcher since I was younger, and it did work.  Maybe it has to do with the fact that I&#39;m part Native.  :smiley:

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## Man of Shred

this reminds me of when i lived in B.C. i had a few native american friends and a girlfirend. we used to make dreamcatchers and sell them at Save on Foods for 5 bucks. (save on foods is the No Frills of the west in canada).

 i used to have one in my window. neverreally worked lol.

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## Howie

> They don&#39;t actually work of course, dreams happen WITHIN you
> [/b]



Belief is "within you." So if you believe they work then they can. granted I think it is a placebo effect but to many cultures it is a belief. 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE("burns")</div>



> Thanks for the link, Howie - I&#39;d like to see a pic of the one you made if you still have it.[/b]




I thought I posted it around here somewhere. I can&#39;t find it.   :tongue2:  
Oh well. It is kind of cheesy anyway.

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## Vex Kitten

> I&#39;ve had a dreamcatcher since I was younger, and it did work.  Maybe it has to do with the fact that I&#39;m part Native. 
> [/b]



Maybe that&#39;s why it worked for me too... I be one of thee.
 ::wink::  


But seriously, there is waaaay more to it than just dreams &#39;floating&#39; around to be &#39;caught&#39;. That&#39;s just the very tip of the iceberg, the simplest way to explain how they are supposed to &#39;work&#39;. 

From what&#39; I&#39;ve learned natives believed the dream world was as &#39;real&#39; as &#39;reality&#39;. I&#39;m not going to even attempt to explain, I&#39;m no expert. If you _really_ want to know you&#39;d have to research it. And most people don&#39;t care to know the deeper, real meaning behind symbols. I, myself, am lazy by nature and don&#39;t care enough to really delve into it. But I have learned, from studying a few books on native beliefs and dreams, a wee bit more about this particular little trinket and the way it allegedly came about.

Do they work? Like everyone else said, probably depends on your belief in them.

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## O'nus

> I doubt they actually work other than placebo effect, but that&#39;s still a really cute idea .
> [/b]



As a psychology and philosophy student, I must express that I believe it is simply a placebo effect.  From an animistic perspective, I might believe that you place protective energy within it but... that seems implausible.

The power of belief and the mind is awesome - the placebo effect is the human spirit that has been graced with only a blink of our existance.

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## slimslowslider

In addition to whatever &#39;powers&#39; they may have (placebo or not) they will undoubtedly act to make you think about dreaming that bit more often - a trigger for a reality check perhaps - or just a form of MILD.  They may also enhance dreaming (intensity/ efficacy/ frequency?) through the ritual honouring of it - thereby letting the subconscious know that it is being listened to?   Further, the act of making your own dreamcatcher - and weaving whatever wishes you may have into it, using materials considered potent to your belief structure and so on, will likely increase the likelyhood of it working.  Lastly - if its the first thing you see as you wake - then it may help with dream recall as you will start thinking about dreams rather than the day ahead?

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## Lord Toaster

I really like those things... I would get one if I could find a nice one - unfortunately the only ones you can find now are bright green and blue ones sold at cheap tourist stores   :Sad:

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## Bonsay

What if someone gave you "genuine instructions", then you could make it yourself  ::D:  .

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## slimslowslider

> I really like those things... I would get one if I could find a nice one - unfortunately the only ones you can find now are bright green and blue ones sold at cheap tourist stores   [/b]



Lord Taster - I agree&#33;  I could never buy one of those...  Arggggh&#33;  My belief is that a mass produced thing made from nylon wouldn&#39;t work (for me anyway) - plus they usually look so tacky - all perfect and glittery.  But I guess even these would work if you believed they would (and liked the aesthetic) or if perhaps the maker was simply a skint shaman into naff kitsch.  





> What if someone gave you "genuine instructions", then you could make it yourself  .[/b]



I don&#39;t think there are instructions on DV?   I could post some if people want?  As to them being &#39;genuine&#39; well that depends on what you believe - or who you think I am&#33;&#33;&#33;  

Also - check this other post: To Catch A Dream

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## BrotherDown

Maybe you have to be Native for it to work?   ::hrm::  j/k

My mom gave me one when I was a little kid.  I&#39;d always have dreams about monsters. Not scarey monsters but like monsters you&#39;d see on a kid&#39;s tv show.  It&#39;d still scare me though.

I don&#39;t have one anymore but it helped me not to be scared to go to sleep when I was a kid.

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## slimslowslider

http://www.dream-catchers.org/

Seems like a good start RE native traditions.   

Also had a good laugh looking at various commercially available ones - some appear to have half a chicken worth of dyed feathers tied to them&#33;  

I guess there really is no right or wrong way to make one - and I&#39;m sure a native American would agree with me?  I&#39;m sure they would also agree that a dreamcatcher should respect the sacred nature of dreaming (and life), and honour one&#39;s own culture and beliefs. 

I find this a very interesting issue.  Here in the Britain we have an ancient native tradition - which probably included valuable information on dream lore.  But its very hard to find any information about it.  Much of our wisdom was burnt with the witches, or erased as the druids and old ways were persecuted and absorbed by the Romano-Christian invaders, or simpy lost during the industrial revolution.  Some does survive through our festivals, stories, and local practices, and some has been rediscovered through research or passed on in secret here and there.  Difficult to know what&#39;s &#39;genuine&#39; - entire &#39;traditions&#39; have been created from the diary of one Roman officer&#33;  But does it matter?  We are now in a global, post modern, eclectic culture.  Surely its OK to take what works from here and there, and mix it up without offending anyone?  Who owns these traditions anyway?  Are they not part of a shared human cultural heritage?

 ::flyaway:: 

- ::dreaming:: -

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## lucidbuddha

I&#39;ve made a few, not as authentic as the natives but still very cool. I&#39;m still working on the one I plan to have for awhile, once I&#39;m done I think I&#39;m going to meditate on it or something to &#39;initiate&#39; the dream catcher. I kinda see it as a worker and once its made, I have to give it life. Or am I just weird?

Anyway, they&#39;re pretty intricate but easy to make. Check out www.ehow.com thats what I used when I made mine, and you might want to have one to refer to. Sweet dreaming.

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