Dream Catcher

 What is a Dream Catcher?

You have a dream catcher hanging in your window? You know what it's for or how it works? Do not? So find out here because these beautiful webs hunting dreams are so successful. And good night!

Dream catchers are definitely in fashion. You can find them in almost every esoteric stores. And although the name of filter dreams (or dream catcher, in English), is already suggestive, not everyone knows exactly what these beautiful round objects decorated with feathers and beads. 

The dream catchers came to Brazil from USA. But they are far from being a fad. Almost all Native American tribes for many years incorporated them to their traditions. And the legends about them spread everywhere. 

Although nowadays all these Indian nations produce their own dream catchers, the story begins with the filters Ojibwe (or Chippewa) Indians. 

The history of dream catchers 

Dreams played a key role in the lives of Ojibwe. To this people who lived in the Great Lakes and Americans who now also spreading to other regions of New Mexico, learning to decipher the messages revealed in dreams was the most important task that people had during its passage through the Earth. Because of this, the dream catcher was an essential tool. 

The filter dreams, as it is known in Portuguese, in fact, is not a filter, is a web. The Ojibwe believe that when night falls, the air is filled with dreams, good and bad. Some of these dreams, even nightmares and may contain an important message from the Great Spirit to us. So in fact, these dreams are good dreams. But there are many other dreams and bad energy floating around us and that are not ours. These can they harm us. It is precisely to separate these bad dreams and energies that are the dream catchers. 

Tradition says that the colored webs are hung over the cradle of infants and children to walk. The good dreams, knowing exactly where to go, can pass through the central hole of the web, while the bad dreams get lost and end up stuck in the wires. When the first rays of sunshine appear, bad dreams disappear. The circles are made with flexible branches of willow and covered with leather straps. 

A pen is placed in the center representing the air or breathing, essential for life. The baby is worth noting dance in the wind, he learns a lesson about the importance of air. Furthermore, the owl's feather, female, symbolizes wisdom. The eagle feather, male, serves to give courage. 

To capture the dreams of adults, dream catchers are twisted fiber and not with willow branches. So they are more resistant. 

As the spider web of dreams gave to humans 

There are many stories related to spiders and Spider-Women between the various nations of American Indians. In many of these traditions, for example, Spider-Woman is a fundamental and wise character or as messenger of the sun, sometimes Grandma Sun itself and organizer of life on Earth. There are several legends connected with dream catchers. This we have chosen is just one of the versions. 

A spider spun its web near the grandmother's bed (Nokomi). Every day she watched the spider work. A few days later, her grandson came in and, seeing the spider in the web, picked up a stone to kill her. But Grandma did not leave. The boy thought it strange, but respected his wish. The old woman turned to look once more the work of the animal and then the spider spoke. "Thank you for saving my life I'll give you a gift so The next new moon will spin a web in your window. . want you to watch carefully and learn how to weave the yarn. because this web will serve to capture all the bad dreams and bad energy. the small hole in the center will pass the good dreams and make them come to you. 

When the moon came, the grandmother saw the spider weave her magic web and gratefully, was beside himself with happiness for the wonderful gift: "Learn," said the spider. Finally, exhausted, grandmother slept. When the first rays of sun appeared in the sky, she woke up and saw the web as a shining gem thanks to the drops of dew caught on the wires. The breeze brought dove feathers that were also caught in the web, dancing merrily and, finally, a crow landed on the web and left a long feather hanging. Through the meshes of the web, the Sun Father smiled happily. And Grandma, Happy, taught all the tribe to make the dream catchers. And today they come away from the nightmares of many people. Who knows it will not work with you too? 

Excerpted from Spiritual Network site. Here you learn to sew your own dream web (in English).