Dreamcatchers have been so over-commercialized over the years, you kind of forget about them and what they really symbolize. As a kid, I remember being totally confused as to what this contraption was; they told me it would catch my bad dreams and give me good ones. I was seven, and I was sold. I found the dreamcatcher in storage a few years ago and the feather had been ripped off, which I imagine is some kind of bad omen to the Ojibwe people.
The Ojibwe legend tells the story of the Spider Woman, or Asibikaashi. A medicine woman of sorts, she took care of the children of the Ojibwe nation. However, as the tribe grew, Asibikaashi could not get to everyone in need. Mothers began weaving webs that would catch the child’s bad dream, and good dreams would trickle down the feather into their sleepy little heads. As the sun rose, the bad dreams would disappear from the web.
The design of the dreamcatcher is incredible symbolic; it is round to symbolize the sun, moon, time, and travel, the web of course traps it’s prey, and the soft whimsical feather gives passage to the good. Even the beading has meaning for different colors and number of beads.
In honor of the dreamcatcher, sound sleep, and good dreams, I have created a playlist. One that makes me think of dreams and quiet things.
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