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Dreamcatchers gained popularity in the 1980s and have since become a popular craft, jewelry piece, and picture on home décor goods. They’re created from a wooden hoop, generally willow, onto which a natural fiber net or web is weaved. Feathers and beads are usually dangling from the hoop as well. But what do dream catchers mean in a symbolic way?
While contemporary dream catchers come in a variety of shapes and sizes, traditional dream catchers are typically just a few inches in diameter and are crafted entirely of natural materials with a leather-wrapped frame. What do dream catchers symbolize? The answer lies behind a little history. Native American civilizations are responsible for the meaning of dreamcatchers and the beliefs that surround their manufacture. The dreamcatcher is a protective charm used to guard against nightmares and unpleasant dreams. The charm was commonly hung over the cradles or beds of little children.
What Are Dream Catchers and What Do They Mean?
A dream catcher is a little spherical amulet that is hanging by your bed to capture unpleasant dreams and/or have good dreams and ideas while you sleep, in case you’re completely unaware.
Wooden hoops, thread webbing, handcrafted beads, leather, and feathers were used to create real dream catchers. Natural, organic ingredients are required. They’d be a couple inches broad at best, and nothing like the bright, vibrant, and over-the-top dream catchers seen at discount Christmas gift stores.
What do dream catchers really mean, then? The purpose and tradition of the dream catcher are shrouded in mystery. The most frequent connotation of the dreamcatcher, which comes from the Native American Ojibwe tribe, is that it protects you from evil and negativity by filtering out negative dreams.
Native American dream catchers were traditionally a few inches in diameter, with leather webbing and a feather hanging from the dream catcher’s ring.
The Ojibwe think that the night air is full of both pleasant and evil dreams. (1) What do dream catchers represent for them? The dream catcher was designed to collect all dreams while filtering out the undesirable ones. According to the mythology of the dreamcatcher, we should only allow good things in while protecting ourselves from evil. The positive dreams make their way through the circle’s center, while the bad dreams are captured and vanish at the first glimpse of dawn.
References:
1: https://us.tribaltradeco.com/blogs/teachings/meaning-of-the-dreamcatcher