Symbols & Dreams: A Brief History (1)

Symbols are at the heart of my oracle and tea leaf reading work. 

An article sparked my idea of sharing an unusual but well-known angle, to make us more present to our inner source of wisdom: our dreams. 

Whether prophetic, unrestrained, or simply a reflection of the day’s experiences, dreams are the important language between our conscious, unconscious, superconscious, reality, and external stimuli. This language speaks to us using symbols and its history is as old as we are.

Humanity has always dreamt and treasured this special experience.

Prehistorical cave paintings show us what can be interpreted as the drawing of dreams above the head of people hunting. The symbolic meaning is there, right from the very beginning. I can’t help, but take note and ask: Do we symbolically create and attract outcomes?

The very first dream written records are clay tablets, in cuneiform characters, telling the story of Gilgamesh, the legendary warrior king of Sumer. Gilgamesh had bad dreams plaguing him, so he decided to ask the goddess Ninsun, his mother, to decipher them. All her interpretations proved true.

In Babylon, dream work was integral to standard religious beliefs. Large temples dedicated to Mamu, the goddess of dreams, and to An Za Qa, the god of dreams, were built.

Do we value our dreams in the same way?

In ancient Egypt, temples called Serapeums were dedicated to Serapis, the god of dreams and dreaming. Dreams were experienced as going to another world, accessible every night with the astral body, simply passing through a threshold. 

It is in Egypt, we find the first record regarding dream incubation, a practice widely practised in ancient times by many civilisations to receive answers and guidance.

Incidentally, there was also a way to put an end to any bad, recurring dreams. On waking, the dreamer would blow out the dream into a wooden container, which was then burned. The fire consumed the receptacle and the dream, clearing the way ahead.

How do we remove unsuitable creations from our reality?

Let’s pick a symbol we all know and look at how it got interpreted. For the ancient Egyptians, the symbology of losing a tooth in a dream meant the death of a relative.

Dreams had a share in the religious life of a community and symbols were understood as messages from the Divine.

In Ancient Greece, Zeus was said to use Hypnos, the god of sleep, and Morpheus, the god of dreams, to communicate directly with people.

Homer is the first classic writer to mention dreams, differentiating between significant, true dreams and empty, false dreams. Taking this concept further, Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, used the symbols of dreams as a diagnostic tool. He trained in healing temples, called Asclepion, dedicated to the god of medicine Asclepius, where people would come to incubate dreams or have a dream analysed.

The philosopher Aristotle took a stance on dreams which many still use today: anybody dreams; personal sensations may be highlighted and translated in a dream; a dream can reveal something we had not realised before and makes us consciously aware.

The philosopher Plato instead realised that dreams can be wild, unruly, and truly irrational. In being so, they are freeing a part of the psyche we strictly control when awake. 

Continuing our brief excursion in the classical world, the Romans were fascinated by the symbolic and prophetic power of dreams. They classified all theories and interpretations known to create a solid body of knowledge. 

One of the major contributors to this research was Artemidorus, who travelled extensively around the Roman Empire to collect data from past and present. From his research, he compiled the first dream dictionary as we know it, the 'Oneirokritika', where symbols are clearly identified and their meaning defined.

Going back to the example of the loss of a tooth, with Artemidorus we get into specifics: the position of each tooth symbolised different people. The arch of the upper teeth refers to important people; the lower, more common people. The right part, of either dental arches, symbolises a male and the left a female. Incisor teeth represent someone young; canine teeth, middle-aged; molars, an elder.

Carrying on with our tooth interpretation through the ages: Vespasian dreamt he would become Emperor only after Nero had lost a tooth and this is exactly what happened, on top of the rest.

Plutarch, the Roman historian, recorded quite a few prophetic dreams. The most famous are: Calpurnia dreaming of her husband Julius Caesar's assassination the night before it happened; Emperor Caligula dreaming of his own demise. It seems that these dreams were very straightforward and clear in conveying their message, without obscure tokens.

What do you dream of mostly? Do you understand the messages you receive? Get in touch if you need help interpreting symbols for greater clarity and understanding. For your information, the article was about an ancient Mesopotamian tablet, known as the Gilgamesh Dream Tablet, and its recent whereabouts. You can find it here https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-52692846 Resource about the tablet: http://trobisch.com/david/wb/media/material/Gilgamesh%20tablet_AW.pdf All photographs by Jr Korpa

#dreams #symbols #diviner #dowser #divining #FridaywithFreya #blog

Five Things You Need To Know About Dowsing

The ancient tool of dowsing is still proving itself useful thanks to its extreme flexibility. It is a true evergreen, open to all needs and questions. 

Is this the right present for your beloved? Dowse. Forgot your pin? Dowse. Confused by directions? Dowse.

If you want to ask me questions live about dowsing, sign up now for my online events here.

Now, I promised to answer five basic questions about dowsing, so let’s start.

What is dowsing?

The definition I use is 'Dowsing is the search for that which is hidden from view or knowledge’.

I think in its broadness it explains pretty clearly what dowsing is, does, and what it can reveal. It points to a discovery, a relevant piece of information, a needed answer.

Simply put, dowsing is an ancient tool that allows you to tap into the energy of all there is and get the answers you need. It has served humanity through the ages: to find water in the desert, get clear directions to get out of sticky situations, detect metals, locate landmines, retrieve lost objects, and much more.

It is a holistic and totally natural way of working with energies.

Can anybody dowse?

We are all born with an inner sense of knowledge and abilities going beyond the physical world. First, we need to listen, then trust and develop this strength.

You surely have experienced not liking and choosing to sit on a seat for no particular reason. Or, experiencing an inexplicable sense of deja vu.

Dowsing is no different. It is easy to learn and requires some practise to hone skills and yield better results.

What can I dowse for?

Anything! This is the absolute beauty of dowsing.

You can use dowsing for anything that relates to you, from wellbeing to career, from love to shopping, from travel to properties, and much much more.

Would you like to know if you need to take an umbrella today not to get wet? What time to leave to reach the train station on time? Which is the right shampoo for your hair? Which food compound is bloating your stomach? 

Can I dowse for myself?

When it comes to dowsing for oneself, it is important to remember that we are energy. We tap into the flow and receive the answer. 

Nothing could be simpler! Or is it?

It is, you go with the flow but stay out of it at the same time. Dowsing is a very practical and experiential tool, words cannot do it justice.

One word of advice: if you feel too deeply invested in a question, you may want another dowser to get the answer for you. 

What do I use to dowse?

The traditional and widely recognised tools are pendulum, L-rods, Y-rod. Plus, a choice of bobbers.

Pendulum

Personally, I define a #pendulum as a weight hung from a fixed point so that it can swing freely.

It can be made of any materials: crystals are favourite, wood, metal, glass, and so on.

L-Rods

Literally, two L-shaped pieces of metal to be held loosely, so they can swing and spin, by their shortest side. Depending on what you are doing, it can help using one only.

Y-Rod Traditionally, a Y-shaped branch of hazelwood. Where the tips of the V side are held in each hand and meant to spring up or down. Nowadays, you can find Y-rods of different sizes and materials, including plastic.

Bobber

A #bobber, or dowsing wand, is usually made up of a handle, a flexible and bouncy wire, and a cap to weight the end tip.

Some of these tools are often highly personalised and may be eccentric-looking, but they work, so why not?

With practice, you will realise that a tool suits certain tasks better than others. Experiment and find the one you best resonate with. It will be a joy to dowse every time you pick up your favourite tool. 

#Dowsing is an open-ended practice and a fantastic modality, retrieving answers straight from the energy field and presenting them to your consciousness.

If you have questions that need answers I am at your service with my remote dowsing.

Join my online events if you have questions about dowsing (Meet the Diviner, Digital Edition), or want to improve your dowsing or are already a pro (Swing your Pendulum Online).

Email me to sign up now and read more about dowsing on Friday with Freya

#dowser #diviner #divining #blog #FridaywithFreya #Lrods #Yrods