Chapter V - WATER MAGICK
25. The Dream Realm
There are a great many books on the market dealing with the topic of dreams. Many of these books list the symbols which you see in your dreams and then tell you what they mean, or what is going to happen because of what you dreamed. But interpreting dreams is just not that easy. Dreams are a very personal thing to each of us. A dog, seen in one dream, may mean one thing to me and a totally different thing to you.
To begin with, there are two basic types of dreams. The first type of dream is a common occurrence in most people's lives. This is the dream when upon awakening you have only vague recollections of what transpired. These are dreams which you rapidly forget what took place. They are very confusing dreams and are the mental garbage which your mind gets rid of as you sleep. The second type of dream is what you need to pay attention to.
These are dreams which you remember very vividly upon awakening. You see images, and possibly colors, vividly. You feel that you were actually there and taking part in what was going on. You have a sharp recollection of what took place and you do not easily forget what transpired after awakening. If this is the kind of dream that has occurred in your life, then you are remembering an actual experience that has taken place in the Astral Realm. You can also be witnessing a message that is meant to help guide your life. The first type of dream you can forget about. This is just your mind getting rid of a lot of mental garbage and worries pressed upon it, or a distortion of a journey in the Astral Realm. The second type is important. You have often heard of the phrase, "sleep on it", in connection with solving a problem that you cannot seem to resolve.
When you sleep on a problem, you are out in the Astral Realm and can meet with people on that side of life and receive an answer to your problem. The answer generally comes to you in the form of a dream. There are other things that can be done in the use of your dreams.
Let's say that you have an important interview with a client coming up. The night before, you will need a picture of your client that you're going to meet. Preferably, this should be a physical picture or a strong mental picture will suffice. Then before going to sleep, you should concentrate on the picture of your client and think of the thing you would like your client to do. Think and say the things to your client that will persuade her/him your way. Then put it out of your mind and just know, that as you sleep, you will meet your client in the Astral and this will help prepare your way in tomorrow's meeting. You will be successful if you do this. You can see that there are endless variations and possibilities in the use of your dreams. You can also help improve your dreaming. The first thing you should do in helping yourself in dreaming is find out which way you sleep best. The body best picks up magickal currents by having the head facing in a certain direction. Practice sleeping with your head pointed say to the North and keep a record on how you slept for a week. Then the next week, sleep in a new direction and do the recording. You should do this for all four directions. This is the first step towards better sleeping and dreaming.
To further improve dreaming do the following: when you fall asleep at night, say to yourself that you're going to remember all that you dream of clearly and sharply. Say this over and over to yourself until you fall asleep naturally. Know that you are going to dream true! Now, you will want to keep a diary of your dreams.
Keep this diary by your bed along with a pen. Upon awakening from a vivid and true dream, record what you saw and the impressions of what it meant to you. If the dream is in a very symbolic form, then take that dream into your meditation periods and seek to discover the meaning of those symbols. As said before, symbols are a very personal thing to you and their meaning lies with the Oversoul and Night Teacher. You may want to record these symbols on a three by five card and arrange them alphabetically. Symbolism is used a great deal of the time by your Oversoul for communication with you. Symbolism is used so that you will spend more time in communication with your Night Teacher and Oversoul in seeking an answer. Dreams are important. It is important for you to become familiar with your dreams and their meaning. Dreams are one means by which the Oversoul may speak with you and give important information to guide your life. This could be from warnings concerning your health or well-being to job assistance or ways to improve your practice of Night Magick. Another mode of communication is the Oracle, which we will discuss in the next topic, along with a discussion of Astral Guides and the use of Trance.