Dreams have always fascinated people of different eras and cultures and, of course, have received the most dissimilar and even outlandish explanations.
The earliest attempts at explanation date back to the Old World, around 3000 BC, when people believed that dreams were dreamlike experiences of the soul outside the body. While sleeping, a person could connect with a world of spirits and ghosts that provided them with premonitory information.
In the ancient Near East, the interpretations of the pharaohs’ dreams were particularly noteworthy, as they typically foretold the fate of the people under their rule. In ancient Greece, dreams were used to predict fatal illnesses.
These ideas still persist among some ethnic groups. In Oceania, among the Melpa, everyday dreams must be interpreted, and although there is a meaning for each dream’s content, interpretations are often not straightforward but rather subject to the creativity and good judgment of the interpreter. The same occurs in Zinacantán, a small Mayan community where they even abide by some fundamental laws:
1. Dreams are metaphors for future events
2. The images in dreams will happen in reality, but in reverse
Among the Kogi tribe in Colombia, dream analysis is part of daily life; each member is capable of understanding the meanings of their own dreams, although there is a kind of “priest” who is consulted when dreams are confusing. Of course, there is a very specific symbolism for each type of dream; for example, dreaming of snow means the person will die of old age, while carrying straw indicates they will go hungry.
In another Colombian tribe, the Emberá, healers use dreams to understand the causes of illnesses in those who experience them.
The Bible, from Genesis to the New Testament, contains over a thousand references to dreams and visions. Both the Old and New Testaments are replete with allusions to prophetic dreams.
However, the Council of Trent in the 6th century AD prohibited all beliefs related to dreams, deeming them sinful. Thus, for several centuries the Judeo-Christian world was deprived of freely expressing opinions regarding their night visions. The exception was the dreams recounted by saints and martyrs.
In Muslim countries, oneiromancy was popularized by the Quran. It was a belief that combined the prophecies of the Talmud and ancient Greek traditions, and it was the only oracle accepted by this religious faith.
Muhammad and his disciples asserted that prophetic dreams were a direct revelation from Allah. Thus, when Arab culture reached its zenith between the 8th and 13th centuries, dream interpreters attained the same status as prophets. There were thousands of them, although the most well-known to this day was Ibn Sirin.
The faith placed in the message conveyed through dreams led to oneiromancy being considered a natural science. For the practitioners of this art-science, there existed an angel of dreams called “Sadiqun” and a malevolent deity, “Hara,” who sent bad dreams. The popular belief was that dreams came from two sources: either positive or negative.
Furthermore, in Islam, dreams were considered important according to the time they occurred. Muhammad explained that the most important dreams come at dawn.
In Tibetan Buddhism, dreams are classified into several categories, including Dream Yoga, which teaches how to stay awake while dreaming and to do in the dream what we would like to do while awake, leading to a more intense experience of life and love. In scientific terms, it’s a training program for mastering lucid dreaming.
In this creed, dreams are considered another reality, as valid as waking life, and through various teachings and practices, the adept will learn to recognize and master this other reality. Furthermore, Tibetan Buddhism identifies three types of dreams: ordinary dreams, lucid dreams, and clear-light dreams. In the first two, the dreamer may be lucid. In lucid dreams, there is greater awareness of what is being dreamed, and all the details are remembered more clearly. Clarity dreams are considered more authentic than “samsaric” dreams; they would be the equivalent of symbolic dreams in psychology.
Similarly, in dreams of clear light, there is no definition of the dream’s content itself, nor is there a self or “ego” in opposition to the content. However, while dreaming in this state of clear light, there are no conflicts or problems.
It is important to mention that even today, Tibetan doctors use dreams as a diagnostic method for a wide variety of illnesses.
In modern Western culture, the forgotten meaning of dreams was rescued by psychoanalysis, and although even today websites proliferate that sell dream analysis as part of learning the occult sciences, the truth is that dream interpretation is within everyone’s reach as long as they have a minimum of preparation in this field, which, although fascinating, reveals more and more of its mysteries to us every day.
Source:
Munévar, MC; Pérez, AM & Guzmán, E. (1995) Dreams: a scientific study from a multidisciplinary perspective. Latin American Journal of Psychology ; 27(1): 41-58.
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