DREAM CATCHERS

 

Do you ever have dreams that frighten or upset you?
Do you ever have dreams you like so much you wish you could dream them again?

DREAM CATCHERS:
Many Native American traditions utilize the Dream Catcher. They are created out of hoops of bent willow and thread with sinew webbing. Because the world of dreams is so significant to many Native American tribes, it is important to sort the good dreams from the bad. When a baby is born, a dream catcher is made and hung over the infant to protect their dreaming sleep. The belief is that the bad dreams will be caught in the webbing, while good dreams flow through to the sleeper.

Many Native Americans call the spider the Keeper of the Dreams. Some call the spider Iktome. Some say that bad dreams are held captive by Grandmother Spider in the strands of her web until Father Sun rises and causes these dreams to perish. Legend says that Grandmother Spider wove the web of life and dreaming. She connects the planet through dreams. (Think of the World Wide Web and how it connects the planet!)