~Skywomans Creations~: Ojibwa Magic

There was a time in Anishnabe history when the
people were being tormented by nightmares. Many of the elders and "medicine
people" tried to solve this problem, but no one made progress against these
dreams. A council of many people was called. During this council, one elder had
a vision of a spider's web in a hoop with one or more feathers and some beads
attached. The totem would capture any bad dreams, while letting good ones pass
through. They went to work fashioning dream catchers in the manner prescribed by
the elder’s vision…and when the people started using them, the bad dreams went
away.The dream catcher is hung above a sleeping area, ideally in a place
where the morning light will fall on it. It is the nature of a dream catcher to
attract all dreams to its web. When bad dreams come, they cannot find their way
through the woven pattern, and become trapped in the webbing…where the first
light of day causes them to melt away and perish. Good dreams navigate their way
through the center of the web, however, and they slide down the lowest-hanging
feather to inspire the peaceful sleeper below.“Dream catchers” are made
today by Native American artists representing many Nations. Many people are
under the impression that the Lakota/Dakota/Nakota (sometimes collectively
called “Sioux”) originated the dream catcher. While there are many Native
American stories and legends about spiders and webs of various kinds, the Ojibwe
actually originated the dream catcher…

~Skywomans Creations~

Monday 8 August 2011

Ojibwa Magic

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