Your dreams can provide some of the most accurate and personalized spiritual guidance. Why do we dream? Dreaming takes us into the realm of the unconscious. Dreamwork is the active practice of gathering information about your past, present, and future through dreams.
Your dreams can provide some of the most accurate and personalized spiritual guidance.
Dreaming opens the door to the aspects of yourself that need healing. Dreams can put our fears on display and forewarn us. They are a channel for communication with your guides, ancestors, and higher selves. Dreams offer vital information about your soul journey.
How to find guidance in your dreams
With a few simple steps, you can start receiving guidance from your dreams.
1. Set up your dream space
Before getting into bed, take a few minutes to look around the room you’ll be dreaming in. Pay attention to your dream space.
You should feel a sense of calm when you walk into your dream room.
Thinking of the space where you sleep as a place where you dream immediately shifts the energy of the space.
Scan your dream room
Take a look around and notice anything that brings a heavy energy to your space. Try doing this with your eyes closed. Sitting in bed, take a few deep breaths. Close your eyes and energetically look around your dream room. Is there anything that sticks out to you? This could be that pile of clothes that’s been nagging you for weeks or a family memento that carries a heavy energy. Once you’ve scanned your dream space, move things out that could weigh down the energy or distract you. Try to keep your dream space as clutter-free as possible.
Decorate for dreamwork
Consider your dream room an altar for dreamwork. Clean your dream room intentionally, then decorate it. Flowers, a glass of water, or anything that reminds you of bodies of water can enhance dreaming. Dreams are associated with the element of water and the moon. Add a painting of the moon or ocean. Add pictures or mementos of your guides if you want to invite them into your dreamwork.
2. Enhance dream recall
Now that your dream room is ready, find ways to remember your dreams. One of your most important dreamwork tools is your dream journal. You could use a handmade, leather-bound journal or a stack of recycled paper stapled together. Have a dedicated place to write down your dreams as soon as you wake up. Keep your dream journal within arm’s reach of your bed. Set the intention to recall your dreams upon waking and create a routine.
Before falling asleep, set the intention to remember your dreams upon waking.
If you don’t write the dream down, there’s a good chance you’ll forget it later in the day. The journal is a dedicated space to work with your dreams. As often as possible, write something down in your dream journal when you wake up. If you don’t remember any specifics, write down how you feel when you wake. This practice will help train your mind to remember what happened in dream realms. In time, you will remember more and more details about your dreams.
3. Herbs for dreamwork
Herbs are helpful for remembering dreams. Some of my favorite dream herbs are mugwort, holy basil, and chamomile:
Mugwort
Mugwort is a centuries-old dreamwork herb. It’s a common herb that can be brewed into tea before bed. Since mugwort is considered an emmenagogue, it increases menstrual flow. It is not recommended for use during pregnancy.
Holy basil
Holy basil is an herb that helps make dreams more vivid and improve dream recall. Also known as Tulsi, this is one of my favorite herbs for dreamwork. The tea tastes delicious, and it’s easy to find in health food stores.
Chamomile
Chamomile relaxes the body and mind before bed. Stress and anxiety can make it hard to remember dreams. If you usually go to bed stressed or have trouble quieting your mind, try chamomile tea.
You can also try a tea blend of 2 parts chamomile, 1 part holy basil, and 1 part mugwort.
4. Wake Up to Remember Your Dreams
Sleeping through the night and waking up fully rested can make it hard to remember dreams, because you miss the liminal space where dreams are most easily recalled.
The liminal space is when you come out of a dream but are conscious of the dream.
Being woken up to go to the bathroom can help you wake up in that moment. (This is another way tea can be helpful for dreamwork.)
5. Dream replay
Dream replay is the practice of reliving a dream in your mind, and it’s an essential tool for dream recall. As you come out of a dream, before opening your eyes, replay the dream in your mind. Each time you replay the dream, try to remember more and more details. If you start with the details, you may forget the rest of the dream. Think of it like creating a work of art. First, you sketch the outline, then go back and fill in the details. Make sure the outline is solid, and everything else will fall into place.
6. Find guidance in your dreams
You can get specific information from your dreams. Use this practice when you are having trouble making a decision in your life. Before turning out your lights, write down your question in your dream journal. You could also quietly meditate on the question. Let it roll around in your mind for a few minutes before bed. Do this every night (or as often as you can) until the dream comes. It could happen the first night or in a few weeks.
Dreamwork is interactive and non-linear.
I have found that some dreams come in the form of sagas. These dreams unfold over a few nights but can be sewn together. Pay attention and write down as many dreams as you can. Eventually, you can start to see how dreams that span the course of years are connected. Asking for specific guidance is a good practice, as it helps you get to know your personal dream symbols.
7. Understand your dream symbols
Dream symbols will tell you the most about your dreams and your path in waking life. Pay attention to colors, time of day, emotions, animals, people, landscapes, and objects.
Dream symbol interpretation
Walk into any metaphysical shop and you’ll find lots of books on dream symbols and meanings. It’s important to know that dream symbols are subjective. There are some books that can help you understand what it means when a snake lays an egg under your bed in a dream. Speaking from experience, I encourage you to meditate on these symbols and see what they bring up for you. If you get stuck or don’t understand the symbol, find guidance in books or online. If it’s about an animal, look for books that are dedicated to animal spirit messages. For topics like water, fire, wind, or earth, try books on earth-based spiritual practices.
You can tie dream symbolism to your ancestry.
If you have West African roots, try reading about Yoruba. If you have northern European roots, consider exploring Norse mythology. Earth-based witchcraft and spiritual practices can help you understand your dreams. Threads of ancestral elements connect you to common themes that show up throughout history.
Tarot is another useful tool for dreamwork because of the depth of its symbolic knowledge. In tarot, you’ll learn about the elements and what they represent. For example, knowing that fire can represent creativity can be beneficial to your dreamwork.
8. Uncover your soul journey
Dreams are connected to the soul’s journey. Your soul journey connects you to your ancestry as well as your past and future lives. Don’t limit your exploration. If you have a dream that evokes cultural symbolism beyond what you know about yourself, explore it.
9. Connect dreamwork with astrology
If you want to take your dream interpretation deeper, pay attention to the planets. Astrology plays a role in the nature of our dreams. Take a beginner astrology course and get to know your personal planets. The sky is ever changing. As the planets move, they can influence the messages you receive.
Happy dreaming
Dreams are wonderful resources for people seeking guidance from their subconscious or guides in other realms. In dreamwork, remember that your intuitive interpretation of your own dreams is the most powerful translation of the messages from dreamland.
