Weaving Magic

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I spent the weekend with Miss Raven while she weaved a new batch of dreamcatchers. I learned so much and thought I would share with you what I learned.

Miss Raven told me that the web was a filter for our dreams and that the bad dreams would get caught in the web and as the morning sun would arise each morning those bad dreams would burn away. The good dreams pass right through the center of the dreamcatcher and trickle down the feathers to the dreamer below.

I asked Miss Raven how she knew about the dreamcatcher and how it works. She told me that there are many stories of how the dreamcatcher came to be. The stories vary from tribe to tribe and from region to region.

There is one story about a boy and a spider. It goes something like this…. One day a young boy saw a spider spinning its web in the corner of his grandmother’s house. When he saw the spider he screamed, stomped over to it, grabbed a shoe and as he was getting ready to hit the spider his grandmother whispered, “Don’t hurt him”. To thank the grandmother for saving his life the spider gave her a gift. He spun webs over her windows and told her that his gift was to spare her from bad dreams. The bad dreams will be caught in the web while the good dreams would filter through the small holes.

This is just one of the many stories that have been passed down through the generations. Miss Raven says that it matters not as much the story but more so that we know that the dreamcatcher is a great gift from Spirit.

I also learned that each decoration on the dreamcatcher has special meaning. A single bead in the web represents the spider and is placed there in honor of the gift given by the spider. Many beads scattered around the web represent good dreams. The feathers that hang from the web represent breath and air which is essential for life. The type of feathers used also have meaning depending on what type feathers they are.

When one makes a dreamcatcher for someone they must weave with healing energy for that person and decorate it with objects that are needed to help that person in whatever it is that they need at that time. Every part of the dreamcatcher has meaning.

Earth, water, fire and air are in every dreamcatcher. Didn’t you know this? That’s ok I didn’t know this either until Miss Raven explained it to me.
Traditionally the hoop was made of vine, willow or other fine branches, so the hoop was made of Earth. Water is represented on the dreamcatcher by the morning dew that would form on the web. Fire is the morning sun that would burn off the dew and all the bad dreams that were caught in the web. Air is represented by the feathers.

I learned so much and dreamcatchers are so beautiful. Miss Raven says she will make one just for me! I can’t wait to get my very own!

Yours truly,
Little Crow