Keep a Dream Journal

By Patti Wigington

Many Wiccans and Pagans put stock in dream meanings — for a lot of us, it’s important to keep track of what our dreams are telling us, because it may be important. Dreams can be prophetic, in that they may tell us of things yet to come, or they can be therapeutic, a way of our subconscious acknowledging problems that have to be resolved.

One great way to get in touch with your dreams and their meanings is to keep a dream journal. By keeping a dream journal, you can help yourself remember what you dreamed about even when the dream is no longer fresh. Also, you can begin looking for patterns and themes that may recur in dreams.

To make a dream journal, you’ll simply need a blank notebook. You can use a simple composition book, or if you’d like to use a fancier, journal-style book, that’s fine too. Keep this by your bedside.

When you wake up each morning — or even in the middle of the night — jot down as much as you can remember from your dreams of the night before. Your notes don’t necessarily have to analyze the dream, merely document what took place. Things to keep in mind when you’re writing your dreams down might include:

• Did you meet any people? Who were they, and what did they say?
• Did you travel anyplace? Were you in a house? Did you spend any of your dream outdoors?
• What sort of natural occurrences did you see? Was there flooding, mountains, thunder, bright sunshine?
• Was there something in your dream that seemed out of place, as though it didn’t fit in with the other parts of the journey?
• How did you feel during the dream? Were you afraid, content, happy?

Later, you can go back through your notes and evaluate what you dreamed. Look for patterns and symbolism — there are a number of excellent dream dictionaries out there on the market which can help you determine the meanings of the symbols in your dreams. You can then use the information gained from your dream journal as a guidance tool.