Dreamcatcher: History

Dreamcatchers have been around for ages and originated with the Indians of North America. It is a special symbol and is also called dream catcher. It is a symbol used by the Indians and consists of a circle with a spider's web inside. The ring is decorated with leather, feathers and cords. The intention is to hang the dream catcher above the bed to catch the good of the dreams and keep it for the rest of life. Every bad dream will disappear through the hole in the middle and the owner will not be bothered by it anymore.

If it hangs above a baby's bed, it will catch all evil things (disease, scary dreams and evil spirits) in the web so that the child does not suffer from it. If your child has sleeping problems or suffers from nightmares, you can hang a dream catcher and tell the child the story to give it some peace.

There are several stories about the origin of the dreamcatchers and in all stories the dreamcatcher is associated with the web of a spider. Here is an Indian legend about the origin and operation of the dream catcher.

The Indian Story:

Long ago when the world was young, an old Lakota spiritual leader had a vision on a mountaintop. In this vision Iktomi the Spirit of Wisdom appeared in the form of a spider. Iktomi spoke to him in a secret language that only the spiritual leaders could understand. During this conversation, the spider began to spin a web in a hoop decorated with feathers.

He told the story about the circle of life, how we start as children and how we grow into adults. Eventually we grow old after which we have to be cared for as children again so that the circle is complete again. But, said Iktomi, in every life circle there are many forces at play, some good and some bad. If you listen to the good forces, they will steer you in the right direction, but the bad forces will damage you and steer you in the wrong direction.

When the spider finished speaking he gave Lakota the web and said: See the web is a perfect circle but there is a hole inside the circle. Use the web to help yourself and your people to make good use of the good ideas and dreams. The dream catcher will catch and hold the good ideas and dreams, and let the bad ones escape through the hole.

Lakota went back to his people and from then on they use the dream catcher as a permanent part of their lives. It hangs above their beds and in their homes to catch and hold their dreams and protect their children from bad dreams.

Nowadays the dream catcher is hung everywhere in your interior. As the legend says, the web serves to protect yourself and your family, friends, etc... help to make good use of the good ideas and dreams. The dream catcher will catch and hold the good ideas and dreams, and let the bad ones escape through the hole.

But superstitious or not, it remains a beautiful decoration to bring into your home.

If you want to have a dreamcatcher made to your own preference, please contact us via the contact form on our page or view here our collection of dreamcatchers.