Plains Indians tell us to hang them by the widow, or at the head of your bed, where the bad dreams get caught in the web. Good dreams work their way through the center hole, rest on the feather like a dew drop, and evaporate to the Great Spirit in the morning sun. The prayer beads on the Dream Catcher trap all the bad dreams that are left on the web, then burn them up.
As the legend goes, the Dream Catcher was used by the Woodland Indians and was hung in the lodge (near the bedroom window). Its use was to catch all dreams, good or bad. The bad dreams would get caught up in the webbing and are held there till first morning light, then burned off. Now, the good dreams were caught, and knowing their way to the hole in the center, would filter down into the feathers and be held there, only to return another night to be dreamed. |
