Dream is a series of thoughts, visions or feelings that happen during sleep. The length of the dream is variable; it can last for only few seconds or it can extend to 20 or even 30 minutes. Through the ages, there were always different opinions about the actual meaning of dreams. In addition, the meaning of dreams also varied according to different times and cultures. However, there were always some popular ancient legends about dreams. So, here are the top 5 ancient legends about dreams.
1 Baku:
Baku or the dream eater is a supernatural spirit in the ancient Chinese and Japanese cultures. It was said that a Baku has the ability to devour dreams and nightmares. The legend says that people who have nightmares or bad dreams can call out Baku to help them. In Japan, children who have nightmares can summon Baku by saying: “Baku-san, come eat my dream” for three times. Then, it is believed that Baku will come and eat the bad dream and the child can then go back to sleep peacefully. It is also said that you can call Baku before going to sleep to protect yourself from having nightmares.
2 Morpheus:
Morpheus is the ancient Greek God of dreams and other times it is called the God of sleep. It was believed that Morpheus has the ability to enter your dream to send you messages from Gods. In dreams, Morpheus appears in the shape of regular human being, however, it is thought that his real physical appearance is not like this. In reality he looks like a demon with huge black wings. It was also said that his ability to disguise was the reason behind choosing him to be the messenger of dreams.
3 Mara:
In the German folklore, it is believed that the Mara is an evil spirit that sits on the chest of the people who are sleeping and make them suffer from bad dreams and nightmares. In the 19th century, it was thought that the Mara can enter your bedroom through the keyhole. Also it was believed that you can prevent her from entering your bedroom by putting a broom upside down behind the door or by saying some prayers. It is worth mentioning that, the word “Mara” is a German word, and its English equivalence is “mare” from which the word “nightmare” is derived.
4 Dream Catcher:
Dream catchers are probably the most famous ancient dream legend nowadays. The legend of dream catchers goes back to the age of Native Americans. Back then it was believed that there was a spider woman who take care of children and people by making a spider web every morning. Because the spider woman cannot take care of everyone, the Native American people start building their own spider webs seeking for protection. The idea of spider webs then developed to be the dream catcher. It was believed that dream catchers can change your dreams. Only good and positive dreams can pass through the holes of the dream catcher while bad dreams or nightmares stuck in the web. Later, dream catchers are decorated with other items such as: beads and feathers.
5 Sandman:
The sandman is another popular ancient dream legend especially in the European folklore. It was said that the sandman comes at night to sprinkle some magical sand at the eyes of the children in order to make them dream. Whenever you woke up with gritty eyes, it is because the sandman have visited you while you were sleeping last night. In the year 1841, the sandman was introduced by Hans Christian Andersen in the tale Ole Lukoje. Later, the story of sandman was adopted in many films, books, poems, songs and TV shows.