According to the legend, the origin of dream catcher goes back to 1929 to a Native American tribe – Ojibwe. As the legend goes, it is believed that the spider web protective charms by Asibikaashi ¬– the Spider Woman of the tribe protected the children and people on the land. Soon the story spread across North America, and people sought Asibikaashi to protect them and their children. Since she couldn’t be present at every place, the women started weaving webs on willow hoops to protect their children and family.

Purpose of Dream Catcher

The spider web protective charm got widely known as dream catcher in the 1970s until then the sole purpose of this protective charm was to ward off evil. More like the evil eye charms popularly used today. As the tribes evolved and the legend spread towards the developed areas – the purpose too evolved.

Today, the dream catcher is believed to be used for warding off nightmares thereby promoting sound and peaceful sleep.

How does it Work?

There are many beliefs on how the dream catcher works. In the olden days, people believed that the air was filled with evil energies and nightmares. The dream catcher worked as a purifier thereby warding off evil energies and nightmares. A dream catcher is made with a woven web of sinew strands on a willow hoop along with feathers, crystals and beads hanging from the hoop. The web on the hoop is believed to catch the bad dreams and evil energies from the air. The air that passes from the web gets filtered. The feathers and crystals are hanging from the hoop pass on the positive energy and good dreams to the person sleeping underneath it.

The popularity of Dream Catchers

The dream catchers became popular as a protective charm for the children. The infants spend most of their initial days crying. Earlier when the medical science wasn’t so advanced, it was challenging to find an appropriate reason for why babies cried. The dream catchers helped in soothing crying babies, and soon they became a rage amongst the new mothers and grandmothers of the Ojibwe tribe which later on spread like wildfire to every corner of North America.

Uses of Dream Catcher

The use of dream catcher has gone through a significant evolution ever since it came to the modern parts of the world. Today, most people are unaware of the actual use of the dream catcher. It is used more like a purpose of a home decor item than what it is meant for. However, we are not complaining. After all, dream catchers are too pretty not to own one.

Dream catchers can be used for:

1.    Ward off Evil: The good old use – to ward off evil energies in the air. For this, one needs to place the dream catcher over the sleeping person’s head or near the source of air in the room which could either be a window or a door.

2.    Home Decor: The modern societies use dream catchers more for home decor purpose than warding off evil. The dream catchers come in a wide variety of beautiful and vibrant colours that add instant charm to a room.

Do Dream Catchers Work?

The dream catchers are believed to work if they are authentic and by authentic we mean handmade. The intricately woven web on the willow hoop and feathers and crystals dangling from it are believed to work as a filter. For the effective working of the dream catcher, it has to be placed correctly. The right position is just above the head of the person.