Dream Magick
for Night and Day

by Melanie Marquis

Much of our lives are spent in sleep, a time when the subconscious mind reigns supreme. That subconscious mind knows a lot of stuff that the conscious mind doesn’t, and your dreams are a key to accessing this hidden knowledge and insight. The magick of dreams takes many forms, from divination based on dream interpretation to prophetic dreams that inspire new religions, new inventions, and more. Through dreams, we become aware of our deepest desires, our deepest fears, and our deepest wisdom. Combine that wisdom with a heavy dose of magickal intention, and amazing things become possible.

Sometimes our typical magick just doesn’t do the trick, for instance, when our goals are far-fetched or the focus of our magick is far away. Spells that face such barriers often perform better when cast with dream magick. Dream magick can be useful for achieving many spellcasting goals, it’s a useful form of divination, and it’s even an excellent way to build magickal skills and abilities. Want to try a little dream magick of your own? Let’s take a look at some traditional magick for inducing prophetic dreams, then we’ll talk about lucid dreaming, “sleepcasting,” and the art of daydreaming as an act of magick.

Dream Magick Traditions

European and American folk traditions abound with spells to dream about one’s future destiny. Many such spells were focused on an ever-popular topic—love! There are spells to dream about whether or not true love will be found, spells to dream about whether or not marriage is in the forecast, and spells to dream about what sort of person your future lover will be. One traditional spell calls for a pill to be made of a mixture of nutmeg, walnut, hazelnut, butter, and sugar. The pill is eaten before bed in order to induce dreams regarding the fortunes of your future lover. Dreams of thunder and lightning indicate the lover will be a traveler, while dreams of gold indicate that the lover will be especially wealthy. If the dream is noisy, it indicates the future lover will find a profession in a trade or craft. Another custom used to incite dreams to reveal your next sweetheart requires bay leaves to be placed on or under the pillow—and the future lover’s face will appear in the dream. A different spell suggests carrying two pieces of lemon peel around all day, then rubbing the peels on the bedposts at night. This is believed to induce within the dream a vision of the future lover carrying a lemon in each hand.

Of course, not all traditional dream magick was focused on love. For the Pennsylvania Dutch, one charm to induce dreams of the future involved walking backwards through the front door on Halloween night, collecting a bit of grass or dirt, then retreating inside to wrap the dirt or grass in a piece of paper. The bundle was then placed under the pillow and slept on—and prophetic dreams would soon ensue. In Jewish magick tradition, though not at all sanctioned by the religion, one dream-magick procedure recommended lying over a grave and beseeching the dead to appear in a dream to answer any questions put forth. One early nineteenth-century text describes a formula for oracular dreaming used by ceremonial magicians: An image of an angel, named for the sun, is drawn on a piece of paper. Upon the angel is drawn a picture of one’s self, and on this self, the name of what the person wishes to dream about is written. The paper is slept on, and whatever is therein indicated will appear in the dream.

Lucid Dreaming and Sleepcasting

“Lucid dreaming” is the term used to describe the phenomenon of becoming consciously aware during sleep, realizing that you’re in the midst of a dream. With this awareness comes a wide range of possibilities, from astral travel to “sleepcasting”—performing magick in the dream world to affect the real world. The first step to lucid dreaming is becoming more intimate with your dream self and more involved with your dream time. An easy way to get started is to make an earnest attempt to remember your dreams. Get plenty of rest and eat right, but don’t eat too soon before bedtime. Tell yourself that you intend to remember your dreams and that you intend to write them down when you awaken. Whether or not you remember your dream, make a note about it. With a little diligence and practice, you’ll start remembering more and more of your dreams. Once you’re doing that, work on becoming consciously aware during the dream, achieving a lucid state. Some people try to look at their hands when they’re dreaming, because for some reason seeing your own body clues in the psyche that you are indeed still conscious and can freely think and act. I find it helps if I draw a glyph on the back of just one of my hands, a customized symbol designed to reflect whatever I wish to do in my dream time. Then when I’m dreaming, I will catch a glimpse of the symbol, and that will remind me that I am the one in control. Scent can also work exceptionally well for this purpose. Try blending some essential oils (jasmine, coconut, or myrrh are good choices), then anoint your temples just before you go to sleep. Place a drop or two under your nose, as well. The scent can follow you into your dreams and remind you of your conscious awareness.

Once you reach the point where within your dreams you’re aware of the fact that you’re indeed dreaming, you can do all sorts of fun dream magick. If you’d like to try a little “sleepcasting,” write down your magickal intention on a piece of paper, then sleep with this under your pillow. As you drift off to sleep, focus on that intention, and think about what your spell will be doing on the energetic plane—the “as above” component. In your dream, if you’re lucky enough to enter a lucid state, focus again on your intention, gather needed resources or visit the place where your spell is to take effect. If you’re not able to become aware while dreaming, don’t worry—the simple act of writing down your goal, focusing on it before bedtime, and charging it with dreamy energies as you slumber will still go a long way toward helping accomplish your magickal wish.

Daydream Magick

Dream magick doesn’t have to be kept in the dark. Daydreaming, fun and relaxing as it is, can also serve as an excellent way to practice and improve magickal skills. Dreaming in the light of day while fully awake, letting your thoughts drift into imagination and fantasy, refreshes the spirit and focuses the mind. When we’re anxious, we’re not able to cast magick very well, and daydreaming can soothe the nerves during or after a long and stressful day. Daydreaming also provides ideas for magick, inviting us to allow our hearts to reveal to us our truest, most secret desires. The most significant way daydreaming helps with magick, however, is in the dreaming itself. When we cast a spell, we often create a mental image of our magickal goal, and then we charge this image with emotional energy and intention. We do much the same thing when we daydream, letting our emotions mingle with our thoughts to create extraordinary visions of the reality we wish would come to be. The only difference is that we usually don’t daydream intentionally; it’s something that just happens, often when we should be focusing on something else! Daydreaming intentionally is a whole new animal. Try setting aside five to fifteen minutes each day to let your mind drift off into fantasy. Let the daydream become detailed and vivid, and allow it to carry on for a bit. Focus on making the image as clear as possible, and be sure your emotions are intense. When you’ve reached the end of the daydream, project your intention to make that dream a reality. By practicing daydreaming intentionally, you’ll have a great new way to relax, recharge, and practice the mental and emotional discipline and artistry required for excellent magick.

Dream On

Our lives are often hectic, and many of us run around most of the time on little to no sleep. Dreaming is important, and if we don’t make it a priority, our bodies, our sanity, and our magick can suffer. You know many ways to give dream magick (or daydream magick) a try, and you’re bound to come up with many other methods as you start experimenting. Keep it fun, keep it fresh, and keep it adventurous. But also keep it relaxing. With the excitement that successful dream magick can bring, you might just discover a greater need and more opportunity to make dreaming a daily priority!