Enchanted Sleep- Part One

Making the Most of Magickal Slumber

Sleep is often considered one of human biology's most mundane tasks/processes. We need sleep for our minds and bodies to heal, process, and rejuvenate themselves so we’re ready for another day, and all the physical and mental tasks that come with being a human. Nobody is exempt from the need to sleep, the average person spends about 26 years of their life asleep which equates to roughly a third of life! As witches, this is a third of our magickal existence spent snoozing away, we are sleeping on an untapped magickal and energetically charged spiritual realm that we could utilise in our practice.
In this week’s bumper free post, I wanted to take a closer look at the magick of sleep, and how it might be useful to us witches.

Why is Sleep Important in Witchcraft?

In witchcraft, and indeed in many other practices, sleep is considered a gateway or a veil to another realm in which we can receive and interpret messages, insights, and guidance from our subconscious, our ancestors, or another unknown source that we might call ‘spirit’, or a deity. When we sleep our mind is in a deep state of relaxation as it processes the day’s events, this state frees the mind from distractions and allows for the perfect conditions for more complex spell work or lucid dreaming. Some witches also use sleep to connect unconsciously to other witches or higher spiritual forces.

We know that sleep is essential for our physical and mental well-being but the act of repairing and regenerating cells is also mirrored in our energetic and spiritual well-being. As a spiritual person, you may find that sleep allows for a period of time for the spirit to process and assimilate certain energies that then lead to important insights upon waking. You may also dabble in astral projection or lucid dreaming, in which you are asleep but are consciously navigating either your dream space or the astral plane.

When you create a sleep ritual that is tailored to you and your needs you will align much more naturally with your circadian rhythm, which then allows you to attune yourself to the natural rhythms of the earth herself, you will feel a greater sense of balance with the natural world and be able to communicate more effectively with its energy. The dozy, relaxed time before we drift off is also a great time in which to visualise or manifest, focusing on these positive affirmations, intentions or goals can heighten the energy it takes to manifest them in the waking world. All in all, sleep (the periods before, during, and after) provides a great opportunity for spiritual practices, for the subconscious to process and heal, and for the release of energetic blockages, it is a great way to connect with other realms and realities and is an integral part of a witch’s well-being.

Crafting a Magickal Sleep Routine

Before we focus on the magickal aspects of our sleep routines, let’s have a look at what a more mundane and relaxing nightly sleep routine might look like for a witch… of course, this will include some magickal tools, but these will only be used to assist in the process of getting to and staying asleep.

Create a cozy and calm sleep environment by making sure your sheets are clean and smell fresh and welcoming, avoid citrus scents that can encourage wakeful energy and instead go for trusty tried and true smells such as lavender and chamomile.

Dim the lights, smart bulbs are a great way to ensure different levels of wakefulness whilst in your bedroom and can be timed to be dimmed gradually as you drift off, or use candles but always plan to blow them out before you drift off.

Make sure the space in your room is tidy, lacking in clutter, and includes calming artwork and ornaments, save all the vivid and colourful art and items for the living room.

I would encourage you to read a calming book before bed but this would be hypocritical of me, I usually spend half an hour reading whatever is on my TBR pile, but if you are feeling particularly wakeful it might be worth saving your more interesting and energetic titles for another day. Reading is a wonderful way to wind down after a busy day, as is journaling which I would very much encourage! Now isn’t this time for decorative journaling, instead, I would have a journal in which you reflected, expressed gratitude, and acknowledged emotions. This is a great way of offloading your brain so it can concentrate on building more interesting and prophetic dreams.

This is an obvious one but worth mentioning, the screens from our devices interfere with our production of melatonin (sleep hormone) and make it very difficult to transition peacefully and naturally into the sleep realm. Try and put the device down about an hour before bedtime and encourage a more peaceful transition into sleep, rather than doom-scrolling for an hour and filling yourself with anxiety.

Bedtime is a wonderful way to trial herbal tea blends, to see which combinations work best for you and which ones and manifest different types of dreams. Mugwort is a wonderful tea to encourage lucid and prophetic dreaming, chamomile and lavender are calming, lemon balm is a great anti-anxiety tea that will dispel any overthinking before bed.

A dream journal is a wonderful addition to your journaling routine. By selecting a dedicated journal or notebook in which to keep track, explore patterns and interpret messages, you build a valuable tool that you can use in your craft. The best way to keep a dream journal is to have it easily accessible to you, it needs to be within reach of your bedside, along with a pen, to make sure that you can grab it and scribble in it when you are caught in wakeful moments. How many times have you woken up from a dream and thought ‘I should write this down’, before drifting back off to sleep and forgetting it altogether? It’s so frustrating, so make sure you grab it in a timely fashion and get that dream recorded. It is also handy to record the date and time, this way you can track patterns and you’ll be surprised how revealing it can be, the time of month, year, and season has a big impact on what we dream. If you can, be descriptive, use language that conveys the atmosphere and emotions of the dream, the sights, sounds, smells, and even tastes will be useful to ponder. The more detailed the better and easier it will be to interpret them.

With description in mind, it can also be fun to illustrate your dream. This can be done in scenes, objects, faces or just allowing your pencil to draw intuitively from memory. A visual representation can sometimes capture small nuances that words may miss.

Make sure to note your emotions when writing in your journal, how did the dream make you feel during and after? This can be a great way to realise how you feel about a situation or a person. Also, make sure you note down when you have used a sleep aid, what tea you have consumed, or if there was a change in your routine or a big life event, these factors are important when it comes to interpreting messages.

Overall, remaining open-minded is the best position to be in when it comes to creating a dream journal… no dream is too small or insignificant enough not to have insight and significance.

Common Dreams and Their Meanings

Flying
When you dream about flying you are expressing your desire for freedom, feeling unburdened, or feeling a sense of accomplishment. The act of flying is usually regarded to symbolise having no boundaries and being free to fly wherever you like, uncaged and untethered. Dreams about flying usually acknowledge your need to feel this way or warn you that now is the time to escape from a challenging situation or a burden that is tying you down.

Falling
A very common dream that often feels incredibly real. Falling usually suggests a lack of control or a fear of failing. When we fall in real life it is usually because of an oversight, us not paying attention to a drop or a trip hazard, or it is because someone else’s actions have caused us to fall. When this kind of dream pops up it is usually best to investigate if ourselves or somebody else are causing these feelings of fear. What/who do we need to let go of? Identify the imbalance before it causes a fall.

Chasing
Dreams about being chased or pursued usually point to feelings of avoidance, or not wanting to confront a situation, person, or problem. These dreams usually crop up during times of unsolved emotions or stress, quite common in people who feel burnt out and overworked. If you have these kinds of dreams it might be worth sitting back and wondering if facing your problems might make your situation better and stop the feelings of being chased.

Teeth
This dream is often associated with a couple of issues. The first is feelings of powerlessness, the second is based on self-image. In your dream your teeth can often feel wobbly, causing feelings of distress as you stand over your bathroom sink, running your tongue over a crumbling tooth, you feel powerless as the inevitable happens and your tooth begins to fall out. Or you may dream that your teeth are already gone, you avoid smiling and feel incredibly exposed. You may be feeling exposed in life, and wish that you weren’t feeling so ‘seen’ by others, or you may have deep-rooted feelings surrounding how you look. It might be worth addressing any confidence issues you might have in order to stop these unpleasant dreams.

Nakedness
This is a great indicator that you are feeling exposed and vulnerable. Usually, these dreams involve being exposed in a public area or whilst delivering an important speech or attending a meeting or gathering. In real life, you might be feeling shame or like you are being judged. Check in with yourself and see if you are craving validation or acceptance from someone or a group of people in your life.

Lost
I’m sure we’ve all experienced this discombobulating dream, when you’re in a shopping mall or in a house and you’re walking around trying to find the exit, only to find you’re going in circles or the place keeps changing. This indicates a sense of feeling like you lack direction or focus, you may be in a situation that requires a firm choice that you are finding difficult to commit to. This confusion is manifesting itself to you in your sleep to warn you of the perils of not being decisive and confident in your choices.

Plane Crashes
I’ve included this one as a bit of a wild card as it is a dream that I have continuously, sometimes a couple of times a month. It’s not one that crops up often for others but just in case you also experience this kind of dream I thought I would share with you how I interpret it.

This is a manifestation of a great fear of losing control or feeling powerless. There are two scenarios that could crop up when you experience a plane dream… if you are on board the plane and strapped into your seat this symbolises anxiety about a major change in your life that is completely out of your control. You might have people around you who are making decisions for you that you feel don’t align with your future, if so, this dream is asking you to address that.

The second scenario is the one I dream of often, where you witness a plane crashing… for me, it usually starts with hearing the failing engines before the plane flies overhead and crashes in the distance. I interpret this as a warning, a premonition that I must stay in control of my own choices and my future if I want to avoid being on the plane that is crashing. I cannot let others pilot my decisions, if I make a mistake I will be the pilot of it and either guide it safely to land or crash with it. The outcome of my choices will always be my own responsibility if I keep those choices within my power.

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In Part Two I will be offering a sleep ritual in which you can put all of these things into practice, and also a spell-bag recipe to encourage magickal dreaming.
For now, if you feel comfortable, please either comment or message me with your most common dream, let’s see if we can break it down to the messages that are being communicated to you…

Until next time,

Laura