Juleigh Howard-Hobson
Slowly the wheel of time turns, and the seasons change…in the Northern Hemisphere darkness approaches, with longer nights becoming the dominant feature of our lives. It is easy to slip into darker moods now, even the night skies are often blocked by clouds and there is ample lack-of-light for nightmares to find us as we sleep.
But we don’t have to let the nightmares in, even if they know where we are. The arcane magic used by our ancestors is just as effective now. And, thanks to the glory of the internet, this wisdom is readily available for those who seek it.
There is an old belief (and some scientific backup) that states bad smells bring bad dreams. Spraying a pleasant scent (rose water is considered the best, but any nice scent will work provided that it is not chemical based) around the bed creates a good environment to sleep within. Nightmares tend to fade in the face of happy sleep. If you are very worried about your nightmares being stronger than a mere perfumed area can handle, placing a thin circle of sea salt around your bed, or across your bedroom’s openings (door, windows) will further protect you from negative energies carried by nightmares.
A less detectable method (for those who don’t live alone) is to simply place a protective charm under your pillow. This can be as simple as a piece of iron (like a horseshoe), or a certain type of rock. Iron is avoided by all spirits, including those who bring nightmares. Agates are abundant, inexpensive and they work very well for keeping nightmares at bay. Purple gems such as amethysts also repel nightmares. A moonstone will cancel out a nightmare by drawing good dreams in. Using as many of these as you have, in any combination, creates a powerful shield against nightmares.
While it’s common knowledge, these days, that burning sage leaves will cleanse a space of negativities, the energies of nightmares are often unbudged by sage smudging. The leaves of the Althea shrub (Hibiscus syriacus, also known as Rose Mallow or Rose of Sharon), however, do dispel bad dreams when they are burned.
If you can’t find Althea leaves, keeping a cup of dandelion leaf tea overnight by the bed will attract fortunate energies, which will oust night terrors. To further be rid of lingering nightmare energies, in the morning, pour the tea down the toilet and flush away whatever negativity it might have picked up.
And, if you cannot get dandelion leaves, just a glass of water left standing can work fairly well if you flush the water in the morning—the flushing away of what it has gathered overnight is the key.
A protective eye charm will repel bad energies and evil ‘hexes’ that could have come from anywhere anytime and might result in night terrors. Even just a drawing of a blue circle in a white circle will work. You can also use a Hex Sign with a round center for this. Place it facing out of the bedroom or on a wall across from the window, or over the bed. Or, if you prefer, hang it by your front door to protect your whole household.
Finally, if you cannot be rid of nightmares by any of these repelling methods, there might be a far older, deeper facet to your problem: sinister night-time spirits who torment sleepers for any number of reasons. To be rid of one, place a mirror or a blue bottle by your bed for a few days—the spirit inevitably gets trapped within it—and then it is a simple matter of exposing the mirror or the bottle to the rays of the sun, destroying the dark dweller within.
Nightmares interrupt our lives, ruining our sleep and smashing our interior peace. Luckily, there have always been ways to deal with them that are far more effective than most people could dream of.
