shadowfeathers path

Lady ShadowFeathers Path
Dream Catcher Origins

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Origins
In the ancient world of the Ojibwe Nation, when the clans were once located in the same general area of Turtle Island. The Spider Woman that was known as Asibikaashi helped Wanabozhoo bring the sun which was known as giizis back to his people. Even today the spider woman builds her special lodge before dawn, and if you should be awake at dawn look for her lodge so that you too can vitness the miricle of her capturing of the sunrise as the light sparkles on the dew which is gathered in her lodge. The spider woman always took care of her children, and the people of the land, as she continues to do to this day. As the Ojibwe Nation moved onward to the four corners of North Americaas as the prophecy of their people was fulfilled, The spider woman had a hard time making the journey to all the cradle boards, so the mothers, sisters, grandmothers that were called Nokomis started to practice weaving the magical webs for the new babies. They used willow hoops, and sinew or cordage made from plants. It would be made in the shape of a circle so that it would represent how the sun (giixis) travels each day across the sky. The dream catcher would filter out all of the bad dreams which were called bawedjigewin and would allow only the good thoughts, and dreams to enter into the minds of the babies which are known as abinooji. There is a small hole in the center of the dream catcher where the good dreams and thoughts could come through, and with the sunlights first rays the bad dreams would perish.

History

In the Anishnabe history there was a time when their people were being tormented with nightmares. The elders, along with the medicine people worked diligently to solve this problem but not one of them had made any procress against the nightmareish dreams. Then a counsil of the people was called, and it was during this council that one elder had a vision of good dreams being aloud to pass through the dream catcher while the nightmares could not. The then started to work fashioning these dream catchers in a manner that was prescribed in the vision of the elder.When the people started using them, then the nightmares seemed to go away. The dream catcher was hung above the bed in a place where the first mornings rays would hit it. It is the nature of the dream catcher to attract all kinds of dreams to its web. As the nightmare enter the web they do not know the way through the web so they get cought in it and perish at dawns first light. When the good dreams reach the webbibg of the dreamcatcher they know the way through the web, and they will go through the center, and then slide down the feather into the dreamers head. What is beleived is that only the bad dreams that are malicous or unimportant will be cought by the dreamcatcher, however some dreams that appear to be bad might contain very important visions or messages for the dreamer and these type dreams will also found their way down the feather and into the dreamer.