Oneiromancy
Encyclopedia
Oneiromancy is a form of divination
based upon dream
s; it is a system of dream interpretation
that uses dreams to predict
the future.
as omen
s or messages from God
;
Deuteronomy 13:1-5 offers instruction about those who claim to have inspired but false dreams.
In Acts 2:17 the apostle Peter quotes Joel 2:28 saying that because of the Spirit now out poured "...your old men will dream dreams."
and Plato
discuss dreams in various works. The only surviving Greco-Roman dreambook, the Oneirocritica
was written by Artemidorus
(2c.). Artemidorus cites a large number of previous authors, all now lost.
Oneirocritic literature is the traditional (ancient and mediaeval) literary format of dream interpretation. The ancient sources of oneirocritic literature are Kemetian (Aegyptian), Akkadian (Babylonian), and Hellenic (Greek). The mediaeval sources of oneirocritic literature are Āstika (Hindu), Persian, Arabic, and European.
, Astrampsychos, Nikephoros, Germanos, and Manuel Palaiologos.
.
is an adaptation of an Arabic book to the tastes of a European readership.
Derived from older literature, modern dream-books
are still in common use in Europe and the United States, being commonly sold along with good-luck charms.
for oneiromancy.
Divination
Divination is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic standardized process or ritual...
based upon dream
Dream
Dreams are successions of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. The content and purpose of dreams are not definitively understood, though they have been a topic of scientific speculation, philosophical intrigue and religious...
s; it is a system of dream interpretation
Dream interpretation
Dream interpretation is the process of assigning meaning to dreams. In many ancient societies, such as those of Egypt and Greece, dreaming was considered a supernatural communication or a means of divine intervention, whose message could be unravelled by people with certain powers...
that uses dreams to predict
Prediction
A prediction or forecast is a statement about the way things will happen in the future, often but not always based on experience or knowledge...
the future.
Ancient Egyptian
A unique exemplar of a book of dream-interpretation survives from pre-Hellenistic Egypt, the so-called "Ramesside Dream-Book", the surviving fragments of which are translated into English by Kasia Szpakowska.Biblical
Dreams occur throughout the BibleBible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
as omen
Omen
An omen is a phenomenon that is believed to foretell the future, often signifying the advent of change...
s or messages from God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
;
- YHWH speaks to Abram while he is in a deep sleep (Genesis 15);
- God speaks to AbimelechAbimelechAbimelech was a common name of the Philistine kings.Abimelech was most prominently the name of a king of Gerar who is mentioned in two of the three wife-sister narratives in Genesis...
the King of Gerar concerning his intentions regarding Sarah, Abraham's wife (Genesis 20); - JacobJacobJacob "heel" or "leg-puller"), also later known as Israel , as described in the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud, the New Testament and the Qur'an was the third patriarch of the Hebrew people with whom God made a covenant, and ancestor of the tribes of Israel, which were named after his descendants.In the...
dreams of a ladder to heavenJacob's Ladder (Bible)Jacob's Ladder is a ladder to heaven, described in the Book of Genesis, that the biblical patriarch Jacob dreams about during his flight from his brother Esau.-Source:...
(Genesis 28); - his son JosephJoseph (Hebrew Bible)Joseph is an important character in the Hebrew bible, where he connects the story of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in Canaan to the subsequent story of the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt....
dreamed of his future success (Genesis 37) and interpreted the dreams of the PharaohPharaohPharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term "pr-aa" which means "great house" and describes the royal palace...
of EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
(Genesis 41); - SolomonSolomonSolomon , according to the Book of Kings and the Book of Chronicles, a King of Israel and according to the Talmud one of the 48 prophets, is identified as the son of David, also called Jedidiah in 2 Samuel 12:25, and is described as the third king of the United Monarchy, and the final king before...
conversed with God in his dreams (1 Kings 3); - DanielDanielDaniel is the protagonist in the Book of Daniel of the Hebrew Bible. In the narrative, when Daniel was a young man, he was taken into Babylonian captivity where he was educated in Chaldean thought. However, he never converted to Neo-Babylonian ways...
interpreted dreams (in the Book of DanielBook of DanielThe Book of Daniel is a book in the Hebrew Bible. The book tells of how Daniel, and his Judean companions, were inducted into Babylon during Jewish exile, and how their positions elevated in the court of Nebuchadnezzar. The court tales span events that occur during the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar,...
2 and 4); - the MagiBiblical MagiThe Magi Greek: μάγοι, magoi), also referred to as the Wise Men, Kings, Astrologers, or Kings from the East, were a group of distinguished foreigners who were said to have visited Jesus after his birth, bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh...
are told in a dream to avoid Herod on their journey home (Matthew 2); - JosephSaint JosephSaint Joseph is a figure in the Gospels, the husband of the Virgin Mary and the earthly father of Jesus Christ ....
, when betrothed to Mary, was told not to fear taking Mary as his wife (Matthew 1); - Joseph, now husband of Mary, was directed to flee with Mary and Jesus to EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
(Matthew 2); - Pilate's wife suffered in a dream because of Jesus (Matthew 27);
- PaulPaul of TarsusPaul the Apostle , also known as Saul of Tarsus, is described in the Christian New Testament as one of the most influential early Christian missionaries, with the writings ascribed to him by the church forming a considerable portion of the New Testament...
was told to go to MacedonMacedonMacedonia or Macedon was an ancient kingdom, centered in the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, bordered by Epirus to the west, Paeonia to the north, the region of Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south....
ia (Acts 16)
Deuteronomy 13:1-5 offers instruction about those who claim to have inspired but false dreams.
In Acts 2:17 the apostle Peter quotes Joel 2:28 saying that because of the Spirit now out poured "...your old men will dream dreams."
Greco-Roman
Dream divination was a common feature of Greek and Roman religion and literature or all genres. AristotleAristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
and Plato
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
discuss dreams in various works. The only surviving Greco-Roman dreambook, the Oneirocritica
Oneirocritica
Oneirocritica is an ancient Greek treatise on dream interpretation written by Artemidorus in the 2nd century AD, and is the first extant Greek work on the subject, in five books...
was written by Artemidorus
Artemidorus
Artemidorus Daldianus or Ephesius was a professional diviner who lived in the 2nd century. He is known from an extant five-volume Greek work the Oneirocritica, .-Life and work:...
(2c.). Artemidorus cites a large number of previous authors, all now lost.
Oneirocritic literature is the traditional (ancient and mediaeval) literary format of dream interpretation. The ancient sources of oneirocritic literature are Kemetian (Aegyptian), Akkadian (Babylonian), and Hellenic (Greek). The mediaeval sources of oneirocritic literature are Āstika (Hindu), Persian, Arabic, and European.
Kemetian
The only pre-Hellenistic oneirocritic MS hitherto discovered is the Raʻmeššide (19th dynasty) dream-book.Hellenic
These include ArtemidorosOneirocritica
Oneirocritica is an ancient Greek treatise on dream interpretation written by Artemidorus in the 2nd century AD, and is the first extant Greek work on the subject, in five books...
, Astrampsychos, Nikephoros, Germanos, and Manuel Palaiologos.
Āstika
The pertinent material is included in the several Purāṇa-s, such as the Liṅga Purāṇa.Arabic
Here, dreams about specific numbers or about reading specific chapters of the Qurʼan are among the chief subjects of prognostication. The most renowned of the Arabic texts of oneiromancy is the Great Book of Interpretation of DreamsGreat Book of Interpretation of Dreams
The typology of categorization of dreams in Arabic literature of dream-interpretation is noted for it close adherence to orthodox theological categories, and assumes an intimate relationship between dreaming and conventional expressions of devotional religious piety...
.
European
AchmetAchmet (oneiromancer)
Achmet, son of Seirim , the author of a work on the interpretation of dreams, the Oneirocriticon of Achmet, is probably the same person as Abu Bekr Mohammed Ben Sirin, whose work on the same subject is still extant in Arabic in the Royal Library at Paris, and who was born AH 33 and died AH 110...
is an adaptation of an Arabic book to the tastes of a European readership.
Derived from older literature, modern dream-books
Dream dictionary
A dream dictionary is a tool made for interpreting images in a dream. Dream dictionaries tend to include specific images which are attached to specific interpretations...
are still in common use in Europe and the United States, being commonly sold along with good-luck charms.
Cultural
The indigenous Chontal of the Mexican state of Oaxaca use Calea zacatechichiCalea zacatechichi
Calea zacatechichi, also known as Dream Herb, Leaf of God, and Bitter Grass, is a plant used by the indigenous Chontal of the Mexican state of Oaxaca for oneiromancy The plant naturally occurs from southern Mexico to northern Costa Rica...
for oneiromancy.
See also
- Veridical dreamVeridical dreamThe veridical dream is the dream which is afterwards fulfilled.* In Book XIX of the Odyssey, Penelopē said that "dreams ... which issue forth from the gate of polished horn bring true issues to pass, when any mortal sees them." * Likewise, Herodotos distinguished /oneiros/ as "the prophetic,...
- Dream dictionaryDream dictionaryA dream dictionary is a tool made for interpreting images in a dream. Dream dictionaries tend to include specific images which are attached to specific interpretations...
- Dream HerbCalea zacatechichiCalea zacatechichi, also known as Dream Herb, Leaf of God, and Bitter Grass, is a plant used by the indigenous Chontal of the Mexican state of Oaxaca for oneiromancy The plant naturally occurs from southern Mexico to northern Costa Rica...
- OneirologyOneirologyOneirology is the scientific study of dreams. Current research seeks correlations between dreaming and current knowledge about the functions of the brain, as well as understanding of how the brain works during dreaming as pertains to memory formation and mental disorders...