Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Cultural Differences in Dreams


An extremely important aspect of dream interpretation is to understand the culture and beliefs of the dreamer. This is why many experts do not recommend most dream dictionaries, which tend to be very generic in nature. Recently I was contacted by a North American Indian gentleman, Northern Cree, about his dream:

I had this dream, I was walking along side a cliff and this white buffalo came and died before us. Carnivorous birds came and feasted right away. My fiancee told me to take the skull, and I told her that the birds should clean it first—we’ll pick it up on the way back. At the time I had this dream I was on my day to a Sun Dance, a sacred ceremony, I think the two are related. Also my grandparents that raised me told me that dreams have meanings and that we shouldn’t ignore them. 

I was searching for information on dreams and I came across your blog.

William Hartie


Dear William,

Before we can interpret your dream we need a bit of background on the Canadian Cree culture. While every tribe has it’s own language and associations to specific symbols, most if not all conduct sacred ceremonies, honor their elders, believe in an afterlife, and believe in the value of dreams and visions.

 As I understand it the Sun Dance ceremony is a sacrifice and prayer observance for one’s family and community, it is meant to insure the survival of future generations.  It is a four-day period and includes fasting for those involved in the rite. In most cases ritual piercings are involved in the sacred ceremony as well. Others set up camp with food, wood and medicines and the elders help and advise. However the participants are outside in the summer sun with no shelter.

The white buffalo is a rare and sacred symbol, it has several meanings, for some it represents that hard times are ahead if the dreamer does not change his ways to benefit himself, his or her family, community and Mother Nature. Some tribes have described that the goddess of peace appeared as a white buffalo and that white buffalo in a dream is a sacred call for the red, black, white and yellow man to come together as one.

So all that said, you will be the best interpreter of your dream, but since you asked, I will share my thoughts in the hopes that they will be helpful. In the dream you are walking beside a cliff, you are on the edge of danger. The white buffalo approaches and dies.  Hope for world peace has died at your feet, the planet is not ready, people are not ready to make the changes necessary to become one. On a more personal note, you may not be ready to endure such a sacrifice. Perhaps you have not done all of the preparation that you could do to experience the deepest benefit of this sacred ceremony.

The birds do benefit from the meat of this special animal, the birds will feast and fly away, they can seed the earth and her people to help make them ready for world change. Birds in the language of dreams can represent messengers of thoughts, freedom and perspective. Leaving the skull there so the birds can glean every bit of this philosophy of peace, you will “pick up” your participation in this ceremony at the proper time, more time is necessary on your part.

I hope this gives you some food for thought, thank you for sharing it with my readers.

All my best wishes for your Sweet Dreams,
Cynthia
I invite you to, please, leave your
dream questions and comments below.