"Angels
come to us in many forms.
Be open to recieve them."
 The legend of
the Native American dreamcatcher varies somewhat from tribe to tribe,
but the basic theme or intention was to allow good dreams to slip
through the web and into the sleeper during the night while the bad
dreams were caught in the web and would perish at morning's light.
(Lakota Legend has the opposing belief that the web will catch your
good ideas and the bad ones will go through the hole)
The earliest
dreamcatchers were crafted for children to protect them from nightmares.
Newborns were given charms that were woven in the form of spider
webs to protect their dreams so their innocence would not be harmed
by the tricksters of the night. The dream catcher charm would be hung from the hoop on the cradle.
Dreamcatcher
hoops were originally made out of willow and covered with sage, the
web was made from deer sinew. Modern dreamcatchers are made with wood
or metal wrapped in leather strips, and artificial sinew replaces the now
forbidden use of deer sinew. The decoration of the web along with the
shape, size and colors used is left to the artisan's imagination.
Feathers attached to the dreamcatcher are meant to assist the flight
of good dreams.
The Lakota Legend
Long ago when
the world was young, an old lakota spiritual leader was on a high
mountain and had a vision. In his vision, Iktomi, the great trickster
and teacher of wisdom, appeared in the form of a spider. Iktomi spoke
to him in a sacred language that only the spiritual leaders of the
Lakota could understand.
As he spoke
Iktomi, the spider, took the elders willow hoop which had feathers,
horse hairs, beads and offerings on it and began to spin a web. He
spoke to the elder about the cycles of life....how we begin our lives
as infants and we move on to childhood, and then to adulthood. Finally, we go to old age where we must be taken care of as infants,
completing the cycle.
Iktomi said,
"In each time of life there are many forces and different directions that can help or interfere with the
harmony of nature, and also with the great spirit and all of his
wonderful teachings." Iktomi gave the web to the Lakota elder and
said, "See, the web is a perfect circle but there is a hole in the
center of the cirlce. If you believe in the great spirit, the web
will catch your good dreams and ideas - - and the bad ones will go
through the hole. Use the web to help yourself and your people to
reach your goals and make good use of your people's ideas, dreams and
visions."
The Lakota
elder passed on his vision to his people and now the Lakota's use the
dreamcatcher as the web of their life. It is hung above their beds or
in their home to sift their dreams and visions. The good of their
dreams is captured in the web of life and carried with them...but the
evil in their dreams escapes through the center hole, and are no
longer part of them.
These Dreamcatchers
are transparent gifs and can be used on any color background. I have
taken the liberty of using angels instead of traditional Native American
symbols in the centers. Some of the tubes I used are from
Winter's And Old's
to whom I extend my heartfelt gratitude. Visit their fantastic Native
American page.
Featured Music: 
"Echoes"
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