Many believe they provide a soft ladder for good dreams to glide down and gently enter the dreamer's mind. Cherokee dream catchers have a more elaborate design, and the importance of numerology is represented by the interlocking circles.įeathers : The feather has multiple functions. For the Ojibwe thirteen points represent the phases of the moon, eight for the Spider Woman's legs, seven for their prophesies, six for the eagle, and five for a star. The number of points where the thread touches can also be symbolic. Web : The "web" is traditionally patterned after a spider's web and made of nettle, sinew or other naturally sourced thread. It acts primarily as a frame for the web but can also represent the circle of life and its natural cycles, like the journey of the sun and moon across the sky. Hoop : Often made of natural materials such as willow, the hoop is either circular or teardrop in shape. Because of this, dreamcatchers traditionally must be hung above the bed in a place where morning sunlight can touch them. Bad dreams are caught up in the net and destroyed in the light of day. Good dreams are allowed to pass through the sacred hoop and down the feather to comfort the slumbering soul below. The dream catcher attracts and catches them all. The Ojibwa tribe believes that the night air is filled with dreams, both good and bad. These hoops acted as defensive talismans, became a proxy for Asibikaashi's protection, and preceded what we now call "dream catchers." To help extend her protective reach, the Ojibwe people shaped willow into hoops, tied a symbolic web of nettle-stalk or sinew in its center and added feathers near the web's heart. As they spread over a larger geographical region, it became difficult for her to protect them all.
She is both a mother figure and protector of the Ojibwe people, especially children. The core mythos tells the story of Asibikaashi, the Spider Woman. The details of the story vary slightly, as many oral histories do. The creation of the dream catcher is widely credited to the Ojibwe nation, also known as the Anishinaabe or Chippewa depending on the region.
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