Dreamwork 101 // What is Dreamwork and How to Get Started in 5 Steps

Dreamwork is the practice of tending to our relationship with our dreams. We’re dreaming every night, but many of us barely remember our dreams, or if we do, don’t spend much time thinking about them or working with them.

(How often have you dismissed a dream as, “oh, it was just a dream?”)

But dreams can have a lot to teach us and offer us when we enter into a deeper relationship with them. The dreamworld is rich with feelings, desires, needs, and possibilities. Our understanding of what the dreamworld evokes and presents can support our physical lives and our connections to ourselves. 

In this blog post, I’ll share a bit about how to start a dreamwork practice of your own.

Dreamwork Lineage

First, I’d like to share my dreamwork lineage. What I know about dreamwork comes from the work of these folks in particular, as well as my own intuition and my ancestors:

• Blanca Villalobos

• Toko-Pa

• Robert Moss

• Tara Burke

• Sanyu Estelle

These are wonderful people to go deeper into dreamwork with if you feel so called.

1. Support Dream Recall + Sleep 

The simplest of ways to begin supporting your dreaming is by supporting sleep and dream recall. It’s difficult to consciously work with our dreams if we’re not sleeping well or can’t remember our dreams when we wake up. Everyone is different, but here are some things you might like to explore to support your sleep:

• Set screen time boundaries for a certain amount of time before bed 

• Drink a tea to support your sleep, like chamomile (always do your own research and check with a professional before ingesting herbs) 

• Create your own sleep ritual that helps you shift into rest mode 

• Meditate and/or do a gentle, restorative yoga practice

• Take a few minutes to journal brain-dump style to help clear your mind. 

To support your dream recall, there are a few things I find helpful:

• Set an intention to dream and to remember your dream(s) before you go to sleep (you can write this down, say it out loud, or just tell it to yourself silently)

• Take a few minutes in bed in the morning before you get out of bed (or look at your phone) to give yourself space to remember your dream.

• Create a dream altar and meditate at it before bed to welcome your dreams to come 

• Pay attention to the dreams you do receive by tending them (more on that below!)

2. Start a Dream Journal 

This is probably the number one tip anyone you ask about dreamwork will give you, and with good reason! A dream journal creates a container for tending your dreams, helps solidify your intention to connect with your dreams, and helps you understand your dreams.

I recommend choosing a dedicated journal for your dreamwork and placing it on your dream altar when you’re not using it if you have one. As soon as you wake up (definitely before you look at any devices), put pen to paper and record your dream. Try recording your dreams in the present tense to honor its aliveness (for example, instead of "I was walking by a river,” try “I’m walking by a river). 

If it feels available to you, you might like to marinate in the dream in bed for a few minutes before actually getting up and reaching for your journal to record.

3. Explore Dream Feelings & Textures

After you record your dream, there are many ways to work with it more deeply and explore the messages it might have for you. 

I like to explore the dream textures: what are the textures, sights, smells, tastes, sounds of the dream? What do those senses mean for you and evoke for you? How do they make you feel? How does the dream, in general, make you feel?

4. Understand Dream Associations

As you work with the dream you’ve recorded, notice what stands out to you. Maybe your red dress feels particularly alive, or the hawk sparks something for you, or you feel curious about a figure in your dream. 

Whatever you feel curious about, do a bit of freewriting about it. List out: what does this thing make you think of? How does it make you feel? 

For example, some associations that come up with hawks for me:

• Hawk feather

• Maggie Smith’s poetry book Good Bones

• Mothers

• Protecting your children 

• Imagination

• Play 

Notice how I’m not so focused on the hawk itself, but I follow the threads of what each thing is associated with! Now I have something interesting to work with and can ask myself questions like, "what’s my relationship with play right now?" 

Some of the associations you make might really surprise you and can offer deeper insight into your dream. 

5. Assign Dream Correspondences 

As you continue to work with your dreams, you start to develop some personal symbols and correspondences. 

Like you saw above in my example with the hawk, I could make a section in my journal where I note that hawk led me to mothers and children and play. When I see a hawk again in my dream, I have that reference and can ask myself if/how it applies to this dream. 

Over time, you can deepen your understanding of your own personal dream symbols and correspondences. I love this practice so much because, to me, it’s not about what a certain symbol means but about what it means to you, how it feels in your body, how it resonates with your ancestry. That’s what feels potent and powerful!

Dreams Aren’t Your Personal Vending Machine 

It feels important to state that working with dreams isn’t just asking a question and receiving an answer. Generally, it’s not a simple or linear way of working. There isn’t one true or hidden meaning that we need to uncover. 

In my eyes, dreams and the dreamworld are alive. So it truly is a practice of engaging in relationship with, of exploring. You might like to ask yourself, "how can I be in equal exchange with my dreams?" How can I honor the dream world and not just extract from it?

Dreams have such potential to expand us out of binary thinking and into visionary possibilities, especially if we acknowledge that power and allow them to take us there!

Going Deeper with Your Dreams 

Another way to explore dream tending and go a bit deeper is by asking for a dream. I share how to do this in the dreamwork ritual I shared for Pisces season, which you can find here.

Feel free to contact us and share: how is your dream practice going? How is your relationship with your dreams evolving? 

Your spell's over, now what? 3 Ways to release or repurpose your ritual items

You waited for the perfect moon phase, gathered your supplies, and sent your magic out into the world. Now, you’re left with the remnants of your magical workings. What can be done with your leftover jars and bowls of notes, rocks, herbs, and candle wax?

Whether your magical workings have come to fruition or not, you have quite a few options when it comes to releasing or reusing your past spells. In this blog post, I’m going to share three different ways to honor and release your sacred spells and objects. 

It is the very act of your spell and ritual work that releases your desires out into the universe. The remnants left behind can serve as helpful reminders, but repurposing or releasing your spell will not break or reverse anything. There are certainly some practices that may require you to keep the components of your spell intact, however, if that’s the case, you’ll undoubtedly know. Trust your inner guidance system. 

As you read through these options, know that you can use one or all of these methods to repurpose or release your spell objects. Some objects may not work for certain methods outlined below, in that case, it’s okay to combine. You can also check out this quick video I created for our Instagram page. 

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A post shared by Cassie Uhl (@cassieuhl)

1. Burning Ceremony

Fire is a transformative tool, so this method goes beyond simply making space for new spells. If your spell has ended it may be time to let it transform in new ways. This method can also be helpful to aid you in detaching from the outcome of your spellwork. Fire is powerful!

A burning ceremony is a great option for spells that include paper, herbs, candle wax, and other burnable objects. Most candle wax is paraffin, which means it’s not ideal for burying in the ground, and reusing it can be time-consuming. If your spell has leftover wax, burning it is one of the easiest and safest ways to release it. 

For this method, you’ll need a large cauldron, fireproof dish, or outdoor fire. Depending on what the contents of your spell were, you’ll likely want to do this outside to prevent a huge plume of smoke from inhabiting your house. As you release your items into the fire, trust that the energy will continue to transform and benefit yourself and others. 

2. Release to the Earth

A gentler option is to release your items back into the Earth. For this method, it’s imperative that you only release items that are natural and biodegradable. For example, most candles are made from paraffin wax and are not suitable for this method. I also do not recommend burying glass jars or bottles. Herbs, plants, biodegradable papers, and crystals are ideal for this method. If your spell was contained in a jar or vessel of some kind, I recommend reusing it, see the next section for tips on this. 

Items that should not be given back to the Earth:

• Salt: salt can harm or even kill plants

• Candle wax: most candles are made with paraffin wax which is not biodegradable

• Anything that is not 100% biodegradable

You can bury your items in a meaningful location or in your backyard, the location itself doesn’t need to be special. If you live near a natural body of water, releasing them into the water is a great option as well. This method can be transformative like the fire but in a gentler way. I find this method is great for inspiring a sense of gratitude and giving thanks to Mother Earth.

3. Cleanse and reuse

For all the objects you want to reuse like meaningful crystals and items that don’t burn or biodegrade, you’ll want to energetically cleanse them. Because spell and ritual work evokes such strong emotions, it’s important to energetically cleanse items before reusing them for another purpose. Unless, of course, the energy you imbued your items with is something you want to keep around. However, if you performed a spell for letting go of a past relationship, and then want to use the same jar or tools for helping you gain a new career, it’ll be best to cleanse your items.

There are a variety of ways to cleanse physical objects. Here are a few simple techniques. 

• Place your items in salt overnight.

• Hold your items in cleansing smoke like rosemary, cedar, lavender, or some other herb in line with your spiritual heritage. 

• For rocks or other items that are waterproof, hold them in running water.

• Hold your items in your hands and call on any guides, spirits, or energies you work with to cleanse your items. 

No need to let your sacred space fill up with spellwork from the past! I hope you enjoyed these tips to keep your spell and ritual practice open and flowing.

Inspired Growth Candle Ritual for Imbolc

The Celtic Sabbat of Imbolc honors the midway point between the Winter Solstice and Spring. The Earth is starting to wake up, and even though it may be quite cold still, you can start to see glimmers of nature waking up. On a personal level, this is a season to allow inspiration to stir within you. Imbolc is a call to allow your inner transformations so you can grow into the highest and best version of yourself. Danu Forest says it best here.

"To call in inspiration is to begin to see our life infused with spirit, to discover a new or renewed vision for greater creativity on all levels. To call in healing is to resolve the things that hold us back or limit our potential. We all have parts of our lives and bodies that need healing, and to give this aspect of ourselves a boost at this time of the year sets us up for a more empowered and happier future." - Danu Forest from The Magical Year

The Goddess Brigid is closely associated with this sabbat. Brigid brings light, inspiration, and healing and aids in childbearing. It’s her whispers which begin to rouse both you and Mother Nature during this time of new beginnings. Brigid connects deeply with the fire element and is often referred to as the “Flame of Ireland.” For these reasons, candle work is especially fitting for Imbolc. Learn more about Brigid here and more about candle magick here.

For this Imbolc ritual, you’ll be calling on the Goddess Brigid to stir inspiration within you. The ideal time to practice this ritual is on the evening of February 1st or anytime on February 2nd. Brigid is associated with the color white, so a white candle will be best for this ritual. As with all ritual work, use what you have. Your intention is the most powerful part of any ritual or spell. If you don’t have one of these items, leave it out, it will still work. 

Inspired Growth Candle Ritual for Imbolc

For this ritual, you’ll need:

• A white candle 

• Rosemary for cleansing (optional)

• Bay leaf for success (optional)

• A sharp tool to inscribe your candle with

• Anointing oil for your candle (whatever you have on hand works, such as almond oil or even olive oil. For an extra layer of energy, try rosemary oil, chamomile oil, or basil oil.)

• Safe space to burn your candle

• Dedicated time to connect with your candle

1. Prepare all of your items and take a moment to center yourself. 

2. Using your carving tool, write “inspire me” on your white candle. As you carve your candle, visualize yourself opening up to receiving insight and wisdom. 

3. Rub your anointing oil over your candle and continue to visualize yourself opening up to receive inspiration from spirit. 

4. Roll your candle in any herbs you’re using, or sprinkle them on top.  

5. Place your candle in a fire-safe dish or holder and light your candle. 

6. When you light your candle, call on the Goddess Brigid to join you, inspire you, and heal you. You might say something like, “Goddess Brigid, I welcome your light into this space. I am open to your inspiration and healing. So it is.”

7. Stay with your candle as it burns. Take 2-5 minutes to sit with your candle and softly gaze at the flame. 

8. As the candle continues to burn, you can continue to meditate and connect with Brigid, you can write down any ideas that come to your mind, or you can simply rest and enjoy the healing light of Brigid. 

9. When the candle is done burning, take a moment to thank Brigid for joining you and thank yourself for taking the time to connect with the season. 

Just like nature grows without force, so will you. Trust that the stirrings of inspiration that you received are exactly what you need to grow into the highest and best version of yourself. Imbolc blessings, dear one!

Learn more about Imbolc and how to connect with this season here.