a course in dream magic

Make your bed on a Delphic tripod and you will lead a nobler life. Everyone, woman
or man, can do it, because sleep is the most readily available oracle of all.
(Synesius, De Insomniis 144B)

The following chapters are the results of my personal explorations into dream magic
over the last decades. Many techniques described can also be found in the well-
established literature on dreams and lucid dreaming. Surprisingly the most
illuminating work I found so far is still the small German booklet Trume Erinnern by
Christoph Gassmann. I am deeply thankful to the author for his wonderful work.
However, what I couldnt find in books when I picked up my own experiments with the
subconscious side of our lives was a concise instruction that brought together all
necessary steps in a single place. That is why I created the following instructions - for
my own and personal use first and foremost.
Since then I spoke to many people about their experiences in dreams; many of them
found the advise brought together on these pages helpful (originally this used to be a
PDF document in German language). Yet, it took me another half decade to
understand that the conscious engagement with our dreams actually is the best
preparation for thorough ritual work and spirit contact. The skills of actively engaging
with our subconscious, being non-judgmental in face of intense emotions, remain
objective to our own experiences and - ultimately - find a place for every living
creature in our worlds, may they be destructive or constructive, appalling or dulcet,
have proven invaluable for my magical works.
It took some time to translate, revise and update the original content, yet it is now all
available online, a new Circle coming to live. I also expanded it by a Third Part. This
additional section will share more advanced techniques to engage constructively with
dominant or aggressive dream beings.
May this work be brought to live by experience.
LVX,
Frater Acher
a course in dream magic - part 1
1) increasing dream consciousness
Remember yourself always and everywhere.
(George Gurdijeff)

Dream consciousness is not a single solid state but a fluid continuum of a million
slightly different states. On one end of this continuum we find complete
unconsciousness of our dreams - while we experience them as well as once we drift
back to day consciousness. At the other end we find what is often called lucid
dreaming combined with coherent dream recollection when we come back to day
consciousness in the morning.
In between those two rather extreme states we can find all sorts of passages,
thresholds and transitions. We find moments of clarity following immediate darkness
of consciousness, we find recollection of dream images more vivid than many day
experiences yet completely stripped bare of any context by the silent censor that
guards trespassing between conscious and subconscious. We also find nights of
lucid dream experience followed by months or even years of unsuccessful attempts
to achieve the same state again.
Before we start I feel its helpful to set expectations: Our normal orientation towards
action, results and competition is as useful for dream workings as throwing chalk
against a wall to make our own shadow disappear. It simply wont work.
The following article is written to support anyone who wants to practice magic in their
dreams. The few essential preconditions to do so are the following:
to be able to remember your dreams,
to be able to understand the basics of dream language,
to successfully conduct dream incubations and
to be patient - i.e. not to force but to allow things to emerge in their own time.

Before you embark on this journey - or continue the one that you started already -
lets remember that nature does everything for a reason. If we have never
remembered our dreams thus far we need to consider the option that this might be a
good thing? If the censor between conscious and subconscious locks something into
oblivion it normally does this for a reason.
In order to become able to remember dreams and develop a clearer form of dream
consciousness we need to take a holistic approach. We first need to understand what
keeps us from remembering our dreams today: Which of our actions during daytime
foster a dull and dark dream consciousness, which of our daily habits require our
subconscious to work undisturbed from our waking mind at night?
Developing a new skill is as much about unlearning an existing one as it is about
acquiring a new one. In cases when we struggle to develop a new skill it is often
because it is a complementary skill to a behavior that we are currently overusing. I.e.
if we struggle to remember our dreams it might be because during daytimes we are
feeding habits that are disadvantageous to it.
To give you a better idea of such potentially harmful habits during daytime, here is a
short and certainly incomplete list:
In order to become successful at dream magic it is not uncommon to spend more
time on daytime habits than on nighttime exercises in the beginning. The outcome
once we are able to consciously work magic in our dreams is certainly worth the
effort. Moreover, the therapeutic effect of building bridges between our nighttime and
daytime experiences is incredibly rewarding and charged with healing and power in
its own right.

1.1 basics for remembering dreams

While we are at sleep phases of Deep Sleep (or slow-wave sleep) and REM sleep
(rapid eye movement) alternate. During phases of REM sleep our muscles are
relaxed and cannot be used to move; exempt are the muscles supporting our heart,
lungs and eyes only.
Dream during REM phases which last between 10 and 30 minutes are easier to
remember as they occur closer to our conscious. Due to its relative proximity to
consciousness this type of dreaming is also called paradox sleep.
The moments that favor dream recollection are the moments of awakening in the
morning as well as during nighttime which often happens subsequently to a
completed REM phase. Both phases - awakening in the morning and at night -
should be used to recapitulate the dream mentally and to take brief notes. An
important pre-condition for successful recollection of past dreams is not to move
ones body during awakening. Remaining relaxed yet motionless in the position of
awakening highly supports recollection and often allows to catch dreams in the net
of our awakening mind before they re-emerge into our subconscious.
It is desirable yet not necessary to remember a whole sequence of one or multiple
dreams during the phase of awakening. Remaining calm and relaxed in your bodily
position will allow your mind to drift back to where it came from without disruption.
Often snatchings of dreams which remained close to our consciousness will drift
back into memory first. If we continue to stay calm and without intention, following
their lead, we can often trace back more pieces and ultimately rediscover whole
dream sequences from our subconscious. The trick is to find the right balance
between silent attentiveness and focussed concentration to follow the lead of any
snatching that re-emerges from the dark.
In other words: on awakening we need to ward off the old habit of projecting our
thoughts into the instant future (e.g. the way to the toilette or the jobs of the day).
Instead we need to allow them to return to the immediate past and let them rest there
patiently waiting for the impressions of our dreams to re-emerge.

1.2 dream incubation

To break through this deep habit of mental future orientation we suggest ourselves
the following while falling asleep at night: I will be remembering my dreams
tomorrow morning. (Note: From personal experience I found it particularly effective
to do this type of dream incubation in the following way: While lying in bed with all
lights switched off in my sleeping position I allow my mind to drift away. Before my
mind completely sinks into dream-sphere, however, I pull it back for a short moment,
open my eyes as wide as possible in the dark and saturate my entire body with the
sentence of my dream incubation: I will be remembering my dreams tomorrow
morning.) Then I close my eyes again and while still feeling the echo of the words in
my body I allow my mind to drown in sleep.)
In addition to this mental dream incubation we can also image ourselves as we
awaken in the morning, see ourselves as we recapitulate our dreams mentally while
still in bed and take notes before we get up.
Working with dreams basically requires a certain lead time. Your raised awareness
towards dreams will take some time until it sinks into your subconsciousness and
starts to take effect on it. Once initial dullness is overcome many dreams will stay in
your conscious almost effortless. Only once your awareness towards your dreams
starts to decrease again - as they might be taken for granted or because your dream
exercises have become a pure habit without focus and intent - recollection of dreams
might decrease rapidly. In order to raise quantity and quality of dream memory at this
point again you need to shift back into constant awareness on your dreaming or
waking consciousness until memory starts to return.
Ground rules for successful dream incubation:
Autosuggestion of dream memory is done for a few minutes (or seconds)
only during the final moments before we are falling asleep. In addition it can be
done subsequent to each reality test (see below).
Concentration on the precise topic of dream incubation is required. Too much
concentration, however, will result in strain and prevent the necessary relaxed
muscle tone and ease of mind.
The wording of the autosuggestion needs to be simple, positive and precise. If
you are familiar with Austin Osman Spares sigil-magic you can apply the same
approach for creating the sigils initial statements of intent to dream incubation.
The autosuggestion should be connected to a pleasant feeling of success
and gratification. The more positive and gratified you feel during activating the
dream incubation the more successful your work will be.
The autosuggestion should be connected to a visual image. While activating
the dream incubation imagine visually how the goal of your operation is
achieved (e.g. remembering dreams in the morning, achieving health while
sleeping, etc.)
Patience is essential. Just like with all elements of dream-works an initial
inertia has to be overcome with patience. The system of your mind-body-
subconscious needs time to run-up and your subconscious will need at least a
couple of nights to take up the message of the dream incubation. Repeating
the same dream incubation operation over several nights can be crucial for
success - especially when you are only starting to work with this method.
In case your dream incubation contains a specific question attention has to be
paid to the potentially symbolic answers of your dreams. Evaluate the
experience of your dreams carefully during these nights. If you do not
recognize an immediate connection between your question and the answer of
your dream events Free Association (see Second Part) might be of further
help.
1.3 reality tests
It is the greatest mistake to think that man is always one and the same. A
man is never the same for long. He is continually changing. He seldom
remains the same even for half an hour.
(George Gurdijeff)

The simple goal of reality tests is to raise our level of consciousness by deliberately
challenging our common everyday life perceptions of reality. If performed over a
continuous period our subconsciousness will adopt this new formed habit in our
dreams - and raise the level of dreamtime consciousness.
Therefore the goal of any reality test has to be to unsettle our consciousness for a
short period of time. The way we do this is to question perception of ourselves and of
the reality around us in multiple situations - as nothing should be taken for granted for
the waking mind.
One single form of reality test might not be sufficient to break the existing habits of
unconsciousness - but multiple forms will work hand in hand to change and break
apart what has probably been a well functioning part of our mind-machine for many
years. Here is how we do it:
Reading Test: Read something in your environment, e.g. the digital display of
a clock, an advertisement or your mobile screen. Look away and imagine
something that will replace whatever you saw before. Then look back. Did the
text or image change? If not, its likely you are awake and not dreaming.
Sensation Test: Pause for a moment and become fully aware of whats here
and now. Are there any unexpected sensations? Any sort of dream sensation,
an exciting yet alarming feeling in your chest? Are you fully present, can you
remember who you are, who are your family and friends? Do you know where
you are on your way to and where you came from? Do you reckon any breaks
or gaps in time elapse?
Person Test: Is the person in front of you actually real or is it a character made
up of fragments of other people you know? Is this person actually capable of
living in the way you perceive it, does its body and stature make logical sense?
In essence - is it a real person or could it be made up your own imagination?
Color Test: In dreams we experience colors that do not exist in daytime reality.
Consciously observe your environment. Are all colors realistic? Do you
perceive any self-luminous bodies or shapes? Are any colors changing? Are
the shadows of objects aligned to the angle of the light source?
Perspective Test: Are objects further away from you smaller than the ones
closer to you? Are sounds coming from far away in the right relation to sounds
closer to you? Is the perspective distorted in a strange way? Pay attention to
any possible aberration.
 Spinning Test: A good test if you are on your own. Spin around your own axis
once with eyes open. In dreams it often occurs that the environment either
remains stable while you turn around or keeps on spinning once you finished
the move. Once you achieved a state of lucid dreaming youll realize the full
benefits of this test.
Other Tests: The common cliche of scratching or pinching yourself doesnt
seem to work well as a reality test. Our dream bodies are perfectly able to
sense pain, sexual arousal as well as all other sensual impression. We can
only challenge and test our perception, not our bodies. However, we do have
plenty of additional skills, abilities and choices in dream-reality than we tend to
have in our daytime reality. Why not trying to fly over the market square today
instead of walking? Why not trying to pierce slowly and consciously through a
wall with your fingers? In dream-reality this should be simple.

1.4 summary
In order to get started with Dream Magic here is a helpful overview on the basic facts
to observe. The goal of this first phase is to 1) achieve reliable dream memory on a
daily basis, 2) to gather first experiences with the technique of dream incubations and
3) to understand what types of images, characters and stories our dream
consciousness uses to answer our incubations.

during daytime
Read about dream and dream interpretation
Conduct at least ten reality tests a day
Over the course of a day affirm repeatedly your conscious intent to remember
your dreams
Completely stop using the words sleep and sleeping, Instead replace them
with dream and dreaming.
Create space for the topic of dreaming in your daily live. Express your dream
experiences creatively e.g. in painting pictures, writing short stories, blogging
about your progress, etc. There are no limits to creative expression.

while going to bed:

Together with a pen place your dream diary next to your bed
Lie down on your back, arms and legs stretched out and not touching each
other or your body. Relax your body and remind yourself that you wont spend
the hours to come unconscious, but in an altered state of conscious.
Conduct a dream incubation to remember your dreams
Then let go of all thoughts and allow yourself to sink into sleep as you normally
would
on awakening:
Remain in the position in which you happened to wake up
Allow your conscious to return to the last dream fragment in reach. In a
concentrated yet relaxed state follow this dream fragment backwards and
piece together as much memory of your nights dreams as possible.
Write down all memories - irrespective if it is an isolated fragment or a full story
- in your dream diary before getting up.

End of First Part :: Continue with the Second Part

a course in dream magic - part 2

2. dream objectification
Dont look at yourself, look at the world around you.
(Martin Buber)

With the newly gained ability to remember and transcribe our dreams we have made
a huge leap forward. However, the pure transcription of our dreams only presents the
surface of our dream reality. In this chapter we will delve deeper into the language,
story scripts and images of our dreams. The goal is to decipher the basic grammar of
our personal dream language and to start engaging in more interactive dialogues
between our dream and daytime consciousness.
The first step in understanding the grammar of our dreams is to enhance our ability to
observe without judgement. Over-interpretation of our dream experiences certainly is
the most common trap at this stage. Rather than interpreting, doing a thorough and
non-biased inventory of the dream is the secret to success. This is also why this
chapter is called dream objectification and not interpretation.
The first step in dream objectification is to understand the fact that the first person
perspective through which we experience our dreams is not the same as our
personality or daytime conscious. Your dream-ego is different from your daytime ego;
they represent two aspects of consciousness of your individuality.
Here is how we can delve below the surface of our dreams in four simple steps:
dream script
Summarize the main plot of the dream in a few short sentences. In doing so identify
the basic script that underlies the dream experience. However, youll need to change
to an objective perspective on capturing your dream: instead of I or myself when
talking about the dream-ego use the third person singular (he/she). I.e. instead of I
am taking flight from the burglar. you will note: The dream-ego or s/he takes flight of
the burglar.

dream acts
Ascertain if the dream follows the sequence of dream acts as suggested by C.G.
Jung. You will find that this is the case for most coherent dream stories:
First Act: description of starting point. Which characters are part of the plot,
where and when does it occur?
Second Act: presentation of central conflict. Conflicts and tensions become
apparent.
Third Act: accentuation. The climax of the script is reached and leads to a
positive or negative turn of events.
Fourth Act: description of end point.

dream heading
Chose a fitting heading for your dream. If your dream was a short story in a book,
which title would it bear? Feel free to get inspired by todays newspaper headings.
However, rather than being overly imaginative or romantic the heading should give a
first impression of the dreams central plot or conflict.

dream conflict
As a last step take time to answer the following questions:
Which main symbols are present in the dream (characters, natural or artificial
objects, animals, etc.)?
Which emotions do these symbols trigger in you?
Which forces are working against or in each others favor in the dream? Where
is conflict, where is harmony, where is paradox?
Does the dream present any solutions? If yes, which ones? If not, what are
the obstacles?
What is the dream-ego doing, what is it not doing? What are other dream
characters doing, what are they not doing? (In considering what isnt done we
may find unnoticed opportunities or potential, equally the actual choices and
deeds of the dream characters are accentuated.)
3. dream-self observation
Dream-Self observation is an extension to dream objectification and was first
introduced by Strephon Kaplan. The goals of this method are twofold: 1) to gain more
insights on the motivation and grounds based on which the Dream-Self is acting and
2) to increase consciousness about the difference between our daytime and Dream-
Self.
Just like we have spent years of our daytime life to discover our own personalities,
our likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses this method allows us to discover
our Dream-Selves and compare these to our daytime personalities.
Generally we have to assume that our Dream-Self acts more spontaneously and
emotionally driven than our daytime Self. At the same time it is also less considerate
and farsighted as it is less conscious. In its deeds our Dream-Self will act out all the
attitudes, desires and needs which we forbid ourselves during daytime and which
sink into our subconscious if suppressed over long periods. Often this can explain
why our experiences during daytime and in dreams seem to be mirror-images. At the
same time the actions of our Dream-Self can be understood as rehearsals: we are
given the chance to experiment and rehearse attitudes and actions that we arent
ready to practice during daytime. This opens up new possibilities for our daytime Self.
In order to better understand our Dream-Selves the following questions present
helpful starting points:
What is our Dream-Self doing and what is it not doing? Is it involved or
detached from the actions of the dream?
Which dream situation triggers the actions of our Dream-Self?
How is our Dream-Self characterized by its emotions, its desires, believes and
prejudices? What does this tell us about our Dream-Self personalities?
How is our Dream-Self behaving in the situation - proactively or reactively,
passive or active?
Which role is our Dream-Self taking in the plot of the dream? With what or
whom does our Dream-Self identify?
Do we react in similar ways during daytime? If yes, on which occasions; if not
how do our daytime deeds differ?
4. dream symbols

4.1 Context
The intent of the first chapter was to gain access to the material of our dreams and to
realize and understand it from different perspectives. The previous chapters provided
techniques to reduce the common over-identification between our daytime Selves
and Dream-Selves, between dreamer and dream - and thus introduce the required
distance for a rather objective analysis and understanding of our dreams. The
following chapter will introduce us to the actual material of our dreams - especially to
the symbols we encounter in dreams.
The word symbol is based on the greek verb symballein which means throwing
together or assembling. Originally it was used in sayings that referred to compiling,
concealing or veiling. The sign that becomes a symbol encrypts, it masks the
meaning of an act or expression. The uninitiated spectator isnt able to understand
the encrypted message any longer.
Understanding the symbols in our dreams is the essential element of dream
interpretation: The meaning of most of our dreams is concealed to our daytime
conscious, to our intellectual mind and understanding. As long as our conscious
doesnt thrive to penetrate the surface of our dreams our dreamworld is a world that
is completely dependent on our emotional (unconscious) experiences. This is
because the symbols of our dreams are well accessible to our emotional lives, yet
they are arcane to our intellectual minds.
The goal of this chapter is to support your conscious in gaining access to the
concealed meaning of your dream symbols. To illustrate this process lets take a look
at the following model. It depicts the way of perceiving reality that most people would
call common or normal and suppresses our dream reality, i.e. experiences of our
Dream-Selves:
Once we have opened the gates of our dream reality to our conscious and started to
connect daytime experiences and experiences of our Dream-Selves the model will
change. What used to be a unidimensional and reactive model explaining our Egos
reactions to the impressions of the world becomes multidimensional and interactive.
We start to realize the interconnectedness of ourselves and the world around us, of
our experiences during daytime and in dreams:
4.2 Free Association
In order to unveil the individual meaning of our dream symbols we can turn to the
most classical technique of dream interpretation and Psychoanalysis, Free
Association (FA). The power of this method that was derived from early approaches
to hypnosis lies in the fact that rather than confining us in a pre-set framework or
codex of interpretations it sets us free to discover and learn the unique language of
our dream symbols. It is the dreamer that speaks, not the analyst.
Once we have used it for the first time successfully applying FA becomes incredibly
easy. We can simply note down one or more dream symbols we encountered during
our dreams on a piece of paper. Then - without trying to control - we write down all
catchwords and prompts that spring to our mind spontaneously. The only important
thing during this process is maintaining a completely open state of mind and not to
start filtering words that come up as associations. Each idea, each term is of equal
value until we feel we have noted down all important associations this symbol evokes
in our minds. What has happened at this point is that the symbol has opened up, it
has expanded and revealed its individual meaning to us. This meaning doesnt need
to be stable but can change from dream to dream. Often it involves puns and play of
words that make us blush or smile and allow to further uncover the meaning of our
dream.
In addition to the results of our FA we can also draw on resources shared in classic
books on dream interpretation. (For all German speakers I can recommend Didymos
Traumlexikon which is available for free online.) The content of these books,
however, should never weigh more than our own findings. In case we encounter
unrelated or even contradictory explanations of dream symbols we should always
follow our own guidance first - and not allow for the words of a book to speak louder
than the words of our unconscious. Probably the most central pillar of successful
dream interpretation is that the interpretation has to be evident and illuminative for
the dreamer first and foremost. In cases of contradictions between personal and
traditional dream symbol interpretations the authentic and personal interpretation
always has to be favored.
Once we discovered the meaning of our dream symbols we should revisit the dream
plot identified at an earlier stage. How do these new insights change, enrich or
accentuate the experiences of our dreams? The following guiding questions can be
helpful to re-integrate the meaning of our dream symbols into the broader dream plot:
Lets replace the symbols in our dreams with their actual meaning. Where do
these meanings oppose each other, where do they harmonize?
How does the headline of your dream change if you replace the dream
symbols with their meaning?
 Which secret motives of action of your Dream-Self become apparent once the
symbolic meaning is laid open?
Which differences do you see in how you deal with the meaning of your
symbols during daytime and in dreams? Which commonalities are apparent?
Which role do the meaning of your dream symbols play in your everyday life?
Are they easy to discover or rare and only seldom to be encountered?

a course dream - part 3

5. dialogue with dream beings

5.1 Basic Technique
The dialogue with dream beings is a more advanced form of unveiling the meaning of
dream symbols. To do this it uses an active and open dialogue between our
conscious and a being we encountered in our dreams. Where dream symbols
remained passive previously a dream being takes an active stance in helping us to
understand its nature and meaning in context of our dreams.
Generally it makes a lot of sense starting to practice FA before proceeding to this
technique. FA helps us in gaining a more conscious access to our associations and
unconscious usage of symbols. It also presents an important step in becoming more
objective and less biased about emotionally charged encounters and experiences in
our dreams. These are essential skills before starting to engage with dream beings in
active dialogues. As only then are we prepared to acknowledge every being in our
dreams - whether pleasant and sympathetic or aggressive and daunting - as a living
creature in its own right.
Here are the four steps to conduct successful dialogues with dream beings:
1. Deep Relaxiation
Sit or lay down comfortably. Ensure you are taking a position that will be comfortable
over a longer time and you dont need to change position later in the process. The
more relaxed your physical body, your muscle tone and senses will be the better the
quality of your dream conversation. Personally, I strongly recommend to learn and
practice a professional relaxation technique - such as Pranayama, Autogenic Training
or Deep Muscle Relaxation - before advancing to this step of dream work. Once your
mind and body are fully relaxed return to the specific dream being you want to talk to.
2. Initiating Dialogue
Think of the dream being and allow it to fill with life again. Once you can sense the
same emotions you felt when encountering this being during your dream you have
sufficiently revived the dream being. Now you can start a dialogue with the creature.
Great questions to kick off the conversation are: Who are you?, What do you
want? or Why did you do that?. Then try to understand the response of the dream
being. Normally we realize its reply intuitively. This happens when we wait for an
answer and suddenly find a thought or statement in our mind that appeared out of
nowhere. Such a reply can consist of a single word or an elaborate explanation. It
can be mundane, meaningless or surprising. Whatever it is, it is important to trust the
answer of the dream being. In case the reply is contradictory to your own thoughts or
believes it is a sign that you are certainly on the right path. The conscious of our
dream beings springs from deep and often autonomous wells in our subconscious.
3. Continuing Dialogue
In case the dream beings reply was obscure or unsatisfactory you can now continue
to engage in a conversation with it. Our most important skill in dialogues likes this is
to react openly and spontaneously to unforeseen and surprising turns in the
conversation. Dream beings will often be extremely unpretentious and straight
forward about their intent, desires or motives. This requires us to be equally prepared
to spontaneously react to such open and sometimes crass statements.
4. Existing Dialogue
When you feel you received the desired information from the dream being you can
say goodbye and slowly return to your daytime conscious. Even if at this point the
entire content of your conversation is still present in your mind, this is the time to take
specific notes about everything you have said and heard. The ability of our minds to
allow thoughts and insights that emerged from our subconscious to slip back to
where they came from is just amazing. Thoughts that appear to be crystal clear and
of life-changing force can disappear over a visit to the bathroom. We need to support
our conscious in getting ready to digest and integrate these new found and often
surprising informations. Capturing every perl of insight and seemingly meaningless
detail in writing and revisiting our notes at a later point is just what it takes to do so.
Note: It is completely up to you if you want to follow this traditional instruction to
dialogues with dream beings. You can also think of and experiment with many
alternatives, such as returning to your dream and conversing with your own Dream-
Self rather than another dream being. Similarly you should feel free to talk to all sort
of dream beings - may they be humans, animals, plants, crystals, elements, angels
or demons, inanimate objects or spheres of light and darkness. Everything in our
dream landscapes can gain consciousness if we allow it to.
Once you are more experienced in this technique you will be able to conduct it sitting
at your desk, a blank paper in front of you and a pen in your hand. Write down your
questions on the left side and note the dream beings replies on the right. Begin with
the first question on the left and listen to the answer of the dream being, allow it to
come back to life and fill your mind with its voice. Dont interfere or push for an
answer. At this point your experience with this technique will allow you to commune
with dream beings without going through a full muscle relaxation exercise before. If
you feel the voice of the dream being is muffled or less clear, however, feel free to
return to the approach outlined above.
Try to be aware of how this technique changes your experiences during your actual
dreams over time? It is quite common that once such dialogues with dream beings
have become a habit and recurring practice they are adopted by our subconscious
and applied while we are dreaming... We often find ourselves engaging more directly
with dream creatures, widening our spectrum of possible actions and encounters and
reducing our previous limitations in emotionally charged situations. Even though
these techniques are concerned with what happens during our dream time, they are
still powerful techniques of personal freedom.
Finally, lets clarify a few laws of dream nature that differ from our daytime reality:
A dreamer cannot die. Whenever our Dream-Self is about to die we are
approaching a state of transition or transformation; it shouldnt stop the plot or
narration of our dream experience.
Dream objects only exists for as long as we pay attention to them. This is not
only true for dream beings and objects but also for emotions, physical feelings
or pain.
Everything imagined in a dream will materialize or take place instantly. Fear
creates attackers, affection creates friendly encounters, etc. There is no border
between phantasy and experience in dreams.
Events are connected by associations rather than logic. Associations can be
created by similarities, differences, emotions and/or memories.
... observe your dreams. What other laws of dream nature can you discover?

5.2 dominant dream beings

All of us have encountered dominant dream beings in their dreams. These types of
beings besiege our Dream-Selves, they harm us or force decisions or actions upon
us which we hadnt chosen voluntarily. The crucial attribute of all dominant dream
beings is that they take an aggressive stance at limiting our freedom of action and
development. Their presence and influence constrain our Dream-Selves ability to
act, develop, unfold and discover new possibilities. Its through their influence that our
dreamworld becomes less rich and diverse... and often they represent inner forces
that have a similar effect on our waking selves.
Roughly we can categorize dominant dream beings into two different types: on the
one hand we will find archaic dream beings. These tend to be mighty, wild and
unconstrained beings, e.g. forces of nature, monsters or murderers. On the other
hand we find authoritarian dream beings such as parents, teachers, priests or
bosses. The former category express inner needs, feelings, desires und drives which
the dreamer suppresses during daytime. The former category tends to represent
ethical, moral or social attitudes which often correspond to the current zeitgeist. The
former will be overwhelming in their appearance; the later seem to be always right in
their judgments.

5.3 authoritarian dream beings

Irrespective if during our actual dream or in a subsequent dialogue with an
authoritarian dream being - the basic ground rule remains the same: our first and
foremost goal is to engage the being into a conversation. We will not let up until the
dialogues has ended in mutual agreement, an acceptable compromise or - in some
cases - in physical victory over the dominant dream being. Sometimes this can lead
to rather tedious conversations as our adversary will most definitely try to play tricks
on us and will might proof to be incredibly stubborn. Forcing our Dream-Selves to
give up self-assertion and to bow to the judgment or will of the authoritarian dream
being will be their central goal.
Often the crucial turning point in these conversation takes place when we can
convince the dominant dream being of the simple fact that they are not flawed. This
means that first and foremost we need to be ready to accept the dream being for
what it is - and find a place and mean for it in our dreamworld. Once we achieve this
and we prove to the dream being that we dont intend to change or subjugate it they
will be ready to give up their radical point of views. It weakens their authority
immensely if they realize that reality is more diverse than they thought - and doesnt
allow a black-or-white choice only.
In order for an authoritarian dream being to give up some of its authority we need to
understand its weaknesses and possible fears. And in many cases we wont be able
to spot these if we play fair. The nature of the dream being might force us to play as
dirty as they do on us - and take the same ruthless steps against it they would
against our Dream-Selves. Ultimately this can even lead to physical conflict - the
most raw version of proving the authoritarian dream being that all its authority will not
suffice to rule over our dreamworld. Contrariwise the situation might demand an
incredible amount of patience from us: if the dream being is deliberately slow in
giving answers to our questions or evades we might face a dogged verbal fight over
dominance and submission.

5.4. archaic dream beings

Lets come back to the other category of dominant dream beings. Here our approach
will be slightly different. Rather than focusing to engage in a dialogue and negotiate a
compromise these types of raw powers first and foremost need to be constrained and
stopped in their attacks. Thus initiation of a dialogue with an archaic dream being
counts as our first victory already. It represents the willingness of the dream being to
engage with - rather than destroy - our Dream-Selves and face the actual problem.
In dialogues with archaic dream beings our primary goal is to understand its
motivation and desire. Once we spot and understand their drive we can explore
alternative ways to satisfy the needs of the dream being as well as our Dream-
Selves. Skills in creating win-win situations will be hugely helpful at this stage.
However, whatever form and shape our discussion with the dream being might take,
we need to make sure that we dont subject to it under any circumstances. In case
our dialogue should come to a complete halt or the tension in our conversation raises
too high a physical confrontation as the last resort is still preferable to a complete
submission of our Dream-Selves.

6. feeding aggressive dream beings

Lets pause and reflect for a moment. The above approach to engaging with
dominant dream beings is clearly working and has been part of dream magic tradition
for a long period. The risk, however, is that we over-protect our Dream-Selves in an
environment where it is simply one element of many... Should we fail to get the
balance right between empathy and guidance to these aggressive subconscious
beings we might simply treat their desire for dominance with our own. And at the end
we might not get anywhere - as we are repeating the same male-chauvinistic
patterns of self-assertion and pride that keep our daytime reality from becoming a
better place already...
So maybe its time to explore an alternative way of dealing with aggressive dream
beings? And rather than trying to understand them but to dominate them in case of
conflict - why not try to understand them and then give them what they desire
selflessly? Now this might sound strange, but follow me - there is an ancient
shamanic practice from Tibet from which we might be able to learn.
::
Contrary to the above approach of dominating your dream beings in case of conflict
and controversy there is a different, more creative approach we can chose. I havent
found this process being described in any literature on dreams, yet in Tsultrim
Alliones book Feeding your Demons - Ancient Wisdom for Resolving Inner Conflict.
Allione is a Tibetan Buddhist teacher who - after a long and enduring personal
journey of striving to combine western living with the power of ancient Tibetan and
Tantric meditation techniques - created a simple five step process to resolve inner
conflict. This process draws heavily from the tantric practice of Chd. Chd often is
translated as cutting through the ego as its practice revolves around the self-
sacrifice of the practitioner to the demons he evoked. Milarepa described the inner
and outer aspects of Chd as follows:
External chod is to wander in fearful places where there are deities and demons.
Internal chod is to offer one's own body as food to the deities and demons. Ultimate
chod is to realize the true nature of the mind and cut through the fine strand of hair of
subtle ignorance.
Milarepa (c. 1052c. 1135 CE)

While the traditional practice of Chd is an advanced shamanic technique Allione

simplified and adjusted the approach. She basically kept the essence of the teaching
alive but made it accessible to non-Tibetan practitioners. The goal of the practice is
not at all to realize the illusion of the demons or gods that torment us. Actually my
advise is to not worry about the question of reality or illusion of our demons at all.
Just like anything we have worked on before in these chapters, our dream demons
represent beings we can encounter, talk to and engage with. They might transform
more rapidly and fundamentally than our waking selves ever will. Yet what matters is
that we are able to learn from and work with them. And that we ultimately transform
them from adversaries to allies.
Four our purpose we will slightly adopt the Chd inspired five step process of feeding
your demons as created by Allione. Instead of working generally with inner demons
we will apply it to dominant dream beings specifically. Moreover, we will label and
structure the experience according to a magical ritual. As you can see the process
follows a similar structure. However, instead of binding and subjugating the demon at
the climax of the rite we will feed it. Our goal is to satisfy the deep rooted desire of
the aggressive dream being; to put to rest the very force that allowed it to come to life
and remained unrelieved and unsatisfied for a very long time. Once the inner fire and
desire of the dream being subsides it is likely to change its form, to transform and
give way to a powerful ally that used to be hidden from us.
Note: If you intent to work with this practice in more depth there is no way around
reading Alliones book. It provides many real-life examples and testimonial stories of
people who successfully worked with inner demons and will bring the process to life
in a very plain and simple light. If you cant afford the book, you will find the adjusted
skeleton of the exercise below. In addition I still recommend this series of articles at
Tricycle as a great starting to create a deeper understanding of the practice.
The first three steps of the process will allow you to evoke the aggressive dream
being you want to work with, to bring it back to life - and to take its place. At the end
of these first three steps you will know exactly how it feels to be this dream being and
what its underlying - and often hidden - need is. Here is how it works:
The following three steps allow you to feed the aggressive dream being. Rather than
resisting or even fighting it we will feed it to complete satisfaction. Our unlimited
source of food will be ourselves. So this is the moment of self-sacrifice, of giving up
and letting go in the spirit of stilling the deep rooted desires that we used to hide from
ourselves. Here is how it continues:
7. end
Okay, if you have made it to this point you either had a long online read - or you
changed your dream-life. It is your choice. All the techniques described above will
work once brought to live in your own and personal way. None of them need to be
followed by the letter: We should feel as explorers discovering blank spots on our
consciousness and reality maps - not as slaves following the draconic orders of
traditional dream magic instructions.
There is so much more literature out there on this topic obviously, so many different
exercises and approaches still to be shared and explored. The intention of these
pages, however, is to be a first starting point, a launch pad into your own world and
magic of the dreams.
If you are happy to share your own experience and explorations I would be delighted
to hear back. Traveling in a community is always nicer than on your own. Here is to
all the night-time adventures waiting to be discovered by our conscious minds. Here
is to all the dream beings waiting for us to engage with them...
LVX,
Frater Acher
May the serpent bite its tail.

selected resources
Aeppli, E.: Der Traum und seine Deutung; Knaur-Verlag
Becker, U.; Lexikon der Symbole; Herder Taschenbuch
Jung, C.G.: Traum und Traumdeutung; dtv
Gassmann, Ch.: Trume erinnern; Walter
Tholey, P.: Schpferisch Trumen; Klotz, Eschborn Verlag
Faraday, A.: Deine Trume - Schlssel zur Selbsterkenntnis; Fischer-Verlag,
Frankfurt a. M. 1978, original "The dream game", 1975
Gackenbach, Bosveld: Herrscher im Reich der Trume; orig. "Control your
dreams", New York, bersetzt von Christian Stephan, Aurum-Verlag,
Braunschweig, 1991
Garfield, P.: Kreativ trumen; Mnchen, Knaur-Verlag, 1980