Re-collection is collecting again—here, collecting my thoughts.
The magical retreat this weekend left me with a feeling of unease that I’m going to have to look at. To take that look, I’ll write in my journal.
Fantasy, Erotica, Horror
Category: Dreams
I’m back from my magical retreat with a lot to think about.
A retreat is not a vacation—particularly not a retreat you’re putting on. I need to remember that.
We go to a location I love, out in the forest among cedar trees, doing ritual by herb and flower gardens. The grounds host a pond, a hot tub, and a house with a wraparound porch.
But it’s not a bed-and-breakfast visit, rather an opportunity to do spiritual work.
The backbone of our small magical retreat is dreams.
I learned dream incubation long ago, and I’ve been influenced by the work of Robert Moss. My own work is a cobble of all I’ve learned over time.
My usual practice is this: If you want to problem-solve, address an issue, or remember something or someone in a dream:
- First, think of the problem or issue before bed. If it lends itself to an image, hold this image in your mind and let it be the last thing in your mind before falling asleep. For extra credit, have an actual image on your bedside table. Or, come up with a concise verbal statement of what you want to dream about.
- Equally important, don’t jump out of bed when you wake up—almost half of dream content is lost if you get distracted. Lie there, don’t do anything else.
- If you don’t recall a dream immediately, see if you feel a particular emotion, and tug a little on that—the whole dream might come flooding back.
- Then write the dream down.
We plan to bring everyone’s dreams together and create ritual from the mix.
I’m going to a big witch retreat today! (Also with polytheists, pagans, and magicians. All the magical folks.) I’m helping put it on. We’ll be dreaming and working and imagining big magic, hoping to move toward the healed world.
It’ll be a build-your-own-spell ritual, and one altar will hold tools and symbols for altar and shrine building. I’m collecting a bunch of symbolic objects for folks to choose from.
Apparently one of those is a cat.