Happy Dreamin' with Feng Shui!
Legend of the Dreamcatcher
Feng Shui first began in the west during the Han Dynasty around the third century BC. It is the art of placing objects so that they are in harmony with their surroundings. Feng Shui believes that every object has its own life and energy, and its harmony is dependent on its placement and its surroundings.
Feathers have a great deal to do with Feng Shui. The dreamcatcher is a Native American disk made of feathers and leather. It is said that dreams, both good and bad, float through the air all day and night searching for their destinations. Sleeping under a dreamcatcher is believed to make you feel secure. Bad dreams are believed to be caught in the web and perish with the first light of a new day, evaporating like the morning dew, while the good dreams float down the feathers and onto the dreamers head.
The dreamcatcher originated from the Native American Indians. You can hang them by the window in your bedroom or at the head of your bed.
Different Traditions
There are plenty of different Native American Indian tribes whose natural environments range from the Arctic wastes of Alaska, northern Canada and Greenland to the forests of Canada and the Great Lakes. They are found on both the east and west coasts of America, on the plains and badlands, in the Rocky Mountains and in the arid deserts of Mexico, Arizona and New Mexico.
With these vast differences in experience, environment and upbringing, it is not at all surprising that their traditions vary greatly. The Pueblo Indians of the South West and the Navajo believe that you should hang your dreamcatcher directly above your bed. The good dreams get caught in the web so that you can hold onto them and remember them in the morning. The bad dreams pass straight through the web, leaving you completely unaffected by them. This is the complete opposite of the beliefs of the Plains Indians. Even though the legends and designs of dreamcatchers differ among different cultures, the underlying meaning and symbolism is universal.