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NEXT: 1800-1899
RELATED TOPICS: oracular dreams - predictive dreams - dreams of past or future
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See also the full INDEX OF SUBJECTS.
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DUMUZID'S DESPAIR: by Dumuzid, c.3200 BCE; the first nightmare, predictive dream & false waking Dumuzid dreams raptors prey on his flock, his hearth fire's doused, his churns knocked over; he lies dead. His sister Jestinana interprets it: "Manhunters will kill you; you must flee." He does, across the known world... |
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ENKIDU: by Gilgamesh of Uruk, c. 2750 BCE, an early prophetic dream The hero Gilgamesh troubles his city till he dreams the gods will send him a best friend & lover, Enkidu... CAUTION: SEX |
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INANNA'S RIVER OF BLOOD: by King Sargon I; c. 2335 BCE, a call-to-greatness nightmare Sargon, a delivery man, dreams the Goddess drowns the King in a river of blood. He wakes and tells the King... |
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GUDEA'S TEMPLE: by Gudea of Lagash; c.2125 BCE: one of the first false-waking or nested dreams A winged god whose body's a wave urged me to do... what? I couldn't understand him! I woke... A scribe with a shining stylus listed stars; an architect gave me plans and a brick-mold. I woke again! My dream had clarified itself. So I built the temple shown me, aligned with those stars... |
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JACOB'S LADDER: by Jacob, grandson of Abraham; c. 2050 BCE; a self-fulfilling prophetic dream. Jacob dreams of angels climbing to heaven. He meets God, who promises the Holy Land to him and his tribe. Jacob uncritically accepts... |
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2000 BCE | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
JOSEPH AND THE PHARAOH: by Joseph, a cupbearer, a baker & a Pharaoh, c.1673-1660 BCE; six surreal dreams Joseph as a teen dreams sheaves of his brothers' grain bow to his; then the sun, moon & stars bow to him. Eleven years later, in prison, Joseph interprets two cellmates' dreams as premonitory, and gets both right. Two years later, he interprets two bizarre dreams troubling the Pharaoh, thus saving Egypt from famine... CAUTION: BRONZE AGE FUN! NEAR-FRATRICIDE, SLAVERY, EXECUTION, FORCED MARRIAGE... |
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LIU AND YI (not to mention Kong!): by Liu Bang's mom, 257 BCE, and Yi Yin's mom, c.1600 BCE; birth-related dreams Liu Bang's mom dreams a spirit is making love to her. Her husband sees the spirit is a dragon! Her baby grows up to found the Han... Yi Yin's mom dreams a spirit warns "if water pours from your mortar, run!" She does, and survives a flood, to help found the Shang... CAUTION: LIKELY JUST FOLKLORE |
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THE SPHINX WANTS CLEANING: by Thutmoses IV, c.1400 or 1405 BCE; a god's dream-bargain Thutmoses napped in the shade under the Great Sphinx--then buried to the neck in sand. The resident sun-god complained of the sand; "the throne is yours if you'll clear it off..." |
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TORCH-BEARER: by Queen Hecuba of Troy; c. 1270 BCE, an alarming dream. Hecuba dreams she gives birth, not to a child but a flaming torch! But she lets Paris live... CAUTION: MORAL NO-WIN SITUATION |
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EAGLE AND GEESE: by Penelope of Ithaka; c.1240 BCE, a subliminal, self-interpreting dream I dreamt an eagle slaughtered my twenty geese. I wept until he spoke to me: "Take heart! I am thy husband..." |
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1000 BCE | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SOLOMON'S CHOICE: by King Solomon, c. 970 BCE; a god's dream-bargain As his reign begins, King Solomon worries he's inadequate. He dreams God offers him one gift, of his choice--but what would help the most? |
THEFT OF THE ARK: by King Solomon, c. 960 BCE; a dream acted on too late |
Ethiopian records say Solomon and Makeda, the Queen of Sheba, had a son who stole the Ark of the Covenant! Solomon dreamt of the theft but didn't check til it was too late... |
NEBUCHADNEZZAR'S TREE: by King Nebuchadnezzar II; c. 583 BCE, a predictive dream |
Nebuchadnezzar dreams a voice from heaven commands a great tree be cut; Daniel interprets this as a prediction the king will go mad for 7 years... |
ELEPHANT WITH A LOTUS: by Queen Maya, 564 BCE? a prophetic Buddhist dream |
After 20 years without a child, Maya dreams devas carry her to a holy lake, wash her... and then an elephant carrying a lotus flower enters her right side. She knows it means... CAUTION: DREAM OMITS TINY DETAIL--IMMINENT DEATH |
PROPHETIC DREAM OF BUDDHA'S FATHER: by King Suddhodana, c.563 BCE? an uneasy dream |
Suddhodana dreams of great upheavals; no courtier can interpret the dream. An ascetic claims the upheaval will be for the good, then... turns into an owl?! CAUTION: PERHAPS NOT ENTIRELY ACCURATE |
THE DEATH OF ATYS: by King Croesus c.560 BCE; predictive dream, or self-fulfilling? |
Croesus dreamt his heir Atys was slain by an iron blade; he locked them all in the armory. But Atys went hunting; his guard Adrastus's spear went astray. Did Fate kill Atys, or superstition rattling poor Adrastus? |
GOPA'S NIGHTMARE: by Gopa Gautama, c.534 BCE, a breakup-warning dream |
Gopa dreams the earth shakes, stars and meteors fall. She's naked, her marriage bed is broken, her husband Siddhartha's treasures lie scattered. He says "How auspicious!"--and prepares to abandon her and their son... CAUTION: SEXISM |
BUDDHA'S FIVE DREAMS: by Siddartha, soon to be called the Buddha, c.528 BCE |
I'm gigantic, stretching from Ceylon to Tibet. Grass grows from my navel to heaven. Worms crawl on me. Birds flock to me and change color. I climb a mountain of dung... CAUTION: PIOUS MISINTERPRETATIONS |
THE QILIN'S FOOT: by Confucius, c.500 BCE; a do-unto-unicorns dream |
I saw a boy beating a qilin [Chinese unicorn] with a willow branch, hurting its left leg. I scolded him and wrapped the leg in grass. In gratitude it spat up three books! I studied them diligently... |
INVADE GREECE, OR ELSE!: by Xerxes I and his uncle Artabanus; 480 BCE, three linked, deceitful dreams. |
Xerxes twice dreams a god orders him to attack Greece. So he asks his uncle to dream of the god to confirm... |
GOBLET OF GOLD: by Sophocles, between 450-406 BCE; a detective dream. |
A huge gold cup was stolen from the Temple of Hercules. Sophocles thrice dreamt Hercules named the thief... |
STOVE: by a dwarf in the royal court of Wei (445-225 BCE); a brave truth-to-power dream |
Wei Linggong was an autocrat heeding only one minister. A dwarf bravely told him "I dreamt you were no imperial sun warming all, just a stove, and your crony hogs all your warmth..." |
SOCRATES'S SWAN: by Socrates, 407 BCE; an early prophetic dream. |
The night before he met his greatest student, Plato, Socrates dreamed he nursed a baby swan who grew... |
BUTTERFLY: by Zhuang-zi; 340-330 BCE?, a dream questioning identity. |
I dreamed I was a butterfly, fluttering about, content with my lot. Suddenly I awoke and was Chuang-tzu again... |
THREE-YEAR PREGNANCY: by Ithmonike of Pellene, c.320 BCE, Two dreams of an odd god. |
I was barren. I asked Asklepios, God of Healing, to make me pregnant. Soon I was--for 3 years, until... |
ZHUANGZI INTERVIEWS A SKULL: by Zhuangzi, c.310 BCE, an incubated dream on the afterlife |
DAY: while traveling, Zhuangzi found a skull. Wondering how it had lived and died, he slept on it. DREAM: the skull answered him! It told of death, which the skull found preferable to mortal life... |
LIU AND YI (not to mention Kong!): by Liu Bang's mom, 257 BCE, and Yi Yin's mom, c.1600 BCE; birth-related dreams |
Liu Bang's mom dreams a spirit is making love to her. Her husband sees the spirit is a dragon! Her baby grows up to found the Han... Yi Yin's mom dreams a spirit warns "if water pours from your mortar, run!" She does, and survives a flood, to help found the Shang... CAUTION: LIKELY JUST FOLKLORE |
STOVE: by a dwarf in the royal court of Wei (445-225 BCE); a brave truth-to-power dream |
Wei Linggong was an autocrat heeding only one minister. A dwarf bravely told him "I dreamt you were no imperial sun warming all, just a stove, and your crony hogs all your warmth..." |
DRAGON-NURTURER: by Bo Ji, 204 BCE, a prophetic dream |
Bo Ji, a minor concubine in the early Han court who'd never even met the Emperor, dreamt a dragon slept in her lap. Next night the Emperor summoned her; the child they conceived became one of China's best rulers... |
THE MEGARA INN: by an Arcadian Greek c.200 BCE; two dreams that don't prevent a murder but do solve it |
A traveler dreams his friend's attacked, but he ignores it. Next he dreams his friend begs him to at least avenge him... |
CAESAR'S INCEST DREAM: by Julius Caesar, c.69 BCE, an embarrassing oracular dream |
Plutarch says Caesar dreamt of sex with his mother; it was interpreted as "you'll take the motherland". So he crossed the Rubicon... But Suetonius says he dreamed it way earlier, at age 33, after seeing a shrine to Alexander (who died at 33); Julius felt inferior... CAUTION: INCEST; DREAM USED FOR PROPAGANDA |
GOLDEN CHAIN: by Cicero, 46/1/1 or 45/1/1 BCE, a prescient dream by an anti-interpretationist |
Dream-skeptic Cicero dreamed a youth descended from heaven on a golden chain. The next day he first met Octavius, and exclaimed "but there is the actual boy I dreamed of!" The boy became Augustus Caesar, presiding over Rome's golden age... |
CALPURNIA'S DREAM: by Calpurnia and her husband Julius Caesar; 44(BCE)/3/14, two warning dreams. |
The night before Caesar's assassination, he dreamed he flew above the clouds and met Jupiter; his wife Calpurnia dreamed he'd be stabbed, and begged him not to go out, but politics... |
THE BATTLE OF PHILIPPI: by Augustus Caesar's friend; 42 BCE, a lifesaving dream |
Augustus was ill, but a friend's dream prompted him to leave his tent before Brutus's assassins... |
0 CE / BCE
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ENTER, NERO!: by Emperor Nero; c. 58 CE, a series of guilty surreal nightmares. |
After murdering his mother, Nero dreams he's losing control: ships drift, statues chase him, and his own tomb says... |
NERO'S TOOTH: by Vespasian, c.65 CE, an oracular dream fulfilled alarmingly soon |
Vespasian dreamed he and his family would rise only when Emperor Nero lost his teeth. The next day, a surgeon happened to show Vespasian a tooth he'd just extracted from... |
JOSEPHUS, LET GO: by Josephus Flavius; c.65 CE, vague predictive dreams |
Resistance fighter Josephus, cornered, took a hard look at his prophetic dreams and decided to make peace... |
NOCTURNAL HAIRCUTS: by two of Pliny the Younger's servants; 96 CE. Subliminal? Oracular? Prank? |
Two boys dream robed figures climb in the window to cut their hair--and find, awake, someone has. While Pliny... |
SCULPTOR OR WRITER?: by Lucian of Samosata, c.135 CE, a career-advice dream |
As a boy, my family urged me to aim low and follow our trade: stonecarving. I dreamt two strong women fought over me, a grubby sculptor and an elegant writer. I sided with the writer, and she let me ride in her flying chariot... |
XANTHUS: by a client of Artemidorus, c.150 CE, a prodromal dreamlet |
A man dreamed he was the River Xanthus at Troy. I interpreted it to mean he'd bleed for years, but not die of it... |
NATALIUS' WELTS: by Natalius the Confessor, c.155 CE (or 199?), a dream leaving physical traces. |
Natalius dreamed that angels whipped him for joining a heretic cult, and woke to find welts on his back... |
PERPETUA'S LAST DREAM: by St Perpetua; 203 CE, a flying, sex-changing, defiant dream. |
Facing death the next day in a Roman arena, Perpetua dreams of the spiritual duel behind the physical one... |
WATER, HORSE, TWO SUNS: by Dong Feng, 370s CE, a lifesaving dream |
A murder case. But the suspect had gone to an interpreter and told of an ominous dream. The investigator saw its strange images might be puns, naming the real killer--and they did... |
GENNADIUS: by Gennadius, ca. 415 CE, apparently the first recorded lucid dream |
Gennadius re-dreams a previous dream, helping him see he's dreaming. His guide points out spiritual implications... |
BLACK DRAGON: by Xiao Dao, 444 CE, a prophetic dream |
At 17, Xiao Dao dreamt he rode a black dragon as the sun set. A dream interpreter said sunset meant the end of the Liao Song dynasty, and that Xiao Dao would rise to found the next dynasty... |
FAREWELL, FRIEND: by Lu Yuan Ming, between 386-550 CE; a psychic dream |
DREAM: Lu's best friend had to go away. They composed poems on the sadness of parting... DAYS LATER: Lu learned that on the night of his dream, his friend had been killed in an uprising... |
EATING DIRT: by Emperor Zhi Meng, c.550 CE, a predictive nightmare |
The Emperor dreamt he was eating dirt. He feared it was a metaphor for death. Wrong. No metaphor! Soon after, his enemies suffocated him in dirt... CAUTION: BRUTAL |
EMPEROR HEDGEHOG: by Emperor Wu Cheng, early 560s CE, a nightmare self-portrait |
The Emperor dreamt a monster hedgehog terrorized his city. On waking, he ordered the slaughter of every hedgehog in town. People started seeing him as the killer hedgehog! Soon he was deposed... |
GUNTRAM'S SNAKE by King Guntram, c.570 CE; a profitable out-of-body dream |
On a hunt, Guntram took a nap. His courtier saw a snake emerge from his mouth; it tried to cross a creek. The courtier lay his sword out like a bridge, and the snake crossed, climbed a hill, and went in a hole. It returned and crawled in Guntram's mouth. He woke and said "I was crossing a river on a great iron bridge..." |
EDWIN'S DREAM: by soon-to-be-King Edwin, c.616, as told by the Venerable Bede; a nagging dream |
King Ethelfrid bribes Redwald to turn over his guest, Edwin. Edwin dreams an angel warns him, swearing to save him if he'll convert. Redwald's wife tells him "Don't betray a guest." Once Edwin's king, that dream-angel demands his fealty... CAUTION: SHODDY SPIRITUAL BARGAINING |
FURSA'S DREAM: by Fursa, c.633, as told by the Venerable Bede; a Christian shamanic dream |
Fursa the preacher, sick, dreams flaming devils & angels are trying his case; one failure to coax a deathbed repentance gets him scorched. He wakes with burns... CAUTION: DREAM HAS PHYSICAL EFFECTS |
CAEDMON'S DREAM: by Caedmon, c.657, as told by the Venerable Bede; a dream music-tutorial |
Caedmon can't sing. But he dreams an angel makes him try. Soon he's the first great English poet and singer... |
HILDA'S DEATH: by Sister Begu, 680/11/17, as told by the Venerable Bede; a clairvoyant dream |
Hilda, founder of two monasteries, dies in one. Begu, in the other, 13 miles away, dreams Hilda's been taken to heaven. She tells her sisters. Messengers arrive... |
EGBERT DEFIES DREAMS: by one of Boisil's disciples, c.688, as told by the Venerable Bede; a stubborn dream |
Egbert decides to go convert the Germans. A brother monk dreams twice that God wants Egbert in Scotland, but he sails--and nearly drowns. At last he gives in. Another monk sails to Germany. Two years later he returns defeated... CAUTION: STUBBORN MONK, DEITY, AND GERMANS |
LI BAI'S PEN: by poet Li Bai and his mother, 700 & c.715 CE, three prophetic / career-advice dreams |
Li Bai's mother dreams of Venus shining, and names her unborn son Bai, 'white'. She dreams he'll ride a red dragon, too: greatness, but what kind? Li Bai when young dreams the answer: his brushpen flowers!
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RAGNHILD'S TREE and HALFDAN'S CURLS: by Queen Ragnhild and King Halfdan of Norway; c.850 CE |
twin dreams predicting their children and nation will prosper. Ragnhild sees a lovely tree rooted in her pain and blood; Halfdan sleeps with pigs and dreams he has a great head of hair... CAUTION: KIDNAPPING, ARSON, GENERAL BARBARISM (check the date!) |
ARHATS IN A DREAM: by Guan Xiu, c.891, early dream paintings |
Guan Xiu, a painter in the late Tang Dynasty, dreamt that sixteen arhats or luohans (Buddhist sort-of-saints) asked him to paint their portraits-- not their earthly forms but their (rather peculiar) astral forms. He did... |
STELLAR IMPLANT: by Wang Chuna, 920s CE, a mad-surgery career-advice nightmare |
Wang dreamt a man cut his belly open and implanted a big mirror inscribed with stars. It hurt, even when he woke. For a month! But his belly now had a hunger to learn about astronomy... |
THE GIANTESS OF THVERA: by Viga-Glum Eijolfsson; early 940s?, a very public clairvoyant dream. |
Viga-Glum dreamt a giantess came to visit. "She is the spirit-guide of my grandfather in Norway. He is dead... |
GISLI THE OUTLAW: by Gisli the Outlaw of Iceland; 966-973, a series of at least ten life-saving dreams. |
Gisli had two spirit-wives who told him in dreams how to evade the bounty-hunters after him... for 13 years! |
EAGLES IN LOVE WITH A SWAN: by Thorstein Egilson; c. 982 AD, a twenty-year predictive dream |
Before his daughter's even born, Thorstein dreams two eagles in love with a swan kill one another in rivalry over her... CAUTION: PATRIARCHAL BARBARIANS |
GUDRUN'S FOUR HUSBANDS: by Gudrun Osvifursdottir; summer 988, plus spring 1026
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Four childhood dreams predicting Gudrun's life; plus a predictive dream by her husband Thorkell Eyjolfson Gudrun dreams of four treasures: a hood, a bracelet, a ring, a jeweled helm. Her cousin sees them as four marriages... |
1000s
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WOLVES IN THE BOOTH: by Thordhr "the Terror"; c.1000, a warning dream |
Thordhr dreams a pack of wolves attack him in a trade-booth! He wakes sure the trade-fair will be trouble... CAUTION: ICELANDIC NAMES AND CUSTOMS |
BRUSHWOOD BELLY: by An the Black; Easter 1003, a bizarre predictive dream. |
An dreams a scary woman pulls his guts out and fills him up with brush! He wakes, gets gutted in a feud, and then... CAUTION: BLOODY VIKINGS! |
THORHADD'S FOURTEEN DREAMS: by Thorhadd of Berufjord, c.1018; 14 warning dreams (2 predictive) |
Thorhadd's been slandering his enemy Thorstein. He spars publicly with a dream expert who interprets all his dreams as: "Your tongue just can't quit!" True. It can't... CAUTION: VIKING EGOS (AND BODY COUNT) |
REBORN AS A CAT: by Lady Sarashina's sister, April or May 1022, a dream of a friend's past life |
Sarashina adopts a stray cat with oddly refined manners. Her sister dreams the cat tells of her last life, as the daughter of a high official. The cat does seem to understand human speech... |
GUDRUN'S FOUR HUSBANDS: by Gudrun Osvifursdottir; summer 988, plus spring 1026
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Four childhood dreams predicting Gudrun's life; plus a predictive dream by her husband Thorkell Eyjolfson Gudrun dreams of four treasures: a hood, a bracelet, a ring, a jeweled helm. Her cousin sees them as four marriages... |
AMATERASU'S MIRROR: by Lady Sarashina and an unnamed priest, c. 1035/3/22, two dreams of a life-choice |
Sarashina dreams (again) she needs to leave court life and a spiritual path. Her skeptical mom sends a priest to the temple to dream for her! But he too dreams the Goddess shows two life-choices--happy or sad... |
DON'T TREAD ON ME: by Herdis Bollisurdottir; c.1040, a psychic dream of a ghost with an agenda |
A ghost complains Herdis's grandma bothers her. Herdis wakes, tells Grandma, and they dig up the floor to find... |
AMIDA: by Lady Sarashina, 1055/10/13, a dream of a salvation-offer |
Three years before her husband died and she was left alone, Sarashina dreamt Amida Buddha stood in her garden and told her "Later I shall return to fetch you"... |
1100s
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ARROW OF FIRE: by Archbishop Anselm, King William Rufus & a monk, 1100/8/1, 3 predictive dreams |
Anselm dreams God orders King William's death by an arrow of fire; the King dreams his blood covers the sun. Waking, he mocks a third man's ominous dream, goes hunting, and dies bloodily at sunset, an arrow in his heart... |
GUNNHILDR’S BIRTH DREAM: by Gunnhildr; c. 1150, a surreal predictive dream. |
I dreamt I gave birth to a white-hot stone shedding sparks. Most folk would find my son strange... |
COLLAR OF GOLD: a Welshman of Kemmeis District; 1170s? A recurring dream of treasure |
A rich man dreamt thrice that hidden in St Berner's Well near his house was a golden collar. He reached in and... CAUTION: OW |
PEACOCK KINGS: by Myoe Shonin; 1196/8 or 1196/9, an ecstatic dream |
I meet two Peacock Kings bigger than human beings, who chant blessings until I wake with tears drenching my pillow... |
1200s
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DRINK THE DOVE: by Myoe Shonin; c.1202/9/11, a pre-Surrealist surreal dream |
The sparrow died in the ashes, but the dove in my hands became a blue cloud. I drank it, thinking "This will benefit us all"... |
SHEEP IN THE SKY: by Myoe Shonin; c.1220/9/20, a dream of strange advice. |
A strange transforming thing appeared in the sky--a light, a sheep, a man. It told me to stop burning my head... |
ZEMMYO: by Myoe Shonin; c.1221/4/20, a spiritual Pygmalion dream. |
A doll sent from China breaks into tears over her exile here in Japan. I reassure her and she becomes real... |
THE BOULDER DISSOLVES: by Myoe Shonin; mid Dec. 1230, an old monk's dream of liberation |
I was trapped inside a boulder, but as I chanted it melted around me until it resembled a discarded skin... |
KUBLAI KHAN'S DREAM: by Kublai Khan, c.1251, an architectural dream |
Coleridge's dream-poem describes a palace itself inspired by a dream! Kublai Khan dreamt of a huge yet delicate "pleasure dome", sketched it, and sent scouts to find a site matching... |
OSMAN'S DREAM: by Osman I, founder of the Ottoman Empire, 1280?, a predictive dream |
The moon rises from my friend's body, and sinks into mine. Then a great tree grows from my body, covering much of the world... CAUTION: ORAL TRADITION AT BEST |
1300s
| |
PRODROMAL DREAMLETS: by Arnaud de Villeneuve, c.1300; Conrad Gessner, 1565/12/8; |
M. Teste, 1830-1848, and Maurice Macario, early 1850s? four dreams predicting illness Dog bites doctor's leg. Snake bites scholar's chest. Apoplexy kills a government minister. Tonsillitis flattens a sleep and dream researcher... |
BATTUTA'S DREAM: by Ibn Battuta, 1325, a predictive or career-advice dream |
DREAM: a great bird carries me to Mecca, Yemen, India, the south sea islands, China, the snowy north... AWAKE: My host says it means I'll travel the world--but he adds "in India, my brother will save your life"... |
THE FLYING HART: by King Charles VI; c.1390, a flying dream. |
King Charles loses a new hawk. But a winged deer lands, bows to him, and offers him a wild ride across France after his bird... |
1400s
| |
THE SWAFFHAM TINKER: by John Chapman and a London shopkeeper; c.1454, two interlocked dreams |
Chapman dreams he must walk 100 miles to London Bridge; on the bridge, a stranger says "dreams are nonsense! Why, I dreamt of buried treasure 100 miles away, in some town called..." |
LEONARDO'S BIRD: by Leonardo da Vinci, c.1455, a bizarre childhood dream or vision--or real memory? |
The black bird hovered above my cradle, and several times struck me with its tailfeathers between my opened lips... |
1500s
| |
THE PEN: by Elector Frederick of Saxony; 1517/10/30, a predictive political dream. |
Frederick dreams a monk writes words on the door of Wittenburg’s church with a pen so big it pokes the Pope. The next day... |
CARDANO'S DREAMS: by Girolamo Cardano, 1521 & 1547/8/15, two confusing oracular dreams |
1521: I ask a talking ape how long I'll live. "Four years" he says. "No longer?" "No." 26 years later, I'm still hoping to get truth from dream-figures--two dead guys tell me... CAUTION: JUNGIANS BEHAVING BADLY |
STORM OF HUGE RAINDROPS: by Albrecht Dürer; 1525/5/30, watercolor of a size-nightmare |
The first drop struck about four miles away, with terrific force and thunder, breaking and drowning the land... |
CARDANO'S DREAMS: by Girolamo Cardano, 1521 & 1547/8/15, two confusing oracular dreams |
1521: I ask a talking ape how long I'll live. "Four years" he says. "No longer?" "No." 26 years later, I'm still hoping to get truth from dream-figures--two dead guys tell me... CAUTION: JUNGIANS BEHAVING BADLY |
HIDE THE LIST!: by Anonymous; c. 1550, a recurrent warning dream. |
A London Protestant dreamed Bloody Mary would find the congregation's member-list and burn them all... |
HYPNOGOGIC ASSAULT: by Dr Simon Forman; 1559-63, recurring hypnogogic images. |
From age six on, Simon nightly climbs mountains and faces roaring floods in a sort of naptime bootcamp... |
JACK OF GREATNESS: by Mistress Abbot of Guilford; 1562; a predictive, pregnancy-craving dream. |
Mistress Abbot dreams if she eats a jackfish her child will be great. Next morning one swims into her waterbucket... |
PRODROMAL DREAMLETS: by Arnaud de Villeneuve, c.1300; Conrad Gessner, 1565/12/8; |
M. Teste, 1830-1848, and Maurice Macario, early 1850s? four dreams predicting illness Dog bites doctor's leg. Snake bites scholar's chest. Apoplexy kills a government minister. Tonsillitis flattens a sleep and dream researcher... |
BRUNO'S DREAM: by Giordano Bruno, 1578, a cosmological dream |
Bruno flew through space--not crystal spheres, not Heaven, not even the Copernican solar system, but interstellar space. He saw the stars were suns, those suns had planets, and those planets bore life... CAUTION: BURNED ALIVE BY THE INQUISITION |
HE LOOKED SOURLY: by John Dee; 1582/11/24, a mage's dream of dying, and after. |
The foremost wizard of Shakespeare's age dreams he's dead. They're burning his books, but that doesn't bother him... |
1600s
| |
MISCARRIAGE: by John Donne; 1612, a clairvoyant hallucination. |
Donne, in Paris, was alarmed by a vision of his wife holding a dead baby. At that hour, in England, his wife... |
QUOD VITAE: by Rene Descartes; 1619/11/11, three mystical dreams. |
In one night Descartes had three dreams convincing him he had to change the course of his life... |
SILLA KRISTOS: by Silla Kristos, c.1634; a didactic during-death vision |
Silla Kristos angered Saint Walatta Petros, so she cursed him. He got sick and died. She knew she'd overdone it, and asked the Virgin Mary to revive him. Mary grumbled, but did. While dead, Silla Kristos got wise angelic advice... CAUTION: BRATTY SAINT, BRATTY MONK |
ILARYA'S MIRACLE: by Ilarya, c.1639, a suspension of reality in order to... buy a fish? |
A cranky nun wants fish. Ilarya, the monastery's cook, sets out to buy one--a long walk, and unsafe after dark. So Ilarya asks the sun to halt! She buys her fish, cooks, feeds her patient, and forgets to tell it to set... CAUTION: PETTY, GOOFY, COMMUNITY-BAFFLING MIRACLE |
MR. WILLOW AND THE LOCUSTS: by a Yi Valley magistrate, Dec. 1641?, as told by Pu Songling; a shamanic dream |
As locusts advanced on his farm district, a magistrate dreamt a Mr. Willow had advice. He took it. Bearing a gift of rice wine, he sought out the Goddess of the Locusts, and... |
LONG GREEN DOG: by Zhang Tianxi, before 1644, a warning pun-studded dream |
DREAM: a long green dog attacked Zhang from the south. He hid in his bedroom. He woke shaken but did not act. SOON AFTER: General Gou Zhang (sounds like "Dog Long"), in a long green coat, attacked from the south... |
THE VISION: by Robert Herrick; 1648, an eroti-political dream poem |
I dreamt Anacreon the poet reeled with drink and lust--and I am wild and wanton like to him... |
THE ADMIRAL'S DEATH: by Mary Deane; 1653/6/2, a clairvoyant warning dream. |
The wife of Admiral Richard Deane dreamt how he died two days before the news arrived... |
LADY CASTLEMAYNE: by Samuel Pepys, 1665/8/14, an early lucid dream easing his fear of plague |
I dreamt, and knew I dreamt, and I made love to Lady Castlemayne, and had all my desire. If, as Shakespeere said, death is but sleep, and dreams may come, why then fear death?... |
SNOT-BIRD FORGERY!: a dream by Samuel Pepys, 1667/6/29, & a nightmare by Thomas Macaulay, c.1857 |
Samuel Pepys dreamt of kidneystones, pee, come, & snot--or did he? Thomas Macauley dreams his niece confesses... |
YEW: by Mrs. Cl. of S.; 1670 or 71; a risky dream-prescription. |
In a dream, a dead friend told Mrs. Cl. how to cure her daughter's chronic illness: the yew tree. But yew is toxic... |
SAINT HELENA: by Edmund Halley; 1676, a predictive dream. |
Astronomer Edmund Halley had dreamed of sailing to St Helena in the South Atlantic, but until he arrived hr didn’t realize how accurate his dreams had been... |
THE BOATMEN OF LAOLONG: by Viceroy Zhu, before 1679, as told by Pu Songling; an incubated dream |
Traders were vanishing. Newly installed Viceroy Zhu fasted, focused, and dreamt the gods sent him a riddling poem. Each line suggested one word--together, they... CAUTION: BRUTAL ORGANIZED CRIME |
THE FLYING COW: by a cow-buyer, as told by Pu Songling; before 1679, a perverse predictive dream? |
A farmer dreamt his new cow grew wings and flew away. Next day, he sold that cow at a heavy loss. Walking home with the cash, he found a tame falcon, and tied its leg to his moneybag. One guess what the bird did... |
PRINCESS LILY: by Dou Xun, as told by Pu Songling; before 1679: recurring psychic dreams, or fiction? |
Dou dreams he marries Lily; when a monstrous snake attacks her huge family, he reluctantly hosts them all... when he wakes, they turn out to be bees driven from their hive by a (very real) snake... |
THE WOLF DREAM: by Mr. Bai, as told by Pu Songling; before 1679, a predictive dream, or fiction? |
Mr Bai dreams his son the mandarin is a tiger leading a pack of wolves--all man-eaters, at least until two angels knock out his fangs and predict he'll get beheaded soon... CAUTION: CANNIBALS, REVENGE KILLINGS |
BOTH MOURN, BOTH DIE: by "J.H., Esquire", 1694/12/9, a double premonitory dream |
J.H. dreamt both his mother and Queen Mary appeared in mourning. Within days, both were dying... |
STOCKDEN'S MURDER: by Elizabeth Greenwood; Dec 1695-Jan 1696, six dreams solving a murder. |
Greenwood dreamt her murdered neighbor's ghost gave her tips helping her catch his three killers... |
early 1700s
| |
CRUSHED BY NETLEY ABBEY: by a Mr Taylor; 1704? A warning dream. |
A carpenter demolishes a ruined abbey despite dreams he’ll be crushed by stones falling from a window... |
THE DEVIL'S TRILL: by Giuseppe Tartini; c.1713, a musical inspiration dream. |
I sold my soul to the Devil. On an impulse, I handed him my fiddle. To my wonder, he played a sonata of exquisite beauty. When I woke I retained only echoes... |
THE BOAT IS SINKING: by Mrs Griffiths; 1734/8/6, a recurrent warning dream |
Mrs Griffiths has the same nightmare three times before she asks her nephew to skip a fishing trip... |
UNSWEPT HOUSE: by Emanuel Swedenborg, 1744/4/1, a flying-searching-unreadiness spiritual dream |
Swedenborg flies on horseback through a house seeking someone. One room's clean, lit, full of people, but most are empty and dirty. Longing to meet God is not enough! He's only cleaned up one aspect of his life... |
BROMAN'S DOG: by Emanuel Swedenborg, 1744/4/5, a dream of a man-serpent-dog |
Swedenborg fights a worldly acquaintance, then his dog, who turns into a serpent... CAUTION: FIGHTING, SCORNS MATERIALISM |
SHAKING: by Emanuel Swedenborg, 1744/4/6, a dream of the physical side of spiritual struggle |
Swedenborg shakes uncontrollably all night, releasing or discharging some strange energy. He frames it in religious terms, but it's a phenomenon even secular writers have reported... CAUTION: WEIRD |
SWAB'S DOG: by Emanuel Swedenborg, 1744/4/8, a warning dream |
Swedenborg cuddles a talking dog who asks after its old master, Swab, and then kisses Swedenborg, grossing him out. But he wakes knowing just what his doggy pest represents... |
POLITICS BITES: by Emanuel Swedenborg, 1744/4/13, a dream of... read the title! |
Swedenborg's in bed with a woman, but she has teeth down there. Oh, now and she's not a woman, but his political buddy Johan! Well, maybe it means not to get involved with women, or men, or... politics? CAUTION: JUST WEIRD |
MUSCULAR STUDY: by Emanuel Swedenborg, 1744/4/14, a sexy dream of work advice (no, really) |
Swedenborg jokes with his cousin's new girlfriend as she grows bigger and stronger and bigger and... Oh. He needs to study the muscles! |
HEADSMAN: by Emanuel Swedenborg, 1744/4/17, a cannibal nightmare prefiguring Jung |
Swedenborg meets an executioner who cooks the heads he chops off, and eats them. Yet in context, the nightmare may be constructive... CAUTION: VIOLENCE |
FLYING, FIGHTING, LOVE: by Emanuel Swedenborg, 1744/4/23, a dream of... oh, guess! |
Swedenborg fights a flying woman over a lake, then is in bed with another. After some language and privacy problems, all goes so well he thinks they've made a child... CAUTION: VIOLENCE, SEX |
THE KING'S LANGUAGE: by Emanuel Swedenborg, 1744/4/24, a dream on the language of dreams |
Swedenborg struggles to grasp the King's broken French. He wakes to realize he's trying to learn a greater King's difficult language. Still relevant today, for he saw the problem's twofold: the difficult language of images, but also issues the waking mind missed--or wants to deny! |
SWORD AND BOAR: by Emanuel Swedenborg, 1744/4/30, a dream warning of excess. |
A boar attacks Swedenborg's late brother, alive again. He tries to help, but the pig eats his brother's head. That's what you get for drinking, partying, and gluttony... CAUTION: VIOLENT DEATH |
SAVED TWICE: by Emanuel Swedenborg, 1744/5/19, maddeningly brief mention of two predictive dreams. |
Swedenborg dreamt of danger on his London trip, twice. Both situations then came true, but he was prepared... CAUTION: ANNOYING TO E.S.P. SKEPTICS |
IN THE FORM OF WOMEN: by Emanuel Swedenborg, 1744/7/3, the earliest recurrent dream-symbol? |
Swedenborg tenderly says goodbye to a lover. A few nights later he realizes his dream lovers repeatedly represent scholarly fields! An avid scientist, he find research as sexy as, well, sex... |
WINGED BEAST: by Emanuel Swedenborg, 1744/4/7/29, a dream of fighting one's own flaws |
Swedenborg fights a monster but lacks strength. Yet later, on a higher plane, he learns the beast did die... CAUTION: VIOLENT |
SWORDLESS: by Emanuel Swedenborg, 1744/8/4, a dream warning about bragging |
Swedenborg gets in a duel, but his beautiful silver hilt has no sword attached. Uh-oh... Then he's in bed and realizes he's been sexually boasting... CAUTION: PHALLIC SYMBOLISM |
DENTATA: by Emanuel Swedenborg, 1744/10/9, a dream of a toothy vagina--yet not a nightmare |
Swedenborg's in bed with a woman, but finds she has teeth in her vagina. He interprets it not as revealing some fear of women but as advice about pacing his scientific work. And the surrounding dreams hint he may be right... CAUTION: ALMOST-SEX |
THE KEY TO HIS LIFE: by an English rebel's wife; 1745; a lifesaving oracular/psychic dream. |
Twice a condemned man's wife dreamt of a key lost in rubble below a wall. The second time she went out to find it... |
late 1700s
| |
REMARKABLE: by Joseph Wilkins; 1754, an out-of-body dream |
Wilkins visits his parents in a dream. Only they think he's a ghost, and panic--in the real world... |
DON'T GO TO THE MARKET: by a Stockwith woman, June/July 1757; a predictive dream unheeded |
A woman in Stockwith dreamt she'd drown going to market; but her friends talked her back into the trip. When she fell in the water, they all stood by as she drowned; not one helping her till it was too late... CAUTION: WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE... |
LISTEN TO YOUR WIFE: by Edward Bennet's daughter, 1757/7/11; a predictive dream |
Bennet's daughter dreamt her husband drowned after wading too deep (he couldn't swim). He promised he'd avoid deep water, but his best friend played a prank, treading water to make it seem shallow... CAUTION: WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE... |
SWEDENBORG'S VISIONS: as reported by Immanuel Kant, 1759-61; three solid ESP hits. |
Swedenborg stuns the Queen of Sweden by whispering a secret only she and a dead man knew; A widow begs him to ask her late husband to find a lost receipt. Swedenborg reveals a secret drawer; Swedenborg, at a dinner party, grows alarmed by a fire that nearly burns his home--500 km away! |
"I SHALL HURT YOU WORSE": by Mrs B. when young, c. 1760; a predictive dream semi-heeded |
At 14, B. dreamt a stranger attacked her and hurt her badly. She said "but I'll hurt you worse." She did: a week later that man attacked and nearly killed her. She survived to identify him--and get him hanged... CAUTION: HARSH JUSTICE |
STEPHENSON AND BELL: by Matthew Talbot; 1768, a recurring predictive dream. |
A man in a blue coat on a white horse delivered papers from a nearby wrecked ship, signed Stephenson and... |
SAMUEL SAVAGE: by Samuel Savage, late 1770; a dark predictive dream |
Samuel Savage dreamt he rode through a graveyard and saw a new monument--for himself! His death-date was marked: two years in the future. He died September 1772, on that day... |
TREASURE UNDER STONE, or, OOPS: by Daniel Healy; Jan. 1774, a recurring dream of treasure |
Daniel thrice dreamt of money hidden under a great stone in a nearby field. He dug and found a surprise... CAUTION: IRISH HUMOR |
"LOOK IN THE WELL!": by Elizabeth Harcourt; 1777/9/15, an unheeded warning dream. |
Elizabeth tried to tell her dream, but her husband didn't listen. When his dad didn't show up for dinner, it was too late... |
EYE-SAVIOR: by an Oldham girl, c.1784; a curative (not merely diagnostic) dream |
I had gone blind in one eye. I dreamt our Savior came to me, and when I woke, I could see... |
LOST ANT: by William Blake; late 1780s; a dream-poem, one of his Songs of Innocence |
A glowworm and nightwatch beetle help out a lost crying ant-woman. It's not always a bug-eat-bug world... |
ROBERT’S PLAN: by William Blake; late 1788; an advisory dream... |
Blake was broke. Couldn’t typeset Songs of Innocence and Experience. But in a dream, his brother advised him... |
THE ANGEL: by William Blake; early 1790s; a gender-bending dream-poem |
Blake dreams he's a young queen with an uneasy relationship to her guardian angel... |
ROWLAND'S DREAM: by R. J. Rowland, 1790s? a dream of a useful ghost. |
DAY: Rowland needed papers for a legal case, but couldn't find where his father had stashed them. DREAM: his long-dead dad told R.J. a lawyer R.J. he'd never heard of had them, 'but the man may need some reminding', and gave details of Portuguese gold and a drinking bout. Next day, it worked. But how? CAUTION: GHOST? E.S.P.? |
KUBLA KHAN: by Samuel Coleridge; summer 1797, an interrupted dream-poem |
In Xanadu did Kubla Khan a stately pleasure-dome decree (at least till that visitor from Porlock barged in) CAUTION: POET ON PAIN MEDS |
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