Dreams, Myth, and Power

All cultures have studied dreams. Many theories have been developed on the subject and scholarship continues to uncover more. Three of the most well-worn dream theories are the following: dreams as divine communication, dreams as conduits for the soul's conveyance, and dreams as quotidian human occurrences. This article examines the first and third of these theories, and links both of these understandings of dreams to myth. A myth is a narrative freighted with cultural understanding, conceived such that a whole society lives a myth's importance. Put differently, myths are meaning-making processes that describe and explain phenomena. Dreams often work to bring myths into focus; this focus sometimes powers political change. The influence of dreams on Hindu, Hebrew, Christian, Islamic, and scientific myths details this phenomenon.