Oneiromancy is a form of divination based upon dreams, and also uses dreams to predict the future. Oneirogen drugs may also be used to produce or enhance dream-like states of consciousness. It is dismissed by the scientific community and skeptics as being superstition; experiments do not support the idea that dreams predict the future beyond the expectations of the person dreaming. Occasionally, the dreamer feels as if he or she is transported to another time or place, proving they are in fact providing divine information upon their return.
Biblical oneiromancy
Dreams occur throughout the Bible as omens or messages from God;
his son Joseph dreamed of his future success, interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh of Egypt's cupbearer and baker while imprisoned and interpreted the dreams of the Pharaoh of Egypt ;
Oneirocritic literature is the traditional literary format of dream interpretation. The ancient sources of oneirocritic literature are Kemetian, Akkadian, and Hellenic. The medieval sources of oneirocritic literature are Āstika, Persian, Arabic, and European.
The ancient Sumerians in Mesopotamia have left evidence of dream interpretation dating back to at least 3100 BC. Throughout Mesopotamian history, dreams were always held to be extremely important for divination and Mesopotamian kings paid close attention to them. Gudea, the king of the Sumerian city-state of Lagash, rebuilt the temple of Ningirsu as the result of a dream in which he was told to do so. The standard Akkadian Epic of Gilgamesh contains numerous accounts of the prophetic power of dreams. First, Gilgamesh himself has two dreams foretelling the arrival of Enkidu. Later, Enkidu dreams about the heroes' encounter with the giant Humbaba. Dreams were also sometimes seen as a means of seeing into other worlds and it was thought that the soul, or some part of it, moved out of the body of the sleeping person and actually visited the places and persons the dreamer saw in his or her sleep. In Tablet VII of the epic, Enkidu recounts to Gilgamesh a dream in which he saw the gods Anu, Enlil, and Shamash condemn him to death. He also has a dream in which he visits the Underworld. The Assyrian king Ashurnasirpal II built a temple to Mamu, possibly the god of dreams, at Imgur-Enlil, near Kalhu. The later Assyrian king Ashurbanipal had a dream during a desperate military situation in which his divine patron, the goddess Ishtar, appeared to him and promised that she would lead him to victory. The Babylonians and Assyrians divided dreams into "good," which were sent by the gods, and "bad," sent by demons. A surviving collection of dream omens entitled Iškar Zaqīqu records various dream scenarios as well as prognostications of what will happen to the person who experiences each dream, apparently based on previous cases. Some list different possible outcomes, based on occasions in which people experienced similar dreams with different results. Dream scenarios mentioned include a variety of daily work events, journeys to different locations, family matters, sex acts, and encounters with human individuals, animals, and deities.
Egyptian
The oldest oneirocritic manuscript hitherto discovered is the "Ramesside dream-book" now in the British Museum. A unique exemplar of a book of dream-interpretation from pre-Hellenistic Egypt, the surviving fragments were translated into English by Kasia Szpakowska. Between the paws of the Sphinx, there is a stele describing how Thutmose IV restored the Sphinx as a result of a dream, on the promise of becoming a pharaoh.
Greek
Dream divination was a common feature of Greek and Roman religion and literature of all genres. Aristotle and Plato discuss dreams in various works. The only surviving Greco-Roman dreambook, the Oneirocritica, was written by Artemidorus. Artemidorus cites a large number of previous authors, all of whom are now lost. These include Artemidoros, , , , and .
In Book XIX of the Odyssey, Penelopē said that "dreams... which issue forth from the gate of polished horn bring true issues to pass, when any mortal sees them."
Likewise, Herodotos distinguished /oneiros/ as "the prophetic, God-sent dream" from /en-upnion/ "the non-predictive dream".
In the scheme of Artemidoros, the "oneiros was subdivided into two great categories:... allēgorikos, which corresponds to the Platonictheory of the predictive dream operating in the impure soul, and the... theōrēmatikos, which is the dream represented in the pure state of the soul."
Medieval oneirocritic literature
Āstika
The pertinent material is included in the several Purāṇa-s, such as the .
Arabic
Here, dreams about specific numbers or about reading specific chapters of the Qurʼan are among the chief subjects of prognostication. The most renowned of the Arabic texts of oneiromancy is the Great Book of Interpretation of Dreams, a 15th-century compilation of earlier scholarship.
European
is an adaptation of an Arabic book to the tastes of a European readership. Derived from older literature, modern dream-books are still in common use in Europe and the United States, being commonly sold along with good-luck charms.
Japanese
refers to having her dreams interpreted in The Pillow Book. The Taiheiki, a 14th-century war chronicle, portrays Emperor Godaigo selecting Kusunoki Masashige as the leader of his forces based on a portentous dream.
Other oneiromantic traditions
The indigenous Chontal of the Mexican state of Oaxaca use Calea zacatechichi, a flowering plant, for oneiromancy by placing it under the pillow of the dreamer. Similarly, Entada rheedii is used in various African cultures.
