While to some people dreams are merely a series of images, emotions and sensations occurring in the human mind during deep sleep, to others they mean way more than that. Whether a symbol of an aspiration or aim in life, or a sign of things to come, dreams are a part of who we were, who we are and who we will become.

However, in one far away corner of the world, there are people who believe that they have the power to catch and change dreams and they can do that by hanging a 'dream-catcher' over the sleeper's head. Amazed? There's more...

The Ojibwa, the largest group of Native Americans inhabiting the north of Mexico, equally divided between the United States and Canada, believe that a dream-catcher changes a person's dreams, where only good dreams are allowed to filter through, while bad dreams stay in the net, disappearing with the light of the day.

In Ojibwa culture, a dream-catcher is a handmade object based on a racket hoop, on which is woven a loose net or web, the end result of which looks more like a circular spider web. The dream-catcher is then decorated with personal and sacred items such as feathers and beads hung to its bottom.

Legend has it that night is full of both good and bad dreams. When a dream-catcher is hung above the place where you sleep, it moves freely in the night air and catches the dreams as they drift by. The good dreams, knowing their way, pass through the opening in the centre of the webbing while the bad dreams, not knowing the way, are caught in the webbing and destroyed at the first light of the morning sun.

While dream-catchers originated in the Ojibwa Nation, they were adopted by Native Americans of a number of different nations all over the world. Many Native Americans consider the dream-catcher a symbol of unity among the various Indian nations.

Traditionally, the dream-catcher is hung above the bed and is used as a charm to protect sleeping children from nightmares. As dream-catchers are made of willow and sinew (muscle), they are not meant to last forever but are intended to dry out and collapse as the child enters the age of adulthood. As for the feathers, it is believed that good dreams pass through and slide down the feathers to the sleeper. Unbelievable? Believe it!