Oneiromancy - Winter divination from the PGM

Oneiromancy is the practice of divination through dreams. Interpreting dreams to gain insight into the future, hidden truths, or messages from the divine or the subconscious is a very powerful tool, especially during difficult times, when we are ill, or when we seek clarity about complex situations.

Today, however, we are not talking about healing through dream incubation - which is a peculiar practice that deserve its own post (and probably more than one) - but rather about a divinatory spell from the PGM we can engage in over the coming weeks, during this liminal time between two years.

Let me be honest with you: Samhain may mark the moment of transition and the New Year on the Wheel of the Year, but for me the true shift is felt later, at the winter solstice. It is in these days, when darkness is at its deepest yet the light begins, almost imperceptibly, to return. When the sun is reborn and slowly starts to regain its strength, I sense the turning of the year.

This is a time of suspension for me: the timeless feeling of the holidays, the dreamlike moment that precedes dawn, when everything feels still and full of possibility. It is then that I can finally slow down, enter that liminal space between what has been and what is coming, and do my “homework”: reflecting on the achievements of the almost-past year and on my hopes for the year to come. In this quiet anticipation, I feel the arrival of new energy and the true beginning of the new year. (A note to myself and to you: this is not the time to judge yourself harshly. It is simply a moment to acknowledge what has happened and to let it go, without self-reproach or ego inflation.)

During these nights, I find that dreams become more intense and more complex.

How to work with dreams - easy tips:

1) Keep a dream diary - even one on your phone is better than nothing. Write your dream down including as many details as possible, as many words and images as possible, as soon as possible, immediately after you wake up; otherwise, you will forget.

2) As for dream interpretation, set aside "general" dream-meaning books. They may offer some insight, but your psyche is speaking to you, not to the author of the book. Your diary will help you understand the personal meaning of what you see. If animals appear, try to understand what that specific animal represents for you. See whether there is a deity you associate with it, or whether it feels particularly significant. The same applies to all other symbols.

3) Pay special attention to geometric forms: they are a pure and direct way of communicating.

4) Try the following spell - I’m giving you both the original text and my own version.

PGM - IV. 3172-3208 (Betz, pag. 99) - Original text:

Dream-producing charm using three reeds: the picking of the three reeds is to be before sunrise. After sunset raise the first, look / to the east and say three times: "MASKELLI MASKELLŌ PHNOUKENTABAŌ OREOBAZAGRA RĒXICHTHŌN HIPPOCHTHŌN PYRIPĒGANYX AEĒIOYŌ LEPETAN AZARACHTHARŌ, I am picking you up in order that you might give me a dream". : Raise the second to the south and say again the MASKELLI formula, the vowels and "THRŌBEIA"; hold the reed and spin around; look toward the north and the west and a say three times the same names : those of the second reed. Raise the third and say the same names and these things: " IĒ IĒ, I am picking you for such-and-such a rite".

These things are to be written on the reeds: On the first: " AZARACHTHARŌ"; on the second: "THRŌBEIA"; on the third "IĒ IĒ"

Then take a lamp that is not painted red and fill it with pure olive oil. Take a clean strip of cloth and write down all the names. Say the same things to the lamp seven times. Let the lamp be facing east / and let it be next to a censer on which you will make an offering of lumps of frankincense. After preparing the reeds and binding them together with fibers of a date palm, make them into a kind of tripod, and place the lamp on it. Let the head of the practitioner be crowned with olive branches.

Composition of the ink with which it is necessary to write / on the reeds and the wick: single-stemmed wormwood, vetch, 3 pits of Nicolaus date palms, 3 Karian dried figs, soot from goldsmith, 3 branches of a male date palm, sea foam.

The things to be written and recited are these: "I conjure you by the sleep releaser because I want you to enter into me and show me concerning the NN matter IERŌRIETHEDIEN THROU CHAŌRA ARPEBŌ ENDALĒLA"

MY VERSION of the Dream-Producing Charm. Step-by-step instruction

Materials Needed:

• Three reeds - alternative: any slender, straight, and lightweight plant stalks or sticks that are safe and natural like bamboo skewers, willow or hazel sticks, rose stems, corn husk sticks... even bamboo skewers. Be creative.

  Tips:

  • Make sure whatever you choose is dry and firm, so it will hold its shape during the ritual.

  • You can wrap them in fiber or paper to make writing easier if the surface is too smooth.

  • Ideally, pick something natural and straight, as this mirrors the traditional symbolic qualities of reeds (flexible yet supportive, a conduit for energy).

• Oil Lamp (not painted red) filled with pure olive oil and a clean strip of cloth to use as the wick. PLEASE BE CAREFUL with the oil lamp and the wick - alternative: If you've never used an oil lamp before just go for a candle (not red) and carve the names on the candle.

• Ink made of: single-stemmed wormwood, vetch, 3 Nicolaus date pits, 3 Karian dried figs, goldsmith’s soot, 3 branches of a male date palm, sea foam - ALTERNATIVE: mix dried sage/rosemary or any bitter herb with dates or small nuts crushed, dried figs, charcoal powder/black eyeliner/pencil graphite and a little of sea or salted water.

• Censer with frankincense.

• Date palm fiber to assemble the lamp - alternative: twine, jute, hemp cord or raffia (natural palm-like fiber, easy to find).

• Olive branches for crowning the practitioner’s head - alternative: any green leafy branch from a safe, non-toxic plant (symbolizing life and vitality) OR anoint your forehead using pure olive oil (my favorite alternative).

Step 1: Prepare the Reeds

1. Collect the three reeds before sunrise - if you buy them, just blessed them during night putting them on the altar and preparing them as following:

2. Write the following on each reed:

   • First reed: AZARACHTHARŌ

   • Second reed: THRŌBEIA

   • Third reed: IĒ IĒ

Step 2: Perform the Ritual with the Reeds

1. First Reed (East)

   • After sunset, raise the first reed.

   • Face east and say three times:“MASKELLI MASKELLŌ PHNOUKENTABAŌ OREOBAZAGRA RĒXICHTHŌN HIPPOCHTHŌN PYRIPĒGANYX AEĒIOYŌ LEPETAN AZARACHTHARŌ, I am picking you up in order that you might give me a dream.”

2. Second Reed (South, North, West)

   • Raise the second reed toward the south.

   • Repeat the MASKELLI formula, the vowels, and say THRŌBEIA.

   • Hold the reed and spin around.

   • Face north and then west, reciting three times the same names from the second reed.

3. Third Reed

   • Raise the third reed.

   • Say the same names as above and:“IĒ IĒ, I am picking you in order that you might give me a dream.”

Step 3: Prepare the Lamp

1. Take a lamp not painted red and fill it with pure olive oil. Take a clean strip of cloth and write all the names on it. Use the clean strip as wick - ALTERNATIVE: take a candle, carve the names on it and light it.

2. Recite the same words (MASKELLI formula) to the lamp seven times.

3. Place the lamp facing east, next to a censer with frankincense.

Step 4: Assemble the Reeds and Lamp

1. Bind the three reeds together with date palm fibers OR raffia/cord and arrange them into a tripod.

2. Place the lamp on top of the tripod - PLEASE BE EXTRA CAREFUL - if the tripod is not solid enough the candle or the oil lamp may fall down.

3. Crown yourself with olive branches OR anoint your forehead with pure olive oil.

Step 5: Invoke the Dream

Recite the following while focusing on your intention:“I conjure you by the sleep releaser because I want you to enter into me and show me concerning the NN matter IERŌRIETHEDIEN THROU CHAŌRA ARPEBŌ ENDALĒLA.”

Go to bed and be ready to write down your dream. You can ask for specific information about a particular situation. The spell may be repeated the next day or until you receive your message.

DISCLAIMER: Anyone attempting to perform this ritual does so at their own risk. The author/creator of this text assumes no responsibility for any physical, emotional, or spiritual harm that may result from following these instructions. By proceeding, you acknowledge and accept full responsibility for your own actions and their consequences.

Sara Vervain

Sanctuary of Hekate Potnia Theron