Dream Terms

A theory that the sleep pattern of human beings developed after the species began living in caves, which offered protection from encounters with powerful night time predators.

An ancient discipline from which the modern science of chemistry developed.

Alchemy came to be related to dreams through the work of Carl Jung, who perceived archetypal images in the symbolic language of alchemy. Jung suggested an existence of an unconscious urge towards psychological growth and health that he termed to be the individuation process.

The process was supposed to have propelled the individual towards psychic integration, bringing progressively more of the contents of the unconscious mind into the expanding awareness of the ego.

A temple dedicated to Aesculapius or Asclepius who was a popular healing divinity of the Hellenistic world.

The principal activity at the asclepieions was the seeking of cures with the technique of dream incubation, or the practice of seeking dreams for specific purposes for everything from healing to practical guidance.

The temple,asclepieion, was established in the sixth or seventh century B.C and was the focus of Aesculapius worship for over eight hundred years.

The cult of Aesculapius was officially transplanted to Rome in 293 B.C. when the asclepieion at Epidaurus sent a giant snake regarded as a form of Aesculapius himself to Rome to halt a disastrous plague.

Those who were seeking cures, or special guidance, from Aesculapius participated in rituals before lying down to sleep in the temple where they anticipated receiving a healing dream from the god.