i was going to have nice links and stuff but i was so depressed, however i didn’t just want to leave this!
so alternatives to dream catchers!
witches ladders. they are knot magic with added trinkets, usually feathers! while braiding or knotting just think of the intention of what you want out of it. an added bonus is the fact you can add things you associate with a goods nights sleep, or gems that offer magical properties of sleeping well, good dreams, nightmare reflection ect.
my favorite is satchels that can be made cheaply, filled with herbs and stones of your choice. when completed, put the satchel under a pillow or your bed!
similar to satchels are poppets, or a teddy bear works great for this if you have sewign skills. if you can make a small incision on the bottom of the bear (or stuffed animal/poppet) and while thinking on your intent put charged herbs and gems inside. then just close them right up adn sleep with the bear with you or near you.
if you like the looks of dream catchers to aid in helping you get better dreams i would suggest wreathes, you can add what ever decorations that match your aesthetic and practice, and it won’t be appropriation because its not from a closed religion
and this is a good sight that talks about a few stones that work well
I actually (shamefully) have a dream catcher that I’m only holding onto because I like the look of it (and because it was a gift from my older sister, who I love dearly).
I’ve wanted to take it down, because appropriation is Not Okay, but I wanted to put something in its place and didn’t know what. And now I know what.
I’m going to make myself a nice alternative and retire the dream catcher to storage (because I can’t bear to completely part with it, because treasured gift). So glad I found this post!
Hey ok speaking as someone who has grown up in Cree culture and has spoken to elders about this- dream catchers are 100% ok for non-natives to use. They sell them to non-natives for the very reason they are ok with it and it’s not appropriation. That said you should aim to buy actual native made ones, not mass produced Chinese ones, but according to every elder I have asked, dream catchers are ok. Also re non natives making dream catchers for personal use- I have been told by elders this is fine. I was taught directly by elders myself who showed me how to cut willow and weave the sinew. I was teased by the younger natives for going to the work of doing it the hard traditional way when I could buy a hoop. Things like eagle feathers which are sacred obviously are a huge no, but dream catchers themselves are frequently given to outsiders and not considered by natives themselves to be part of a closed religion. I appreciate what you are trying to do here, but it’s probably better to let actual natives speak instead of talking over them about what is and isn’t appropriation to them. My family is a whole mix of cultures thanks to adoptions and even though I’m not Cree, half my family is, so it kind of bugs me seeing non natives making judgements without actually consulting anyone.
Oh, that’s a neat perspective! I’m glad you replied! Thank you. :3
(I still plan to retire this particular dream catcher to storage because I’m almost positive it’s one of the cheapo Chinese sweatshop ones…)
Hey!! A cree/Mi’kmaq gal here as well, dream catchers are 100% okay!! Again, just get them from native sources, even if that happens to be online- if they’re from a native source no sacred items that could be seen as cultural appropriation in the hands of a non-native will be included usually. The one thing about dream catchers is that you should! Not! Get them tattooed. As dream catchers are supposed to absorb negative energy and nightmares it is basically like cursing yourself, and that is never fun!
You can also make a dream-net/curtain. I’m not sure what the ‘origin’ of it is, but my grandma made them for new babies!
I asked a native neighbor about this a while back and he said the same thing: dream catchers are okay for non-native people to use BUT you should buy them from natives. Not the knockoffs you find from non-natives. Those people who sell the knockoffs are trying to make a profit off of native people’s culture, and that’s extremely uncool. He also said they’re not going to work, anyway…so just don’t buy them off of non-natives.
100% agree. Dream catchers are okay, guys! Again, just get them from those who are actually Native as much as possible, because it helps them make a living and continue on their traditions!
As a society, we need to stop assuming that everyone enjoys drinking alcohol.
Lmao @ people who think I’m ridiculous for this post. I’m defensive because alcoholism is a huge issue. Everywhere in the world. Not to mention, I know it’s hard for some of you fucks to believe because of how widely accepted alcohol is, but there are a HUGE amount of people who have personal issues with alcohol. Either being recovering or previous alcoholics themselves, having a close personal tie with someone who abused alcohol, growing up in an unstable alcoholic household, having DEEPLY EMBEDDED family or spouse issues ALL because of alcohol. FUCK OFF with your me being so offended bullshit. Just assume people are sober till you find out on **their** terms they aren’t. Don’t expect that everyone likes to drink. Just like you wouldn’t expect that everyone likes to smoke cannabis, why would you do it with alcohol? (That’s rhetorical, it’s obviously because basically everyone assumes the entire world enjoys drinking). It’s not hard. Don’t offer people drinks unless you know they drink. BYE.
My favorite response when I tell people im straight edge is “what? You’ll never drink ever? Not one drink? I don’t believe you.” And they’ll laugh And I’ll look them straight in their fucking eye and tell them both my parents, and my aunt are recovering alcoholics. The rest of my family? Has never tried, nor ever got the chance to recover from their addiction. It’s by some miracle my mother is alive right now because she drank so much her liver stopped working. She was in a coma for two weeks. The doctors almost gave up on her. My dad was an abusive drunk and then turned to hard drugs and that certainly didn’t help anything. My 3 younger sisters and I were almost put into foster care because of the both of them. I was only about 14 at the time. Making my youngest sister, 7. And because of all of this my family went bankrupt and we were almost homeless. All because of drinking 🙂
That usually shuts them up real fucking fast but, I shouldn’t have to explain that to anyone. I shouldn’t have to defend my (perfectly healthy!) choices!
If someone tells you they don’t drink, it’s for a fucking reason. Don’t be a dick. Casual alcoholism is a huge fucking problem in the world and its scary that most people can’t see it.
Also, some people just… don’t like drinking. There are people out there who just genuinely do not enjoy drinking alcohol. They don’t like the taste, they don’t like being impaired, and they have no desire to try to force themselves into enjoying it just because someone else thinks it’s “weird”.
There are all kinds of reasons that someone might not choose to drink, and all of those reasons are valid. There’s nothing wrong with it, it doesn’t mean they “can’t have fun”, and I guarantee you they’re not judging you for drinking. And if they are? It’s definitely not as much as they’re being judged for not drinking.
Don’t try to force people to drink. Don’t assume everyone likes to drink. And if someone says they don’t drink? Don’t force them to explain why just to get you to stop hounding them.
There are plenty of reasons to avoid booze and the particulars of someone’s reasons are none of your business. Nobody deserves to catch crap because they don’t imbibe.
At age 23, Oprah was fired from her first reporting job.
At age 24, Stephen King was working as a janitor and living in a trailer.
At age 27, Vincent Van Gogh failed as a missionary and decided to go to art school.
At age 28, J.K. Rowling was a suicidal single parent living on welfare.
At age 28, Wayne Coyne ( from The Flaming Lips) was a fry cook.
At age 30, Harrison Ford was a carpenter.
At age 30, Martha Stewart was a stockbroker.
At age 37, Ang Lee was a stay-at-home-dad working odd jobs.
Julia Child released her first cookbook at age 39, and got her own cooking show at age 51.
Vera Wang failed to make the Olympic figure skating team, didn’t get the Editor-in-Chief position at Vogue, and designed her first dress at age 40.
Stan Lee didn’t release his first big comic book until he was 40.
Alan Rickman gave up his graphic design career to pursue acting at age 42.
Samuel L. Jackson didn’t get his first movie role until he was 46.
Morgan Freeman landed his first movie role at age 52.
Kathryn Bigelow only reached international success when she made The Hurt Locker at age 57.
Grandma Moses didn’t begin her painting career until age 76.
Louise Bourgeois didn’t become a famous artist until she was 78.
Whatever your dream is, it is not too late to achieve it. You aren’t a failure because you haven’t found fame and fortune by the age of 21. Hell, it’s okay if you don’t even know what your dream is yet. Even if you’re flipping burgers, waiting tables or answering phones today, you never know where you’ll end up tomorrow.
Neon Tetra Aesthetic 
