Are Native American "Dreamcatchers" Evil?

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I’ve been receiving Native American dreamcatchers in the mail from charity organizations. The “legend” sound very new-agey. Are they OK, or should we throw them out? Thanks 🙂
 
CatholicSam said:
I’ve been receiving Native American dreamcatchers in the mail from charity organizations. The “legend” sound very new-agey. Are they OK, or should we throw them out? Thanks 🙂
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I don’t know, but I’d be interested in finding out. I knew a couple Sisters of St. Joseph who had them in their office. Apparently, one used to lead retreats for college students that did some “Catholic version” of a Native American prayer. I never went to one of them, but the person who told me about it, said it was a tad strange, especially coming from a white woman.
 
CatholicSam said:
I’ve been receiving Native American dreamcatchers in the mail from charity organizations. The “legend” sound very new-agey. Are they OK, or should we throw them out? Thanks 🙂
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Throw them away. Dreamcatchers are a Native American “charm” designed to ward off nightmares. They have absolutely zero application to the Catholic faith and, as with all occult, do not come with a guarantee that the spirits which will guard your dreams aren’t evil in nature.
 
Sarabande said:
I don’t know, but I’d be interested in finding out. I knew a couple Sisters of St. Joseph who had them in their office. Apparently, one used to lead retreats for college students that did some “Catholic version” of a Native American prayer. I never went to one of them, but the person who told me about it, said it was a tad strange, especially coming from a white woman.
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Yes, I’ve been to Franciscan retreat convents where the Tabernacle is sitting in the chapel in one room, and fifty feet away is a prayer circle with dreamcatchers. This is all to be avoided like The Plague. Same goes for the Enneagram, reiki, labyrinths, and other New Age trash.
 
Some of these Native American items are quite pretty to look at. Like most any object, the evil is not in the object itself, but the use which we make of it. Ouija Boards are not decorative and really would have no other purpose. A person has to exercise a little common sense.
 
I don’t know if they are pure evil, but I think that would fall in line with the sample list of things Catholics ought to stay away from. I know there are convents who are engaged in and promote all sorts of unChristian activities. When I was in college (Catholic), a Sister invited me to a campus prayer meeting where a special guest was brought in. Next thing I know, each of us is being “smudged”, the American Indian way of clearing out negative energy. There are sisters who do reiki (there are witches who do reiki… I just saw a site that sold only witchcraft items, and it included reiki), healing touch, even things like medicine dolls, etc. I saw a documentary about some Sisters who would bang a Buddhist gong every day and some sisters chose to call God “SHE”. Yeah. I’m confused about why the bishops/archbishops allow Religious to not only engage in, but promote, pagan activities/spirituality. I mean, I’m a Catholic convert, and I always said I converted to be a loyal Catholic, not a pagan Catholic; and it’s not fair that I have to follow the rules and for some reason some Religious go liberal. Even in the confessional. It’s like if they won’t take Catholicism seriously/loyally, then why should I have to. (I know better than that, ofcourse, on a good day.) But whatever, it’s their soul (pray for them though). What’s concerning even still is that they’re encouraging other souls to take part in this stuff. I suggest everyone stay away from their paganism, and beware of those who prove themselves to be paganesque. There are hundreds or thousands of convents, retreat centers, parishes, etc, that practice and promote this stuff… and so many of them are allowed to blazenly and pridefully promote their garbage online. Just look at how common enneagrams are in parish activities calendars. It’s so common anymore.
 
Anyway, the best thing to do would to be to forsake the dreamcatcher and put a rosary or crucifix above the bed. It would be best to repel evil (or evil dreams) rather than to catch them. 🙂
 
La-Petite-Fleur said:
There are sisters who do reiki (there are witches who do reiki… I just saw a site that sold only witchcraft items, and it included reiki), healing touch, even things like medicine dolls, etc. I saw a documentary about some Sisters who would bang a Buddhist gong every day and some sisters chose to call God “SHE”. Yeah. I’m confused about why the bishops/archbishops allow Religious to not only engage in, but promote, pagan activities/spirituality… What’s concerning even still is that they’re encouraging other souls to take part in this stuff. I suggest everyone stay away from their paganism, and beware of those who prove themselves to be paganesque. There are hundreds or thousands of convents, retreat centers, parishes, etc, that practice and promote this stuff. Just look at how common enneagrams are in parish activities calendars. It’s so common anymore.
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Yes, this reiki phenomenon concerns me as well. What are the bishops doing with the sisters who are promoting this? My aunt (a very good nurse) got sucked into it by a few sisters who she trusts. They insisted that it was ok to use - they did it and they’re sisters, so it has to be “ok”. I’m being sarcastic, just in case I’m misunderstood. 😉 So, my aunt thinks she is doing God’s will by helping in the healing of others. I think it is total you-know-what, but one can never negate the possibility of inviting evil. What I also find disturbing is that there may people people like my aunt who are doing it because they want to feel special, like they were more chosen than others and that they are almost at a level as God. I find that there is particular danger in that line of thinking, especially when the person is not really educated in the teachings of the Church, such as my aunt. Anyway, that’s my concern with reiki.
 
rwoehmke said:
Some of these Native American items are quite pretty to look at. Like most any object, the evil is not in the object itself, but the use which we make of it. Ouija Boards are not decorative and really would have no other purpose. A person has to exercise a little common sense.
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I do like the look of the dreamcatchers–just as decoration. My daughter was given one and she likes the feathers. It is never invoked to protect her dreams or anything else. As a small piece of decoration in her room I don’t have a problem with it.
 
They’re pagan superstition. As simple decoration, however, I don’t see a problem.
 
Sarabande said:
Yes, this reiki phenomenon concerns me as well. What are the bishops doing with the sisters who are promoting this? My aunt (a very good nurse) got sucked into it by a few sisters who she trusts. They insisted that it was ok to use - they did it and they’re sisters, so it has to be “ok”. I’m being sarcastic, just in case I’m misunderstood. 😉 So, my aunt thinks she is doing God’s will by helping in the healing of others. I think it is total you-know-what, but one can never negate the possibility of inviting evil. What I also find disturbing is that there may people people like my aunt who are doing it because they want to feel special, like they were more chosen than others and that they are almost at a level as God. I find that there is particular danger in that line of thinking, especially when the person is not really educated in the teachings of the Church, such as my aunt. Anyway, that’s my concern with reiki.
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And a good concern it is. You know, when I relocated, I found that the parish nearest to my home was one of those parishes that had a labyrinth, that celebrated the autumn equinox. I searched and searched for a parish, and in my searches I looked at parish activities and their activity calendars. So many parishes had new age things listed in their activities! Enneagrams and reiki were very popular. I had to go out of my way to find a parish. When I asked a priest of one of the parishes who practiced such unholy activity if it was okay to do so and if it was loyal (if the vatican approved), the priest said that perhaps his parish would be too “progressive” for me (like I’m spiritually retarded), and he instead referred me to some “traditional” parishes in the community. Traditional? Progressive? Since when is there a choice? Since when does Loyalty become stodgy old tradition? So many people are confused or mislead into thinking that loyalty is a choice, and progressive new age liberalism is an option. People are actually working inside the churches to push for “change” in the church, and what they’re pushing for is this thing they call “progressive”, but really it’s just progressing many a poor soul straight to hell, and they had better be careful. That’s what really irks me, is how rude it is for them to try to change (corrupt) the Church from the inside out, according to their moral relativism. I am so thankful Pope Benedict XVI is pope. Moral relativism is a plague infecting the world, and it needs to be stopped.
 
I haven’t finished reading the responses yet, but I wanted to clarify a few things. First of all, I don’t believe they will “work” and keep the bad dreams away. Secondly, I’m not hanging them up over the bed. Third, I have a 4 ft. Crucifix in my living room and more Rosaries in my house than I probably know about 🙂 Fourth, if I were to keep one of these dreamcatchers (which I’m seriously NOT considering), it would be as part of a Southwestern decor in my house. Pure decoration.

Now to read all the replies and go through those links. Thanks, guys!
 
Progressive? Traditional? Hahahaha. No.

Ahem.

There is Catholic. And there is non-Catholic.

Catholicism infused with “majik” or “New Age” or “Voodoo” or whatever is not Catholicism anymore. It’s paganism with a Catholic veneer.

The First Commandment forbids us to have anything to do with anything that makes a “god” out of nature, or engravings or has to do with magic and divination and spells.

Satan LOVES to hiss those words at us when he tempts us to such “special knowlege.” “You will be as gods.”

In which case we are committing idolatry, which is basically incompatible with being a Catholic.

Satan offered Christ Himself power over all the world. Which is what all that new age stuff seeks to do… to use the natural to change the supernatural (which is the opposite of true religion which uses the Supernatural to change the natural.) Grace always builds on nature, not the other way around. If it isn’t from God Himself, run in the other direction.

Why people take pagan stuff that people did BEFORE they knew of Christ and act like it has any validity is beyond me. A lot of those “natural religions” had more than a touch of the demonic to them. And that’s still rampant in areas of the world that have yet to be evangilized. And now we seem to be entering a post-Christian era in this country. :eek:
 
There are plenty of “pagan” things which we can have around as Catholics, if we regard them as “spoils of the Egyptians”, as the early Christian Fathers called it. For example, we can read Plato and use him for Christian purposes. Heck, look at the names of the early martyrs. Look at the current usage of the Pantheon in Rome. 🙂

So, if you know that dreamcatchers are just pretty little decorations, and you don’t think you’ll be scandalizing anybody or making anybody think you believe in pagan magic crud, you can use the dreamcatcher as decoration. If you’re worried about your friends who are drawn to the occult being misled, then don’t use it.
 
Laughs heheh dream catcher are crazy the church would never support such silly superstition…Looks over at the Gargoyle I got at Notre Dame. Wait a second…::eek:

Dont be so quick to call another belief evil or superstitous. It may not be Catholic, but the church has picked up many Pagan beliefs over the years and Christianized them. ie Christmas tree, wedding rings, Holiday days, and even Saints that seemed to gain a certian similiarity to pagan Gods over time in the aid to convert.
 
tm30 said:
Throw them away. Dreamcatchers are a Native American “charm” designed to ward off nightmares. They have absolutely zero application to the Catholic faith and, as with all occult, do not come with a guarantee that the spirits which will guard your dreams aren’t evil in nature.
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Yeh,I started getting this junk also from so called ‘Catholic’ indian charity companies…I sent back letters to the characters…told them to remove my name from their mailing list and asked them if by reading the entrails of a chicken if they know who is going to win the kentucky derby this year etc…what a pathetic joke …the RCC has been so infiltrated by termits no wonder the barque of Peter is floundering…may heaven help us…Nino
 
This thread is quite ridiculous. Do you know how many things have a pagan origin, the Christmas tree, wedding rings, and the list goes on!:rolleyes:
 
La-Petite-Fleur said:
And a good concern it is. You know, when I relocated, I found that the parish nearest to my home was one of those parishes that had a labyrinth, that celebrated the autumn equinox.
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not all labyrinths have this pagan purpose. It is an old thing that has unfortunately been revamped into the New (Age) thing. Hundreds of years ago they were used for Christian pilgrims who could not leave home to go on a pilgrimage to the Holy land. It was a contemplative thing, a silent and solitary worshipping. A way to develope trust in God and to exercise a waiting attitude. Today they are devoted to Equinoxes and inner meditations and that has distorted the original purpose. I frequently use one in another parish with my rosary, but not if there is anyone else around.
Ravyn
 
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