Regarding divination

[riffer791]

I had a dream last night and i was thinking about what i could mean and how it could be a warning from God. but im not sure if i should take the dream seriously or not.
In deuteronomy 18:10 (in my new revised standard version bible) it sais “No one shall be found among you who makes a son or daughter pass through fire, or practices divination, or is a soothsayer, or an auger, or a sorcerer, or one who casts spells, or who consults ghosts or spirits, or who seeks oracles from the dead. For whoever does these things is abhorrent to the Lord:it is because of such practices that the Lord your God is driving them out before you.”
in Leviticus 19:26 (Douay-Rheims) it sais
You shall not eat with blood. You shall not divine nor observe dreams.
allthough in NRSV it sais 'You shall not eat anything with its blood. You shall not practice augery or witchcraft."
But in Genesis for one example Joseph interprets dreams.
so im alittle confused about weather or not i should let this dream i had influence my decisions in life. and would it count as the kind of divination thats abhorrent to God if i did?

 

[Barbkw]

Have you read the details on divination in the Catechism?

scborromeo.org/ccc/index/a.htm

I’ll help you find it. I googled “Catechism of the Catholic divination”

2116 All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to “unveil” the future.

Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers.

They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.

P.S. Don’t let a dream, rule your life. To do so “contradicts the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.”

 

[riffer791]

I dont know where in the catechism i would find it, the search feature on the online catechism never works for me and i cant find anything in the index of my youcat.

 

[Barbkw]

Divination and magic

2115 God can reveal the future to his prophets or to other saints.

Still, a sound Christian attitude consists in putting oneself confidently into the hands of Providence for whatever concerns the future, and giving up all unhealthy curiosity about it.

Improvidence, however, can constitute a lack of responsibility. [305]

2116 All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to “unveil” the future. [Cf. Deut 18:10; Jer 29:8]

Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers.

They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.

2117 All practices of magic or sorcery, by which one attempts to tame occult powers, so as to place them at one’s service and have a supernatural power over others - even if this were for the sake of restoring their health - are gravely contrary to the virtue of religion.

These practices are even more to be condemned when accompanied by the intention of harming someone, or when they have recourse to the intervention of demons.

Wearing charms is also reprehensible. Spiritism often implies divination or magical practices; the Church for her part warns the faithful against it.

Recourse to so-called traditional cures does not justify either the invocation of evil powers or the exploitation of another’s credulity.

 

[DihydrogenOxide]

If you think the dream is a warning from God, pray about it.

It’s not divination at all. I don’t know where you get that.

 

[Barbkw]

If you think the dream is a warning from God, pray about it.

It’s not divination at all. I don’t know where you get that.

In the current culture (which this has probably been going on for 1,000’s of years) there are popular books for sale which “say” that they can be used to “accurately” interpret dreams.

Young people purchase these books and use them as a guide for their lives, making their own dreams the trust factory for their future.

I worry, that that is what the OP is alluding too, but not saying.

 

[riffer791]

i found the index on the online catechism so i found the part on divination, but thanks anyway. i think theres a difference between interpreting a dream and using dreams to try to predict the future i want to steer away from actual divination.
i kind of interpeted the dream as showing me that spending some money ill be getting soon on amusements or recreational activitys instead of putting sufficient attention into helping the needy would put me on the wrong track and wont end well. i had considered spending the money on a better compound bow and GPS. but now im thinking maybe thats not the right way to go.

 

[DihydrogenOxide]

In the current culture (which this has probably been going on for 1,000’s of years) there are popular books for sale which “say” that they can be used to “accurately” interpret dreams.

Young people purchase these books and use them as a guide for their lives, making their own dreams the trust factory for their future.

I worry, that that is what the OP is alluding too, but not saying.

He/She isn’t talking about purchasing anything; just saying maybe that God might be warning her about something.

I don’t see how it could be evil if she took it into account and tried to stay away from sin.

There’s nothing wrong with discerning as to the validity of it by asking God.Nothing was done wrong from what was said doesn’t sound like the OP intends to, either.

He/She’s actually a little on the scrupulous side.

 

[riffer791]

Just so you know, im a bloke.
I’ll definitly keep praying about it, the reason im finding it a bit difficult to discern is because from my experience dreams dont allways nessesaryly come from God, they could be from the other side and intended to deceive. the devil is cunning.
i was thinking about getting a new bow because im getting into archery and am getting the hang of it, but my bow is just a cheapo, a decent bow i think would be money well spent because im thinking of competeing, i seem to have some talent for it and we know what happened to the guy that didnt use his talent in Jesus’s parable.
also i recently joined st Vinnies and i can cook up a decent rabbit stew, so im thinking maybe the homeless would like it, or vennison.

 

[DihydrogenOxide]

Just so you know, im a bloke.
I’ll definitly keep praying about it, the reason im finding it a bit difficult to discern is because from my experience dreams dont allways nessesaryly come from God, they could be from the other side and intended to deceive. the devil is cunning.
i was thinking about getting a new bow because im getting into archery and am getting the hang of it, but my bow is just a cheapo, a decent bow i think would be money well spent because im thinking of competeing, i seem to have some talent for it and we know what happened to the guy that didnt use his talent in Jesus’s parable.
also i recently joined st Vinnies and i can cook up a decent rabbit stew, so im thinking maybe the homeless would like it, or vennison.

Sorry for any insult. I tried staying neutral for ya.

It’s good to discern. Don’t worry too much about it, either. It’s not divination, but it’s good that you check into things to make sure you’re on the right track.

I honestly wouldn’t think anything was wrong with the purpose in which you would use your money. I just bought myself a new handgun this year, and it wasn’t cheap. I wanted a quality one, especially for a concealable defense weapon. There’s nothing wrong with wanting a quality bow, especially if you intend to use it. Some guys I know get bows or rifles and rarely ever use them. In fact, they may just be getting dusty hanging on the wall.

It’s like any other pastime. Nothing wrong with it, and your kind intent of hunting rabbit or deer for the poor would be commendable. I wish you the best with it.

 

[GoldenLight]

I don’t see most dreams as evil… practice discernment… (they could be either)

My late mother had one that was so vivid she made my father check a tree in our front garden (yard) In her dream she was told it would come down and kill someone unless she had it cut down… She was so concerned my father ‘humoured her’ and checked the tree… reporting back all looked fine… (and it did…Glorious) The next night she had the same very vivid ‘Dream’ in the morning she made my Dad get a ladder out and look at the part of the tree where two big branches divided. he reached up (as ladder couldn’t quite reach) and it was mush !! Yet outwardly it looked beautiful…

They called in a tree surgeon who said that it was in such a bad way it would have toppled over in the first severe wind… We lived on a fairly busy road with a Bus route…

So was this ‘warning’ for the good or bad… I like to think of it as Divine Intervention…

Now if the Dream had been to go out a shoot someone or go on a alcholic binge welll… that would have been a different story…

 

[riffer791]

Yeah, my archery and hunting has been a big motivator for me iv been getting alot more exercise im spending alot less time in front of the tv. and the rabbit population here is huge so its doing good for the eco system, i dont mind eating them and the dog and cat love em and its not getting in the way of my prayer, its actually an answer to alot of my prayers. besides i asked my spiritual advisor if it was wrong to invest alot of time in archery and hunting, and he said in my situation in life he sees no problem with it and he encouraged it and suggested some places to hunt.
as long as i dont become overly obsessed with it.
i think i should ignore the dream i had.
Thanks for your advice.

 

[riffer791]

I don’t see most dreams as evil… practice discernment… (they could be either)

My late mother had one that was so vivid she made my father check a tree in our front garden (yard) In her dream she was told it would come down and kill someone unless she had it cut down… She was so concerned my father ‘humoured her’ and checked the tree… reporting back all looked fine… (and it did…Glorious) The next night she had the same very vivid ‘Dream’ in the morning she made my Dad get a ladder out and look at the part of the tree where two big branches divided. he reached up (as ladder couldn’t quite reach) and it was mush !! Yet outwardly it looked beautiful…

They called in a tree surgeon who said that it was in such a bad way it would have toppled over in the first severe wind… We lived on a fairly busy road with a Bus route…

So was this ‘warning’ for the good or bad… I like to think of it as Divine Intervention…

Now if the Dream had been to go out a shoot someone or go on a alcholic binge welll… that would have been a different story…

I hate when i reply to the last post then by the time i post it somwon has put a post in before mine, and it looks like iv totally ignored it.
anyway in your mothers case it was good advice, im just trying to discern if mine is.
ill tell you the dream.
i was searching through a handfull of cash to find $10 for a rollercoaster ride the notes werent familiar to me it was like foreign money i was looking for an australian $10 note, then a girl colapsed near me i was still looking through the wad of cash then i thaught iv gotta go help this girl, there was a group of people around her i went and had a look at he ready to do CPR if needed, i checked her breathing, i said well she breathing thats a good sign then went straight back to searching through the wad of cash, i found 2 australian $5 notes and thaught sweet now i can go on the ride, paid the guy went and sat in the rollercoaster it was a run down track with gaps in it that we jumped and im thinking this is awsome, then we derailed and crashed and i woke up.
i was thinking it ment i didnt pay adequate attention to helping the girl i was too interested in the ride and it was my undoing.

 

[DihydrogenOxide]

i was thinking it meant i didn’t pay adequate attention to helping the girl i was too interested in the ride and it was my undoing.

You went and made sure she was alright first, though. I know it’s a dream, but I’m just going to point that out. You did everything you were supposed to do if you were in that circumstance.

Could have something to do with what you were thinking about/saw on tv that day or recent to that do, too.

I would say, from my perspective, it’s just a dream, but still ask God what He thinks.

 

[Matrix_Refugee]

There’s different ways to interpret dreams, one of which is dangerous, and that would be to see them as predictions of something in the future that hasn’t happened.

The harmless way, something which psychologists (even Catholic ones) use often, is to interpret the dream as your unconscious mind using the dream as a message to tell you about something right under your nose that is “bugging it”, so to speak.

 

[mgreen77]

In Somnis Veritas…

 

[GoldenLight]

I hate when i reply to the last post then by the time i post it somwon has put a post in before mine, and it looks like iv totally ignored it.
anyway in your mothers case it was good advice, im just trying to discern if mine is.
ill tell you the dream.
i was searching through a handfull of cash to find $10 for a rollercoaster ride the notes werent familiar to me it was like foreign money i was looking for an australian $10 note, then a girl colapsed near me i was still looking through the wad of cash then i thaught iv gotta go help this girl, there was a group of people around her i went and had a look at he ready to do CPR if needed, i checked her breathing, i said well she breathing thats a good sign then went straight back to searching through the wad of cash, i found 2 australian $5 notes and thaught sweet now i can go on the ride, paid the guy went and sat in the rollercoaster it was a run down track with gaps in it that we jumped and im thinking this is awsome, then we derailed and crashed and i woke up.
i was thinking it ment i didnt pay adequate attention to helping the girl i was too interested in the ride and it was my undoing.

My mothers dream was so clear, no if’s, buts or wondering what it means… Most of us aren’t so lucky… Most of my dreams are a rehash of the days events… albeit in some weird strange format… So I tend not to pay them any attention.

Perhaps your subconcious is telling you something?
What popped into my head is it is a metaphor for perhaps how you are conducting your life at the moment… IF I had that dream I would interpret it as my life going ‘off the tracks’ a little and although I still show some concern for others my focus is on having the money to have fun… So perhaps you’re feeling a little derailed… If so, get back on track, focus on doing what is right first…

We all are guilty of it, and I still am more than I would like…The other day there was a Dog in the road causing traffic to slow, to go around it… I should have stopped, got it to the side and seen if it had a identity tag, if not, taken it myself until I could sort it out… But I immediately thought …Oh some other good samaritan behind me will do it, I want my coffee and Muffin! Then, over my coffee guilt crept in, I then prayed that I wouldn’t find it dead on the side of the road because of my own actions ~or~ rather inactions!

 

[riffer791]

The thing is, its not in my nature to neglect somwon in need, im allways willing to lend a hand and give to people in need, i know the gospel and base my life on it. and im not going to let that change.
my lifes been gaining alot of momentum lately, not just in hunting and archery but in my conversion. and i have Our Lady to thank for that, iv been trying to be obedient to the medjugorje messages and the more i do the more i realise what good advice it is.
iv had experience with bad dreams before, and some of them appear to be an attempt from the evil ones to cause me dismay, iv learned to watch out for the devils tricks.
that dream could have been an attempt to shake my confidence and deter me from doing the will of God and following through with my vocation. my spiritual adviser said the archery isnt a bad thing, and the will of God is still my number one priority in life.
i think the catechism gave good advice.
“Still, a sound Christian attitude consists in putting oneself confidently into the hands of Providence for whatever concerns the future, and giving up all unhealthy curiosity about it.”

 

[puzzleannie]

I dont know where in the catechism i would find it, the search feature on the online catechism never works for me and i cant find anything in the index of my youcat.

any easy way to search the catechism on line is at catholicity.com, the link for the searchable catechism. once you find the topic you can read the shorter answer, and it gives you the actuall CCC paragraphs, which you can then locate on the bishop’s website usccb.org (link at the top)

Unless God has chosen you for a prophetic mission, as he did Joseph (both of them, OT and NT) most dreams are simple brain responses to sense images that have been received during the waking hours and the result of the brain processing those images as part of the sleep cycle. They have meaning only in relation to what was experienced during the day including stresses, problems or conflicts one is currently facing. Usually with a little thought the meaning becomes clear, as dream images are usually very literal and if you replay your dream out loud those images become clear.

For instance you dream of being caught in a whirlpool, In waking life you feel you are “drowning” in clutter, or paperwork. You dream of flying and in waking life are struggling to get free of a painful situation and “fly away”.

The first thing you look for in a troubling dream, disturbing instance at prayer or other distressing emotional experience is NOT the supernatural, either divine or demonic. The first thing to look for is the natural explanation. I overate and it was indigestion. I have been watching too much violent or sexually explicit TV. I have unresolved emotional issues I am not dealing with. and so forth. Only if you cannot find a natural explanation do you begin to suspect anything supernatural, and if you do, you take it to your priest for discernment. You don’t just wake up in the morning remembering a bad dream and assume, “oh of course it was a demon.”

 

[riffer791]

I understand what your saying,
Most dreams i have i just ignore, they seem pretty random and if i remember them in the morning i usually forget them pretty quick.
but somtimes i would have quite a vivid dream where it apprears to be quite obviously malicious, and being christians we believe that the devil and his followers are at work in the world, so its not crazy or out of the question to think that a bad spirit could be having a go at me. even if thats the case it doesnt worry me, it dosent seem to have done me any harm, I recon the Allmighty and me get along allright, He let me know im on the right track.
As for that dream i told you about, im not going to take it seriously or let it dictate my life.
i just thaught it could have been a warning because i im getting $1000 soon hense the $10 i was looking for in the dream, and i was planning to spend $500 on a bow and $500 on a good handheld GPS, which would explain the two $5 notes i found to pay for the rollercoaster.
The night before that i dreamed i was battleing freddie kruger, i rebuked him in the name of Jesus Christ over and over again whilst belting him over the head with a toilet seat:shrug: who knows what that could mean? if anything.