Dreams.

Newsgroup: alt.folklore.herbs
From: Mary Elizabeth <beth.orph.org>
Date: 19 Jan 1996 08:42:43 -05
Subject: Re: Dream-inducing herbs

> Lately I've had problems sleeping and/or dreaming. I used to LOVE to sleep, just for the dream factor. I get my artistic inspirations from my dreams, and lately, my dreams have been really blah, or I haven't had any (that I can remember). Does anyone know of any dream-inducing herbs? Preferrably ones that are simple to come by?

Don't know whether you have tried any aromatherapy oils, but I was recently given a bottle of marjoram oil to help me sleep and it certainly seems to make the dreams appear. Much more vivid and more of them.

From: Mary Elizabeth <beth.orph.org>

> Have you tried VALERIAN (true wild)? It is believed to be an excellent sleep aid.
> Additionally you might find POPPY to be of help when needing restful sleep.

I thank you sincerely, but I found several years ago that valerian leaves me groggy the next day and seems to aggravate other "heat" conditions I usually suffer from( including headaches). For people with chronic coldness, though, i believe valerian would be very useful (I take it when I'm exhausted, worried and desperate), but for people like me, who have to be careful of heat conditions, it seems that lavendar, lindenflower (also called limeflower), passion-flower, and other cooling herbs work much better for me. Temperature seems to be a critical factor for me, though it may not be for other people. Valerian is certainly a good place to start for insomniacs unused to alternative medicine. For those more experienced, I would advise aromatherapy using lavendar oil first.

From: fitheach.aol.com (Rex Rogers)

Valerian is great for getting to sleep.

But as far as dreaming goes, I've had the best luck with mugwort. You don't even need to ingest it. A dream pillow stuffed with fairly fresh (still fragrant) mugwort works great. And it's not a bad idea to have a little rose tea (buds or hips or leaves) to aid in remembering the dreams. Just make sure to have something to write with and on right next the bed, in case you wake up.