The Egyptian Dream Book

Do you believe that dreams can foretell the future? If you do, then you are not alone. The divination of dreams, or oneiromancy as it is also called, has its roots in the ancient world. Dreams played a powerful role in the past.

From ancient Egypt to Greece, Rome, China, and the European middle ages dreams have been an important means for communicating with the dead, predicting the future and diagnosing illness. To many cultures the dream was an extension of reality, though often more powerful.

In the Book of Genesis, Joseph, the son of the Jewish Patriarch, Jacob, had the ability to divine the future based on dreams. According to the Bible, this ability allowed Joseph to interpret Pharaoh’s dream, which foretold a 7-year famine. This enabled Egypt to avoid this disaster and contributed to Joseph’s meteoric rise in the Egyptian hierarchy. 

The Bible is not the only ancient literary source that records the interpretation of dreams. The Egyptians had a ‘Dream Book’ which set on the meaning of many different types of dreams.

Thousands of years ago, ancient Egyptians used the messages in their dreams in order to cure illnesses, make important State decisions, and even to decide where to build a temple or when to wage a battle.

The ancient Egyptian word for Dreams was "rswt" meaning "To be awake". 

In ancient Egypt, priests acted as dream interpreters. The ancient Egyptians were often considered the fathers of the dream incubation technique. When an Egyptian had trouble he would sleep in a temple where he would dream, sometimes to the sleep enhancing fragrance of lilac oils. Upon waking the priest would interpret that night's dreams.

Dreams were considered to be divine predictions of the future. They were messages from the gods that could be foretelling of impending disasters or, conversely, of good fortune; therefore, understanding the significance of ones dreams was an important part of the culture.

It was also believed that dreams served as a window to the other side. Living people could see the activities of the deceased through dreams.

The ancient Egyptian Dream Book is a hieratic papyrus that probably dates to the early reign of Ramesses II (1279-1213 BC). The papyrus  was found in the cemetery at Deir el-Medina, near the Valley of the Kings. 

According to the British Museum, “it is uncertain who the original owner was, but it passed into the hands of the scribe Qeniherkhepshef; on the other side of the papyrus, the scribe copied a poem about the Battle of Kadesh, which took place in the reign of Ramesses II (1279-1213 BC).

The book passed to Khaemamen, Qeniherkhepshef’s wife’s second husband, and then to his son Amennakht (both added their name to the papyrus). It passed down through the family for more than a century.

On each page of the papyrus a vertical column of hieratic signs begins: ‘if a man sees himself in a dream’; each horizontal line describes a dream, followed by the diagnosis ‘good’ or ‘bad’, and then the interpretation.

For example, ‘if a man sees himself in a dream looking out of a window, good; it means the hearing of his cry’. Or, ‘If a man sees himself drinking beer, bad; it means suffering will come to him.’ The text first lists good dreams, and then bad ones; the word ‘bad’ is written in red, ‘the color of ill omen’.

Dreaming of for example a deep well meant prison. A mirror indicated a second wife. Getting bitten  by a snake was associated with gossip and a blossom symbolized prosperity.

Other examples are:

• If a man sees himself plunging or swimming or diving in a river, good; it means he will get rid of all illnesses.
• If a man sees himself drinking wine, good; it means he will live in righteousness.
• If a man sees himself dead, good; it means he will live in a long life.
• If a man sees himself drinking blood, good; it means he will put an end to his enemies.
• If a man sees himself reading aloud from a Papyrus or an old (sacred) book, good; it means he will feel his dominion established.
• If a man sees himself watching a blossom, good; it means he will be blessed with prosperity.
• If a man sees himself watching the Moon shining, good; it means he will be blessed by the Divine Powers.
• If a man sees himself in a dream, his bed catching fire, bad; it means driving away his wife.
• If a man sees himself getting hurt by a thorn, bad; it means his lies will get him in trouble.
• If a man sees himself having sex, bad; it means he will hear sad news.
• If a man sees himself throwing a piece of wood in fire, bad; it means pain will come to his house.
• If a man sees himself cutting his hair, bad; it means he will experience a loss in his house.
• If a man sees himself getting bitten by a dog, bad; it means magic is against him, probably someone casted a dark spell on him!

Around 108 dreams, which describe 78 activities and emotions, are recorded in the ‘Dream Book’. These activities may be said to be things commonly undertaken by the average person. Most of these activities deal with some form of sight or seeing. The second largest category deals with eating and drinking, and a few more deal with receiving and copulating.  

Another interesting thing about the ‘Dream Book’ is that it was once part of an archive. In addition to this papyrus, there were a variety of papyri which dealt with literary, magical, and documentary works. 

The Indo-Greek king Artemidoros Aniketos who first wrote the most important ancient book of Interpreting dreams, the Oneirocritica based his work so much in this Manuscript. 

This manuscript now is being exhibited by the British Museum “No. III (BRIT. Mus. 10683)“.

Also read:

• 10 Ancient legends about dreams