Glossary

Dream interpretation uses words not everyone knows. Here is what they mean, with a fuller explanation for each.

Winti

• Kra The soul or life force of a person in the Winti tradition.
• Yorka The spirit of someone who has died; in dreams often a visit from an ancestor.
• Winti Both the Surinamese spiritual tradition and the forces recognised within it.
• Apuku Forest and nature spirits, often tied to trees, animals and wild places.
• Mama Aisa Goddess of the earth and head of all winti pantheons.
• Anana The Creator in the Winti tradition, source of all winti.
• Djodjo The supernatural parents who protect you from birth.
• Tata Bosoe Head of the water winti, ruler of rivers, creeks and the sea.
• Kromanti Warrior-like, protective force among the sky winti, tied to courage.
• Loko Winti of trees and earth, carrier of wisdom and authority.
• Bakru Small, powerful spirit beings that can protect or harm.
• Wisi Harmful magic, the opposite of obia.
• Obia Healing and protective force, and the person who applies it.
• Winti-fjofjo A disturbance in the contact between a person and their own winti.
• Wintiprei A winti ceremony in which winti are honoured through song, dance and trance.
• Tata Opete Head of the air pantheon; the only winti with free access to Anana.
• Srama The divine potency of a winti; determines how close it stands to Anana.
• Bere The family line within which winti are inherited and ancestors are served.
• Boen-sé en ogri-sé The benign and harmful side that every winti carries.
• Trefu A prohibition from your winti, usually on certain food, differing from person to person.
• Takroe-sani Lower beings in which the harmful aspect dominates, used in wisi.
• Luku A consultation with a lukuman or lukuvrouw, a Winti diviner.
• Wasi A ritual herbal bath in Winti.
• Hebi watra A heavy cleansing bath that removes burden, hebi.
• Swiet watra A sweet bath with flowers, for blessing and new starts.
• Prati watra The separation bath after a death, so the yorka lets go.
• Kra tafra A meal or bath to strengthen the kra, the soul.
• Tapu Spiritual protection in Winti, for body, house or yard.
• Pai An offering to a winti.
• Sreka and teri Honouring a winti, often by giving it its clothing or jewellery.
• Bigisma The elders and ancestors, who often speak in dreams in Winti.
• Asi The person who carries a winti; literally the horse.
• Kroi In Winti, the manipulation of a partner by ritual means.
• Duman A Winti healer and expert in baths and rituals.
• Calabash A hollowed-out gourd, used in Winti to pray with water.
• Pimba White clay, used in Winti for cleansing and tribute.
• Poku The music and song of a Winti ceremony.
• Leba The winti of street and crossroads, gatekeeper and cleanser.
• Fodu Snake spirits of the earth, also called papa winti.
• Ingi The spirits of the Indigenous peoples of Suriname.
• Kotomisi The Afro-Surinamese dress of koto, jaki and angisa, and the woman who wears it.
• Angisa The starched, folded head tie worn with the koto, whose fold carries a message.
• Pangi A rectangular, colourful cloth wrapped around the body; in Winti its colour can refer to a winti.
• Apinti A carved Afro-Surinamese drum that calls the winti and once carried messages.
• Kankantri The kapok tree, in Winti a sacred tree and dwelling place of winti.

Islamic

• Ru'ya The true dream in Islamic tradition, distinguished from ordinary dreams.
• Ta'bir al-ru'ya The Islamic science of dream interpretation.
• Hadith an-nafs The dream arising from your own thoughts and worries.
• Ibn Sirin Eighth-century scholar, best-known name in Islamic dream interpretation.
• 'Ilm Knowledge; classically linked with clear water in dream interpretation.
• Hulm The disturbing dream, seen as arising from whisperings of the shaytan rather than as a message.
• Mubashshirat Glad tidings; a classically recognised subtype of the true dream (ru'ya).
• Ru'ya sadiqa The classical, more precise term for what is often shortened to “the true dream”.
• Ta'wil Interpreting the deeper, hidden meaning behind a dream image, the core of the interpretive method.
• Muabbir The classical term for a qualified dream interpreter: someone with knowledge, experience and a careful method.
• Kinaya Symbolic or punning language through which a dream image points to another concept.
• Adghath ahlam Confused, meaningless dreams: a Qur'anic term for dreams that merit no interpretation.
• Istikhara The prayer for divine guidance in a decision; sometimes, but not necessarily, followed by a clarifying dream.
• Rizq Provision: everything that comes to a person from God, from money to knowledge.
• Sadaqa Voluntary charity in Islam; zakat is the obligatory alms.
• Tahara Purity, physical and ritual, in Islam.
• Yunus The prophet swallowed by a great fish, Jonah in the Bible.

Santería

• Orisha The forces in Santería, each with their own domain and imagery.
• Aché The force that makes things happen: life force, capacity and passage.
• Egun The ancestors, continually present and often visible in dreams.
• Orí The head as the seat of consciousness and destiny.
• Diloggún Divination with cowrie shells; how the tradition answers questions.
• Padrino en madrina The initiated godparent who guides you within a house.
• Regla de Ocha The name the tradition uses for itself, alongside Santería.
• Bóveda The place at home where the ancestors are remembered.
• Yemayá The Orisha of the sea and motherhood.
• Ochún The Orisha of sweet water, love and self-worth.
• Changó The Orisha of thunder, fire and dance.
• Oyá The Orisha of wind, storm and change, and gatekeeper of the cemetery.
• Ogún The Orisha of iron, work and clearing the way.
• Elegguá The Orisha of the crossroads, roads and beginnings: he opens and closes paths.

Christian

• Discernment Testing whether a dream genuinely means something, and where it comes from.
• Joseph the dream interpreter The biblical dream interpreter; the model for interpretation within the tradition.
• Vision A striking image, classically distinguished from an ordinary dream.
• Water and baptism Water as an image of cleansing and new beginning in the Christian tradition.
• Angel Messenger; in the Bible often the figure who speaks in a dream.
• Jacob's ladder Jacob's dream of a ladder between earth and heaven.
• Daniel Biblical prophet who interpreted the dreams of King Nebuchadnezzar.
• Revelation The last book of the Bible, full of visions and images.
• Holy Spirit In Christian faith the Spirit of God, often depicted as a dove.
• Grace God's unearned goodness and forgiveness, a core concept in Christianity.

Wicca

• The four elements Earth, air, fire and water; the framework Wicca uses to order dream imagery.
• Moon phases The moon's phase during the dream, which shapes the reading.
• The Wheel of the Year The eight seasonal festivals that colour the context of a dream.
• Shadow work Working with what you would rather not see; dreams are a key entrance.
• Dream journal The practice of recording dreams; in Wicca often with the moon's phase noted.
• Samhain The festival at the end of October when the dead are remembered and the veil between worlds is thin.
• Beltane The spring festival on 1 May of fertility, fire and union.
• Handfasting The Wiccan wedding ceremony, in which the hands are bound together.
• Wiccan Rede The guiding rule of wicca: do what you will, as long as it harms none.
• Hecate Goddess of crossroads, thresholds and the night, often accompanied by dogs.

Hindu

• Pitri The departed ancestors in Hinduism, remembered through rituals.
• Agni The Vedic god of fire, messenger between humans and gods.
• Naga Serpent beings in Hinduism, guardians of water and treasure.
• Atman The true, immortal self in Hinduism.
• Pandit A Hindu priest or scholar who leads rituals and gives advice.
• Karma The law of cause and effect: actions have consequences, in this life and the next.
• Samsara The cycle of birth, death and rebirth.
• Shraddha The Hindu ritual in remembrance of the departed ancestors.
• Ayurveda Classical Indian medicine, which also classifies dreams by their origin.
• Kundalini In the yoga tradition the coiled life energy at the base of the spine.

Buddhist

• Dream yoga A Tibetan Buddhist practice of recognising the dream as a dream.
• Milindapañha A classical Buddhist text that names six causes of dreams.
• Bardo In Tibetan Buddhism, the intermediate state after death.
• Mara In Buddhism, the personification of craving, fear and death.
• Maranasati Reflection on death, a Buddhist practice of mindfulness.
• Dukkha Suffering or unsatisfactoriness, the first of the four noble truths.
• Anicca Impermanence: everything that arises passes away.
• Sangha The Buddhist community of practitioners.
• Metta Loving-kindness: the practice of wishing yourself and others well.

Jewish

• Talmud The great rabbinic work of law, interpretation and discussion, after the Hebrew Bible the most important Jewish text.
• Hatavat chalom The Jewish custom of turning a bad dream for the good, together with three people.
• Ta'anit chalom A fast after a deeply disturbing dream.
• Kaddish The Jewish prayer mourners say in memory of the deceased.
• Yahrzeit The yearly anniversary of a death, marked with a candle and the Kaddish.
• Teshuvah Return or repentance: acknowledging what you did wrong and taking up the good again.
• Mikveh The Jewish ritual bath, for purification and transitions.
• Ayin hara The evil eye: the harmful gaze of envy, against which Jewish folk tradition seeks protection.

Zhou Gong

• Zhou Gong Jie Meng The best-known Chinese dream book, named after the Duke of Zhou.
• Taimeng A dream said to announce a pregnancy or tell something about the child.
• Zhuangzi Daoist thinker, known for the butterfly dream.
• Feng shui The Chinese art of arranging house and surroundings, for harmony and prosperity.
• Five phases The Chinese ordering of wood, fire, earth, metal and water.
• Yin and yang The two opposing and complementary forces in Chinese thought.

Akan

• Sankofa Adinkra symbol of a bird looking back: go back and fetch what you forgot.
• Anansi (Kwaku Ananse) The clever spider of Akan stories, who through slavery also became known in Suriname and the Caribbean.
• Nsamanfo The ancestors in the Akan tradition, who counsel, warn and protect the family.
• Sunsum A person's spirit or personality in the Akan tradition; it is said to travel during sleep.
• Adinkra The symbols of the Akan, each with its own proverb or thought.
• Ɔkra The soul Onyame gives at birth, carrying destiny (nkrabea); the origin of the Winti kra.
• Onyame The creator and supreme god in the Akan tradition.
• Abosom The Akan deities, children of Onyame, who dwell in rivers, lakes and forests.
• Asase Yaa The earth as goddess among the Akan, invoked second after Onyame.
• Adae (Akwasidae) The sacred day of the Akan calendar on which the ancestors are honoured.
• Gye Nyame Adinkra symbol meaning "except God": the supremacy of Onyame.
• Nyame Dua Adinkra symbol meaning "God's tree": Onyame's altar, a sign of his presence.
• Denkyem Adinkra symbol of the crocodile: adaptability.
• Funtunfunefu Denkyemfunefu Adinkra symbol of two crocodiles sharing one stomach: unity in diversity.
• Dwennimmen Adinkra symbol of a ram's horns: humility together with strength.
• Adinkrahene The "chief" of the Adinkra symbols: greatness, charisma and leadership.
• Akoma Adinkra symbol of the heart: patience and tolerance.
• Eban Adinkra symbol of the fence: love, safety and security.
• Mmusuyidee Adinkra symbol meaning "that which removes bad luck": good fortune and sanctity.
• Nkyinkyim Adinkra symbol of twisting: initiative, versatility and life's winding road.
• Aya Adinkra symbol of the fern: endurance and resourcefulness.
• Duafe Adinkra symbol of the wooden comb: beauty, care and good conduct.
• Hye Won Hye Adinkra symbol meaning "that which does not burn": imperishability and endurance.
• Osram ne Nsoromma Adinkra symbol of the moon and the star: faithful love and harmony.
• Mpatapo Adinkra symbol of the knot of reconciliation: making peace after strife.
• Bese Saka Adinkra symbol of a sack of cola nuts: abundance, power and unity.
• Fawohodie Adinkra symbol of independence: freedom, with the responsibility it brings.

Vodou

• Lwa The spirits of Haitian Vodou, each with their own character, domain and signs.
• Papa Legba The lwa of the gate and the crossroads, greeted first in every ceremony.
• Erzulie The family of lwa of love and motherhood: Erzulie Freda and Erzulie Dantò.
• Damballa The ancient lwa of the white serpent: wisdom, calm, purity and water.
• Gede The family of lwa of the dead, led by Baron Samedi: humour at the boundary of life and death.
• Gwo bonanj and ti bonanj The two soul parts in Vodou: the big good angel that travels in sleep, and the little good angel, the conscience.
• Ogou The lwa of iron, fire, work and struggle.
• Houngan and manbo Priest and priestess in Haitian Vodou.
• Vèvè The drawn symbol of a lwa, made with cornmeal on the ground.
• Lakou The family compound in Haiti, where the family's lwa are served across generations.
• Agwe The lwa of the sea, ships and those who cross the sea.
• Mami Wata A water spirit venerated across West and Central Africa and the diaspora: beauty, wealth and the water.