R

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Letter R of The Occultist’s Dream Dictionary. This is a dream dictionary for people who live with spirits: the demons, gods and dead who visit in sleep, the dreams that can mean something is wrong, the big dreams of love, money and life read with a witch’s eye, and the magical symbols that turn up when you are doing the work. A dream is a conversation with the unseen, not a verdict, so take these as starting points and weigh each one against what is happening in your life right now.

Spirits that come in dreams: R

Rabisu

People work with Rabisu as a guardian of thresholds, a watcher set on the front door, the gate or the edge of a property to catch whatever tries to come in, and he tends to show up when someone feels their home or boundaries are being tested. (History and lore: his page.)

How they tend to appear: A crouched shape just inside a doorway, someone sitting in a parked car outside the house, a figure on the stairwell landing of an apartment block, a shape on the roof edge, or a doorbell camera picking up movement no one can see. Very often the dream is all about the door and you never get a clear look at him.

What the dream may mean:

• He crouches at your own front door, facing out: his name means “the one who lurks,” and lurking at your door on your behalf means a request to guard the home was taken up.
• He stands aside and lets you pass: you are being allowed into a new stage or place, often a move, a new job or a new circle.
• He lurks at someone else’s door: a warning about who is waiting for you to make a mistake.
• A door you thought was locked stands open with him beside it: a gap in your protection he wants you to see. Check your wards, and check who has a key.

Support, message or attack?

• Likely support or a message: he stays at the boundary, faces outward, and you wake feeling watched over rather than watched.
• Likely a test: he blocks a door and waits to see whether you ask properly or push through.
• Possibly an attack or a mimic: a lurking shape that comes inside, climbs onto the bed or follows you from room to room has stopped behaving like a threshold guard. That pattern belongs with attack signs.

If you work with them: Write it down, then leave an offering at the threshold itself, a little beer, bread or incense on the step, and renew whatever charm you keep over the door.

Ravana

People work with Ravana for scholarship, ambition, rule over their own domain and the fierce kind of devotion that will not bow, and he tends to show up for students, self-made people and anyone building a kingdom of their own. (History and lore: his page.)

How they tend to appear: A crowned man whose face keeps changing, a boardroom or lecture hall where ten voices talk at once, a golden city or an island skyline, a private jet or flying vehicle, the sound of a stringed instrument, or Shiva’s mountain in the background.

What the dream may mean:

• He sets you to study: he was a scholar of the Vedas, astrology and medicine, and he usually pushes hard study in an occult or traditional science, most often astrology or herbal medicine.
• Ten heads or ten voices each give advice: a decision with many sides that you are trying to force into one.
• A golden city burns: Lanka burned because of his desire, and in a dream that is a warning that pride or wanting is about to cost what you have built.
• He bows to Shiva in front of you: devotion is the source of his power, and he may be telling you your own practice needs more of it.

Support, message or attack?

• Likely support or a message: you wake driven and clear-headed, wanting to study or build.
• Likely a test: you are offered something that belongs to someone else.
• Possibly an attack or a mimic: a “demon king” dream only about domination that leaves you feeling owned rather than taught is more likely your own fear of power or a lesser spirit borrowing a grand name.

If you work with them: Record it, then offer music, study time, or a lamp in Shiva’s honor as well as his. Ask him which of his faces spoke to you.

Raum

People work with Raum for money and goods, for bringing down a rival’s reputation, and for reconciling people who have fallen out, and he tends to show up when something someone is owed needs to be taken back.

How they tend to appear: Crows gathering on a windowsill, a power line or a parking lot, a single black bird carrying a coin, a ring or a key, or a dark man with feathers in his hair. The smell of rain and wet earth is often mentioned. The classical form is a crow that takes human shape.

What the dream may mean:

• A crow drops something at your feet: he was said to carry treasure out of kings’ houses, and here money or goods are moving toward you, often from a large company or institution.
• A crow tears down a building or a sign: he destroys cities and the dignities of men. A rival’s reputation may be about to fall, or your own ego is being knocked down for a reason.
• Two people who dislike each other share a meal: this often follows a working for reconciliation.
• He tells you something about what is coming: he knows past, present and future; write down dates and places.

Support, message or attack?

• Likely support or a message: you wake alert, the bird carried something, and it ties to your petition.
• Likely a test: he offers what clearly belongs to someone you love.
• Possibly an attack or a mimic: crows that peck at you, crowd the bed or wake you screaming are not a typical Raum report and may point to something hostile using his imagery.

If you work with them: Note the date and what the bird carried. Offer something shiny, dark bread, or a little red wine, and ask for clarity on the next step.

Ronove

People work with Ronove to win an argument, a negotiation, an interview or a court date, to learn languages, and to gain favor with friends and enemies alike, and he tends to show up before the conversation that matters.

How they tend to appear: A large dark creature that speaks with surprising clarity, a lawyer or speech coach, a figure with a staff, a phone call in a foreign language, or subtitles running under the dream. The old texts call him only “a monster.”

What the dream may mean:

• He coaches you through a speech: he tends to show up before a court date, interview or hard talk with family. Practice the words you heard.
• You wake understanding a word in a language you do not speak: his teaching of tongues may be beginning.
• A monster smiles at your enemy: a rival is about to soften toward you.
• He takes the words out of your mouth: you are talking too much; let silence work.

Support, message or attack?

• Likely support or a message: you remember exact words or phrasing, and they prove useful.
• Likely a test: you are made to argue the other side’s case.
• Possibly an attack or a mimic: a monster that only roars and gives no words or insight is more likely an ordinary fear dream wearing a frightening face.

If you work with them: Write down any words exactly as you heard them. Thank him and practice the speech or language he pointed you toward.

Rangda

People work with Rangda for fierce protection, for witchcraft itself, and for justice for the wronged, and she tends to show up for women who have been pushed out, slandered or underestimated.

How they tend to appear: A wild-haired woman with bulging eyes, fangs and a very long tongue, long nails, a white cloth in one hand, the clash of gamelan music, or floating lights at night. Modern dreamers also describe an older woman in a mask at a party or a festival, or a woman screaming on behalf of someone else.

What the dream may mean:

• She stands between you and an enemy: protective work has been taken up by something very strong.
• She dances against the Barong: in Bali the dance never ends with a winner, because good and evil are meant to stay in tension. A long struggle in your life is balanced and will not be won quickly by either side.
• She points at you: look at whether you are the one holding a grudge.
• She teaches you a chant or gesture: an invitation into the craft itself.

Support, message or attack?

• Likely support or a message: she faces outward, toward your enemy, and you wake feeling fierce.
• Likely a test: she shows you your own rage and waits to see what you do with it.
• Possibly an attack or a mimic: floating heads and lights that come every night and leave you drained are better read as leyak-type harm sent against you, not as her favor.

If you work with them: Record it and offer flowers, rice, incense and a little arak or strong spirit. Ask whether she is guarding or warning.

Rhiannon

People work with Rhiannon for sovereignty, for patience under false accusation, for horses, and for dream work itself, and she tends to show up for people who are being blamed for something they did not do.

How they tend to appear: A woman in gold on a pale horse just ahead of you, a white car or horse you cannot catch up with, three birds singing, a mound or hill, birdsong so beautiful you forget everything else.

What the dream may mean:

• You cannot catch her: in the Mabinogi no rider could catch her until Pwyll simply asked her to stop. Ask rather than chase.
• Her birds sing: her birds were said to wake the dead. Dead ancestors may be near and willing to speak.
• You are blamed for something you did not do: she bore a false accusation for years, and she often comes while teaching endurance.
• You fall into a deep, sweet sleep inside the dream: rest being given after exhaustion.

Support, message or attack?

• Likely support or a message: you wake rested, with a song or phrase in your head.
• Likely a test: she rides away each time until you speak.
• Possibly an attack or a mimic: sleep so heavy you cannot wake, with sounds that pull you down, is not her gentle sleep and belongs with attack signs.

If you work with them: Write down what the birds sang, offer apples, oats or mead, and ask her plainly.

Love, money and life dreams: R

Reunion with an ex

Meeting an ex again in a dream does not always mean you want them back. Often it shows a feeling the relationship left behind, such as longing, unfinished anger or the person you were then. A typical dream is running into them in a familiar place and everything feeling easy, as if nothing ended.

The magical reading:

• During a reconciliation or return-to-me working: this is the dream people hope for, and it usually means the connection is reopening on the spirit level before it shows in waking life.
• When it may be interference: if you have no wish to see this person and dream of them nightly, consider whether they are holding a cord to you or doing work of their own.

Ring

A ring in a dream speaks of commitment: an engagement, a marriage, a promise or a contract. Being given one feels like recognition; losing one often reflects fear that a bond is slipping.

The magical reading:

• During love work: receiving a ring suggests the working is moving toward commitment.
• If you work with a spirit: a ring can mean a pact or bond with the spirit itself.
• When it may be interference: a ring that is too tight, burns, or cannot be taken off can point to a binding you did not agree to.

Rich, becoming

Dreams of sudden wealth, a winning ticket, a large deposit, a big house with your name on it, often show hope, or a sense that you are finally worth more than you have been paid.

The magical reading:

• After petitioning money spirits such as Clauneck, Bune or Mammon: wealth dreams usually mean the petition has been heard and opportunities are being lined up.
• When it may be interference: if the money turns to leaves, ash or paper the moment you touch it, read that as a warning about how the money is coming in, or about someone feeding on your hope.

Robbed

You come home to the door kicked in, or a hand slides into your bag on a crowded train. Being robbed in a dream often reflects something being taken from you in waking life: time, love, credit for your work, or your sense of safety. Ask what was stolen; it is rarely random.

The magical reading:

• If you work with a spirit: if the spirit is the thief, it may be taking back what you owe in offerings.
• When it may be interference: robbed by the same faceless figure again and again, especially of money or jewelry, look at whether someone has taken your luck through crossing work or theft of personal items.

Rejected

Being turned away in a dream, by a lover, a boss or a family member, usually mirrors a fear of not being wanted. It can also show you who you are still hoping will choose you.

The magical reading:

• During a love working: rejection dreams are not always bad; they can show the pride and resistance the working must break through.
• When it may be interference: if every dream ends in rejection and doors also close in waking life without reason, check for crossed conditions or blockage work.

Running but not moving

You run as hard as you can but your legs barely move, or the road stretches longer the faster you go. It usually reflects stress, a problem on your heels, or effort that is not paying off. There is a physical piece to it too: during the deepest dreaming sleep the body’s muscles are held still, so the dream may simply be your mind trying to run with legs that are switched off.

The magical reading:

• During spell work: the working is pushing against resistance it has not yet broken.
• When it may be interference: if something specific is chasing you, note its shape and color, because that detail is how you tell your own fear from an entity.

Relatives

Family members showing up in a dream often bring old roles and old patterns with them. Being a child again in your parents’ house is a common version.

The magical reading:

• During ancestor work: dead relatives may be ancestors coming forward to help with work you have started, and one who gives you something useful is usually help.
• When it may be interference: living relatives can show family magic, debts or curses that run down the line, and one who takes from you or blocks the door may be pointing to generational baggage that needs clearing.

Signs of spiritual attack: R

Rats

Rats running through the house, nesting in your bed or clothes, chewing through walls or crawling on you while you lie still. The dream often comes with disgust and a sense of being overrun.

What it can point to: Betrayal and gossip in waking life, or an entity feeding on the household. Where the rats are tells you which: rats in your own body or bed lean toward an attachment or parasite, rats in the walls and kitchen toward a haunting or work done on the home, and rats coming in from a neighbor’s side toward ill wishes from that direction.

Ordinary dream or attack? The markers are repetition, the dream starting after a new person or object came into the house, waking at the same hour, often 3am, a smell of rot or musk that stays, or pets staring at the walls.

What to do: Sweep salt out of the front door, then keep a white candle burning safely while you clean the bedroom. If the rats keep returning, our Is Your House Under Spiritual Attack? check will name what is nesting there.

Ropes and binding

You are tied to the bed, a chair or a tree, or ropes wrap your arms and throat. Sometimes you see someone tying knots and cannot stop them.

What it can point to: Binding work done against you, energy cords to a person who will not let go, or a spirit that wants control. If you know who holds the rope, think about cords and binding; if the rope is held by a shadow, look at entities.

Ordinary dream or attack? Rope marks or red lines on the skin, a tightness in the throat after waking, the dream returning when that person contacts you, or others in the house reporting the same dream are the strong signs.

What to do: Tonight, cut a cord in front of a candle and burn it while naming what you release. If you still wake bound, the Are You Under Spiritual Attack? check can show who tied the knot.

Rotting smell

The dream smells of rotting meat, sulfur, or a grave, and the smell may follow you out of sleep. Food in the dream may also be spoiled or crawling.

What it can point to: A lower entity or haunting, or a curse with grave dirt or decay as its material. A smell that is in one room points to the house; one that follows you to work points to you.

Ordinary dream or attack? If the smell is still there after you wake, if others notice it, or if pets refuse a room, take it seriously.

What to do: Burn a protective resin such as frankincense or dragon’s blood and open the windows. If the smell lingers past a cleansing, the Is Your House Under Spiritual Attack? check will find what is behind it.

Repeating nightmare

The same frightening dream, scene for scene, night after night. The setting may be a place you have never been.

What it can point to: An attached entity replaying a loop it feeds on, a curse with a repeating trigger, or a haunting tied to an event in the place where you sleep. If the dream stops when you sleep elsewhere, look at the house. Be fair to yourself, though: Jung noticed that ordinary recurring dreams also repeat until their message is understood, and then simply stop. If you can work out what the dream is saying and it changes, it was yours.

Ordinary dream or attack? Notice when it began, whether it follows a person or object, whether you wake at the same time, and whether anyone else in the home dreams the same scene.

What to do: Before sleep, say aloud that the dream will end differently and keep iron under the pillow. If the loop does not break, our Are You Under Spiritual Attack? check names what keeps winding it.

Magical dream symbols: R

Raven. The raven is the bird of Odin, of the dead, and of the prophetic dream. It can bring a message from a spirit or ancestor; a raven that speaks is worth writing down word for word. A raven sitting on a grave or on your chest is a darker warning to watch what you are feeding.

Ritual. Dreaming of performing a ritual you do not know can be a spirit teaching you, especially if you wake with clear details. If the ritual goes wrong or is run by strangers, it may point to work being done on you, or to doubts about your own practice.

Roots. Digging up a healthy root, thick and clean, says a working will take hold; it is no accident that hoodoo calls the whole craft rootwork. Rotten roots are a warning about something sick in the family line.

Rooster. Folk belief everywhere says night spirits flee when the rooster crows. Hearing one crow in a dream can mean a dark period is ending. A black rooster is a traditional offering, so seeing one may be a spirit asking for something.

Runes. Runes in a dream are messages to be read literally; note which ones you saw. Runes carved into your door or skin can point to a protective spell, or to someone marking you.

River. Crossing a river is change or initiation, the old border between the living and the dead. Being swept away is a situation bigger than you. Ovid put the cave of Sleep beside Lethe, the river of forgetting, which may be why dreams by water are so hard to hold onto in the morning; write them down fast.

Rue. Rue growing thick around your house means protection is in place; it has been the herb against the evil eye since antiquity. Rue withering on the windowsill says that protection is being used up.

Razor. A razor in your own hand cuts cleanly, so it can point to cutting cords or ending ties. A razor held by someone else at your throat or wrist is a warning about who is close to you.

Red candle. A red candle burns for love, lust, power and strength. A tall, steady flame suggests a working going well; a red candle that bleeds wax heavily can point to emotion running too hot or a working meeting resistance.

When a dream will not leave you alone

If the same figure keeps returning, if the nightmares began after a working, a person or a visit somewhere heavy, or if you wake drained and uneasy, something may be attached to your energy. Our Are You Under Spiritual Attack? check ($25) tells you plainly what is there. If it is your home that feels wrong (footsteps, doors, smells, pets reacting, or others in the house having the same dreams), take Is Your House Under Spiritual Attack? ($30) instead. To have a dream of your own read, try the Dream Oracle, our occult dream interpretation, delivered in minutes and built on this dictionary and our casebook, or see all our dream readings. Interpretation is guidance, not certainty, and like all our work it comes with no guarantees.

The Occultist’s Dream Dictionary: A · B · C · D · E · F · G · H · I · J · K · L · M · N · O · P · Q · R · S · T · U · V · W · X · Y · Z