Dream Circle – A Nightly Spiritual Practice – Don’t Sleep On It

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Sleep is sacred. It’s a fact that took me a bit to learn. There was a good chunk of my life where I did not hold that belief and let way too many things interrupt my sleep. Besides being not physically at my best because of lack of sleep, this state stressed my nervous system and my energetic powers. Lack of sleeps leaves me vulnerable to mess up one of the founding elements in my personal witchcraft practice – dreamcraft.*

Sacredness is where we start all our workings, and that goes for sleep and dreaming, too. The first thing I did to level up my dreamcraft practice was to make my sleep sacred. Boundaries around your rest time can bring up a lot of ire for some, especially kin. Kids especially trample that border, but once they are adult-like you should be able to keep that phone off, and expect that unless “someone is bleeding or something’s on fire, don’t wake me up.”  

But sleep is when I do my best witchy work, specifically when I dream. In this way sleep becomes a sacred threshold between my Practice, my deeper self, ancestors, spirits, and the Universe. And the best part is it doesn’t require elaborate tools or advanced psychic abilities. It begins with attention, consistency, recording, and a willingness to listen. 

But before any of that, we’ll need our beauty rest. So, we’re creating a sacred space for sleep to help get you to the point where dreaming comes easy. Here’s what my personal bedtime ritual looks like, all in an effort to set the stage to crate a calm, receptive atmosphere that moves me away from the noise of the day and be able to do dreamwork.

The following tactics only work if first off your bedroom is clear of anything that brings cluttering energy. You can sleep at night with your clean laundry bunched at the bottom of the bed, but you’ll sleep better if it’s all put away before you climb under the covers. 

Doing my best to teach the Grand Witchling that sleep is sacred, too.

Tips To Make Sleep Sacred

Put Away The Phone:  As I begin to create that sacred space for sleep, my phone gets turned to Do Not Disturb. This is as I’m getting ready for bed. Sometimes I even stick the phone in my bedside table drawer so I don’t see it and get tempted to scroll. And for the love of the goddess, I hope you’re able to NOT have a TV in your bedroom. That is the biggest disruptor of sleep out there. If you must for living arrangement reasons, make sure that’s off as well. When I first started putting my phone away at night (years of practice now) I used to do so with this thought in my head: “The work of this day is done; in rest I dream; in sleep I release the sun; My higher self achieve.” Today, this phrase is just automatically in my mind when I set that phone down. It pings my brain immediately now that it’s time for rest. 

Create a Mood: Our household is generally “keep the big light off” place. For the bedroom, warm, low-light lamps are used. I also am super sensitive to humidity loss while I sleep, so a humidifier with essential oil mist is employed as well. Think about what you need as you sleep and make sure that it creates that atmosphere. You could light a candle or burn some gentle incense. Personally, my incense and candles are all extinguished when I put that phone away. The point is to get cozy with how the vibe is in the room. Lighting is key. This includes making sure when you do turn off the light, everything is actually dark. This alerts the physical body that it’s time for the nightly unconscious session. 

Sound & Scent Sense: I use a white noise machine and have for years, and this signals my brain that its time to get on the sleep train. Quiet music or a recording of a babbling brook or crickets may be more to your liking. Again, it’s something you do all the time to get yourself ready to rest and to facilitate slumber quickly. In addition to sound, consider how ‘going to sleep’ smells for you. I love a quick energy-clearing spritz of a hydrosol herbal spray – rosemary or lavender are my preferred scents for the bedroom. Many people have an immediate nervous system slow down when smelling lavender or rosemary – a very good thing before going to sleep. This practice of a smokeless cleanse not only energetically cleanse the air, it makes your abode spell nice. 

Grounding & Breathwork: I spend a few minutes before shuffling under the sheets to do some recentering and box breathing. It’s one final exercise I do to bring on a relaxing state for sleep. If your brain is buzzing and the lists of to-dos won’t stop hammering your thoughts, having a tool like breathwork is clutch in beating any sleep procrastination. If you don’t have a grounding practice, here’s a quick how-to:

1. Place both feet on the floor or rest your hands on your body.

2. Inhale slowly through the nose and exhale gently.

3. Notice five physical sensations (warmth, softness, your butt on the mattress 😉).

4. Name one thing you are grateful for from the day. 

5. Take three more slow, deep breaths. Repeat step 3. 

6. Say a brief phrase of mindfulness. (e.g. I breathe in love; I exhale kindness)

(If you Practice includes dream work this might be a time you set your spiritual boundaries and protections for the dream space. More on that practice in a future post.) 

Seasonal Considerations: Your sacred space can be especially meaningful when it changes with the seasons. In autumn you might shift the heaviness of the fabrics on your bed, the color tones, or even the scent you’ll use to launder your bedding. I especially like making my bedroom reflect the wider rhythms of the Earth and connecting that to personal rest. 

I make hydrosols all growing season long to use mundanely and magically. Lavender is a favorite.

The transition into sleep can become a meaningful ritual rather than an abrupt ending to the day. Instead of carrying the noise of conversations, work, the news, and screens directly to bed, creating a few intentional moments that signal to your body and spirit that it is now time to slow down. None of it needs to be elaborate. Sacred space is not defined by how many tools you own, but by the attention and meaning you bring to the space. 

Creating your own routine to signal the boundary between waking life and dreamtime can help prevent the mind from remaining alert and engaged with the outside world. The most important consideration is whether the space helps you feel calm, grounded, and receptive to rest (and later dream work). One Witch may like to sleep next to a carefully arranged altar, whereas another needs a completely minimalist, zero-clutter room. Sacredness is found in what you find necessary – an open window, freshly washed sheets, a cool glass of water, or the decision to leave the laundry in the dryer so you can climb into bed.

Over time, these repeated actions become signals to the body and mind. Putting the phone away, turning down the lights, intentional breathwork, and the scent of rosemary. Your bedroom becomes not only a place to sleep, but a threshold where the Witch can release the waking world and enter the quiet, symbolic landscape of dreams. 

Sweet dreams, Witches,

~R

*I call it dreamcraft instead of dream work, because the work of partnering with dreams is many layered, so a dream work effort may be part of a larger dreamcraft. Want to know more about dreamcraft? Pick up my at-your-own-pace course via my website.