Dreaming about Ogum: meaning and where the scene comes from

Dreaming about Ogum: the direct answer

Dream interpretation is not prediction and not diagnosis. This article separates what sleep research observes from what popular interpretation associates with the theme, always saying which is which.

Dreaming about Ogum is not a warning of a fight, an accident or a disaster. In the Afro-Brazilian religions, Ogum (Ogun in the Yoruba tradition) is the orixá, or deity, of iron, of the forge, of war and of open roads. In umbanda, a Brazilian religion that blends African, Indigenous, Catholic and Spiritist elements, he is closely tied to protection, and in Rio de Janeiro religious syncretism brought him close to Saint George. The dream tends to show up in phases of hard work, competition, conflict or the courage to start something new.

Nor does the scene mean that you need to perform a ritual or that someone is against you. For research, it usually reflects everyday disputes and efforts. If the dream took place at a gira, the umbanda ceremony in which followers sing and dance for the spirits, also read about dreaming about macumba or umbanda.

Read also: Dreaming about Xangô and Dreaming about war.

Where Ogum in a dream comes from

The continuity hypothesis (Schredl and Hofmann, 2003) helps explain the path. The image of the warrior saint on the kitchen wall, the April 23 celebration (Saint George's Day), a chant for Ogum sung at a gira, a movie about knights or a battle video game all leave a mark. A job interview, a lawsuit or a difficult boss can also take the shape of the one who, in the tradition, takes on battles for others.

When the scene turns into a battle and frightens you, another fact comes in. In an online study with hundreds of reports, Michael Schredl and Anja Göritz found falling and being chased among the most common nightmare themes. A sword fight in a dream is often a version of that same tension.

Sources: Schredl and Hofmann, Continuity between waking activities and dream activities, Consciousness and Cognition, 2003; Schredl and Göritz, Nightmare Themes, Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 2018.

What appears in a dream about Ogum

In umbanda and candomblé, this trance is called incorporation: according to the faith, the orixá or spirit manifests through a medium. If the horse dominated the scene, read dreaming about a horse; if the fight was about work, dreaming about a job interview.

See also: Dreaming about Oxum and Dreaming about a caboclo spirit.

When dreaming about Ogum turns into a nightmare

Dreams of fighting are common and, on their own, do not point to a problem. Pay attention when the battle repeats over several nights, when you wake up in panic or with a tense body and start to be afraid of sleeping. That deserves a conversation with a health professional, especially if the scene recalls violence you have lived through. If you are in intense distress, in the US you can call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline). See how to have fewer nightmares.

Source: Morgenthaler and colleagues, Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 2018.

Ogum in dream books

O Livro dos Sonhos, a Brazilian dream book by L. P. Baçan, has no entry for Ogum. The closest is blacksmith: in life, work; in love, special care. Iron, on the other hand, shows a different face: in life, scarce money; in love, envy. These are associations from folk tradition, not predictions.

Freud distrusted these books. He called their method "decoding": each image is swapped for a fixed meaning, as in a code, and everything depends on trusting the key, which, he said, came with no guarantee at all.

Sources: Freud, Die Traumdeutung, 1900; L. P. Baçan, O Livro dos Sonhos, 2014.

Ogum seen by Freud, by Jung and by faith

In Freud's psychoanalysis. Freud showed that a dream can build a composite figure, with one person's face and another person's gestures. The Ogum of the dream may have the voice of a demanding father, the posture of a boss and the sword from an image seen in church. Separating these pieces and asking where each one comes from was at the heart of his method.

In Jung's psychology. In Man and His Symbols, Joseph Henderson devotes a chapter to hero myths, in which the hero faces monsters and trials to win his place. In the Jungian key, the warrior who clears the road can be read as an image of the strength a person summons when they need to grow or to defend themselves.

In symbols and faith. In the orixá myths collected by Reginaldo Prandi in Mitologia dos orixás, Ogum is the lord of iron, of the forge and of war, the one who opens the roads. In Bahia, he was syncretized with Saint Anthony; in Rio, with Saint George. In A Dictionary of Symbols, Chevalier and Gheerbrant show that in many societies the blacksmith was regarded with respect and a certain fear, as someone who masters an uncommon power.

Bringing both readings together. Research explains how the dispute of the day becomes a battle at night. Faith, for those who have it, asks which road needs to be opened. One reading does not need to silence the other.

Sources: Freud, Die Traumdeutung, 1900; Jung (ed.), Man and His Symbols; Chevalier and Gheerbrant, A Dictionary of Symbols; Prandi, Mitologia dos orixás.

Ogum in the folk reading of dreams

In folk reading, Ogum with a raised sword is usually associated with victory in a dispute; Ogum on horseback, with roads that open; a serious Ogum, with a call for discipline. His colors vary from house to house (blue, red, green), and some people read the color of his clothes in the dream as a sign of the spiritual line he is working in. These are cultural and religious interpretations, which change from one terreiro (Afro-Brazilian house of worship) to another, and not guarantees. See what dream meanings look like according to science and culture.