Celtic Wisdom Tarot
Text by Caitlin Matthews, art by Olivia Raynor
Destiny Books, 1999
ISBN 0-89281-720-8

The Book says: The Dreamer shows the god Noden, aka Iriel Faith (True Seer) and Nuada Airgetlam (Silver-Arm) who had a healing and dream incubation shrine on the banks of the Severn. The two-headed nature of the god represents outward sight of the physical senses and the inward sight of the seer or dreamer. The yew is the Celtic tree to the Otherworld, gateway to the Land of Promise. Its evergreen spines and red berries create the appearance of a tree on fire.
Keywords: Hope, insight, inspiration, healing, unconditional love, optimism, keeping faith, dreams, aspirations, widening horizons, promise and opportunity, a period of calm after storm, recovery.
Reversed: Hopes dashed, doubt, short-sighted outlook, poor health, negative self-image, pessimism, insecurity, self-doubt, lack of trust, swept into a spiral of activity.
Soul Wisdom: What is the important source of refreshment in your own life?

TarotBroad’s Buzz: The image on this card is reminder that The Dreamer (Star) is about healing and renewal. It is about looking back to see where we come from so that we can heal ourselves. If we don’t remember what the roots of our illness are then how can we hope to heal. Sometimes facing the past is the hardest thing to do. We have already survived the earth-shattering Tower and we want to focus on the hope and healing offered by the The Star but is we don’t remember what we learned during that Tower moment.  We don’t incorporate it into our lives and that may limit our ability to heal.

The Dreamer shows that we need to look within and without, behind us and ahead of us in order to fully experience the healing energy of this card and the hope it represents. Hope is more than just closing our eyes to reality and ignoring it. Hope is facing the reality in our lives and still believing that things will work out for the best. In fact in some healers are beginning to realize that if a patient doesn’t have hope, faith and optimism then any treatment may ultimately prove unsuccessful because these things are necessary for us to heal on a spiritual and psychic level.

If we believe we can heal, then we can. There is a phrase (which is almost a cliche) if you can dream it you can achieve it or as the Rocky Horror Picture Show suggests “don’t dream it – be it”.  Both offer similar insight. Dreams are an important part of who we are as humans and if we allow ourselves to appreciate them, our hopes, dreams and optimism can help us reach our goals. Dreams can heal us and make us whole; they can open us up to new possibilities and potential. But we have to be willing to take that chance and open ourselves us to the healing powers of the Dreamer.