Glossary - exWitch Australia (formerly 'Born Again Pagan')

NIGHTMARE

In occult lore, an ugly demon, hag, or mare, who sits on a person's chest during the night, causing great discomfort, a sensation of heaviness and suffocation and bad dreams. It also is the term for the bad dream itself-the definition that prevails in current popular usage.

In centuries past, demons were believed to bring erotic dreams as well as terrifying ones, tempting their victims with forbidden lust. Mare is Old English for a type of Incubus, a male demon. The erotic dreams could also be allegedly caused by Succubi, female demons. In the 16th century, the Swiss alchemist Paracelus even claimed that menstruation brought on nightmares. More likely, erotic nightmares were a result of repressed sexual desires.

The belief in nightmares as real demons is ancient. The storm god Alu brought nightmares to the Babylonians, while Greeks suffered the onslaughts of the giant, Ephialtes. The Zohar, or "Book of Splendor" in the Kabbalah, asserts that Succubi did indeed cause nightmares in men. In medieval times, nightmares were sometimes thought to be caused by spells cast by witches or by demonic possession. In Medieval times, people protected themselves against the dreaded demons by reciting charms and prayers and making the sign of the cross before they went to sleep.

Modem research has found the "Old Hag" Syndrome to be common-place around the world; in the United States, it afflicts about 15% of the population. The syndrome is characterized by a person awakening to find himself paralyzed and in the presence of a non-human entity, sometimes humanoid in shape and with prominent eyes, which often sits on his chest and causes feelings of suffocation. The experience sometimes is accompanied by musty smells and shuffling sounds.

Many occultists still attribute such attacks to malignant spirits. One scientific theory put forward suggests that the Old Hag Syndrome might be a side effect of a poorly understood sleep-pattern derangement, such as narcolepsy.

see also: HANON-TRAMP

PLEASE NOTE:
One of the major problems with 'defining' Paganism and/or its beliefs and practices is that it is an 'organic' movement, in that it is undergoing constant change and re-evaluation from within, and as such any 'one-size-fits-all' approach to understanding Paganism will be found wanting.

Due to the very 'organic' nature of Paganism, and the many differing Paths and Traditions within it, in many cases no one definition may be universally accepted by all Pagans. Therefore, where such cases of possible conflicting and/or contradictory meanings of certain terms occur I have endevoured to give not only the generally accepted meaning, but also any major 'variations' in belief and/or practice.

Christians who believe this difference in meaning of certain key terms, beliefs and practices to be unique to Paganism need to remember that such conflicts also arise within the Body of Christ - the Church. Take for instance the differing practices amongst Christians concerning Baptism and the different attitudes towards women in the clergy.

- Jean-Luc