Dream Tale Magic

Tales and Dreams do the same things. Are Talesmen hypnotists?

The Use of Dreams

A recent article in the magazine Psychology Today (you can find it online at http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/pto-20071029-000003.html) told about Finnish psychologist Antti Revonsuo, who has advanced a new theory as to why we dream. According to Revonsuo, the main purpose of dreams is to rehearse situations, notably dangerous situations, so we can practice how to escape or overcome them.

More research about dreams indicates that dreams help us remember things. While we dream, recent learning seems to get “fixed” in our memory.

The Use of Tales

This is part of the magic of tales as well. In our earliest societies, before men learned to write (and before we lost our memories) men handed down tales of the history of their race, tribe, village, and family. Usually these tales recreated the past as the life-stories of heroes, gods, and demigods. Lore was also embedded in fables and tales of the youth of past heroes, gods, and legendary figures.

And tales recounting meetings with monsters and enemies and other dangers in the world also serve to let the audience rehearse in advance what they could do and what they should to in those situations.

Enchanters

Poetry evolved as a mnemonic device. The word “enchanter” comes from the Latin cantare meaning “to sing.” But the rhythms and other mnemonic aspects of poetry such as rhyme, assonance, and stock epithets also induce a sort of trance in the audience. This trance helps the audience consider the events of the tale as though they were happening before them, as though the audience partook of those events.

Hypnotists induce trances in their subjects that resemble guided dreams.

What This Means For Talesmen

Bearing these basics of (possible) uses of tales in mind helps the talesman to focus his tale with the audience in mind.