Under the full moon the old stag lifts his crowned head, and between his antlers the light gathers as it does between the horns of the year. Waters of the Antlered Sleep is a dreams bath spell that washes the day from your skin, dresses the body in moon-silver, and opens the way for wide, wandering dreams full of green country and old paths. To bathe in that light is to be led into the wildwood of sleep. It is the gentlest of workings, asking only that you soak and let go.
Correspondences for This Spell
- Colours: silver and indigo blue, the shades of moonlit water and the deep night sky
- Herbs: lavender for rest, mugwort for prophetic dreams, and jasmine for sweet, pleasant sleep
- Crystal: amethyst and moonstone, stones of intuition and lunar light
- Day: Monday, the day of the Moon
- Planet: the Moon
- Element: Water
- Moon phase: the full moon, when dreams run most vivid
For more on how these threads weave together, see the correspondences guide.
What You Will Need
- A handful of salt (sea salt or Epsom) to wash the day away
- Dried herbs — lavender, mugwort, or jasmine, with vervain and rosemary also serving well
- A few drops of a soothing oil, such as lavender or jasmine, for softness on the skin
- A moonstone or amethyst (or a piece of clear quartz) to hold the light through your soaking
- A warm bath of water, drawn where the moon can reach it if you are able
The Best Time to Cast
Cast this on the night of the full moon, when the Moon pours out her fullest light and dreams run vivid and deep. A Monday full moon is best of all, for Monday belongs to the Moon and doubles her tide over water, sleep, and the dreaming mind. Draw the bath late, close to bedtime, so you can pass straight from the water into sleep while the moon still dresses your skin.
The Working
- When the moon is full, draw a warm bath and let her light fall across the water if you can.
- Cast in a handful of salt to wash away the day, stirring it thrice with your hand.
- Scatter lavender, vervain, or rosemary across the surface, and add a few drops of oil for softness.
- Set a moonstone or clear crystal at the water’s edge to hold the light through your soaking.
- Lie back until the herbs drift about you, and speak the incantation to the ceiling as though to the sky.
- Rise without rinsing, wrap yourself in something soft, and go straight to your bed while the moon still dresses your skin.
The Incantation
Antlered king of the silver wood,
lead me where the old paths stood.
Moon between your crownéd horns,
carry me past the world’s sharp thorns.
Wash me clean in your cold light,
walk me through the green of night.
Variations & Substitutions
- No bathtub? Steep the herbs into a strong infusion, stir it and the salt into a basin of warm water, and pour it slowly over yourself as a final rinse — the intent carries just as well.
- For prophetic dreams, lean on mugwort in place of the lavender and keep a journal by the bed to catch what the wildwood shows you. (Leave mugwort out if you are pregnant.)
- No moonstone? Amethyst, clear quartz, or even a bowl of moon-charged water set at the tub’s edge will hold the light in its place.
A Word on Intent
Work by the Wiccan Rede — “an it harm none, do what ye will.” This is a spell of rest and open dreaming, turned only toward yourself; keep it so. Do not cast it to enter another person’s dreams or to send them visions without their knowing consent. Soak with a calm and honest heart, ask only for the dreams that will do you good, and let the antlered one lead you no further than you wish to go.
Related Dreams Spells
Add this working to your own practice through the Grimoire, and record the dreams it brings you in your Book of Shadows.