More than a Dream Journal: How to Keep a Dream Theme Tracker
Releasing & reflecting, deepened into pattern-observing.
The dream realm is a dense layer of our whole being - and while expanding my self-awareness through cycle tracking, it’s become apparent I can’t leave out my subconscious.
My dreams are so wild and loud that they’ve been begging for more space and attention. It seems like there are keys to my inner questions there - but only if I listen and reflect.
Over the many years, I’ve experimented with all sorts of self-made and predesigned dream journals. None of them fully stuck and I think now I realize why.
During my daily routine in Cycles Journal I’m prompted to note my dream intensity and sleep quality on the tracking spread, and details if I want on the daily journaling page.
But I’ve realized that while I do use the journal as a keep-all for my wholistic cycle awareness and tracking all of my physical mental, emotional, and spiritual patterns and cycles… my dreams need more space to go deeper beneath the surface.
I designed Cycles Journal to be a focused space devoted to our hormonal, mental & biological cycles with references to cosmic and subconscious cycles as well as helpful additional layers of information.
However, my subconscious is a whole other sphere that’s expanding and deepening as I continue to develop my intuition and spiritual connections.
And I realize that beyond dream journaling I also need dream theme tracking a.k.a. dream cycle tracking - since I often have recurring themes and I want to get to know them and when the patterns through which they might arise. (Might there be correlations between the time of moon cycle and when certain themes recur?)
Along with tracking the overview of themes, symbols and settings I also need a space to write down and process in more detail what I experience in that subconscious state.
I’ve also gotten into a habit of pulling tarot cards or meditating on their meaning to help me better understand the lesson and integration beneath the surface these obscure dreams.
So with these layers in mind, I experimented with a few different method used alternative planners, and notebooks exclusively for my dreams…
Ultimately, I realized I need something specific and unique (the feeling I felt when I created Cycles Journal too).
After some trial and error, I’ve landed on what feels like the best current option that is both customizable and structured for each of us and our unique needs:
My Dream Cycle Theme Tracker Setup:
My current set up that I’m loving consists of:
the cycle tracking overview chart that is very similar to the Monthly overview inside cycle journal, But it’s just focused on them setting in moods of dreams
My cyclical notebook, which is the perfect space to devote to the detail and interpretation of my dreams.
The notebook allows, both a flexibility of choosing the pacing and space I want to allow for each dream (A page spread or a section of a page), Also queue me to note important tracking, and cross reference features such as the moon phase, sun and moon, sign, and my inner and outer season and weather.
How to set it up;
It’s easiest to set up this version near a new moon cycle, but you can start whenever!
I’ve written the instructions for initial set up below, or you can watch this video which might make it clearer:
1. Outlining Daily or Weekly Dream Reflection & Interpretation Space:
I’ve experimented with both and found that I can often easily fill a page or part of a page with a detailed description, and the other with my tarot reading interpretation and reflection. Yet this can feel like a lot at times and a bit spread out.
Yet this is always an option for those of us who need the space or to expand whenever the weekly option doesn’t give us enough space.
I found it less daunting and more streamlined to have one spread (aka two side-by-side pages) per week of dream tracking. That way, I can set it up at the beginning of each week and if I really need more space to expand, I can simply use the next pages to continue.
To create this outline, I start by dividing the lines page of my Cyclical Notebook into seven sections, one for each day of the week…
Starting with the top line, count and mark every 4th line with a dot until you have 7 spaces.
Draw horizontal lines all the way across the entire spread so that you have 7 rows on your left page and 7 rows on your right page.
Note the dates that the spread is for at the top of the right page
In the right margin, note the day letter and number of the week per row.
At the top of the left page, You can mark whatever prompts you use to help interpret your dreams. I like to pull three cards for each day, and so I write three words, “Meaning, Lesson, and Integration.”
These prompt me to write the card and a brief interpretation under each column within that row. You can draw column lines if you like
Last, I also like to fill in all the tracking features that make this notebook special & useful for cross-referencing ; such as underlining or circling the moon phases that this week covers, the sun and moon signs were transiting during this week, as well as my inner and outer seasons.
2. Moonthly Dream Theme Overview
Now that we have the space set up for the details and interpretation of our dreams, we can attach our dream tracker, which will allow us to have a better overview of our dream themes.
You can of course just use the above method, but I find it potent and helpful to have this zoomed out view alongside the zoomed in detail.
Print out the dream theme cycle tracker PDF Single sided sheets of printer paper
Fold the page you’re starting with in half (printed side facing out), and store the rest somewhere or in the back of your notebook
Mark the month at this moon cycle starts and ends with
Mark the days of the month during this moon cycle on the first line above each column
You can keep this page loose and side-by-side or folded in your notebook, or you can;
Tape the right side of the overview tracker to the outside of the left page in your notebook.
It’s best to put the tape on the back side so that it creates a hinge that folds the right way
See my video for an easier explanation, but if this is set up the best way,
it creates an extension of the page so that you’re overview is side-by-side with your weekly journaling page
It also can easily be folded in half the notebook store as usual or more compact experience
And can easily be used on the next spread for the following weeks of the cycle
Once you have gone through more cycles of dream tracking in the notebook, it will also serve as a bookmark for the start of one moon cycles, for easy referencing.
Using it Daily-ish
Now that it’s all set up for the month/moon cycle ahead, All you have to do is show up each morning after you wake and…
Write whatever dream details you can remember on the right page its designated space.
Mark down any corresponding themes, settings, moods, etc In the column below the same day on your overview chart.
You can add in your cycle day, number two beneath the day of the month if you have a menstrual cycle or a different hormonal cycle.
Reflect on the prompts or pull cards and write down any interpretations on the left page space.
And that’s it!
While the set up may sounds like a lot at first (especially via text - i recommend watching the video for an easier visual understanding), it becomes a no-brainer after doing it once or twice.
You can set this up month-by-month at the start of each new moon cycle as I do, or you can set up a whole year in advance if you prefer to have it prepped.
Tips & Reminders
As with all journaling and cycle tracking, if you miss a day or a few, it’s no big deal! Just pick up where you left off when you can.
You can also always go back and fill in what you remember later.
Be gentle with yourself and trust the process, knowing that any information is good information for growing your subconscious self-awareness.
Thanks for being here.
xoxo,
Rachael Amber
