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The Ethnology Notebooks. 2023. № 3 (171), 586—596

UDK 398.47(161.2):159.962/.963

DOI https://doi.org/10.15407/

REALITY OF «IRREAL»: PROGRAMMING FUNCTIONS OF DREAMING IN THE MAGIC OF SUGGESTION (A STUDY OF TRADITIONAL CULTURE OF UKRAINIANS)

TEMCHENKO Andriy

  • ORCID ID: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3999-9459
  • Candidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor,
  • Associate Professor of the Department of the Ukrainian History
  • of the Bohdan Khmelnytsky National University of Cherkasy,
  • boulevard of Shevchenko, 81, Сherkasy, 18000, Ukraine,
  • Contacts: e-mail: temchen@ukr.net

Abstract. Introduction. The programming functions of dreaming in the magic of suggestion are analyzed in the article.

The purpose of the publication is highlighting of the semantic connections between dreams, myth and reality, as well as an attempt of the meaningful reconstruction of rites with elements of hypnosis.

Research methods involve the use of such means of scientific knowledge that are used in related fields, namely: Psychology, Linguistics, History, Philosophy, Cultural Anthropology.

The results obtained. In the «everyday» worldview, dreaming is perceived as a reaction of the psyche to everyday activities, but in traditional culture it can form its «agenda». So, dreaming can not only reboot the system, but in a certain way reprogram its functionality. The property of the psyche for programming and self-programming can be arbitrary and adjustable. Voluntary rebooting is associated with the psychophysical functions of dreaming (restoration of resources, processing of information, compensation of unfulfilled desires and needs, adaptation of the psyche to new conditions).

In traditional culture, there are ritual mechanisms by means of which regulated suggestion takes place in a limited mode. The corresponding practices resemble the methods of directive hypnosis used by Ukrainian women in relation to their husbands. An important feature of such practices is the determination of the time and place of the ceremony. The nights from Thursday to Friday and from Saturday to Sunday were considered to auspicious, which is due to the mythological semantics of these days of the week. The purpose of performing the relevant rites is to visualize the necessary dream image, with the help of which the behavioral model of a marriage partner, which is necessary for a post somnum woman, is created. The application of magical practices with elements of hypnosis involves the creation of subject installations that functioned as a kind of communication portals associated with the semantics of water (wells, bridges) that were supposed to teleport the dreamer’s secret aspirations. The objectification of the «imaginary» strengthens the effect of the ritual in the sense of more effective suggestion, as it stimulates the suggestion of the person who / with whom the corresponding manipulations are carried out. The corresponding actions were not a common phenomenon and related mainly to female reproductive magic aimed at keeping or attracting «her» husband.

Keywords: hypnosis, a well, magic, a bridge, a myth, simulation, suggestion, a rite, subconscious, psyche, Friday, reproduction, a ritual, a dream, a stereotype, Saturday, enchantment, Thursday, marriage, déjа vu.

Received 24.04.2023

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