Enchanter’s Nightshade: broad leaved enchanter’s nightshade, sorcerer of Paris, Witch’s Grass, Great Witch Herb, Wood magic herb, Paris nightshade, Herb of St Etienne, St Stephen’s wort.
When I think of Enchanter’s Nightshade I think of nighttime revelries that occur under a full moon amidst many beautiful wildflowers. What also comes to mind are the many nightmares that have been repeating nightly for me for the past few weeks. The only reason that I remember this nightmare is because it is a recurring one. I usually have a very hard time remembering anything that I dream of, whether it be good or bad.
The very few times that I have remembered a dream is whenever I get that déja vu feeling. I remember, “I’ve dreamed this before.” My friends and family like to call them prophetic dreams. In this recurring nightmare I am in the middle of a field of wildflowers. It’s beautiful. I stand under a full moon, under a sky that is the color of spilled ink. An inky, smudgy dark blue color. There isn’t a star in the sky to be seen and the moon is so big it looks like it takes up half the sky. I’m alone, nobody else around for miles and miles and no sounds of nature to remove the oppressive silence that is overwhelming despite the beauty that surrounds me.
In this place time seems to stand still. One minute can feel like an eternity. I stand there for 20 trying to understand where I am and what’s happening. Where is everyone and everything. When I eventually become disquieted enough I attempt to move. I struggle and struggle and continue to struggle to move without any results but it is too dark to see what is keeping in place. I start to feel things moving around me in the dark, crawling up my legs over my feet and under me. I’m being overrun by vines and plants and just as I’m about to be covered completely I awaken. Heart pounding, sheets stuck to my body soaked through with sweat. I never get to the end of the dream. I always awaken before I’m engulfed.
Rêves Malveillant 