# Oneiromancy **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 30, 2004, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oneiromancy/247751 "2004-05-30T03:06:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Invincible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f1d935/32.png) [@Invincible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invincible)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2004, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oneiromancy/247751/1 "2004-05-30T03:06:48Z")
Paranormal things do happen, and oneiromancy is a proof. I usually tend not to believe things and stories that are supernatural but this one I cann’t deny. I never thought that dreams interpreters can go so specific. In the mosque, people gathered to tell the Sheikh what they dreamt last night and he would tell them what will happen to them in the future. My friend called this sheikh and told him about a dream he had. The sheik, then, answered my friend saying: “… your wife is pregnant and I ask Allah that the baby would survive.” My friend wife was really pregnant and the baby didn’t make it. This is only the most recent story I witnessed. Can you explain this to me? ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2004, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oneiromancy/247751/2 "2004-05-30T03:10:43Z")
Ever hear about the 3 Billygoats Gruff that wanted to cross a bridge? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2004, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oneiromancy/247751/3 "2004-05-30T03:11:16Z")
The sixth sick sheik’s sixth sheep’s sick. ---
**Author:** ![bizzwire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/958977/32.png) [@bizzwire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bizzwire)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2004, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oneiromancy/247751/4 "2004-05-30T03:15:25Z")
> [@](#): > > Paranormal things do happen, and oneiromancy is a proof. I usually tend not to believe things and stories that are supernatural but this one I cann’t deny. I never thought that dreams interpreters can go so specific. In the mosque, people gathered to tell the Sheikh what they dreamt last night and he would tell them what will happen to them in the future. My friend called this sheikh and told him about a dream he had. The sheik, then, answered my friend saying: > “… your wife is pregnant and I ask Allah that the baby would survive.” > > My friend wife was really pregnant and the baby didn’t make it. > > This is only the most recent story I witnessed. Can you explain this to me? Others will be along to state this better than I, but a single experience recounted second or third hand does not, in my book, constitute “proof.” You might want to post this in **MPSIMS** if you insist on witnessing. Reading through the seemingly endless streams of paranormal threads (go [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=253512) for a current exercise in the willful suspension of belief, for example) I feel pretty confident in stating that, under the cold light of critical review, paranormal things do _not_, in fact, happen. cue **Lekatt** in 5…4…3…2… ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2004, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oneiromancy/247751/5 "2004-05-30T03:17:50Z")
Two thoughts: 1. The sheikh never actually predicted that the baby wouldn’t make it. You gave him credit for something he didn’t do. 2. If you make enough predictions, then by sheer luck, you’ll be right some of the time. ---
**Author:** ![bizzwire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/958977/32.png) [@bizzwire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bizzwire)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2004, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oneiromancy/247751/6 "2004-05-30T03:22:26Z")
> [@Invincible](#): > > Paranormal things do happen, and oneiromancy is a proof. I usually tend not to believe things and stories that are supernatural but this one I cann’t deny. I never thought that dreams interpreters can go so specific. In the mosque, people gathered to tell the Sheikh what they dreamt last night and he would tell them what will happen to them in the future.\*\* My friend called this sheikh and told him about a dream he had\*\*. The sheik, then, answered my friend saying: > “… your wife is pregnant and I ask Allah that the baby would survive.” > > My friend wife was really pregnant and the baby didn’t make it. > > This is only the most recent story I **witnessed**. Can you explain this to me? Bolding mine. So, which was it? You claim to have witnessed this, but the **OP** makes it sound as if tis was a tale recounted to you by your friend. We’ll need some more specific info (for example, the relation of your friend to the mosque and/or Sheik) before rendering any judgement. Absent that, it sounds no more sound than a letter to the “Penthouse Forum:” “I never thought this would happen to me, but…” ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2004, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oneiromancy/247751/7 "2004-05-30T03:36:36Z")
You need to brush up on your mad Lucid Dreaming Skillz. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2004, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oneiromancy/247751/8 "2004-05-30T04:00:43Z")
Don’t light the fuse, people, jezus… ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2004, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oneiromancy/247751/9 "2004-05-30T04:05:34Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > Don’t light the fuse, people, jezus… I need someone Older and wiser Telling me what to do You are 17 going on 18 I’ll depend on you ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2004, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oneiromancy/247751/10 "2004-05-30T05:02:37Z")
What exactly is “oneiromancy”? Dream interpretation? And correct me if I’m wrong-the sheik said the baby would survive-but it didn’t? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2004, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oneiromancy/247751/11 "2004-05-30T05:55:52Z")
> [@Invincible](#): > > “… your wife is pregnant and I ask Allah that the baby would survive.” > > My friend wife was really pregnant and the baby didn’t make it. Well, what exactly is your point? He asked Allah that the baby would survive, and it didn’t. Did Allah forget to check his messages? ---
**Author:** ![laigle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce7236/32.png) [@laigle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/laigle)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2004, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oneiromancy/247751/12 "2004-05-30T11:53:54Z")
Personally, I prefer onanomancy. ---
**Author:** ![Brutus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Brutus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brutus)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2004, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oneiromancy/247751/13 "2004-05-30T12:43:32Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Well, what exactly is your point? He asked Allah that the baby would survive, and it didn’t. Did Allah forget to check his messages? Obviously, you are not paying attention. It’s called **ONE** iromancy for a reason: One of the following predictions are true. Sure, he got the pregnant part right, but he was wrong about the divine protection. Such is the fickle nature of Oneiromancy. ---
**Author:** ![Chairman\_Pow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Chairman\_Pow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chairman_Pow)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2004, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oneiromancy/247751/14 "2004-05-30T14:47:24Z")
> [@laigle](#): > > Personally, I prefer onanomancy. Doesn’t that screw up your keyboard? ---
**Author:** ![laigle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce7236/32.png) [@laigle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/laigle)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2004, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oneiromancy/247751/15 "2004-05-30T16:33:58Z")
> [@Chairman Pow](#): > > Doesn’t that screw up your keyboard? Only if you do it right. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2004, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oneiromancy/247751/16 "2004-05-30T16:58:57Z")
“Paranormal” things **do not** happen. :smack: The Sheik claims to have predicted the birth of a child? So ou’re saying that everybody in the neighborhood didn’t know? Gossip is the only thing I know of that travels faster than light. Women get rather **large** during pregnancy. Everybody in the neighborhood could tell… ---
**Author:** ![bizzwire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/958977/32.png) [@bizzwire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bizzwire)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2004, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oneiromancy/247751/17 "2004-05-30T18:09:11Z")
**Invincible** Welcome to the **SDMB**. In general, it is considered to be bad form to start a debate then neglect to enter into it. ---
**Author:** ![Invincible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f1d935/32.png) [@Invincible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invincible)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2004, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oneiromancy/247751/18 "2004-05-30T23:09:42Z")
First of all I want to thank all of you for your replys. And I’m sorry for being late in responding to your replys. Now, it’s clear that I didn’t make myself clear. Although I said in the begining of my thread that paranormal things do happen and that oneiromancy is a proof, I wasn’t trying to argue that paranormals could happen. I knew that you wouldn’t simply believe someone telling you an impossible tale. But I meant that oneiromancy, unless explained, is a proof to me as a witness that paranormals happen. Like you, I find things things that cann’t be proved by means of physics hard to belive, but when I see them happen in front of my eyes, I wont deny them. Instead, I will look for an explanation and this is what I’m trying to do in my thread. Back to my story, just suppose what I’m telling you is true: - The Sheikh is famous as the number one dream-interpreter in the country. - The Sheikh is not related to my friend in any way and he doesn’t even know him. - My friend called the Sheikh in my presence and told him what he dreamt. - When the Sheikh said “… I ask Allah that the baby would survive”, he didn’t mean that the baby would survive. It was a connotation that the baby will die. In other words, the Seikh told us, in a polite way, that the baby will die and that he hope he guessed wrong. - The baby died when at birth nearly after 5-6 months after the interpretation. Now, if what I told you was true, is it a supernatural thing? Or can it be explained away from the Sheik being aware of what he said by other means and away from saying that it was a sheer luck. Thaaaaaaaaaaanks. ---
**Author:** ![Atticus\_Finch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ec9cab/32.png) [@Atticus\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atticus_Finch)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2004, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oneiromancy/247751/19 "2004-05-30T23:21:02Z")
**Invincible** , welcome to the SDMB. Given those facts, I don’t see anything suprising. The Sheik knew / guessed the woman was pregnant, and that’s not too suprising. He could have heard the gossip, or just noticed that at around 4 months, she was getting a bit heavy. So nothing special there. The statement about the baby was incredibly vague. He says that he prays it will survive, so if it dies the parents assume that the prayers failed and it was going to die apart from this, and if it survives, the parents assume that the prayers were successful. It works either way. We’ve got one easy prediction, and one prediction that was so vague it could go either way. So it can be explained, and definitely isn’t supernatural. ---
**Author:** ![Invincible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f1d935/32.png) [@Invincible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invincible)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2004, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oneiromancy/247751/20 "2004-05-30T23:53:37Z")
> [@](#): > > He could have heard the gossip I said that the Sheikh didn’t know my friend and that my friend was talking to him using his mobile phone. > [@](#): > > The statement about the baby was incredibly vague. May be I failed to translate what the Sheikh said into English, but I’m sure that he meant what we understood which is the baby will die. thanks [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oneiromancy/247751.md?page=2)